Are You Your Own Favorite Brewer?

[Clint Yeastwood]

I have to ask: am I the only one who prefers his own beer to nearly everything else?

I finished making my first post-comeback beer a few days ago, and I overcarbonated it. It took several days for it to recover so I could get a beer that wasn't all head at first and then low on bubbles. Today it's perfect. I can open the faucet all the way, and it gives me about 2.5 inches of foam and still has the carbonation zing it needs.

I had some Old Rasputin the other day, and it amazed me. It changed the way I think about beer. But other than that, I like my own brews best. And I'm not going to sit around every day drinking imperial stout. Most of the time, I'm going to want to be down around 6%.

I love a beer that's exactly what I imagined when I first tried to write the recipe. No matter how good factory beer is, it's not tailor-made.

 

[TheMadKing]

Depends on my mood and the beer

Sometimes I just want a can of something while I'm fishing or camping.

Homebrew is for enjoying with friends or at home with dinner. Like this Tripel I'm enjoying with Chimichurry flank steak and roasted sprouts

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Hard to think of a food that goes better with beer.

 

[Sammy86]

I'm with @TheMadKing depends on the mood, style I'm craving, where I am in the world.

If I'm at home of course a delicious HB is preferred. If I'm at my local BBQ joint that collaborates with the brewery next door I want their pale ale to go with my brisket and ribs.

 

[aceluby]

I prefer my beer, but appreciate the few times I do go out. It’s a hard dilemma now though. Get a style I brew for comparison and maybe be disappointed, or a brew I don’t usually make. Lately it’s the latter

 

[bobtheUKbrewer2]

My beer is better than 90% of beers available to me commercially - but I still go to the pub for the company and to support the pub. going to London next week so it will be £6 a pint, or more.

 

[Miraculix]

I live in Germany.

 

[geezerpk]

The last time I bought beer was around 2014 or '15 I think… and that was only on a semi-emergency basis.

 

[leedspointbrew]

I drink my beer, if I'm feeling like living dangerously. I will say that my pipeline has a more varied selection than some of the local places I could go to.

 

[mac_1103]

My beer is better than 90% of beers available to me commercially

Well yeah, but you'd probably only drink the other 10% even if you didn't brew.

 

[Protos]

I have had my own beers worse than the worst industrial/craft beers I've tasted. Dumpers happen.
But among my good beers, I've never had a factory-made brew tasting to me better than mine.
I very seldomly buy factory-made beers, only to compare the originals to my clones. Every time my clone wins. Every time, no exceptions to date. Even when the clone is flawed (i.e. doesn't taste too close to the original) it tastes better.

Prior to picking up the brewing hobby I had little idea on how much off-flavours factory-made beers had in them. It's only now that I've come to discern cardboard, cabbage, skunk, musty whiffs and shyt in my former store-bought favourites. My clones don't have those (they do sometimes have flaws, but of a different kind, mostly because of the screwed water chemistry or foreign yeast infections).

My beer isn't ideal by any means but it's perfect to my own personal taste. Task accomplished.
The next major task is to learn growing and curing my own Tobacco to perfectly fit my personal taste.

 

[Miraculix]

I have had my own beers worse than the worst industrial/craft beers I've tasted. Dumpers happen.
But among my good beers, I've never had a factory-made brew tasting to me better than mine.
I very seldomly buy factory-made beers, only to compare the originals to my clones. Every time my clone wins. Every time, no exceptions to date. Even when the clone is flawed (i.e. doesn't taste too close to the original) it tastes better.

Prior to picking up the brewing hobby I had little idea on how much off-flavours factory-made beers had in them. It's only now that I've come to discern cardboard, cabbage, skunk, musty whiffs and shyt in my former store-bought favourites. My clones don't have those (they do sometimes have flaws, but of a different kind, mostly because of the screwed water chemistry or foreign yeast infections).

My beer isn't ideal by any means but it's perfect to my own personal taste. Task accomplished.
The next major task is to learn growing and curing my own Tobacco to perfectly fit my personal taste.

Man, where do you live?!

I only found one beer here that had off flavours and that was the disgusting astra urtyp, which still is almost drinkable.

Even the cans below 40cent per 0.5 l taste kind of decent here .

.....ok if I start looking into "craft" beers here, I can find everything from oxidation to cloying sweetness. But big commercial beer is always at least decent here... Except Astra. Astra is always bad. Just bad.

 

[Protos]

Man, where do you live?!

Actually, in two far-apart localities. When I don't live in The Baltics, I live in Eastern Mediterranean. And vice versa.
If I lived in Germany or England I probably wouldn't have started brewing in the first place. I started brewing exactly because the beer choises available in my both localities were surprisingly similar and totally unsatisfactory to me. Even those ridiculously priced English and German imports, "aged" on the top shelves of the stores not in the good sence of the term.

...Well, to not be unjust to the Fatherland, I most probably wouldn't have started brewing if I lived in The Baltics all the time either.
But then came Eastern Mediterranean, where I live most of the time. Not that there isn't any decent beer at all, but that's a very special place that teaches you to better be self-sufficient for most of your special needs.
So I did, at least for beer.

 

[Brushwood Brewing]

Okay I suppose I'll be the first to say it then: No, I am not my favorite brewer.

Off Color (Chicago) still makes my favorite beers, Odd Bird (local, run by a former homebrewer) still nails it on every style they make, and I've yet to make a stout that measures up to Old Rasputin.

I anticipate I will never be able to make the wild barrel-aged beers as good as Off Color and Goose Island, but I'm hoping to eventually brew the standard styles that fit my taste better than other commercial examples. Perhaps some day...

 

[AlexKay]

26 beers currently on tap in my garage. Even if I wanted to drink commercial beer, I don’t have the calories or liver enzymes to spare for it.

 

[bracconiere]

@Jaybird

says it best...."I Brew Beer, What's Your Super Power"

 

[bracconiere]

I don’t have the calories or liver enzymes to spare for it.

reminds me of a song....goes along with the theme of this thread!

 

[Protos]

26 beers currently on tap in my garage.

Sounds like music.
36 here.
None of the pubs or stores known to me offer such an array.

 

[AZ Maverick]

That would be me.
I cannot remember the last time I purchased beer to drink, I always have two kegs of my homebrew on tap at all times.
I admit that I do buy some cheap beer to pour in a pot when I'm making brats - there's no way I'm wasting my homebrew to simmer brats only to toss it later.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I live in Germany.

Has Germany experienced a craft beer explosion like America, or are you forced to buy foreign beer when you want something your grandfather couldn't get?

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

That would be me.
I cannot remember the last time I purchased beer to drink, I always have two kegs of my homebrew on tap at all times.
I admit that I do buy some cheap beer to pour in a pot when I'm making brats - there's no way I'm wasting my homebrew to simmer brats only to toss it later.

I think bad beer is actually better for certain dishes. I would not boil a sausage in homebrew.

In Kentucky, there is a local delicacy called beer cheese. You mix flat beer, cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and some other things. It goes on crackers. It's wonderful. People fight over which brand is the best. I make it myself. One version with IPA, and another with Busch.

I wonder if anyone has posted a recipe here.

 

[Miraculix]

Has Germany experienced a craft beer explosion like America, or are you forced to buy foreign beer when you want something your grandfather couldn't get?

Not really an explosion. "Was der Bauer nicht kennt, frisst er nicht!" Is key in Germany. Recent years have given us some new "craft" breweries but most of them really are just not good. With the few exceptions of course.

 

[jdauria]

Short answer to the original question...yes and no!

Yes, I prefer my own beer to some commercial beer and in some cases think that my beer is better than a commercial version I am trying. But on the other hand, there are plenty of great commercial beers out there that make me go "F**k, why is my beer not this good?. I brew a lot of lagers, and there are two great lager breweries in New England, Notch here in Mass, Schilling in NH. I will make a great, say Czech Dark lager, that does fantastic in comps, but then drink either of those breweries versions and they just blow me away and make me realize mine pales in comparison.

Also have a guy in my club, who was a fantastic homebrewer and now brews professionally...I would take any of his beers over my homebrew anytime. I strive to make beers as good as he does! He has this altbier (both his homebrew version and a one off pro version) that are out of the world, and every time I make one, it just is not as good. He did give me one tip on a secret ingredient (psst...Cologne Malt) in his alt, that helped my last version get a lot closer though!

 

[Mr. Vern]

I am, but I also recognize there are many brewers much more talented and dedicated than me. For beers that drink well "fresh" we have an advantage, my first RIS was nearly a drain pour. (too proud to admit it was, in fact, a drain pour)

Some of my homebrews have been my absolute favorite, but I would never dream that my beer can be the same profile with the accuracy that the big beer companies can produce. Are we getting closer to this as homebrewers? Sure but lets face it, very few of us are master brewers.

Was der Bauer nicht kennt, frisst er nicht! (some people are afraid to try new or are content with tradition). If I remember correctly, traditional German hop growers helped our generation stumble upon the N. American hop explosion. I'm certainly glad they did!!! Maybe the market is just too strong in traditional style. Looking forward to my visit this fall!

 

[estricklin]

Okay I suppose I'll be the first to say it then: No, I am not my favorite brewer.

Off Color (Chicago) still makes my favorite beers, Odd Bird (local, run by a former homebrewer) still nails it on every style they make, and I've yet to make a stout that measures up to Old Rasputin.

I anticipate I will never be able to make the wild barrel-aged beers as good as Off Color and Goose Island, but I'm hoping to eventually brew the standard styles that fit my taste better than other commercial examples. Perhaps some day...

Also not my favorite brewer. Sure I brew loads of beer that I'd prefer over store bought, but I like to think that brewing is something I can always learn and improve at. A lot of folks don't like to admit it, but I'm not embarrassed to say I've had plenty of bad batches, because I'm always trying new things, and challenging conventional wisdom, and I'm human, I make mistakes and learn from them.

Though I also have to say, even a bad roll your own can be more satisfying than a good factory made.

 

[T Murph]

Interesting topic and responses. I too have brewed some excellent beers and had to toss a few along the way. I even had two that were good enough to be copied by pros that are available on the market today. But as one earlier post mentioned Chicago beers, I fully understand. I used to live in the Chicago area. I fell hopelessly in love with the offerings there. That is where I learned to brew and apparently my brewing style reflects the Midwest styles still today. I enjoy my beers very much and prefer them most of the time. But I also enjoy visiting brew pubs and craft breweries as much as possible. Plus there are many offerings that are too involved for me to even attempt. Bottom line, I truly love good craft beers and enjoy the chase of experiencing offerings from everywhere.

I'm sitting at Goat Island Brewery in Cullman Alabama at the moment having a Richter's Pilsner, a recipe from before Prohibition. It is a very good beer but I admit it pails in comparison to an award winning pre prohibition lager that I brewer several years ago. But I still enjoy sampling their offerings.

Brew it, love it and keep on brewing.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

My beer is my favorite beer. Nobody brews beer to suit my personal taste much like I do.

 

[AlexKay]

I think bad beer is actually better for certain dishes. I would not boil a sausage in homebrew.

In Kentucky, there is a local delicacy called beer cheese. You mix flat beer, cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and some other things. It goes on crackers. It's wonderful. People fight over which brand is the best. I make it myself. One version with IPA, and another with Busch.

I wonder if anyone has posted a recipe here.

Guinness beer-battered and deep fried cauliflower is really tasty too.

 

[Jaybird]

@Jaybird

says it best...."I Brew Beer, What's Your Super Power"

LOL... YES I DO!

Cheers
Jay

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Man, where do you live?!

I only found one beer here that had off flavours and that was the disgusting astra urtyp, which still is almost drinkable.

Even the cans below 40cent per 0.5 l taste kind of decent here .

.....ok if I start looking into "craft" beers here, I can find everything from oxidation to cloying sweetness. But big commercial beer is always at least decent here... Except Astra. Astra is always bad. Just bad.

Can confirm, was in Hamburg on a booze buying weekend trip a few years ago, and Astra was the worst.
Even seemed many bars refuse to sell it.