Are You Your Own Worst Critic?

[TechFanMD]

I agree with every post here. A lot of the self critical part seems to be that it isn’t what you expected - but others aren’t coming to it with that expectation.

Imagine creating a cake recipe and when it’s done they end up like brownies. Everyone tells you they’re the best damn brownies they ever had....and you just sit there mad about the cake you were aiming for.

We also ‘know too much.’ We know if the ferm temp went too high or if we splashed a bit going into the keg/bottling bucket. We’re ‘looking’ for the off flavors of things we know happened and may imagine them when they may not even be there.

 

[bobeer]

I think you can be your own worst critic, for sure. You know what you were trying to achieve with your beer and you know what's missing. You can tell others what's wrong or missing but unless they really know beer they probably wont know what you're talking about. These days, when I give my beer out, I give as much info as I can and hope they can see what I'm talking about. As I've gotten along in my brewing hobby I have been able to adjust my recipes and process to reflect what I'm going for in a beer but this only came with me being a tough critic on myself and researching it. I think the best way to get honest constructive feed back is to enter bjcp competitions or join a homebrew club. That way you're getting advice from people that just want to help but also know what they're talking about.

 

[505-Brewer]

I think you can be your own worst critic, for sure. You know what you were trying to achieve with your beer and you know what's missing. You can tell others what's wrong or missing but unless they really know beer they probably wont know what you're talking about. These days, when I give my beer out, I give as much info as I can and hope they can see what I'm talking about. As I've gotten along in my brewing hobby I have been able to adjust my recipes and process to reflect what I'm going for in a beer but this only came with me being a tough critic on myself and researching it. I think the best way to get honest constructive feed back is to enter bjcp competitions or join a homebrew club. That way you're getting advice from people that just want to help but also know what they're talking about.

You may get critical qualified feedback or you might get rubbish. BJCP does not guarantee it will happen. Seen it all too often.

 

[Home_alone1]

Yes I am , I’ve made exactly 3 batches I thought we’re up to par , everything else has been meh to me . I like to tear my own beers apart because I know I can do better . I still serve them to guests and always get good feed back, I look at it like this . If they drink one and done it’s not any good , if they go for seconds I’ve done ok , if they need to call for a ride home I’ve hit the jack pot .

 

[kingmatt]

I am usually happy with my beers these days but I can almost always pick out some flaws or areas I could improve.

I have a few recipes now that I have brewed and tweaked enough over the years that are just about perfect for my palate..that is the true joy of homebrewing for me.

 

[MrHadack]

I'm fairly a harsh judge of my work, though I usually can tell when I have a winner on my hands, or when I it has noticeable flaws. On most occasions other people's opinions are far more positive than my own. However, if I ever brew something that I'm just flat-out unhappy with, it typically never finds its way to someone else's glass for opinion.

Recently, something happened that has never happened before. I brewed a very odd beer for a friend. He is from India and he married a woman from Argentina. They recently had their first child, a son. He asked me to brew a beer in honor of that special occasion-- something that would be a "blend of flavors from their two cultures." After some thought I settled on a Chai & Dulce de Leche Milk Stout. I figured since dulce de leche is derived from the caramelization of milk sugars I could make some of my own using lactose, make a chai tincture with spices and alcohol, and then mix it in secondary until I get the right balance of flavors.

Once it finished carbing in the bottles I cracked one open to try it. I was NOT happy. It wasn't horrible, but it really wasn't great and didn't taste like what I envisioned. I definitely did not want to distribute this publicly, but I was on the hook for it. So I gave it to him anyway, explaining I really wasn't happy with it, and I would try to re-do something later for him. To my surprise he loved it. And he wasn't just being nice-- he drank a bottle every night thereafter and said he was having a hard time saving any. He gave one to a neighbor who raved about it. I thought they HAD to be just trying to save my feelings, so I gave a bottle to a guy at work who brews and is always ready to point out flaws in stuff I give him. He raved about it. So I tried another bottle myself to see if maybe I just had a bad one or something... nope! I hated it still. Since then I have given it all away to co-workers and friends and they are all asking me to make another batch. I simply don't get it.

 

[papz]

Tatses are subjective.
It may not be the beer that you wanted it to be or one that you like, but if others 'ask for more' then you did something right.