Brewing Gods V. Peers

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

I think I have gained the most real knowledge from books. However, after that this forum provides a very large amount of practical knowledge and very relevant scientific work. The shows are fun to listen to but I don't think I have ever gotten anything really useful out of them. I like to listen, but for me it is like going on a brewery tour. Yeah it is entertaining, but I never feel like I am a better brewer because I went on it.

There is a lot of bunk info and conjecture on the internet, but it is easy to spot and make my own decisions about what to try and what not to.

 

[JuanKenobi]

+ a million for HBT. I Brewed extract w/ specialty grains for a few years armed only with the experience of 1 brew day with another extract brewer and a old, ragged copy of Papazian. Always wanted to jump into AG, but was too scared without any experienced guidance available. I didn't even have an LHBS to turn to, never mind a club or peers. Thanks to HBT I've been able to pull off a few DIY projects without much headache, find the best prices/service for ingredients and equipment and have a dozen AG batches under my belt. As others have said, the interactiveness and friendly attitude of HBTers is invaluable to me. I do keep a few books around, and enjoy listening to BBR (I get so much more out of Kai's posts now that I hear them in his accent ), but this is my go-to when I have questions or concerns. Thanks everyone.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

+ a million for HBT. I Brewed extract w/ specialty grains for a few years armed only with the experience of 1 brew day with another extract brewer and a old, ragged copy of Papazian. Always wanted to jump into AG, but was too scared without any experienced guidance available. I didn't even have an LHBS to turn to, never mind a club or peers. Thanks to HBT I've been able to pull off a few DIY projects without much headache, find the best prices/service for ingredients and equipment and have a dozen AG batches under my belt. As others have said, the interactiveness and friendly attitude of HBTers is invaluable to me. I do keep a few books around, and enjoy listening to BBR (I get so much more out of Kai's posts now that I hear them in his accent ), but this is my go-to when I have questions or concerns. Thanks everyone.

I think this is the crux of the matter. Interaction. Of course we can all learn from the pod casts, but HBT is the place for resource. We can search the forum, ask direct questions and if we are dilligent, we can sort the good advice from the bad.....And it all happens at a pace that we can choose for ourselves. This could mean casual learning, or quick info during a brew day. HBT rocks in both those aspects.

 

[Homercidal]

Also, let me say that although I do find a ton of good info here, there are times where advice is way too advanced to be much use to me, or there are many different ways to things, or different philosophies to be considered. Sometimes there is no right answer, but the discussion about the topic can help someone choose a method that they like, or would work for them.

 

[JKoravos]

There's no option for "my brain".

 

[Joos]

A little from all of the above.Mostly from reading though.It's great hearing about others experiences,but you just have to find out what works for you.

 

[Tonedef131]

I would like an option for books.

 

[ghpeel]

Well, Basic Brewing Radio was really cool to me for a while, but I do think I've learned more from HBT now that I'm past noob stage. I still listen to BBR though.

 

[jkarp]

HBT hands down. Folks like Kai are the reason I came here and coughed up for a membership. There's real innovation going on here. The 'casts are good entertainment, but they're just that. Brewing entertainment. I can't honestly say I've learned something from BN or BBR I didn't already know.

 

[remilard]

The best things I've gotten from here and BN are ideas for DIY stuff since I'm not handy (I generally choose not to DIY but there are no commercial corny keg washing stations, for example). The brewing information in either place is rarely if ever novel, although some people including Kaiser do a great job of distilling existing technical information and presenting it for the homebrewer.

Chilling beer via ambient air (no chill), malt conditioning, and batch sparging were all performed by commercial breweries long before modern homebrewers "discovered" them.

How to Brew has no novel information on brewing water, but Palmer did a lot to explain it to a non-technical audience and provided a very useful tool for calculations (which members here have improved upon).

Fix and Noonan discussed efficiency losses in conversion vs lautering but Kaiser provided an explanation and a tool that has been more useful to homebrewers than those authors' texts.

 

[beerocd]

I'd say general ideas on the podcasts - and nitty gritty details here on HBT.

-OCD

 

[MeatyPortion]

And for the record I use HBT and my brewing book library.

 

[Baldy_Beer_Brewery]

There is no one source I can point to.

The first and if I had to say most important place I learned about brewing from was one of the home brew workshops at High Gravity. High Gravity has beer and wine workshops every other weekend. When I was thinking about brewing I attended one. Dave Knott, the owner is so laid back and he ran the workshop the same way. He displayed that making beer is not hard and that you really can RDWAHAB.

Forums (and HBT is about the only home brew forum I have time to read) are good. If one doesn't look for the way to make beer here but instead look at all the ways beer can be made, I think they will get the most good out of it. There are people who batch sparge, fly sparge, no sparge and do this that and the other thing. When people find what works for them instead of what someone says the need to do, I think they will enjoy the hobby more.

Books and magazines are similar to forums in the varying types of information available. There just isn't as much room for reader interaction.

I have satellite radio. I can find better things to listen to than people talk about beer.

 

[ThreeSheets]

This site by far!!! I have read palmer's book cover to cover, but when I needed some details on things I came here. Also the DIY stuff is amazing, like flyguys cooler conversion, BobbyM's counter flow chiller, definitely helped me make the leap to all grain.

Although I have to admit, this is not my first forum. I work on VW's and have been a long time member of VWVortex.com. Forums are just a really great resource for knowledge and also to ask for help and get great feedback.

 

[PseudoChef]

Probably learned the most from the guys in my club. All of them can blow me away with their knowledge and the products they serve. Great group of guys.

 

[Bigsnake]

For me it's the collective knowledge of the brewing community from HBT, to brew shop owners, brew club members, brewing friends, books, radio, etc. I'll take any and all advice.

 

[TexLaw]

It's definitely a combination for me. I brewed for many years mostly on knowledge from books and Zymurgy. I didn't have much of an LHBS until I was about five years in. I brewed for about nine years before joining a club and about 14 before joining HBT. However, the knowledge I've gained from every source has been invaluable.

The books gave me my foundation. The Prodigy "Wine, Beer, and Spirits" forum put me in contact with some other brewers that, like me at the time, were relative newbies. The LHBS helped me refine things a bit and gave me the opportunity to really learn about ingredients. The club expanded my horizons, gave me the benefit of many great brewers' experience, exposed me to BJCP (which has been a big part of me becoming a better brewer), and exposed me to many beers that were not available in my local market at the time (and many that still are not). HBT has expanded my horizons even further and put me in touch with more experienced brewers and many innovative ones. HBT also helped reignite a passion that was on the verge of burning out.

So, I cannot point to one source. They've all mattered a great deal. I can't say I've learned much from podcasts or internet radio, though. They aren't talking to me.

Finally, the Brewing Gods (or Beer Gods) that I know aren't on any radio show.


TL

 

[chefmike]

I have used all the listed sources at one time or another. I voted for HBT (and other forums) simply because I have learned much from the application of the knowledge. I like hearing what other people are doing and experiencing.

Full boil? really? I tried it and went AG soon after, as I saw a huge jump in complexity of flavor which I desired. Bulk Buys? Really? Now I know a bunch of home brewers doing a bunch of different methods here in my area. A hop sock? hmm... Kegging? I hadn't thought about it...

So for me, I love reading what people are actually doing (cheapskates, techies, hacks all of them!)

I learn much more reading about people struggling through something than I do from some of the so called "gods" of brewing. More power to them, but I love community more than I love some individuals single take on a subject.

 

[Orfy]

Three things helped me go All grain.
HBT, a pictorial guide of AG brewing. (Can't remember the URL)
The one thing that helped me understand what happens when you brew was howtobrew.con

Since then HBT has hosted many guides on how to HBT.

My vote is HBT and Howtobrew.com.