Homebrewing myths that need to die

[Yooper]

Here's another myth that needs to die:

There can be intelligent and valuable threads about homebrewing myths that can stay on topic and not go wildly off topic and then lose any value the thread may have had.

 

[homebrewdad]

I am pretty sure dolphin and manatee both taste like bald eagle.

Now you're just being silly.

 

[homebrewdad]

Here's another myth that needs to die:

There can be intelligent and valuable threads about homebrewing myths that can stay on topic and not go wildly off topic and then lose any value the thread may have had.

Well spoken, Yooper.

All silliness aside, I really do appreciate what has largely been a lot of good contributions and discussions. And hey, as an added bonus, only a few of you seem to publicly think that I'm full of it.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

Why wouldn't someone sanitize bottle caps? It takes 10 seconds to put a small amount of sanitize in a bowl and keep your caps in their while you fill the bottles. That's almost less effort than farting.

I don't sanitize O2 absorbing caps. get them wet, they activate. I haven't had any problems with them yet, so I'll continue my practices. regular caps I still sanitize though. kinda don't make sense, innit?

 

[reverendj1]

I don't sanitize O2 absorbing caps. get them wet, they activate. I haven't had any problems with them yet, so I'll continue my practices. regular caps I still sanitize though. kinda don't make sense, innit?

The O2 absorbing caps work over a long time, as in days or weeks. The 5 minutes to an hour that they would be wet with sanitizer does not affect their performance. So, if you believe sanitizing your caps to be worthwhile, don't not sanitize them just because they are O2 absorbing. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/oxygen-absorbing-caps-89570/index5.html

*Edit: spelling

 

[homebrewdad]

The O2 absorbing caps work over a long time, as in days or weeks. The 5 minutes to an hour that they would be wet with O2 does not affect their performance. So, if you believe sanitizing your caps to be worthwhile, don't not sanitize them just because they are O2 absorbing. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/oxygen-absorbing-caps-89570/index5.html

Thanks for that link. I had never read that, and it makes a lot of sense.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

The O2 absorbing caps work over a long time, as in days or weeks. The 5 minutes to an hour that they would be wet with sanitizer does not affect their performance. So, if you believe sanitizing your caps to be worthwhile, don't not sanitize them just because they are O2 absorbing. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/oxygen-absorbing-caps-89570/index5.html

*Edit: spelling

you have not changed my mind. and you won't. but you did come through for me on the point of "what someone says, someone else will point out their stupidity". :rockin:

 

[TNGabe]

Here's another myth that needs to die:

There can be intelligent and valuable threads about homebrewing myths that can stay on topic and not go wildly off topic and then lose any value the thread may have had.

Wait, there was value beyond entertainment in this thread at some point? I totally missed it.

I think the biggest myth is the myth of truisms in brewing. There are very few absolutes. Just because something works or doesn't work for you, doesn't make it the only way to do something.

 

[dstranger99]

Why wouldn't someone sanitize bottle caps? It takes 10 seconds to put a small amount of sanitize in a bowl and keep your caps in their while you fill the bottles. That's almost less effort than farting.

It's what I do, I drop them in the Vinator after bottle washing, and scoop them out of the starsan foam as I bottle.

 

[bobmcstuff]

Not that many out of all those that can afford kegging equipment. Most buy kegs,etc so they don't have to bulk prime & wait. And if you prime in a keg with sugar solution,as I said before,it's no better than bulk priming in those plastic barrel things common in the UK. As the beer empties out,co2 comes out of the beer to equalize the pressure in the empty head space. Leaving increasing flatter beer due to the increasing empty head space.

Hi (first post, joined a few weeks ago to more effectively drool over stuff in the DIY thread. I got sucked into here because I saw it in the sidebar). I am a UK brewer, I'm sure there's others on here too.

uniondr isn't really wrong if you take it to be just about British beer, in the UK there is a rather narrow definition of "real ale" (from a body called CAMRA) which says:

"Real ale is a beer brewed from traditional ingredients (malted barley, hops water and yeast), matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide".

This means that in Britain, "real ale" refers specifically to beer that isn't force carbed.

Traditionally, ale served through a hand pull comes from a keg with a small hole which allows air in to replace the liquid. The hand pull works by creating a vacuum in the line which sucks the beer through - there is no pressure on the beer (other than hydrostatic head). This means that in a commercial setting the keg must be drunk within ~3 days (varying) or it goes flat/stale. In a homebrew setting we generally replicate this by either using the plastic kegs to which uniondr refers, and loosening the cap as we dispense, or by injecting low pressure CO2 to replace the liquid, which allows the beer to be kept for longer. This isn't usually done with a regulator like a corny system, personally I have a pin valve in the cap which I inject using small CO2 bulbs that are normally used for carbonating small volumes of soda.

I thought maybe some people might be interested anyway...


Since this is a myth thread, mine is going to be UK specific: "only beers that conform to CAMRA's definition of real ale are any good". You'd be surprised how many people think that here.

Also I never secondary and I don't use an airlock, neither of which do any harm unless you leave the beer to sit for ages IME.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

Wait, there was value beyond entertainment in this thread at some point? I totally missed it.

I think the biggest myth is the myth of truisms in brewing. There are very few absolutes. Just because something works or doesn't work for you, doesn't make it the only way to do something.

point. I'm calling game.

 

[Nightshade]

Brewing is expensive...wrong, it's actually really cheap the exlensive part is initial setup.

Brewing takes too long, wrong again an all grain batch varies from 5-8hrs from start to finish on average. Extract and partial can take less.

All grain is difficult, meh a bit of clean up time but not any more or less work realistically than the other options.

Just rambling, pick away at my post as you wish.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Of course I roast dolphins. Squids tend to melt more than roast, so there's no point with them.

I call BS on dry manateeing. It's just not appropriate on the homebrewing scale - how do you fit the buggers in your carboy/bucket? We all know that's really a commercial brewing option only.

Never had a more or less alive dolphin, sadly. New bucket list item.

You obviously hven't been reading the whole thread, or you'd know that I have 2 subterranean fermenters that could hold the empire state building submerged.

cheesydemon3 - how pathetic am I that I know exactly what your avatar is?

Pathetic??? I pity the man that is lost.

You are not pathetic.

You are a fat, bloated, eeeeediot!

For thinking it pathetic.

But would you like to buy some rubber neeples?

*Call the police*

Perhaps. I understand that the Shaving Yak enjoys them.

Merry Yaksmas!

 

[homebrewdad]

You obviously hven't been reading the whole thread, or you'd know that I have 2 subterranean fermenters that could hold the empire state building submerged.

Sir, I believe that you are confused. You must have posted that in another thread. You have made zero mentions of subterranean fermenters in this thread.

 

[PastorofMuppets]

Beersmith is necessary to design good recipes.
also with brewing software you cannot fail.

 

[MalFet]

The striking thing throughout this thread is just how few of these "myths" are things I've actually ever heard people claim.

 

[homebrewdad]

The striking thing throughout this thread is just how few of these "myths" are things I've actually ever heard people claim.

You and me both.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Sir, I believe that you are confused. You must have posted that in another thread. You have made zero mentions of subterranean fermenters in this thread.

Semantics. So it was in this thread

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f45/very-serious-poll-about-bears-373475/

Which is what I effing said.

 

[thadius856]

Correct. But when people say that you should take into account your hourly wage when determining the cost of your homebrew it implies that the opportunity cost of homebrewing is paid work. I would assume most people brew in their time off and do not take annual leave to brew so the opportunity cost of brewing is not paid work (at least for me - if there is no extra work to do then my employer won't pay me for any hours more than 40 a week) and therefore you should not factor your time into the cost of your beer.

There are such things as second jobs, side jobs, and piecemeal work...

Cannot agree with this. I'm looking at it from the flipside of the coin.

Watching TV instead of brewing still has the same opportunity cost - you could be making money. Interpreting outside the economic lines, the opportunity cost is enjoying additional time with your family, cooking a finer meal, or getting more exercise.

Just because you accept an opportunity cost does not mean that subsequent decisions can't account for it at a later time. The analogue would be buying a $50 gift card, then walking into the store 6 months later with it and picking out $50 items, then considering them "free". They obviously weren't - you have just already accepted the cost and shifted the cost in time.

In other words, saying "there's zero opportunity cost because I would have watched TV instead," doesn't mean there's zero opportunity cost -- it just shifts it from the decision you would have made to watch TV instead of x, to the decision that you did make to brew instead of watch TV, or brew instead of x.

 

[Brewsader1]

bobmcstuff, thanks for throwing that in here! I've heard a little about the UK and some of the traditions, but I appreciate you mentioning the difference in serving and that there is the CAMRA. I'm a bit more familiar with the German reinheitsgebot, but am finding these different national regulations pretty interesting. I have recently learned that in the US, every brewery that uses anything other than the "traditional ingredients" in a recipe must first submit the recipe and have it approved by the government (not sure which part) before they can produce it. There is a lucky homebrewer in our federal government somewhere with far too many delicious recipes at their fingertips!

Cheers!

 

[mattd2]

There are such things as second jobs, side jobs, and piecemeal work...

Cannot agree with this. I'm looking at it from the flipside of the coin.

Watching TV instead of brewing still has the same opportunity cost - you could be making money. Interpreting outside the economic lines, the opportunity cost is enjoying additional time with your family, cooking a finer meal, or getting more exercise.

Just because you accept an opportunity cost does not mean that subsequent decisions can't account for it at a later time. The analogue would be buying a $50 gift card, then walking into the store 6 months later with it and picking out $50 items, then considering them "free". They obviously weren't - you have just already accepted the cost and shifted the cost in time.

In other words, saying "there's zero opportunity cost because I would have watched TV instead," doesn't mean there's zero opportunity cost -- it just shifts it from the decision you would have made to watch TV instead of x, to the decision that you did make to brew instead of watch TV, or brew instead of x.

My point was that for most people there is a limited amount of paid work they can do. You can not say your time is worth $xx if no one is willing to pay you.
And sorry for continuing the exciting economical discussion

 

[bobmcstuff]

bobmcstuff, thanks for throwing that in here! I've heard a little about the UK and some of the traditions, but I appreciate you mentioning the difference in serving and that there is the CAMRA. I'm a bit more familiar with the German reinheitsgebot, but am finding these different national regulations pretty interesting. I have recently learned that in the US, every brewery that uses anything other than the "traditional ingredients" in a recipe must first submit the recipe and have it approved by the government (not sure which part) before they can produce it. There is a lucky homebrewer in our federal government somewhere with far too many delicious recipes at their fingertips!

Cheers!

It's not really like the Reinheitsgebot in terms of age and tradition. CAMRA is the Campaign for Real Ale and is a volunteer organisation set up in the 1970s to protect and advance traditional British beer (due to the rapid increase in lager drinking around that time). To be fair it's done a really good job of that because ale has been experiencing something of a revival over the past few years.

The only problem in my eyes is that it is by far the largest beer lobby group in the UK, so most consumers see only that. This means that other great beers (American craft beers, decent continental lagers) don't necessarily get the attention they deserve.

 

[high5apparatus]

 

[cheezydemon3]

That is awesome!

 

[TyTanium]

My point was that for most people there is a limited amount of paid work they can do. You can not say your time is worth $xx if no one is willing to pay you.
And sorry for continuing the exciting economical discussion

The $$ is simply a tangible representation of utility.

Whenever you see "my time is worth $xx", think of the utility of the next best thing you give up. I.e., 5 hours brewing means 5 hours not doing ____....there is a utility cost regardless of whether or not it's monetized.

 

[dstranger99]

I use to do BIAB all grain batches and I would squeeze the bag like it owed me money and never had a tannin problem.

So, this is really a myth? When I first started out I read about this all the time it seemed, and was always careful not too squeeze the bag, but I would spoon the hell out of it to get that wort. So, can I indeed squeeze the bag on my next batch without issue ?

 

[Brewday365]

I would also like to kill the lager myth. Lagers with a proper starter, good fermentation control, and a solid cold crash can truly be mature and ready to drink in little over a month. The new rule should be that lagers take at least half the time compared to "traditional" methods.

 

[homebrewdad]

So, this is really a myth? When I first started out I read about this all the time it seemed, and was always careful not too squeeze the bag, but I would spoon the hell out of it to get that wort. So, can I indeed squeeze the bag on my next batch without issue ?

It is a myth. Tannin extraction comes from PH and (to a lesser degree) teperature issues.

I reember a post from a guy who had never heard the "don't squeeze the bag" advice who had run his grain bag through a fruit press to extract every last drop of wort. No astringency whatsoever.

 

[mudarra]

My submittable.
You can't get good efficiencies doing BIAB.

 

[dstranger99]

Leaving your beer in the fermenter for more than a week after it's finished is required.

Ok, and this one, what exactly is the verdict? Should I bottle when the FG is reached or let it sit at least one month like I have been doing, what's the best advice ?.........