How has your brewing mindset changed since you started?

[TandemTails]

When I first started out I immediately jumped into meads and ciders because of how (relatively) easy they were. It was also extremely easy to play with different fruit and spice additions. When I started my first few batches of beer I really wanted to try a lot of different styles with various adjuncts added.

As time has passed I realized I've been scaling back a lot of my experimentation and instead focusing on some of the basic styles and brewing beer and making cider I actually want to drink. Rather than rely on the adjuncts to make the beer, I want to brew a beer that stands up on its own.

I might still make a 1-2 gallon test batch of mead or cider here and there but it's tough to justify when you have hundreds of bottles of the stuff from previous batches already sitting around. It's not every day that I feel like cracking open a 14% spiced melomel or a coffee coconut chocolate stout, haha.

So, how has your brewing mindset changed/progressed since you started brewing?

 

[friarsmith]

I started out making high abv "boutique beers" with lots of different spices, etc. for a year or so thinking that I would be happier with the results and could impress my friends with silly beers.

Over time, I realized it's more challenging and fulfilling (to me at least) to make a handful of styles really well, every time than to occasionally pull off a "triple oak aged hoppy bourbon vanilla sour cherry stout randall'd through cage-free South American lima beans." (sarc)

So for the past 15 years I've focused on a dozen or so styles that I really like to drink with a mix of quick turnaround beers and cellar dwellers so there's always something to drink when life gets in the way.

Over time I've gotten more enjoyment from focusing on repeatable/sound process, great results and true-to-style beers than from worrying about sexy radical ingredients and flash.

To each their own... and that's what makes home brewing interesting.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I still use the same setup I started with. I used to figure every second and last piece of grain sweating it out all day for exactness . Now I just go with the flow. If I'm off a little here and there I'm perfectly OK with it. Most of my brew day is sitting on the couch reading up on beer stuff and on the forum.

 

[CGVT]

I still use the same setup I started with. I used to figure every second and last piece of grain sweating it out all day for exactness . Now I just go with the flow. If I'm off a little here and there I'm perfectly OK with it. Most of my brew day is sitting on the couch reading up on beer stuff and on the forum.

Yeah, I worried about everything. Now I don't worry about much of anything.

I also tried lots of diffierent methods and "gimmicks" and a many devices to try to make improvements. I tried fly sparging including getting all of the gadgets to do it and found that it didn't make better beer. So I went back to batch sparging. Had I known, I wouldn't have needed a round cooler and etc etc and I would have saved some $$. There was a time I was going HERMS, RIMS, all electric and anything else I read on the forum. Ha!

I've found that for me, keeping things simple works better.

 

[JonM]

I used to do the fancy high ABV complicated experimental mega hoppy whatever type beers.

Now I've focused on simple, sessionable beers that I like and that friends and family like. Simple pale ales, lawnmower beers (got Yooper's Fizzy Yellow Beer in the fermenter right now), ESB, Hefeweizen, etc. and focusing on doing them well with proper water chemistry, healthy yeast and temp control.

 

[Weezy]

Simple is better.

Be it recipe development or brew process or equipment....

Simple is better.

 

[Bozinfinity]

I love simple right now too. 5 years into this and still finding nuance in the small things. Mastering the basic styles is fun!

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

I wanted to brew everything. I collected all types of recipes and equipment.
Now I only brew IPA's and Stouts. Because those are my favorites. And typically the most expensive at the stores. Other more bland styles do not interest me.
And now I only brew every now and then.

 

[secondbase]

At first I just wanted to recreate my favorite commercial beers and try all the most popular ingredients. These days I am focused more on my process, water chemistry, starting simple and making small changes to recipes/process over time.

 

[wstcstnative]

i've been brewing for a year now and can't believe i waited so long to try it since i've been drinking craft beer since before it was popular, as most you have have too i'm sure. i suppose the thing thats changed for me is trying to balance my inventory and getting ready to drink with the seasons. it's nice to have lighter more refreshing beers when it's hot outside and darker higher abv beers when it's cold outside.

One thing i'd like to pose to the group - how big are your batch sizes? I'm brewing 5 gal batches right now, but find myself very tempted to upgrade to 10 gal batches. that would require an equipment upgrade for me, but then again i wouldn't have to brew as often. time is a limiting factor and it'd be nice to have a good stock that would last between brews. thoughts on 5 vs. 10 gal batches, considering time and cost?

 

[Sadu]

Yep. Rather than brewing crazy high gravity stuff I decided I wanted to do the classic styles well. I have picked 10 styles and are aiming to perfect 10 recipes. A good mix of lagers, sessionable, hoppy, approachable, pale, dark, high gravity, etc. My fridge will have a better craft selection than most pubs (which are mostly IPAs and pilsners).

 

[madscientist451]

I've gained weight since I started homebrewing, so now I brew much less and drink less. I also seem to have less free time to devote to brewing. I've cut way back on trying new things and now mostly rebrew and tweak successful recipes. I mostly brew session IPA's, Porters, Stouts and Czech Lagers, with an occasional sour beer or Saison.
So my brewing mindset has changed from wanting to try to brew almost every style there is to get experience, to now just keeping things simple, having fun and enjoying good beer.

 

[khillian]

Simplified my gear no hoarding (one kettle, three 5 gallon kegs, one 3 gallon keg) BIAB in a 10 gallon pot, using some DME/Sugar to do higher gravity. Setup the night before, pre boil my water so the next morning at 5:30AM it's still at ~140F in my kettle for BIAB.

Still stick to two batches pre month kegged. Mostly brew 5-7% hoppy beers, with one imperial stout and imperial IPA a year.

All tubing on hot/cold side is silicone which can be boiled so it lasts much longer and requires less over all tubing. Switched to the SS brew bucket as well, fill via the dip tube with a short run of tubing from the spigot to keg. Purge like a crazy person to prevent oxidation.

Recipes are mostly base malts with some oats/flaked rye. Fun to experiment blending two base malts with the options out there.

Clean everything before drinking but starting at 5:30AM helps this as I finish way before lunch just running on coffee.

 

[pvpeacock]

One thing i'd like to pose to the group - how big are your batch sizes? I'm brewing 5 gal batches right now, but find myself very tempted to upgrade to 10 gal batches. that would require an equipment upgrade for me, but then again i wouldn't have to brew as often. time is a limiting factor and it'd be nice to have a good stock that would last between brews. thoughts on 5 vs. 10 gal batches, considering time and cost?

I mainly brew 5 gallon batches, but every once in a while I brew a 10 gallon batch. However, I use the same equipment. I just brew a high gravity 5 gallon batch and then top it off with water in the fermenters. So, while a 10 gallon batch takes two fermenters instead of one, I can use the same 10 gallon mash tun and 10 gallon brew kettle.

 

[SGTSparty]

When I started it was with 1 gallon all grain kits. Had some great success and bumped up to 2.5 gallon batchs and a 5 gallon batch, still using mostly the same stove top equipment. Got cocky with my early success and then got gushers. Hung it up for almost 2 years because of the heartbreak and wasted time/money. I decided when I got back into it if i was going to do it I was going to do things different: Namely make brew day easier and more repeatable with less clean up. Got appropriate Pots w/ thermowells and valves, got a propane burner and a cooler tun set up. I know that's still a pretty basic set up but a huge step up from trying to do a 5 gallon AG batch on a stove top. I also decided a lot of my problems were from bottle, which i hated, so I got a kegging set up.

I've made a huge equipment outlay (huge for me anyways) but I enjoy brewing much more (and SWMBO like that her kitchen stays clean). I also have come around to, i like brewing but I don't drink enough to brew every two weeks... or even every 2 months and I've become ok with that.

I also have started working on recipes I like to perfect the process/recipe for repeatablity. Yoopers Oatmeal stout and a 2 hearted clone stay on tap at all times, a 3rd tap swaps between Wheat beer in the spring and summer and Lil' Sparky's Nut Brown in winter and fall and I play with the 4th tap. looking to do a cider kit this weekend, tried a shandy over the summer.

 

[JonM]

And another thing I've become really cognizant of recently: safety. Slipping hazards - don't spill on the floor and dry it up if I do, wear non slippery shoes, salt Slippery spots during winter brew days, etc. I check and double check hose fittings to avoid a geyser of boiling wort flying around, plastic only root beer containers when kids will be serving themselves, etc.

 

[GPP33]

One thing i'd like to pose to the group - how big are your batch sizes? I'm brewing 5 gal batches right now, but find myself very tempted to upgrade to 10 gal batches. that would require an equipment upgrade for me, but then again i wouldn't have to brew as often. time is a limiting factor and it'd be nice to have a good stock that would last between brews. thoughts on 5 vs. 10 gal batches, considering time and cost?

I do a mix of 5 and 10 gal. 10 is nice because you get twice the beer for maybe 20% more effort and time. It also makes it a little more fun for your brew day helpers since you can send 5 gal home with them. If I'm brewing solo I just do 5 gal batches. 10g of the same beer plugs up the pipeline of varity unless you are going to change up the yeast or do something creative in secondary (fruit, wood, coffee, etc).

When I started my plans were to brew big bad IPAs as that's all I ever drank. Brewing is opening my eyes to other styles that I want to try to make. Understanding what makes up the beer and how different flavors are created has totally changed my perception of beer and what I enjoy. I still almost always have an IPA on tap but the other two are usually something else. Right now I have an IPA, a Kolsch, a Saison and next up will be a coffee stout. I'm also brewing lower ABV than when I started. I love drinking it but don't need to be putting down 2-3 8% pints a night.

 

[trav77]

One thing i'd like to pose to the group - how big are your batch sizes? I'm brewing 5 gal batches right now, but find myself very tempted to upgrade to 10 gal batches. that would require an equipment upgrade for me, but then again i wouldn't have to brew as often. time is a limiting factor and it'd be nice to have a good stock that would last between brews. thoughts on 5 vs. 10 gal batches, considering time and cost?

I have a system that can do 5 or 10 gal batches and I think in my ~7 years with that system, I have done a single 10 gal batch and that was when my buddy took the other 5 gal. I only go through about 1 keg/month so if I went to 10 gallon batches it would be a lot less opportunity to brew. I usually have a long list of upcoming brews I want to do...

 

[Limbrizik]

When I first started brewing I brewed all the crazy adjunct laden beers with 100 IBUs but now that all my friends know that I have free beer on tap at all times I brew session beers that I can turn around in 10 days grain to glass. When deciding what to brew I simply ask SWMBO what she wants (usually a light belgian or pale ale). I get to brew so I'm happy, SWMBO gets her desired beer, and my friends still drink for free.

 

[flars]

I remember when an article in BYO recommended getting the beer off the trub within 4 to 5 days to prevent off flavors from yeast autolysis. I had already been brewing for over 10 years and had plenty of home brew truth to refute that. This was a respected brewing mag?? Or were they just following an unsupported brewing trend?

 

[Barley_Bob]

My brewing has changed some over time. To a certain extent, I can reflect what others are saying. But really, I'm still chasing the same things - that perfect balance between malt and bitterness in an IPA, an amazing Belgian quad that's complex but not too sweet, and to do it all as cheaply and simply as possible.

Really, the biggest change is that I've stopped trying to make beer my wife will enjoy! She's a philistine.

 

[StephanHaus]

I've only done 7-8 batches of both beer and cider, but have noticed a change, even in a short amount of time. Like the others have said, I've started remaking the same beers, to see if I can make lessen any off tastes. Also started reading the elements of brewing series, which seems to make a big difference in adding my own unique flavors to popular recipes. Haven't been brewing long, but it's the best hobby I've ever picked up for sure. It's a life long pursuit of perfection!

 

[SGTSparty]

When I first started brewing I brewed all the crazy adjunct laden beers with 100 IBUs but now that all my friends know that I have free beer on tap at all times I brew session beers that I can turn around in 10 days grain to glass. When deciding what to brew I simply ask SWMBO what she wants (usually a light belgian or pale ale). I get to brew so I'm happy, SWMBO gets her desired beer, and my friends still drink for free.

I think this rings true for me also. I do not like IPA's personally but with a bit of trial and error I've got my Two Hearted clone to a point where SWMBO and other IPA loving family members sing its praises so that stays on tap (Now I work on keeping that brew from oxidizing since it can sometime sit on tap for months of we're not having people over). Also, having a spread of 'house recipes' across multiple styles is great for entertaining. Wife like to have people over and now I don't think we've paid for comercial beer in nearly a year (other than some bells to harvest yeast from), which has allowed me to persuade SWMBO'd to use house funds for my grain bills since commercial beer for parties would have come out of house funds. Keeps everyone happy.

 

[bobeer]

I started out like a lot of us. Brewing a few extract batches before I realized that all grain BIAB was cheaper and not much harder. I had to later make the initial investment to buy the equipment but I haven't had to buy much since. I wanted to be as hands on as possible with my beer so I built a little cheap 6 gallon MLT, bought a mill, 9 gallon kettle, refractometer, kegging system, etc... after I brewed about 6 all grain BIAB batches. Now, at this point, besides building a 3 tier rig, and adding more kegs, not really sure what else I'd need.

When I first started I brewed with a good friend of mine but he lost interest early, after a few batches, but I really enjoyed the creation process, planning the pipeline, sharing my beer, and creating labels for my beers. To start brewing by myself I needed a kettle because we were using my friend's work's soup kettle. I've always been brewing on a budget so I had to buy a cheap 5.5 gallon kettle to get brewing on my own. That gave way to brewing half batches and I've really enjoyed doing that. I brew full batches during the spring and summer but the fall and winter I brew half batches so I can have a lot of different kinds of beer around for the cold weather.

Now, 5 years-plus later, I've learned that simple is better. I still dig the brewing process but I do what I can to make it as short as possible. I have found other hobbies I enjoy just as much and with 2 kids under 3 years old I don't have a lot of time to go around. Half batches have been more and more what I brew due to time and the cost per batch is much less. All in all I really do love this hobby and I'm glad I've stuck with it over the years. It's a hobby that always gives back and you always get something for all the work and money you put into it.

 

[Kampenken]

I began about 20+yrs ago, extract w/steeping, for about a year, stopped, and began back 3yrs ago AG. Changes are many! Beer styles are similar and in the last year or so just began to appreciate wheat beers to add to IPAs, APAs, Stouts/Porters, seasonals. I've abandoned propane brewing for electric (full circle!) with the Grainfather. Love the simplicity! I've also focused on water chemistry, especially pH, and yeast harvesting. Beyond maintaining standards for cleanliness & sanitation, I've relaxed! No worries about oxidation for me, and even less for DMS or HSA. Enough already

... pre boil my water so the next morning at 5:30AM it's still at ~140F in my kettle...

Now that's interesting! I may have to try that out.

I remember when an article in BYO recommended getting the beer off the trub within 4 to 5 days to prevent off flavors from yeast autolysis. I had already been brewing for over 10 years and had plenty of home brew truth to refute that. This was a respected brewing mag?? Or were they just following an unsupported brewing trend?

Ha! Yeah that and all the secondary, DMS, HSA, oxidation hoopla! Bah, nonsense! Just be reasonable and you're good to go IME. Now I haven't gone beyond a year or so cellaring yet, nor do I really intend to as well...

 

[beergolf]

The longer I brew to more simple I like my recipes. No need for a kitchen sink grain bill, or a lot of different adjuncts. Simple is good. I used to brew a lot of diffeent styles, but I decided that there are some styles I like, but do not want to drink them all the time.

I now brew the beers I most like to drink. I always have some Belgian beers at various stages of aging. I like sours so always have a few in the pipeline, but can let them sit for as long as needed to get to where I want them. For everyday drinking I always have an IPA around. Same goes for saisons. I always have a saison or two ready to drink. Then I always have a stout for my nitro tap and sometimes switch that out for an Irish red.

 

[schematix]

1. Lower ABV = better beer

2. Low Oxygen = great. Telling everyone about LoDO and watching them flip their shat = priceless.

 

[akthor]

Brew larger batches to be able to brew less often hence avoid the hard work of brewing. Hence my new 1 bbl system.

 

[trav77]

The longer I brew to more simple I like my recipes. No need for a kitchen sink grain bill, or a lot of different adjuncts. Simple is good. I used to brew a lot of diffeent styles, but I decided that there are some styles I like, but do not want to drink them all the time.

^ THIS

Simplifying my recipes has made a huge difference for me (on most styles). I think it's often a case of less is more. People sometimes get sucked into thinking more types of malt, hops etc. translates into more complex flavour. I've often found the opposite to be the case. For e.g. pils malt has quite a bit of complexity just on its own but its only apparent if you don't mask it with stronger flavours. Same with hops, lots of varieties just makes it taste muddled and generic to me. One of my favourite brews is a German Pils that's just pils malt and hallertau.

For me the other biggest mindset change has been focusing less on gear and more on technique. I think when a lot of people start out (myself included) there is a certain allure to all of the gadgetry, hardware, etc. Focusing on simple, quality recipes, fermentation control & packaging has made the largest improvement for me.

 

[oceanic_brew]

I now find myself existentially wondering if reading a brewing app makes me a better brewer

Kidding, it 100% does.

I don't trust how-to's on brewing as much as I just use them as general guidelines. My beers have improved by just "listening" to the yeast and following their lead. Trusting repeatable process by nailing down that process and keeping detailed notes.

I used to brew very sporadically also but now I'm focusing on styles and ingredients to learn what things actually taste like.


People say mash at this temp and that but I wanna taste it!!!

 

[PADave]

I started out brewing 1 gallon extract brews. I quickly got tired of all the effort for little return and moved up to 5 gallons. I'm still searching for those couple brews that I can make my "house" brews and have on hand all the time. I've pretty much got my process down, now working on the little details. When I first started I wanted to brew everything, but now realize that I should brew what I like, IPA's and stouts. Sure I still explore, but the majority of my brewing is these two styles.

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

I used to follow recipes to a T without wavering. But now I just wing it most of the time. I have a recipe but it's very simple. Instead of 10 different Malts and various other stuff (i.e. 1 oz of this and 2 oz of that) I just keep the recipe simple. The beers are just as good and not muddy with all of the variables.

 

[foam_top]

I'm probably just mirroring many thoughts already posted before me but I started out trying to make complex, specialty beers. Now I just try to make really "clean" simple brews. I still brew many varieties, I just keep the process as simple as the style allows. I just recently brewed my first wine. Still more of a beer guy but branching out is fun too.

 

[brick_haus]

My mindset has not changed in 5 years of brewing. I started all grain trying to brew beer that I like. IPA... I have perfected the process (over time) and recipe that I like. I also brew PA, Amber ale and Yoopers Stout to keep 4 taps pouring for friends/family. No experimenting, no multitude of recipes, no adjuncts. Just a few good recipes, clean fermentations and lots of simple enjoyment.

 

[DaWhip]

I started out just trying to make beer and didn't really care if it was actually good or not. I loved good craft commercial beers, but just thought that it was cool that I was producing alcohol at home. My process sucked and my beers sucked, but I still thought that was OK. Then I realized I could do all grain cheaper than extract and stepped up to that. After a few crappy all grain brews I found myself contemplating the ingredients I used and my process to make that beer a little better, so I did. Before I knew it, I realized that I could make as good or better beers than I was buying with no extra effort, just more attention to detail. Now I get so sad when I screw up the pipeline and have to pay for someone else's bottles, haha.

I have an education and background in science, but shied away from microbio and never really considered applying it at home. Now I'm kinda hooked on all the cool stuff these little yeast cells do and half wanna go back to school to study more.

 

[Kent88]

I started brewing in the LBK, went on to NB 1-gallon kits, did a few BIAB small batch kits with simple grists, and now I'm back up to brewing the occasional 3 gallons of ale, and lagering 1 or 2 gallons at a time and I have a 3-gallon igloo cooler I use for partial-extract brewing. I try to get all the fermentables I can from grain, but I usually end up adding a fair amount of extract, too.

I'm still ridiculously picky when it comes to sanitation.

I'm actually planning to transition into stronger beers that will age well because I don't drink that much, most of what I brew gets shared or sits around for months. I have a few 3%-6% brews planned, but I don't know how big of batches they'll be, probably pretty small. I plan on brewing rhubarb saison for the 3rd consecutive summer. I'm going to keep tinkering with my milk stout recipe & method, and I want to kettle sour another berliner weisse. I think, after 3 or 4 years at it, I'm finally getting to a point where I'm dialing in certain recipes.

I still love playing around with different ingredients (mostly malts and yeasts, I stick with hops that recipes call for and I'm just beginning to think about my water) and techniques (just did a real decoction mash about 6 weeks ago).

 

[Kampenken]

To add to my earlier post, I also pick one thing to work / learn a year. Last year was water chemistry. This year is yeast flavors. With new SS mini brew buckets I am brewing my standard 5.5g batches but then splitting them into 2 fermentations on different yeasts. I know they will taste different from what I've read but now I'll now by my taste buds!

 

[DurtyChemist]

MY Mindset went fro "follow the recipe" doing extract to "I need 10 gallons because it's gone so fast" to "its cheaper to do all grain" and is now focused on brewing beers that don't contain flaws according to BJCP standards and I want to enter more competitions with my brews just to get feedback and see how that goes. I don't want to brew just FOR competitions but I'd like to have some recipes I know typically do well for the style.

My mindset has also gone from "just follow the recipe" to "take notes about everything you can think of" so I can brew a batch consistently. When I started I didn't care about taking notes or knowing volumes as long as I got about 5 gallons of beer. It happened to my step-father and now I have him taking notes just as much as me because he has tried brewing the same beer a few times and it always came out different. Now he can look at his notes, as can I, to see what might have changed. I have temperature control for fermentation, kegging equipment, beer gun to fill bottles easier and avoid bottle bombs. I also went from buying yeast every time to washing yeast to harvesting from starters and keeping only one or two styles of yeast on hand.

Now I'm getting to the point where I'm looking at purchasing a grain mill, grains and storage containers so I can save more on the hobby overall. I bought 8 lbs of hops on sale a short time ago and keep those in the deep freezer. I've also ventured into trying new styles and opened even my wife's taste from wine to beer after bringing home a couple different beers she likes.

If I could go back and tell myself when I got into this hobby where I'd end up or why I should take notes or even why I should look up a brewing club locally I'd gladly do it. Mostly so I could start doing what I do now earlier.

 

[GHBWNY]

Seems the general consensus here is to have started fancy and transitioned to simple. That would be me. I was attracted to all the 'foo-foo' adjunct styles I thought others would like, "others" being mainly my three adult daughters who like beer and are surrounded by a plethora of great craft brew offerings in their areas. So, by default they became my target audience. As 'Dad-Guy' kept brewing some weirder stuff (apricot wit, watermelon hefe, maple nut brown, lime-ish amber), I came to realize that I had been second-guessing their priorities in taste --- imagine that! Nowadays I try to have a plain ol' Belgian, hefe or nut brown on hand for them while I'm still depleting the weird leftover stock they feigned enjoyment of just to not offend me.

 

[Chris_Primavera]

As the above posters pointed out - simpler is better.

I concentrate on variations in hops and yeast to keep things interesting.

I also no longer obsess about my numbers - I know my process and no longer measure pH, gravity into boil, mash volume, volume of ambient wort... he only reason I measure OG and FG is to write something about ABV on the chalkboard above my kegerator.