How long before you made your first real good beer?

[S-Met]

Almost everything I have made has been good or great. I am excellent in the kitchen, and have been a cocktil wizard since I was a kid. Does not surprise me that me ciders and brews have been delicious.

I have had some flops on some of my experimental cider/wines and on my Truly clone attempt. My lime-a-rita clone was ok, but not really my thing.

Having sounded like I'm some amazing brewer, its mostly BS. I over-research and plan based on knowedge already discovered by others (thats a big THANK YOU to many here and on other sites). My other big shortcoming is for reproducibility.

I tend to spontaneously ferment - not wild yeast; rather spur-of-the moment oppotunistic projects. I also dont keep notes long detailed notes. They are usually random notes on whatever scrap paper or napkin nearby when I thought about what I wanted to make.

My first wine was because a friend told me to take all of the Myers Lemons from her tree. 11 gal of juice later I decided to make sparking wine. Not bad (ok) in the 1st 18 months. At 4-5 years tasted really good but only had a few bottles remaining.

Long story short (too late): good brew does not make a good brewer. I am just lucky.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Almost everything I have made has been good or great. I am excellent in the kitchen, and have been a cocktil wizard since I was a kid. Does not surprise me that me ciders and brews have been delicious.

I have had some flops on some of my experimental cider/wines and on my Truly clone attempt. My lime-a-rita clone was ok, but not really my thing.

Having sounded like I'm some amazing brewer, its mostly BS. I over-research and plan based on knowedge already discovered by others (thats a big THANK YOU to many here and on other sites). My other big shortcoming is for reproducibility.

I tend to spontaneously ferment - not wild yeast; rather spur-of-the moment oppotunistic projects. I also dont keep notes long detailed notes. They are usually random notes on whatever scrap paper or napkin nearby when I thought about what I wanted to make.

My first wine was because a friend told me to take all of the Myers Lemons from her tree. 11 gal of juice later I decided to make sparking wine. Not bad (ok) in the 1st 18 months. At 4-5 years tasted really good but only had a few bottles remaining.

Long story short (too late): good brew does not make a good brewer. I am just lucky.

Wow, careful or you'll pull a muscle patting yourself so vigorously on the back there.
Your approach sounds sloppy and careless to me. And lemon wine? Yech.

Edit: In kindergarten I was quite famous for shaking up perfect martinis. Hey this bragging stuff is fun!

 

[S-Met]

Your approach sounds sloppy and careless to me. And lemon wine? Yech.

Edit: In kindergarten I was quite famous for shaking up perfect martinis. Hey this bragging stuff is fun!

Brewing beer is newer to me and my success is on the coat-tails of more successful brewers. More time with ciders and fruit wine. I've never been a fan of set recipes when there are so many variables in the fruit from year to year. Grains seem a little more consistent in terms of sugar content and year to year flavor profiles than fruit, but still learning about it.
Rery sparkling lemon wine methode champagnois - sorta like a blanc de blanc with a light citrus undertone. Crisp and refreshing on a hot day. Paired well with seafood, shellfish and creme brule.
Don't knock till you try. I didn't like beer until I tried something other than bmc. I don't ike sours, but every once in a while I fimd a good one.

I'll bet that martini was delicious as long as its dry and dirty. Not a sweet martini fan. Definitely shaken. Not to encourage kids to drink, but I was so serious when I made drinks as a kid. Like it had to be perfect for family or something.

 

[stosh]

I got into home brewing wanting to make exceptional beer and it just hasn’t happened yet.

Key word here is "yet". There is so much to learn, so many ways to improve, so many techniques that will be "invented" or improved upon over time...

I've been successful since my first batch. I say this because in my mind I am successful by virtue of finally starting this hobby.

My first two batches were not anything to write home about. In fact, they were rather bland to me. To everyone else they were awesome so I'm happy either way.

I have the rest of my life to refine my techniques and brew the best beer I can and I can't covey how happy I am.

This is the place to be if you want to learn and experimentation is your friend. Keep brewing and enjoy the process along the way as you get better and you will get that exceptional beer. Mark my words.

 

[LordHumungus]

Hey guys I was wondering how many brews most of you had under your belt before making what I would consider a really good beer? I’m getting a little frustrated my beers aren’t turning out very well.

I have made 3 extracts, two of those were pretty good. The first one I made was just beer. I have made 5 AG batches and one of those turned out ok. I have two fermenting as I type. My best was a Nut Brown Ale but It lacked body and head retention. I mostly keg. Maybe I’m just being hard on myself but I’m hoping the two I have in the fermenter turn out better. I got into home brewing wanting to make exceptional beer and it just hasn’t happened yet. I’m starting to wonder if I should just stick to one beer and try and perfect it rather than jump all over the place.

Man, it took awhile. My first couple batches were catastrophic, barely drinkable, but I settled in on the 3rd or 4th. It was a little demoralizing, and I can't tell you what I started doing differently, but I started making good beer after awhile. Software like Beersmith really helps too. Just be really meticulous with cleaning and don't be reluctant to go full grain.

 

[jturman35]

When I started this thread I had not tasted my first two AG’s using my new setup. Now I can hold temp steady, whirlpool, oxygenate wort, make starters and my new brew system has helped tremendously!

Three days in keg and my first Pale Ale is delicious. I hit all my numbers on this 6.5%. I’m not sure why it’s not as clear as it was in the first pic. I have never seen such a clear beer out of the fermenter. I would imagine the dry hops are the reason for the cloudiness you see in the second picture. I would enter this one in a contest!!! This beer has such a complex hop character! I dry hopped with 1/2 oz fresh Rosemary which isn’t overwhelming What a well balanced beer! I’m not much of a Pale Ale either!

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/delirium-oat-rosemary-pale-ale-recipe/