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.
I hit on my sixth batch. First three were extract, then AG from then on. I didn't get to where I would expect, reliably, to brew a good beer until probably the 15th or so batch.
I think you are on to something about trying to nail down a recipe. Oh, not 15 of them, but if you do 2 or 3 of the same recipe, you can hone the process. From my 6th to my 14th batch, I only brewed 3 different recipes. I think, in retrospect, that was helpful as I kept improving my process and I could see that reflected in the beers. I just finished brewing my 48th batch, and it's a repeat of #46, which may have been the most exceptional beer I've brewed--if not, it's tied for first.
I'm a big believer in continuous quality improvement. Every time I brew I try to do something better. Over time, that's been everything from fermentation temp control to better water for my all-grain mashes to controlling mash temp better to...a whole lot of stuff. I'm doing some low-oxygen techniques and brewing this weekend; I'm going to work on controlling mash temps better with that procedure, as it's been a little tough to dial it in.
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Here are several places you might look at to see if you can improve.
1. Fermentation temp control. Most experienced brewers, when asked, seem to identify this as a huge step forward in their brewing.
2. Water. How are you managing water in your mash? Ever had a water report done? Are you using RO water? Is there Chlorine or Chloramines in your water and you're not neutralizing it? Where is your mash pH at (and if you can't test for pH, do you use a good water spreadsheet like Brunwater to estimate it, and get it in range?)
3. Do you oxygenate your wort before you pitch? Or at least splash and shake it up to aerate it as much as you can so the yeast have a decent head start?
4. If you use dry yeast, do you rehydrate it? If liquid yeast, do you do a starter?
5. How are you getting your grain crushed? Do you brew as soon as possible after crushing or does it sit around for a week or two before it's doughed in? The closer to dough-in you can crush your grain, the better it is.
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A nice simple beer would be a good one to work on. I brew a SMASH from time to time using Maris Otter malt and Styrian Celeia hops. Nice and crisp, a lighter beer, and a lot of people like it. Something simpler that would suit your palate might be something to work on.
Good luck!