I always find something i don't like about my beer

[erick0619]

I get told its tasty and drinkable. which i feel its the bare minimum of what we as homebrewers aim for. I for some reason, always find something to not like about the beer but even still with that said i always go for a pull of my home brew before i even think of grabbing a much better crafted commercial beer from my fridge. Cheers!

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[Stillraining]

Ditto on all counts................But if it was a cake walk would it be fun?

 

[erick0619]

Ditto on all counts................But if it was a cake walk would it be fun?

Nope not at all. Im just glad that up till this point ive only had one batch that was tough to drink. Not an infection just not a good beer.

 

[drainbamage]

I do that too. I think it's pretty natural to be your own harshest critic.

Also, part of it can come from the discrepancy between your expectations for how you wanted the beer to turn out vs. how it actually is. If may be free of technical flaws and can taste great to a 3rd party, yet you're still thinking, "I should've used less Crystal malt" or "this doesn't have as much hop aroma as I was hoping."

 

[Pantherjon]

That is true..On all but 1 batch I have brewed to date there has always been something that I felt was just 'off' slightly..I have even give some out to co-workers and they said they thought they were 'really good'..So, I will take it that it IS indeed good, just not as 'good' as I was anticipating - at least to me..So, yeah we are all our own worst critics..Tho, the one batch that I did that I absolutely love was my 1st all grain, chocolate maple porter, and boy did it turn out fantastic, hint of maple and nice chocolate back flavor..Yummmm..

 

[Subdivisions]

I do that too. I think it's pretty natural to be your own harshest critic.

^^^ This right here. If you'd have picked that same beer up in a case you paid $40 for you'd be singing its praises. Unfortunately you paid around half that amount (if using extract, maybe around 1/4 with all grain in bulk) and put hours of work into it. Therefore it's worthy of scorn.

What a masochistic hobby we've all picked up.


ENJOY YOUR BEER!!!!!

 

[treacheroustexan]

I feel the same exact way. I just brewed a pale ale, and while it's very drinkable, it's just not up to "quality". I will punish myself by drinking the rest and try again

 

[Hello]

I like some of mine but what gets me is this one I brewed that has that weird taste I get in a lot of home brews. Like an astringency or something. I taste that a lot in different brews brewed by different folks.

 

[Subdivisions]

Go out and taste some local micro brews then go home and taste yours. I've found this trick to work out quite well. Don't get hammered when you're out. You'll find that your beer matches up quite nicely to the 'commercial' types. Try to taste styles that match up with what you have on tap.

 

[Qhrumphf]

50 points or bust is the way I look at it. I have select handful of recipes where I won't change them (out of hundreds, I can count them on one hand), where I legit find them to be EXACTLY how I want them to be, and that takes both consistent process on my end, and multiple rebrews tweaking and tweaking.

Ultimately, it's either EXACTLY what I envision in my mind, or a beer that scores 50 points in a competition (or at least, that I know should score 50 points, some styles I don't think enough BJCP judges are familiar enough with to recognize a 50 point example, I know there's styles I'm not familiar enough with). Otherwise, it's not good enough. That doesn't mean it's bad, but it means it can be better.

 

[slym2none]

I'm not happy with most of my beers. I think I've liked three of them. Out of >20.

 

[castillo556]

It's normal. You are being hyper critical.

Just like when I give someone a beer and they say "Thanks, the beer was good"

I want to rip my hair out. Good? Good how? What did you think of the carbonation? Were the hops apparent in the aroma? Was the body and mouth feel good and did they match up to the style? Did you think it was balanced? Aghh!!!

 

[Hello]

50 points or bust is the way I look at it. I have select handful of recipes where I won't change them (out of hundreds, I can count them on one hand), where I legit find them to be EXACTLY how I want them to be, and that takes both consistent process on my end, and multiple rebrews tweaking and tweaking.

Ultimately, it's either EXACTLY what I envision in my mind, or a beer that scores 50 points in a competition (or at least, that I know should score 50 points, some styles I don't think enough BJCP judges are familiar enough with to recognize a 50 point example, I know there's styles I'm not familiar enough with). Otherwise, it's not good enough. That doesn't mean it's bad, but it means it can be better.

Have you scored a 50 before?

I don't care about score. If I brew a beer I like that others also like and have no criticism, that's my "50". In the end, if I can suck down 5 gallons and not be sad then I feel like I'm okay.

 

[iijakii]

Have you scored a 50 before?

I don't care about score. If I brew a beer I like that others also like and have no criticism, that's my "50". In the end, if I can suck down 5 gallons and not be sad then I feel like I'm okay.

Yeah I'm too jaded to care what a bunch of morans think about my beer anyways. If someone ever said one of my IPAs wasnt balanced I'd slap them.

 

[Tactical-Brewer]

So far, my first one was kinda weird, but easily drinkable. My second... yeah, that was scratched (had no clue what I was doing), and my third... well, that was dang drinkable!

The third one was my first real beer that I enjoyed. Was it exactly what I was expecting (A New Castle Clone)? Well, maybe not 100% but it was like a brown ale from a different brewery, but definitely a brown ale, and definitely drinkable.

But I think it goes back to the "But hey, I made this sh*t!" haha so that may be why I'm not nearly as harsh on myself. Now, 2-3 ish years later, after I've figured out a lot of the "science" behind stuff, and can build recipes and actually "Understand" what I'm trying to get out of the recipe and trying to receive, I may be a bit more harsh on myself on them until I fine tune it all to get what I want.

Until then, I'm enjoying this "ignorant bliss" of, "Hey, it taste good and as Samuel L. Jackson would say "It'll get ya drunk!"

Tac

 

[Seismogenic]

Finding things wrong with your beer just gives you particular qualities to target when working on a recipe/process for next time, though! Or that's my approach, anyway, as someone else hypercritical of his own work.

(I'm pretty sure I'm my own harshest critic, out loud, anyway. I always get to wondering whether the folks who say they like my least successful batches really liked them or were just being polite...)

 

[jwalk4]

Meh, when comparing homebrew to a commercial product, I like to think of a steak analogy.

Don't get me wrong, I can grill a fine piece of meat, but I wouldn't say that it is better than going to (insert your favorite steakhouse here). I wouldn't even compare the two products or experiences.

So although you might develop a distinctly different flavors to your homebrew, learn to appreciate that homemade taste.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Have you scored a 50 before?

I don't care about score. If I brew a beer I like that others also like and have no criticism, that's my "50". In the end, if I can suck down 5 gallons and not be sad then I feel like I'm okay.

I haven't, doubt I ever will. I don't think most ever will. I've gotten quite a few in the low 40s. My best ever was a 44 (I think) on year at NHC that somehow still didn't f***ing advance. Once you get into that range, there are so many factors, some of which are out of your control, that it might as well be a dice roll. My point is that until I reach the truly "perfect" beer in the abstract sense, I can do better.

 

[Raenon]

A couple of years ago, I took a Scottish Ale I made to an event I was hosting, and served it to strangers. Most politely nodded at the offer and grabbed mass market stuff instead, but plenty enough drank it and polished it off.

Still, one mentioned that he just loved the banana backnote I put in, as he poured his third glass.
After that, I just couldn't miss the banana esters that my terrible, flawed swill had in it.

 

[drainbamage]

Just like when I give someone a beer and they say "Thanks, the beer was good"

I want to rip my hair out. Good? Good how? What did you think of the carbonation? Were the hops apparent in the aroma? Was the body and mouth feel good and did they match up to the style? Did you think it was balanced? Aghh!!!

Ha, I was doing this to a friend a couple weeks ago. He's a good friend, so I trust his input more than just a random acquaintance. I also probably press him more for feedback, though.

"What did you think of that last batch?"
-"I've only had one bottle so far. I enjoyed it."
"Any suggestions?"
-"Not really. I thought it had good balance."
"You didn't find it too estery?"
-"I didn't notice any. I'll see if I can pick it out next time."

 

[davidst]

I'm a new homebrewer, I've only made 15 batches, out of those there are 2 which I might try again with only minor adjustments and none which I haven't been harsh on. I think I'm just a perfectionist and none of my brews have reached a commercial level. I may get there one day, but if not I'm still having fun making beer. (At least 50% of the beer I drink is my own homebrew).

 

[mattdee1]

Yeah, I catch myself over-criticizing my own beer as well.

But then, I’ll find myself drinking a commercial example of a similar beer, which I will really enjoy, only to realize after it’s done that when I really think about it, this commercial example is really no better than my own beer. For some reason, the ways in which the commercial beer is less-than-perfect don’t seem to matter—I just enjoy the beer, and probably buy it again.

If I make a mediocre beer that I can attribute mostly to a failed recipe experiment, I’m not bothered much at all by that. The thing I hate the most is, when I detect something in a homebrew that I don’t like, and I can’t figure out how I would go about fixing it if I could go back in time and do the batch over again.

 

[erick0619]

I do that too. I think it's pretty natural to be your own harshest critic.

Also, part of it can come from the discrepancy between your expectations for how you wanted the beer to turn out vs. how it actually is. If may be free of technical flaws and can taste great to a 3rd party, yet you're still thinking, "I should've used less Crystal malt" or "this doesn't have as much hop aroma as I was hoping."

Yeah i get what you mean. I purchased wlp 515 on a whim and after some googling i settled on the dekonink clone. The one flavor i dont like is this hint of sulfer. It seems to be fading over time. Other than its a very drinkable ale. If i didnt feel i was low on co2 i would use that scrub method.

 

[erick0619]

That is true..On all but 1 batch I have brewed to date there has always been something that I felt was just 'off' slightly..I have even give some out to co-workers and they said they thought they were 'really good'..So, I will take it that it IS indeed good, just not as 'good' as I was anticipating - at least to me..So, yeah we are all our own worst critics..Tho, the one batch that I did that I absolutely love was my 1st all grain, chocolate maple porter, and boy did it turn out fantastic, hint of maple and nice chocolate back flavor..Yummmm..

Haha thats kind of funny because it was my first all grain. yoopers ruination clone, that tastes atringent and just not good. Good recipe poor execution.

 

[erick0619]

^^^ This right here. If you'd have picked that same beer up in a case you paid $40 for you'd be singing its praises. Unfortunately you paid around half that amount (if using extract, maybe around 1/4 with all grain in bulk) and put hours of work into it. Therefore it's worthy of scorn.

What a masochistic hobby we've all picked up.


ENJOY YOUR BEER!!!!!

Masochistic hobby indeed man. And i do enjoy the beer i trully do but dammit i cant help but judge it.

 

[SMPress]

Beer was ruined for me when I started training to take the BJCP exam. I started finding flaws in all beers I was drinking, or nearly all. I was even more hard on my own beers. I have beers that have one Gold, and I drink them, and I'm like, this is crap!

 

[McKnuckle]

I'm up to batch #55 and I have probably dumped about a dozen of them. Not all of the batch, of course, but at some point in the life of the package before it was depleted. Just got tired of it; it wasn't improving, and I wanted to clear the space for something new. It was a lesson learned, let's move on.

On the other hand, I'm sure I've brewed twice that many that have knocked my socks off. And in the process, I've learned so much about patience and maturation and letting things sit tight before consuming them... time is truly a beer's best friend (unless it's already in your glass!).

I now rarely if ever suffer from technical or process flaws. The flaws are all in my recipes - especially how I expected them to be vs. how they are. But I'm learning so much from this that it's truly a blast. There are styles I can brew reliably, but many I'm either still shooting for or haven't tried. What fun!

And I agree with the people here who say the average commercial beer is just as "mortal" as most of our homebrews. They all have small flaws that we would pick apart if we had brewed them. And that just underscores the growing confidence that I can serve my stuff to anyone at this point - provided I choose carefully from my stash. Some things are still meant to be sampled only by the brewer!

 

[Azbrewboy77]

Wow ! I feel so much better now ! Even though I'm a beginner having brewed 30 batches now , my friends like a majority of my beers but I keep tasting something I think is not right but maybe it's ok now

 

[Oventoasted]

i think almost all the beer i brew is great! then again if im not drinking my home brew im drinking a lot of coors light...

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

The struggle is real man...I love my homebrew but im the first to say it to this or that while others lap it up...so just enjoy and keep looking for that perfect beer for yourself.

 

[wyccad915]

That's harsh. You could be being too tough on yourself. So far all 3 brews of mine have tasted good. My hefe has probably passed it's prime, but it's still good. A different flavor, but I'll drink it. I made a stout with vanilla beans and I can taste the hot alcohol from the vodka a lil, but I still like it. My dunkel is a lil sweet but perhaps the next sample I try will be good. I hope with all my brews, my complaints will just be minor like these.

 

[Stillraining]

One thing I will add is I have noticed my pallet has changed since beginning home brewing. Some commercial beers I use to think were good are now just so so. And it takes more to impress me. Or at least a different set of criteria anyway.
Ignorance is indeed bliss in some respects. Once we start learning what to actually look for its only human nature to find a fault that you did not know existed before.

I'm a porter & Stout guy.. at least half of commercial offerings are crap to my pallet but obviously not to the brewer or other people. Also I seriously doubt any BJCP judge can truly get past their own pre-concieved perceptions like me either.

 

[mbbransc]

I didn't read all this thread, but wanted to comment.

My brew partner gets fed up with me because I pick out flaws in all of our beers. I won't let him enter any competitions because I can't get the beer to taste exactly how I want it. And THERE lies the problem, I believe. I have an idea of what the beer should be and fall short, disappointing me. Others taste it and are impressed because they didn't have expectations going in.

 

[Kee]

I'm pretty critical of my own beers, but I still love them like I would my ugly children (if I had ugly children).

 

[erick0619]

Didnt expect to get so many responses. Thanks everyone for the kind words. Its kinda funny how things work out, i make this post and it seems like the very next day the flavor/aroma that i did not like is gone and this beer just got way better.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Meh, when comparing homebrew to a commercial product, I like to think of a steak analogy.

Don't get me wrong, I can grill a fine piece of meat, but I wouldn't say that it is better than going to (insert your favorite steakhouse here). I wouldn't even compare the two products or experiences.

So although you might develop a distinctly different flavors to your homebrew, learn to appreciate that homemade taste.

Disagree 100%.

With homebrew, you ABSOLUTELY can produce commercial-quality beer. It's not rocket science. It's much harder to hit the same consistency that a commercial brewery hits, but you can hit the quality.

With steak, you can do the same. It's harder, though. So much of steak is the quality of the meat. You can't go to the supermarket and end up with a steakhouse steak. You need really good meat. Preferably dry-aged (either do it yourself or pay out the nose). Then, you need a level of equipment that can hit very high temps. Like homebrew, there are varying price points, but it's nit unobtainable. After that, it's just technique, and you can learn technique.

I haven't quite gotten my steaks to the level of Morton's or Ruth's Chris yet, but I'm getting closer.

 

[kombat]

I haven't quite gotten my steaks to the level of Morton's or Ruth's Chris yet, but I'm getting closer.

The secret is a cast-iron grill pan.

I discovered this last year. As you mentioned, it's key to start with a good cut of meat. Not just something from the meat section at the grocery store. Go to a butcher, or the specialty section if you have a higher-end grocery store.

For the cook, I use a Lodge cast-iron grill pan. Throw it in the oven and turn the oven on to 400° F. Once the oven and pan are heated up, take the pan out of the oven and put it on your stove on high heat. If the pan is properly seasoned, it should already have some oil in/on it. While it's getting up to temperature, rub the meat with a little oil, then season it (also key).

When the pan is ready (wisps of blue smoke are coming off of it), add the meat. Give it 90 seconds per side, then throw the pan back into the oven. 3-4 minutes for rare, 5-6 minutes for medium 7+ for well done.

Best steaks I've ever made.

 

[filthyastronaut]

I tend to criticize my beers more than others do, but unless something went really bad, I do enjoy them on their merit. I made a Scotch Ale for example that I transferred onto a yeast cake, and it ended up being way too dry for the style and a little too estery. Especially now that it has conditioned for a couple months, I do appreciate it as a strong red ale, instead of a flawed Scotch Ale. It takes a bit, but when your stuff doesn't turn out like you wanted, it will typically grow on you.

 

[AK7007]

My point is that until I reach the truly "perfect" beer in the abstract sense, I can do better.

From what I've gathered, judges behave as if no beer that ever was or will be is a 50. So, it sounds weird that you are trying to get there.

Not that it's a great beer or anything, but I just remember reading a old BJCP scorecard for Anchor Steam entered into Cali Common. The beer that you are supposed to shoot for - in what I considered the most narrowly defined style (seriously, the 2008 guidelines essentially said "clone anchor) - scored a 41 according to Gordon Strong. The main complaint was that it could be fresher, but he only knocked off two points. Meaning the cap was really 43, not 50.

 

[kombat]

From what I've gathered, judges behave as if no beer that ever was or will be is a 50.

Not exactly, but the stars really have to align for a beer to score a perfect 50, including several factors that aren't even within the entrant's or judge's control (such as if it was mishandled during shipping, stored improperly prior to the competition, delivered to the judges sloppily, etc.). From the BJCP Study Guide:

"In general, the best beers at a competition should be assigned scores in the 40+ range, with real evaluations of the beer identifying some characteristics of the beer that make it non-perfect. A beer receiving a perfect score of 50 must indeed be perfect; it must have absolutely no flaws, exemplify the style as well as or better than the best commercial examples, be perfectly brewery-fresh, and be wellhandled and presented. These conditions might not all be under the brewer’s control, so achieving a perfect beer at the point of presentation to judges is extremely rare."