Lessons Learned: My First Year in Home Brewing

[Mismost]

Nice piece. I like the way you started....with a buddy to help guide you. I wish I could have had that chance! Also think that is the best way to grow any hobby or sport....teach new folks. Great way to give back to the hobby.

 

[funnelweb]

As a noob in AG I totally agree on your "POI's"
And definately, Randy Mosher's new book is the new "bible" to all new (and old) home brewers. Soo full of knowledge and usefull input.
Thanks for a really nice article..
Cheers

 

[beernutz]

Good article. To each his own, but I'm not as big a fan of CP's book as you and many others are and don't feel he is essential reading. I got a lot more from reading Dave Miller's the Complete Guide to Homebrewing when I first started brewing in the early 90s.

 

[Duguevara]

Great article. Ive been brewing for about the same amount of time as you, and it is fun to see how others have gone through a very similar process. Thanks for the BJCP info, actually I hadnt paid much attention to all that, and I have already downloaded interesting guidelines and information from their site that Ill keep now on my next-to-the-kettle beer folder. Cheers mate, brew on!!!

 

[Smeth]

Thank you for sharing. I've only brewed 10 batches so far and they're getting better and better as I go. I continue to make improvements because of research and learning from other's honest advice. Your point about brewing for competition is right on. When I go to monthly brew club meetings, there is a definite difference between how the occasional brewer critiques a beer as opposed to those that have received BJCP certification, and both opinions are helpful. No matter what forum you are a part of, there are going to be the know it all haters that are going to have something negative to say. One of the things I appreciate about HBT is that it gives voice to homebrewers of all levels.

 

[nzeman20]

Good article, man. I agree with everything you said. PS I shop at The Brew Hut all the time and also got 3rd at their latest competition (IIPA). Thanks for sharing.

 

[tektonjp]

@SatanPrinceOfDarkness, I think you have made the right point. In the end, the owner of this site is responsible for the front page. The article gave some good information, but I couldn't get past having to proofread the thing as I read. If the owner of this site wants to have feature articles, the articles should be submitted and edited before posting. Punctuation in this one was all over the place, and many of the other articles cold have used a heavy hand as well. Amateur brewing should not be the same as amateur writing. That have been said, it is said a new front page is in the works. I hope it will continue have articles such as this one, but I stress the need to have them more readable.

 

[Murph2002]

@tektonjp:
As far as editing and proof reading goes, this article was submitted and reviewed by two volunteer editors prior to publishing, They made a few changes that I agreed with, and a few I didn't agree with. There were also a few changes made in the published article that weren't in the final revision of what I submitted, especially missing punctuation. Could be something went wrong in posting the final script.
In my opinion, the punctuation was better in my original submission, but when you're asking someone else to publish your work, you've got to play by their rules. There are a few places where they added commas, a few places they removed commas and dashes, and a few places where the spacing was modified. I'm sorry it was such a struggle to read through it.

 

[tektonjp]

@Murph2002
Thanks for the information. I wan't aware of that. It wasn't a struggle. But the old lessons of English classes kept sending off annoying alarms in my head, much like a carpenter seeing walls and trim which are not plumb or level, wants to reach out and straighten them.

 

[whovous]

As a novice brewer myself, I can definitely put myself in your shoes.
You made some real dumb mistakes.
I've made some real dumb mistakes.
You medaled in your second homebrew competition.
... hmmm ...
I've made some real dumb mistakes.
I guess I still have a little ways to go!

 

[Hopzz]

I'm new here - just made 2 1-gallon batches - and I personally appreciate this type of article. Thanks for your witty response!