My last bottle :(

[ol-hazza]

So I'm a fairly new brewer, and my best beer so far was an extract Porter I made. Unfortunately I only have one bottle left, and chances of replicating it are slim as I took some mediocre notes while making it on account of my noobishness.

So now I'm getting all emotional as there is only one bottle of this beer left in the world and I want to put off drinking it but at the same time want to drink it because it is so damn tasty.

And now my brewing is going to become a life long quest to replicate this single beer.

 

[Orion85]

I'm pretty new to brewing as well, but I say drink it. Your beer will only get better with experience. My first batch was a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that I felt was a solid 3 1/2 stars. I've learned more since then and am looking forward to brewing more great stuff. Don't let too much time go between batches. Keep looking forward, not behind.

 

[kh54s10]

I have been brewing since July 1, 2011 and over 65 batches now. I have done a couple more than once. I have a pale ale that I am trying to perfect. But, most of the rest are different recipes. When I think I have made one that will be hard to top, I make another that I feel the same about. My latest great brew is a porter to which I added 8 oz of Papua New Guinea coffee that I cold steeped for about a week then added it to the primary and kegged a week later.

Don't limit yourself by getting stuck doing one beer.

In primary right now I have an Octoberfest Lager, an ale using EXP 5256 and Citra hops along with another experiment that I will detail on this site if it works.

 

[metanoia]

This. This is why we take notes, for all those who are wondering. Some brewers say that they don't care, as long as they get something drinkable in the end it was a success... until you brew something incredibly delicious and don't remember the details!

I'd save that bottle for years and years. Keep brewing porters, changing little things here and there, until you have the best results possible. Then compare. Who knows, you could end up with something ten times better than the original!

 

[Qhrumphf]

Well, if you want to save it, by all means save it. Not unheard of for someone to save a bottle from every single batch as a trophy of sorts. Or cellar it properly and drink it a in a few years. Lots of things you can do.

If you're still new, there will be many more. I thought I made some badass beers at first, but looking back I realized the weren't anything special. The beer I brew now is so much better than when I brewed back then. Unless it was truly a random fluke, if you're forever trying to reach the quality of beers you made early on, you aren't improving as a brewer. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but at least for me (and many others) I strive to improve the quality of my beer constantly.

 

[ol-hazza]

Cheers guys, this post was a bit tongue in cheek, but it is odd to think that it is the only bottle left.

I've moved to all grain since then and am going to give it a go this weekend.
My brewing was all over the place at first, trying all sorts of recipes but since then have moved back a step and am trying to get my processes in order with some really simple pale ales.

One thing I do find quite frustrating is the fact that often I have brewed 3-4 batches between brewing and drinking a batch, so improvements are can take months. I just racked a pale ale to cold crash and it was delicious though so think i might have hit another high in my brewing.