New brewers.Stop trying to doctor your beer !

[bleme]

I think the main mistake of this thread is lumping all beginner brewers together.
Some people can't stand being ordered around and are determined to do everything their way, whether they know what they are doing or not.
Some people study and plan obsessively before they do anything.
Some people have a natural understanding of how flavors work together.
Some people just think they do.

 

[Onlooker]

Yes I do see that. And I think making the mistakes I made, and hopefully fixing them, has taught me more about brewing than I would have learned just following the directions exactly and having a decent beer.

To each his own. Just pointing out what was painfully obvious.

 

[HeadyKilowatt]

this is just one of those discussions that happens on here everything year...it's really nothing new to anyone who's been around here awhile. It's one of those traditions that happen on here, and there's two camps........


And it all doesn't mean ****.....

+1

 

[planetscott]

Are you saying we should nurse our beer instead? What if we are not lactating?

 

[dfc]

I've brewed 4 batches and not one of them did I follow the exact recipe. The first three turned out great and the fourth is bubbling away. Why do people care so much anyways?

Because your life is their business.

 

[dfc]

Last time I checked, you learn just as much, if not more, getting things wrong than getting them right.

Bingo.

 

[Subsailor]

RDWHAHB - make it experimental!

 

[Knecht_Rupprecht]

Seems like the OPs biggest issue is the thread that follow failure, rather than beginners deviating from recipes. That said no need to open a thread on a public message board if you don't like it.

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

well, it's sad when an enthusiastic beginner makes a huge mistake because of inexperience, and then may lose interest

 

[hansen_sh]

I highly reccomend trying anything that keeps your interest in the hobby.

Isn't THIS ^^^^ really the whole point.


My guess (and only a guess 'cause I wouldn't wan't to come off sounding like a know it all noob) is that just as many experiments end up making crappy beer and they say "my next batch I will ..." rather than quitting all together.

I would also add that experiments that go sideways are easier to choke down in smaller batches. Live and learn, right?

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

Isn't THIS ^^^^ really the whole point.


My guess (and only a guess 'cause I wouldn't wan't to come off sounding like a know it all noob) is that just as many experiments end up making crappy beer and they say "my next batch I will ..." rather than quitting all together.

I would also add that experiments that go sideways are easier to choke down in smaller batches. Live and learn, right?

Yeah.

But it takes me almost as long to make 1 gallon as it takes to make 5.

and my brew days are too infrequent.

 

[monkeybox]

But going back to the cooking analogy. Coming up with a balanced and tasty recipe takes some understanding of things...just like cooking...dumping a cup of salt will more than likely ruin a recipe...so if you cook, you KNOW not to do that...it's the same with brewing...you get an idea with experience and looking at recipes, brewing and playing with software how things work..what flavors work with each other, etc...

I like the cooking metaphor, because I'm one hell of a cook, but still a homebrew newb. I didn't learn to be a great cook by following recipes exactly. I became a great cook by looking at a lot of recipes, reading about various techniques, and assembling them into something that makes sense to me. I've never been one to follow recipes exactly, and I've made some pretty big mistakes and some godawful dishes that resulted in ordering pizza.

I don't see why I'd go about homebrewing any differently. I read up on what others have done, read a bunch of different recipes, read about others' techniques and what has worked/hasn't worked for them, and then I put something together myself that I think will work.

If my beer doesn't turn out, I'm probably going to post about it to try to figure out what I did wrong, and I hope you'll explain to me where I added salt instead of sugar or why this or that hop wasn't the right choice. I expect this will teach me how to make great beer that I love a lot faster than if I were to make 100 gallons of good beer that somebody else likes, and that's really where I want to be. I want to make my beer.

I think I'm the same as that other guy: I can't resist making the beer my own, so the half dozen kits I've made have probably all had a variation of some sort. Some have turned out excellent, and the best you can say about some of the others is that they were drinkable.

 

[barmyarmy]

I read the first few threads and skipped to the end. Why do people care what anybody does with the beer they make. The people who innovate and try new things will tell the haters what to like in due time, be patient.
P.S
VIVA LA SECONDARY!!!!!!

 

[Knecht_Rupprecht]

I like the cooking metaphor, because I'm one hell of a cook, but still a homebrew newb. I didn't learn to be a great cook by following recipes exactly. I became a great cook by looking at a lot of recipes, reading about various techniques, and assembling them into something that makes sense to me. I've never been one to follow recipes exactly, and I've made some pretty big mistakes and some godawful dishes that resulted in ordering pizza.

I don't see why I'd go about homebrewing any differently. I read up on what others have done, read a bunch of different recipes, read about others' techniques and what has worked/hasn't worked for them, and then I put something together myself that I think will work.

If my beer doesn't turn out, I'm probably going to post about it to try to figure out what I did wrong, and I hope you'll explain to me where I added salt instead of sugar or why this or that hop wasn't the right choice. I expect this will teach me how to make great beer that I love a lot faster than if I were to make 100 gallons of good beer that somebody else likes, and that's really where I want to be. I want to make my beer.

I think I'm the same as that other guy: I can't resist making the beer my own, so the half dozen kits I've made have probably all had a variation of some sort. Some have turned out excellent, and the best you can say about some of the others is that they were drinkable.

I think brewing is more like baking than cooking. Cooking is far more forgiving and requires less deep understanding of the process to innovate. That said I am a strong cook now because when I was younger I made some ****ty food. I still ate most of it, just like newbs will drink most 'passable' beer. Lastly, most food you make didn't take 4-8 weeks so it is only natural to want to confirm with an experienced community what exactly happened.

 

[Revvy]

Why do people care what anybody does with the beer they make.

Why do you care what we care about?

 

[MMJfan]

What's the point of this thread??? If the OP doesn't like noobs 'experimenting' and then coming into this BEGINNERS Beer Brewing Forum to find out what they may have done wrong, don't come into the BEGINNERS Beer Brewing Forum?! Is someone forcing the OP to come into this forum to read all of these supposedly torturous posts from noobs who screw up their brews after 'experimenting'??? Thankfully, there are enough sensible experienced brewers on this site who don't mind taking the time to help out us noobs when we have questions about our brews or concerns about things we may have screwed up. I suppose the OP never had any questions about what he was doing when he started the hobby?!

I love this forum for all of the great advice I get and all of the helpful experienced members and the many things I have learned, but some of the 'Know it alls' like the OP can make this site downright unreadable at times...

 

[COLObrewer]

Boysenberry syrup.

 

[Revvy]

What's the point of this thread??? If the OP doesn't like noobs 'experimenting' and then coming into this BEGINNERS Beer Brewing Forum to find out what they may have done wrong, don't come into the BEGINNERS Beer Brewing Forum?! Is someone forcing the OP to come into this forum to read all of these supposedly torturous posts from noobs who screw up their brews after 'experimenting'??? Thankfully, there are enough sensible experienced brewers on this site who don't mind taking the time to help out us noobs when we have questions about our brews or concerns about things we may have screwed up. I suppose the OP never had any questions about what he was doing when he started the hobby?!

I love this forum for all of the great advice I get and all of the helpful experienced members and the many things I have learned, but some of the 'Know it alls' like the OP can make this site downright unreadable at times...

What's the point of getting so worked up about it? It's called having a conversation....One that happens on here just about once a year.....No point in getting your cranked yanked about what the OP does or doesn't believe.

 

[dnslater]

My first batch ever was a Brewers Best Irish stout kit. I added blue mountain coffee and it was awesome. My second kit was a Witbier. Added Chamomile tea and 25 batches later my wife swears it was the best ever. The ability to customize is part of what attracted me to the hobby. I understand the need to get the basics down and all that, but let's not take it too seriously.

 

[Yooper]

I read the first few threads and skipped to the end. Why do people care what anybody does with the beer they make. The people who innovate and try new things will tell the haters what to like in due time, be patient.
P.S
VIVA LA SECONDARY!!!!!!

Well, sure, people innovate and that's cool.

I think the point was more that people start brewing to make unusual and unique sounding things. But without a solid basis, you don't know if the off-flavor is from underpitching, fermenting too hot, bad water, aged extract, spoiled hops, or from the 3 pounds of tea leaves that the brewer added to make the beer "his own"!

As an example, today there is a post (and I never want to call anybody out, this is NOT about that!) that says something like "My first kit is arriving and I ordered XXX kit with it. What can I add to make this kit unique?".

Well, the problem is that the kit may or may not be perfectly fine on its own. It might be an awesome oatmeal stout (or whatever type of kit it is). But by "making it your own" and adding a pound of lingonberries, no one will ever know.

Then, the brewer posts the very next question: "My beer tastes like crap! Why?" Well, it could be the 90 degree fermentation temperature, chlorinated water, not boiling the wort, and/or the pound of lingonberries.

I think that is more the point. Experimenting is a blast, and a great part of the hobby. But when you start a new hobby, maybe going wild may have to wait until you've been doing the hobby for a month or two. No one starts a sky diving hobby with, "Well, I think I'm going to try making my own chute, 'cuz I wanna be unique!" Of course, that's a deadly mistake so not really a great analogy, but that's sort of like starting any hobby in a way.

First learn a bit about the hobby, and then take your knowledge and go your own way.

 

[MriswitH]

I've got a BIL that believes in adding pounds of table sugar, brown sugar, etc., to his beer because he has this belief that it adds awesomeness to his beers.

But he never can figure out why the end up tasting horrible..

 

[Revvy]

I've got a BIL that believes in adding pounds of table sugar, brown sugar, etc., to his beer because he has this belief that it adds awesomeness to his beers.

But he never can figure out why the end up tasting horrible..

Meh, that's easy to diagnose, it's because he's not using THIS!

 

[WesleyS]

I'm all for experimentation. All but one beer I've brewed have been from my own recipes. With that said, I did my research first. Before even making my first batch I read everything I could about the brewing process and about two years worth of back issues from BYO. I made sure I understood everything I could about the process before beginning. But that's just how I am with any undertaking. I think one of the main problems with new ones throwing all kinds of stuff in their beer is they don't understand what the finished flavor will be. I've never brewed from a kit, but I see nothing wrong with it and they are proven recipes. But there's a reason why each kit contains the ingredients it does and not an option for cherries, brown sugar, etc. If you want a fruit beer plan on a fruit beer. Adding fruit or spices or sugar or extra malt extract might not work with the base beer you're making. Planning ahead goes a long way to helping make good beer that can be repeated if you like it. I just think those who are posting in this thread just want to help new ones not make the same old mistakes time and time again and then wonder why their beer is bad.
In summary, do I think it's a good idea for someone's first or second batch to be an imperial chocolate cherry molasses ginger hefe coffee stout? No
Do I care what you brew with your own equipment, time and money? No

 

[N3rdM3t4l]

Granted I am yet to brew my first batch (money is a tad tight these days) but the reason I want to begin brewing is experimentation. I am a cook, a helluva cook even, and I thrive on experimentation. Change something here, add something there, apply the method of one thing to something completley different. I found, through research, I can do the same in brewing. I understand flavor combos in food and am every day gaining knowledge of beer flavorings. I do my homework of course. I wouldn't just toss some grains in a pot and call it beer as much as I would just toss some veggies in a pot and call it a mirpoix. I am fortunate enough to have two experienced homebrewers at my disposal as well. I guess I am an atypocal brew newb in that I formulate carefully and know better than to tweak more than 1 or 2 variables at a time (i also have a small chemistry background). So I am more likley to find a recipe and change it to suit me either by the replacement of specialty grains or some simmilar method.

 

[BronxBrew]

New brewer adding pipe tobacco or beef jerky to there secondary. Not to mention fruit flys and infection. Wonder why there beer didn't turn out. It's easy for us who have made great first brews. We stuck to what the style called for. Why not try to get the beer right first then tweak it is what I'm saying. Adding 10 pounds of god knows what on your first batch to then come on here to ask what happened ? I see great people "mods included" who go out of there way to help.

Wow! Since I'm the OP. this thred has been blown out of proportion . This post above was on page two. I went in detail to explain what I ment by my original post.

Also to put into perspective. I cook too. Making a meal can take a few hours. Making beer can take a month and a half to two. Cooking you can always add to taste, beer not so much. I would hate to brew a Belgian triple and wait three months to find out its undrinkable .