Opinions on Extract Brewing

[augiedoggy]

Certainly a triangle test can be in error, but to reach statistical significance, it accounts for those who are guessing, that’s why you need to reach 11 out of 20 and not just 7 out of 20. Sure when something is really different the significance is more certain and less likely to be in error, but that’s the point of using widely agreed upon statistical standards. If significance is found, it is reliable that a difference is there even if subtle. I know that Marshall doesn’t feel like there is much meaning in the preference data, because what one person prefers is wildly different than another. From my perspective, it is important. I feel like the preference data is about as close to a good beer yardstick that we can give to a future brewer. What would be interesting is if we could somehow find how each of these flavors could be found to be distasteful in one context and preferred in another, much like a musical composition of notes. In that regard we could presumably achieve a beer opus of sorts.

To take this idea a step further, I propose a true robo-brew, set in a nitrogen purged room, ran by an AI. The AI will be fed a large number of malt types, hops, yeast and water salts and start churning out beers. Anyone that comes to Robo Brewery is given as much free Robo beer as they can drink, three at a time and then surveyed for each flight on difference and preference. The AI will then get the feedback and produce better and better beers. At some point it will find the penultimate beer. Plot twist, it tastes just like Bud Light.

if theres one thing Ive learned so far in my 2 months owning a brewpub is different people all has different taste... Yes of course we have beers that some people find too bitter or too heavy and some find too light... I had a woman order a stout and tell me she didnt care for it because it had a slight roasty flavor yet stouts were her favorite style of beer.(I think she was confused with porters).. 15 minutes later I had a guy tell me that very same beer was the best example he ever had of that beer and he became a regular, drinking it every week... I has concluded that what I read about some people being able to taste and not taste things others can is true. and a beer with less flavor is tolerated by more people hence more successful by a larger pool of people.. and lodo beer just have more of that flavor many want muted.

 

[eimar]

I started homebrewing around ... 1989. Most of us were starting with a "Beer Kit" :1 can of hopped Muntona LME with the dry yeast taped inside the lid and 1 kg of cane sugar. Malt extract quality has improved tremendously and once in a while I'm not ashamed to brew a batch using extract. My favourite extract recipe is a belgian dubbel with steeping grains and homemade candi syrup. I prefer fresh LME ( it has more aroma ) . I use DME for yeast starters