Seems some people are very "intense" about their brewing practices

[unionrdr]

After my own experiences & reading,I tend to think the autolysis bit is just old school thinking. Like they figured the yeast were settling because they were dying of starvation or the like. Now we know that in the "normal" time frame we primary it isn't happening.
I guess we do get a little too passionate about our beliefs/experiences at times though. We're just standing up for what works for us. Maybe just the words we use to try & express it to others. As for myself,well...I guess I can see where my words or thoughts could be read as mean,stuck up,a-hole or whatever. Or when,on occasion,I have to open mouth wider & insert the other foot. Have you ever gone back & read your own post that seems to have started an argument,& gone "why the f did I take it that way & say this??
I'm sure we all do that once in a while. It's just going on what we know/understand from our own experiences up to a given point.

 

[Tiredboy]

I made loads of "mistakes" and did things "the wrong way" but my beer turned out fantastic (details here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/getting-started-small-batches-caribbean-273914/#post3552917). Just goes to show RDWHAHB (even when its hard to do!)

 

[Brewnoob1]

The greatest leaps of technology and knowledge of all time wouldn't have been if it weren't for those that chose to try something different to come up with better ways of doing it. It goes that way with everything. I'm sure 5, 10, 20 years from now, people will look back at our process now and find better ways of doing things to brew that we may raise our nose up to because of the "difference" factor. To each their own. If you brew good beer, stick with the process that works for you.

 

[unionrdr]

Well said,brewnoob. I got flamed more than a couple of times for things I've done to improve parts of the process that worked for me. I relate things from my own experiences,some contrary to current practice. Or maybe in the grey area. It works for me,& that's what counts of course. But I'm always open to suggestions. It's rather amusing to me when a member says "so & so says in their book to do it this way. You're doing it wrong!". That sort of thing. If it works well,why fight it & say you can't do that!? Hey,I just did it,so it does work!?...You see what I mean?
Try some different things,it'll either work well or it won't come out so good. But it'll be beer never the less.

 

[Piratwolf]

One of the reasons I love HBT is that people are passionate about their beer. I think in part that explains why this place is such a great resources. Of course, passionate also means they're gonna be heated some times.

I've noticed that people are pretty good at picking up when someone's passionate about contributing to the community knowledge (extremely fruitful discussions like the one on generations of yeast re-pitches recently) as opposed to just being bull-headed or snarky. Sometimes those lines get crossed, but overall it seems like there's less of that here than in many forums I've seen!

 

[BamaRooster]

It seems to me, that the primary argument for racking off the yeast cake is the prevention of autolysis. I know this is a concern for commercial breweries where the volume of vessels used, construct an environment where pressures are high enough to rupture cell walls. It is my opinion, based on what I have read and personal experience, home brewers do not need to worry about autolysis. I know that once I started listening to guys like Revvy and Unionrdr and left my beer in the primary for 3-4 weeks, my finished product has improved dramatically.

 

[unionrdr]

Aw,shucks. I just try to help folks with my own knowledge gained from my experiences up to this point. I'm glad to be of some small service to HB'rs in here that need guidence with one thing or other.
Just had to try harder to not cross lines & come off sounding like a troll or whatever.

 

[lgilmore]

Next time you're in your LHBS talk about a subject less likely to cause such a reaction like politics or religion. Those are much safer bets than talking about the use or non-use of a secondary.

 

[Butter]

I could care less about peoples opinions about my beer, how I brew it, sample it, or whatever. I think its HILARIOUS the way people on this forum, or any other forum for that matter, get all bent outta shape over anything. If I want to try my beer one hour after bottling its on me.

 

[birvine]

I could care less about peoples opinions about my beer, how I brew it, sample it, or whatever. I think its HILARIOUS the way people on this forum, or any other forum for that matter, get all bent outta shape over anything. If I want to try my beer one hour after bottling its on me.

I know what you mean, but I think sometimes people comment within the context of so many threads of "why is this beer bad", "did I ruin that beer" and so forth.

It's all good!

B

 

[Revvy]

If I want to try my beer one hour after bottling its on me.

This is fine, it's your beer, you can stick your weenus in the bottle and have fun, for all I care, but don't start an "is my beer ruined thread," especially if you've already read the copious amounts of info on the topic about it.

I love the folks who think they're "terminally unique" who say I've read Uniondr and Revvy's posts about carbing, or whatever, but I opened my beer at day 1 anyway and it's flat, is my beer ruined?" Its one thing to be a nervous new brewer who's new to the forum and doesn't search for the bazillion stories that already are on here that are exactly the same scenario, it's another to have read it, chose to ignore it, and still want their belly rubbed and their hand held....

(oh and if you do stick mr happy in the bottle don't share it with any of us)

 

[daksin]

weenus

I am almost more offended by this than I would be by any number of other less HBT acceptable terms It's painful to read, but amusing at the same time.

 

[Butter]

Wasn't trying to throw an insult your way Revvy, just used bottling as an example. Sorry if you took offense.

 

[squirrelly]

I agree, opinions like...well, you know.

So much new literature has come out about the hobby in just the past couple years that many shop owners are still used to the old way of doing things whether it is the right way or not. Honestly most of my practices are the very same taught in the 2010 syllabus at UC Davis Brewing Institute. Many pro brewers have changed their procedures just in the past couple years based on articles written by Gordon Strong, Jamil, and John Palmer. Each of these writers study what the innovative minds at UC Davis have done, and realize that some of these techniques really may be more beneficial than what we knew 20 years ago. Let's not forget that home brewing is still a relatively new hobby with lots of science still to learn. Let's also not forget that homebrew shops also have equipment to sell, and by convincing you that a secondary fermentation MUST be done they just sold you another fermenter.

For my wife and me the situation really dictates. I brew primarily hugely hoped pale ales and imperial IPAs sometimes with 6-8 hop additions added throughout the beer's life cycle. For these beers I have to transfer to a second conical or I'd never be able to do a closed transfer into a keg with all the hop residue clogging up the hose barbs. My wife on the other hand does a lot of English, Irish, and Scottish style ales which are left in the primary fermenter for about 2 months unless we need to open up a fermenter for a new batch of beer we've brewed. In that case beer typically gets transferred to a keg where it will be stored in the conditioning chamber until its ready to be put on tap.

I don't think my brewing practices differ much from other folk's that I've read out here with small exceptions of little steps which my system requires over other's rigs, but I shoot for consistency first and foremost. After consistency I aim to create the best beer I can, and see if it can't at least medal with that beer.

My sanitation procedures may differ greatly from other brewer's, but that's just because my wife and I brew together so we are able to focus on sanitation and organization as a team. It also helps that we have a 400sq foot brew house dedicated to indoor temp controlled brewing and another indoor area which is completely sanitized and deemed "the clean room" for fermentation and conditioning. It is our goal to make a professional tasting product at home.

Now I totally understand this may seem as overkill to most new brewers and even the most season brewers may find this to be silly, but brewing is the main hobby my wife and I enjoy together; it's just about grown to the point where it is bigger than a hobby.

My advice is to find procedures that work best for you, and build a routine where you can brew with your eyes closed and still have fun. After all is that not the point of this; to have fun? Lord knows I don't get up at 3 am and go freeze my tail end off in a duck blind because I'm hungry, and last I checked the supermarket did not have a shortage on beer. We do this because it's exciting, fascinating, fun, and breaks up the monotony of the work week.

 

[jiggs_casey]

Like everyone, I have my own technique and well, I brew the best beer in the world! At least in my world...

That being said, if I find something in my technique that I want to change or see something somebody else has done differently, HBT is usually the first place I go. Why? Because everybody on here has their own opinion about what everybody else does, and that's good! It's nice to identify your own questions with those already asked by others. It's also nice to read answers to questions that you never would have thought about asking.

In regards to specific techniques? Water + barley + hops + yeast = beer. The how is up to you.

 

[squirrelly]

I think you make a good point; take water add barley, toss in some hops, and sprinkle some yeast in there, and your end result will be "beer."

I've read a lot on here that people are happy with the beer they make, or truly believe they are making the best beer which leads me to ask why not enter those beers in competitions and see what advice BJCP judges can offer you? A lot of what I've learned in brewing was written on score sheets by other judges. It's not just about the pretty ribbon or shiny medal, but most importantly learning what off flavors and mouthfeel really are. I hear all the time, "I've never made an infected batch of beer," or "I've never had off flavors in my beer." well, most of the beer I drink from people making these statements usually contains off flavors which can be traced back to sanitation and fermentation procedures. Very rarely do I score a beer low because of recipe or because it does not fit within style guidelines. So much knowledge can be obtained from entering competitions that you can not obtain from feedback from friends and family.

Sorry to get off topic a bit, but as I read through all these posts the thought occurred to me, what better way to be sure your techniques are the best they can be than reading them on 4 or 5 score sheets?

 

[Piratwolf]

I think you make a good point; take water add barley, toss in some hops, and sprinkle some yeast in there, and your end result will be "beer."

I've read a lot on here that people are happy with the beer they make, or truly believe they are making the best beer which leads me to ask why not enter those beers in competitions and see what advice BJCP judges can offer you? A lot of what I've learned in brewing was written on score sheets by other judges. It's not just about the pretty ribbon or shiny medal, but most importantly learning what off flavors and mouthfeel really are. I hear all the time, "I've never made an infected batch of beer," or "I've never had off flavors in my beer." well, most of the beer I drink from people making these statements usually contains off flavors which can be traced back to sanitation and fermentation procedures. Very rarely do I score a beer low because of recipe or because it does not fit within style guidelines. So much knowledge can be obtained from entering competitions that you can not obtain from feedback from friends and family.

Sorry to get off topic a bit, but as I read through all these posts the thought occurred to me, what better way to be sure your techniques are the best they can be than reading them on 4 or 5 score sheets?

Agreed. I'm going to enter 5-6 beers in the nearest BJCP contest in March for exactly those reasons. Pretty excited not b/c I expect to win but b/c I can't wait for some official feedback!

 

[squirrelly]

Good luck! And don't be surprised to find a ribbon tucked into the envelope with the score sheets.