The Source of Rookie Mistakes

[rollinred]

I think somthing that gets missed a lot though is the small details that noobs like me are unsure of. The questions that are not out there in the search or in the books because it seems like for your first several brews things could happen quite differently between the previous and next batch.

And most of these questions are small little things...

Taking hydrometer samples. Eveyone says "wine theif or turkey baster"; however, If I have a bucket fermentor, not a carboy, taking the lid off can be extremely though without splashing beer around oxygenating it. If I knew I would have trouble with this I would have found an easier way first.

Priming before bottling- This is one of those things, just getting a little extra sugar to carbonate in the bottles. But yet there is so much conflicting information out there. Howtobrew.com says never to do it without boiling the sugar in water first. But what if I dont have another brew bucket to siphon the beer into before bottling and mixing in the priming sugar. So obviously I have to just put the sugar directly in the bottles but if you were to read howtobrew.com you would quickly become very nervous about doing so.

Another thing that I think is tough for noobs is that we ask questions about how to do somthing, and the response is to go buy ourselves another piece of equipment that we dont have. And I would bet that a lot of times we do actually go and get the proper tool, because they really arnt too expensive most of the time. But there are many out there who cant just go to a HBS. Plenty of areas dont have BS, and if they are in the middle of a ferment, the internet may take to long. Or they simply dont have to money to do it. So in other words, how do you do things without the extra equipment? And I am sure those who are recommending the equipment can give some advice from thier past experiences without that equipment instead of "go get one of these".

But all in all this is probably the most noob friendly forum I have ever seen and all of us greenhorns really do appreciate every bit of advice that everyone gives us. I can tell you that in just a couple of weeks I have quadrupled my homebrewing knowledge (I knew nothing at the start) from reading and then finally saying to myself that I will never learn unless I try. So I just started brewing and learning.

 

[Danek]

Great thread, Tex - good points very well made. One (related) thing that helped me when trying to wade through the world's accumulated beer knowledge for the first time was realising why different people suggested different things. (It also helped me as a n00b to figure out what I actually wanted when I was asking folks on here for advice.) I think there are three reasons for all the conflicting advice that's out there:

Firstly, there's always going to be a trade-off between ease-of-use and depth of knowledge. Some manufacturers or LHBS want to emphasise how easy the beer-making process is, so as to not put off new folks who might be intimated by a lot of detail and complex information. They'll tell you how to make beer in a stress-free, easy-to-use way. You may not win awards that way, but you'll still make beer. On the other hand, some want to emphasise how to make good quality beer; this may require more care and attention to detail. The process may be more effort or take more time, but you'll avoid making common brewing mistakes and end up with really a nice brew. Both of these are very good motivations for giving people advice; but without understanding the different perspectives behind the advice, it can easily lead to conflicting and confusing suggestions as to what new folks should do. If new brewers can decide which is more important to them, it'll make it much easier to figure out what the appropriate advice would be.

The second reason for the different advice is that people have different budgets and very different kits. We all have our own particular budget, and an amount of money that we're prepared to spend on equipment. If someone can spend a big pile of money on kit, then they have a wider choice in the processes they can use to make their beer. If someone is more limited in what they can spend, then they may end up using procedures that aren't necessarily the best way of doing it, but which are appropriate for their budget. For example, cooling wort in an ice-bath is slower than using a wort chiller, but when I started out it was the only way I could chill wort without buying more kit. Is using an ice-bath the best way to chill wort? If you're able to buy a chiller, then probably no, it's not. But if you don't want to spend money on more kit, then in that circumstance, probably yes, it is. The "right" advice on what to do depends on the situation, and budget, of each individual brewer.

The third reason for confusion is that in brewing there are some relatively low-risk problems which might occur occasionally, but which more often than not don't seem to crop up - things like hot side aeration or DMS. Brewers vary in terms of the precautions they take to avoid these things; some people go to great lengths to ensure that they avoid them entirely, because minimising risk and making quality beer is important to them; others are a bit more laid-back, and feel that for the price of a very small risk they can get away with a simpler brewing process. Neither decision is objectively right or wrong, but the appropriate advice for a new brewer would depend on how much care you wish to spend on avoiding relatively low-risk problems.

I think a lot of confusion from conflicting advice arises when people aren't aware of these distinctions, so hopefully by making them explicit it'll help us get our heads around all the conflicting advice that's out there.

 

[Chris_Dog]

I think one thing has to be said ...
It is impossible (or improbable) to be fully educated before your first brew. I tried to read a few books before mine and could only get half way (if that) through them before being totally confused. What has worked for me from that point on. I find a weak point in my procedure or education and work on that. For me learning a bit at the time is less overwhelming than the "entirety". I have been brewing over a year and I am still doing this. The amazing thing about this hobby is there is very few subjects that have less info than you care to learn. Usually there is a wealth of information on subject.
Cheers!!!

 

[flowerysong]

Then look around a little more. This is straight out of Palmer's How to Brew, first edition:

Remove the grain bag from the pot, giving it a squeeze to drain the excess wort and avoid dripping on the stove.

That's squeezing the bag, not the grain. Sophistry, I know; my post should have been clearer.

 

[DeathBrewer]

That's squeezing the bag, not the grain. Sophistry, I know; my post should have been clearer.

and from what i've heard, palmer no longer condones that method...

 

[TexLaw]

and from what i've heard, palmer no longer condones that method...

That's good to know, especially since about the first thing many posters do around here is point a new brewer to the website that I quoted.


TL

 

[DeathBrewer]

it's a good website and a fantastic reference...but it's also only the first edition of his book

 

[john from dc]

I can tell you that in just a couple of weeks I have quadrupled my homebrewing knowledge (I knew nothing at the start)

wouldn't that mean that you still know nothing?

seriously though, i really appreciate threads like these. thanks for taking the time to articulate things, sometimes it takes a few repetitions or rephrasings for these points to hit home.

also thanks for going into detail, there are lots of resources that show the "what" but the most useful advice usually has do do with the "why?"

we really appreciate it!

 

[DanInMadison]

Thanks for posting this.

I just started homebrewing. Made one batch (from kit) and still waiting on it. Hope to be tasting it mid-February.

It's definitely a learning curve. I've been reading every night, just trying to make beer better. This forum has been a great resource. Had I not been reading here, I would have followed the kits quick beer instructions.

As one of the newest people here, I can safely say my goal is for good beer. Not quick beer.

Lots more learning ahead for me. As my grandpa used to say, the day we stop learning is the day we die. I can't think of a better way to learn than by brewing beer.

Dan