A Year Of Beer

[flano]

April is 12 months since I started brewing . ( this time)

I did do it years ago with disasterous results...and quit to live a life of Tooheys New in cans.

This is my little bit of advice for others starting out and my personal journey so to speak.

first of all .
A mate was a keen brewer but his beer sucked arse hard.
He made that homebrand kit stuff in bottles.
Bloody awful.
I followed suit for a brief period ....same results.
Horrid kit stuff that all tasted the same.
Wild hangovers with a homebrew taste in my mouth that lasted for days.
Again I quit.....brewing beer can't be done at home...back to Tooheys I went.

Then one day he told me he was now kegging it.
I tried it...and it was a giant leap forward.
Then he told me he had got into that fresh wort gear from the LHBS.
I tried that.....another massive leap forward.
I was sold.

I saved my arse off to get myself a kegerator with all the gear.
I went from zero to about 80 km's an hour in one hit.
no idea what I was doing....no brakes...pretty worried on account of the $1000.00 I had invested.
I was also scared about having to drink homebrew forever....tooheys at that stage tasted pretty good.
I thought the FWK's were as far as I could go. I did not even know about All Grain.

Somewhere along the line I discovered this website.

thank christ !!!!


I started checking out the gallery and was blown away by the lengths people had gone to to make beer.

so I did about 6 months on the FWK's.
I tried all different sorts and to be honest I liked them all..some were bloody great!

in all that time I did one can of of goop and it was shit...I tipped it out.

Then I started getting interested in the BIAB style. I saw Nicks thread and decided to have a crack at it.

It took over 20 years of stop start brewing with many many more failures than victory's but the I had turned the corner.

I can now make beer. yep I can make beer....... feels good to say that...and it is good beer.

I have made probably 20 BIAB's now and everyone of them has been wonderful.

Not only has my beer making improved but my taste in beer has totally changed.
When I go into a pub I look for the weirdest looking stuff on tap.
I buy strange stuff in bottle shops....when I have to actually buy beer.

Today my wife , myself and my kid all took oranges for lunch....none have any rind on them.

My mates are paying 40 odd bucks for cartons of Tooheys New.
I 'm not....the money I saved is being spent on a new surfboard that is getting made for me.


I have a long way to go ........dunno if I will ever fully understand all the scientific side of brewing.

but ...if I can do it with very respectable results anyone can.

cheers norks!

 

[Superoo]

+1

Did the k and K years ago, results were random, some were very nice though, but I have always had good temp control.

But after I smelt a mash at Roys shop in Perth, it was always going to be AG for me.

I also now BIAB, and wish I had started that way instead of 3v.

Theres more of the 'I made this' feeling about AG beers, but I have a mate who knocks up some pretty nice K and K's too (temp control and patience).

 

[raven19]

...When I go into a pub I look for the weirdest looking stuff on tap.
I buy strange stuff in bottle shops....when I have to actually buy beer.

+1 here too.

Welcome to the wonderful world of being a beer snob

 

[WhiteWolf]

Awesome post BN - great story and your passion shines through. Keep cranking them out and don't forget to share .

Brew strong!

 

[Gormand]

My only hope is my beers come out as well as yours Just moving into the AG BIAB myself and cant wait until I get a couple under my belt.

Not only has my beer making improved but my taste in beer has totally changed.
When I go into a pub I look for the weirdest looking stuff on tap.
I buy strange stuff in bottle shops....when I have to actually buy beer.

This sounds like me I need to go to more pubs that have weird stuff, I am kinda sick of seeing the same 5-10 beers on tap.

 

[Effect]

What did you do with the orange rinds?

I think we all understand what you are (have been) going through. Makes us reminisce those days when we could order whatever was cheap on tap at whatever pub took our fancy. Nowadays we can only go to pubs that actually have a selection of different beers, not just different brands of the same style.

Oh BTW, when someone questions you as to why you don't want to drink tooheys new on tap anymore, just tell them that since you have started brewing you have higher quality beer on tap at home and that it is similar to having a coffee grinder and now not being able to drink instant coffee...99% of people should be able to understand that.

Cheers
Phil

 

[flano]

yeah the orange rind.
It is a work in progress...trying to emulate a beer I tried.
having second thoughts now though.

the coffee is a great analogy.

Most of my mates who have tried my homebrew have enjoyed it..they must ..they keep showing up randomly for no real reason.
They always leave half cut.

 

[HeavyNova]

Hey Beernorks,

I have a similar-ish story to you; tried it a while ago without too much success (beer was 'drinkable' but not good). It was actually a weekend down in Margaret River about 9 months ago speaking to some of the guys that make wine and seeing their passion that convinced me to have another go. Found this site soon after and things have been improving ever since.

Soaking up the info available here has had me so keen to brew everything I can think of. I've got so many beers styles, hops and malts I want to try.

Last night I cracked a bottle of my first BIAB - what a success! It tastes like real beer! It's a simple brew but I'm so stoked that I made it.