How Many Posts On AHB Do You Need To Win a Brew Comp

[punkin]

Been reading all the State and National brew comp threads lately and i have taken note of all the absolute brewing champs that have just a couple or thirty or a hundred posts here. Many seem to be long term members.

I often wonder when reading these things, about the reasoning behind all that. Are these the people that read books and read posts where applicable and take that information away and chew on it and apply it and see what happens?

Obviously.

But they on the whole, seem to be the ones who don't engage in the day to day banter or the back and forth discussions on the site.

I often wonder on that and wonder if anyone else has thoughts on it. If nothing else, it's a very stark reminder to newbies that a high post count has nothing to do with quality of advice, but taken further it could come down to the opposite. :blink:

 

[fcmcg]

Well Punkin they often say empty vessels make the most noise lol
I know that AHB has changed in terms of the posters , massively , since I first joined and I know that the forum has lost some really good brewers and posters ( Butters, Fourstar,Thirstyboy to name but a few) who were knowledgeable and had some runs in the board..Does post count equal medals ? I don't think so but I do think that there is a level of knowledge that is acquired and maybe just maybe some members move on when the site can no longer provide what it used to for them...
I for one am stuck between hating endless airlock questions and knowing this is a forum where people shouldn't just be told to research but we need them to engage to keep the dialogue flowing...also a bit over newbies who wanna reinvent the wheel but then I guess without that , we would never have gotten BIAB...
Anyhooo..think I went a bit ot lol
Ferg

 

[WarmBeer]

There are some people who placed at AABC with several thousand posts.

There are some people who placed at AABC who have never joined the forum.

So, the answer to your question is somewhere in that range.

Correlation =/= causality.

 

[GalBrew]

I tend to agree with you Ferg. I also am tired of the endless newbie questions, many of which could be answered if the question poster had done any level of research or maybe even read a book or two before brewing their first batch. It is interesting though that you rarely see any mention from the top comp brewers around here. Guess if shows you don't need to waste your time arguing the merits of yeast rehydration or 'experimenting' to show things that have been known for decades to brew top beers.

 

[GalBrew]

There are some people who placed at AABC with several thousand posts.

There are some people who placed at AABC who have never joined the forum.

So, the answer to your question is somewhere in that range.

Correlation =/= causality.

Would be interesting to see the numbers though.

 

[mje1980]

Yeah noobs should be ******* shot like the dogs they are. How dare they?

 

[JDW81]

I also am tired of the endless newbie questions, many of which could be answered if the question poster had done any level of research or maybe even read a book or two before

:icon_offtopic: I tend to be a little more sympathetic to newbie questions. I remember not knowing much, and reading a lot of resources before I started, but still being unsure of what I was doing. I think people are more often after reassurance than easy information. My view is if you're happy to answer their questions then do, if you're not, don't give them a spray for not searching, just ignore the thread.

JD.

 

[GalBrew]

Look, I remember being a noob. You are all free to look at the noob questions I asked. I just think it would be nice to at least make a token effort to learn on your own (with all things in life, just not brewing). You can tell from a lot of the questions asked that this has not happened. I just don't understand how some noobs think they will be able to brew good beer without doing a lot of research into how it all works. That's the last you'll hear from me on the topic.

 

[Not For Horses]

I'd have to agree and disagree with GalBrew at the same time. It is very to easy to use Google.
On the other hand, your degrading of 'experimenting to show things that have been known for years' I disagree with.
Experimentation is the father of invention. Without it we wouldn't have BIAB or No Chill or even beer for that matter. For a very long time herbs were used to bitter beer. Then along came hops. That was an experiment.
Dark roasted malts lead to bitterness, dryness and astringency. Then there was de husked black malt and black wheat. Now we all enjoy a good black IPA.
I must agree that there are some (quite a lot even) 'experiments' on here that are incredibly futile, but if it helps to get people thinking or even give someone a better understanding of a portion of a process, is that really such a bad thing?
No one is making you read any of this.

Sorry for continuing the off topic-ness.

 

[djar007]

Its a non sequiter. Post count means nothing as you could have posted 2000 pictures in the funny photos thread. Or all things bread or chilli. Or a thread about post counts.

 

[GalBrew]

Sorry for breaking my last statement. But from my perspective (and I am a research scientist) a true experiment should test a hypothesis relating something that is not currently known. The first beer brewed with hops instead of herbs or the first BIAB are examples of this, which have extended our knowledge in the field. Any 'experiment' that can be answered by reading a reference text or even god forbid a google search (results may vary) is not actually experimenting, the info is already out there.

The only caveat I put on that is if you are experimenting with your particular brewing system to determine how best to use it. It's a very niche experiment, but very useful nonetheless.

 

[punkin]

I'm only going off the results published in the state comps and nationals and the winners/placegetters who have acknowledged in those threads this year.
Seems to be a very high rate of people with low post counts. It's just interesting is all.

I am, of course, aware that there are plenty of people who enter comps who don't surf this site.

As far as those complaining about people asking repetitive basic questions, although having no bearing on the subject at hand, sounds like recreational outrage. Just avoiding those threads and indeed the whole New to Brewing section works well enough.

 

[Alex.Tas]

Everyone get off your high horse, help people out. Everyone was new once.
Here is an analogy: When you go to school, university, tech or whatever, you read from books, journals etc. That's a good place to start, so in the case we have here, people should do some basic reading to help them understand the basics of brewing.
However, once you read those books, journals etc you may type up a report and get it graded by your teacher. they provide feedback, this feedback affirms what you think you have learnt, and helps you understand the topic.
Also working in groups at school helps you discuss the subject matter so that you can get a better understanding.
So its this feedback which helps you actually learn, rather than whats written in a book, because lets face it, anyone can write a book or post on the internet.

Have you ever, when studying found that explaining how something works to somebody else (they don't even need to know what you are talking about) helps you get a better understanding yourself? I think it is why people find forums in general so helpful. They can discuss things, rather than try to read it all form a book.
Engaged learning people. It works.

Also, reading through all the info here and in books, can lead to too many conflicting opinions. you probably all know about certain topics where opinion is so divided that its hard to make an informed decision either way. All this leads to confusing people - myself included. people often just want assurance that what they are doing isn't gonna stuff their beer.

So the moral of my rant? Help people out, if you think that they aren't worthy of your time, then don't bother, but remember you aren't helping them. Smile your smug smile and pat yourself on the back about being the best brewer in the world.

 

[fcmcg]

Everyone read what I said..I never said I hate newbies...all I said was that I was over endless airlock questions and "newbies trying to reinvent the wheel" but then with our people trying to reinvent the wheel , we would never have BIAB
More importantly I should have said that post count has nothing to so with medal count..certainly it doesn't ..if it did , some of the most prolific posters would have more medals than the usual suspects that win (whoose beer is better than their post count ...)

 

[fcmcg]

Everyone read what I said..I never said I hate newbies...all I said was that I was over endless airlock questions and "newbies trying to reinvent the wheel" but then with our people trying to reinvent the wheel , we would never have BIAB
More importantly I should have said that post count has nothing to so with medal count..certainly it doesn't ..if it did , some of the most prolific posters would have more medals than the usual suspects that win (whoose beer is better than their post count ...)

 

[DU99]

people come to this forum to seek assistance,but they get here they have site,what do i do next,search engines are not to most friendly of things(depends on set it up)if they get lucky they have to read every article that the search gives them.but on the hand(by search) no articles..they ask a question.even if it's dumb and other's can find the post.this site is good at what it does help people..and as a few have said some can win without even coming here

 

[BeerNess]

For the past.... however long... most of the incredible golden knowledge posted on this forum has been "lost" on the inaccessible wiki pages, so even if someone does search for an answer the links they find are dead!

 

[punkin]

Even though this thread is not about that.

 

[Camo6]

For the past.... however long... most of the incredible golden knowledge posted on this forum has been "lost" on the inaccessible wiki pages, so even if someone does search for an answer the links they find are dead!

Not to worry BeerNess, Dane's on top of it.

 

[Yob]

What Id like to know is if Dane is still about assisting or he's taken the $$ and run... He 'said' he was going to help with issues...

true to form it is going along on his time frame by the seems of it