Perceptions...

[MVZOOM]

As I sit here with my 1/3 glass of Coopers Cerveca clone, feeling the cold, pale brew roll across my tongue and slip down the back of my throat, I wonder whether the beer I'm brewing tastes as good to everyone else as it does to me?

I primarily brew for myself, so I'm my own worst critic, but on occasion when I'm talking to other blokes about my latest hobby, I have a tendancy to 'talk it up' or try and get across to them that the product is bloody good - really enjoyable.

Discounting the feeling of self satisfaction and the difference that can make in flavour, is our stuff (remember, I'm only doing kits, but I'll put myself up there with good, experianced brewers) really good?

I'd like to think so - what do you think?

Cheers - Mike

 

[Jez]

no, it's terrible.

where do you live? I'll come & take all your stock off your hands for free.

doing you a favor

Jez

 

[Stuster]

Yes, it's good. :beerbang:

Not as good as the best brewers of course, but better than the megaswill. If in doubt, buy a beer you used to have before. The mass produced beers are well made beers of course, they just lack a nice taste.

Homebrew has a bad reputation, I guess based on the poor quality in years gone by. We can now get good ingredients, the net means we can get loads of info on how to do it well, and of course we are all geniuses. :lol:

 

[pint of lager]

Nothing beats the satisfaction of brewing and drinking your own beer.

To get an objective opinion on your brews, put them in your state competition. The beers will be assessed by a panel of three experienced judges, who will give you good feedback.

Even better, get involved with any judging that occurs in your area. Stewarding is a great way to learn the ropes, listen in to what the judges are saying about different brews and taste the beers the judges are talking about.

Brewers are a great bunch of people and they love to get together and talk beer.

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Homebrew has a bad reputation, I guess based on the poor quality in years gone by.

Homebrew has a bad rep because almost 50% of beer-loving males (or at least their mates) have tried their hand at it only once and then given up...first attempt being under-sanitised, over-heated, under-aged, using a kilo of sugar (yuck!) and all around badly done

I'm still at the kits and bits stage (have been for years and may not progress past partials), but OMG was I happy to pour one of my own tonight after drinking CD all night at a mate's going away party last night! :chug:

PZ.

*edited - drunken grammatical errors*

 

[tangent]

Agree with 1st para of Fingerlb's post!

now I'm brewing AG, yes, i was fooling myself, my beer was ****
almost as good as an Eagle Blue. Maybe a XXXX Gold on a hoppy day.
One AG brewer said to me "total control", that's what he gets from AG brewing...
He's a sage in my books.
extract brews are definitely better than no beer, but you're banging your head against a brick wall and expecting to hear Tibetan bells.

I'm sorry, some of my extract brews were ok but I've never had an "Oh F*^k, this is awesome!" experience from an extract brew ever.
Number 1-5 of my AG brews blew my mind. That only stopped when I made wheat beers.

flamepajamas etc...

 

[Stuster]

flamepajamas etc...

[post="115234"][/post]​

pajamas
pl. n. US spelling of pyjamas.

You're so American tangent. :lol:

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

I've never had an "Oh F*^k, this is awesome!" experience from an extract brew ever.

I have

(not from a fellow brewer though :chug: )

 

[tangent]

Stuster , maybe the US is runing my media and I'm learning their wacky spelling
i do apologise, it's tacky and un-pommie.

 

[Guest Lurker]

Number 1-5 of my AG brews blew my mind. That only stopped when I made wheat beers.

flamepajamas etc...

[post="115234"][/post]​

I think I spot where your brewing endeavours are going wrong. Havent done an AG wheat and dont plan to. Apologies for the diversion.

 

[Kai]

Did an AG wheat, my first one, and picked up first in ANAWBS with it least year. I thought it was pretty good too.

On extract brews, my first one was one I tasted and thought "F*^k, this doesn't taste awful!". Low expectations gave me good results, but from then on almost every brew was an improvement. I'm still improving.

 

[tangent]

not the Sandman philosophy...... aim low and succeed?

 

[Kai]

Well, it was success at the time, no expectations and no disappointments.

 

[Boozy the clown]

Still happy with my goo brews, one or two have been 'ooh my thats fizzy, did I stick Eno in too?"

apart from that...I have enjoyed more it all more than the shiteth of Vb and such!

 

[PistolPatch]

MVZOOM. How great it is to hear that you are enjoying your beer. If it's keeping your palate delighted then you have to be on the right track. If you can please a few others as well then that is certainly a bonus!

My beer has been pleasing some others but not me as yet so you're way ahead of me! I talk my beer down whilst some talk it up. Lucky for me I enjoy the adventure of finding out which method of brewing will suit me.

Many people give up brewing as they cannot brew something they like. I was one of those people and know many others. Since finding AHB, I recently have found myself being able to say to my mates who don't like a particular flavour, "OK, if we brew it this way it will fix that." Until here, I had no idea that there were so many options available to the home brewer. They're friggin' endless!

Thanks to help from heaps of AHBer's, I am pretty confident that the next beer I brew will give me as much satisfaction as you are already getting. Good on ya!

Your tastes will usually change over time. I've heard that really old people eat tripe! I'm 41 so I'm not at the tripe stage yet and shoot me when I am. If you are currently enjoying your beer then I would continue doing just that. If you're like me and suddenly find a week or some years down the track that your tastes have changed, you'll always find the beer you want here. How good is that! :beer: