So Ross, to have my final say on your thread topic, its not the machinery that makes the beer, it's the man. Neither the commercial or amateur brewer has an absolute advantage over the other as generally speaking, they don't make the same product. Their markets are different - totally different. The real test is to use what advantages you have to make the best outcome you desire. And not worry whether you think the other bloke has some kind of advantage over you. That's none of your business!
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My 2c worth for that is probably it's value....I have read with interest the previous posts, and must confess here that I have gone "commercial"... I brew on a 50lt Braumeister now and only make 3 kegs a week, I often joke that our brewery is so small that we brew the beer one day and the head the next. my recent purchase of a braumeister follows nearly thirty years of brewing using coppers and esky's, many of the recipes I use date back over 20 years and owe more to Dave Line than modern brewing science, although I now brew commercially, I still regard myself as a home brewer at heart and owe much to the generosity of the home brew fraternity and the brotherhood of beer. I want to note that over the years as a brewer and beer judge I have met many commercial brewers, and can say that all who I have met share the same goals and aspirations as home brewers, based in a love of real beer. If anything they are placed at a significant disadvantage in competitions as they are invariably slaves to the accountants cruel red pen and have to answer to owners and shareholders. The art of brewing is one of the most egalitarian...hobbies/jobs one can participate in as there are few advantages in either the commercial or amatuer field which are unavailable to either. The healthy trickle down of knowledge is something which simply does not occur in other industries which share similarities...I note the wine industry, of which there is a poisonous distrust of sharing knowledge...which is to the detriment of all involved. Ours is a blessed realm where people can engage in healthy debate and still have a beer together at the end of the day, we are lucky in that respect. While I understand the perceived advantage that amatuers see in the commercial brewers quiver, I feel that there is far more we share than that which would be defined as our differences. If we as a group wish to define ourselves by our differences rather than our shared passion, we run the risk of alienating the others (commercial brewers) at our cost. If it is so galling to some that commercial brewers be allowed to participate in brewing contests, give them their own catagories...but please do not preclude their entry, as we all have much to learn from each other. To be honest that there is no magical ability or method I now posses because I now brew as a professional, All that I am as a brewer was well and truly defined in the copper and esky days, and my brews are not one jot better or worse than they were at that time.
yours in brewing
Stephen
