Where have the innovators gone ?

[nala]

I haven't seen a new inovation on this forum for a very long time.
What used to be essential reading for me on a daily basis,now has very little to offer.
I don't know whether the availability of the Braumeister and the Grainfather have negated the once great inovations conceived on this forum.
The absence of contributions from some of the great thinkers...Thirsty Boy, Wes Smith et al,too many to mention,in their place we have some very patient well meaning cintributors answering the same mundane questions virtually every day.
Has the forum become a social media/agony aunt site ? Some of the question to start a topic are to say the least pathetic.
I learned what I know about brewing from this forum, and am most greatful for that,however, I did try to ask what I would consider sensible questions in the first instance having read a book on brewing, and needed some clarification.
Or,maybe,I have moved on and the forum is just as good as ever!

 

[Bridges]

They're probably looking for their missing n...

 

[GalBrew]

There are plenty of threads bemoaning the lack of quality contribution on this site already.

I personally think it has gotten better of late.

 

[rude]

Still good to me Mathos build & many more but I'm probably guilty of asking the obvious question
just can't help myself

 

[Bridges]

Sorry about being a smart arse, I don't think the innovators have gone as such it's just that innovation isn't as necessary. There are great products available now off the shelf that simply weren't around a little while ago. There isn't the same need to improvise. If I needed a new vacuum I wouldn't try to cobble one together out of bits in the shed, I'd go buy one. The same logic can be applied, as in your original post, to the BM or grainfather. There are still great innovations and hacks popping up all the time though for grainfather and BM other parts of the brewing process, You probably have your system and process pretty smooth though so you are not looking at some of the things that are going on elsewhere.

 

[benno1973]

Yeh, back in the day we saw PistolPatch with BIAB, people hopping mashes and first wort, no-chill and cubing. I still see interesting things pop up on here, but as Bridges said, the state of our local home brew stores has come a long way in the last 10 years such that they are now responding to ideas on this forum. No need to cobble together a BIAB bag, I can buy one for $10 at my local HBS. The innovations come with people hacking what's currently being sold - writing new software for arduino controllers, coming up with cheaper HERMS and RIMS solutions like Nev's HERMS coil in a KMart kettle (okay, so that was a few years ago), hacking cheap pots to build a braumeister clone.

So I guess it's mostly equipment hacks occurring, as a lot of process hacks have been tried and tested, some lasting and gaining a place in the brewing schedule (no-chill, BIAB), others not so much. But there's still new things that pop up over time like pressurised fermenting in kegs, gladwrapping kettles for no-chill, etc.

Perhaps you've just learned enough that the suggestions don't seem that innovative any more?

 

[GalBrew]

And isn't it great that you can now go and buy one of the off the shelf units available, that has been designed from the ground up and tested, rather than cobbling together a bunch crap from every homebrew shop on the planet over the course of 2 years that ended up costing more than any of the available OTS units?

I wish this was the case when I started homebrewing. I would be a far more experienced brewer rather than an experienced home brewery builder.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Yeh, back in the day we saw PistolPatch with BIAB, people hopping mashes and first wort, no-chill and cubing.

Ah...those where the days...I remember the No-Chill debates, did a few myself..... worked out that it does work...but there is a bit more to it

 

[welly2]

I keep seeing plenty of innovations. Only (fairly) recently the post about the UrnFather (or whatever it was called) - a DIY grainfather. I'm always amazed as to the innovations and ideas that have come out of this forum.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I wonder what ever happened to all those kitten breeders...

 

[Yob]

They got botulism

 

[MastersBrewery]

The OP seems to have narrowly focused on wort production and as stated above there is no real need, it's been done and done and newer brewers are still using those epic threads and older hands linking them. The only area's brewers are really required to DIY are ferment control and kegging as both these areas are lacking in off the shelf solutions at reasonable cost. I can see these areas expanding in innovative DIY solutions for a good while yet.

 

[Tony]

Back when I started brewing you couldnt buy all the flash gear you get now.

The shelves of a HBS were kits, sugars, fermenters, airlocks, bottling stuff...... and not much else.

I went AG after I made half a dozen kits which I found distatefull, and the best advice I could find on the internet back them (before AHB existed) on cracking grain was to wrap it in a t-towl and roll it with a rolling pin.
Try it one day...... its fun!
I got a little Marga mill and it would take 3 hours to crack (destroy) the grain...... it was fun also!
I then set to work building a grain mill.
I will never forget the day I had Ross, Ducatiboy Stu and Pumpy (we were all mates on the Grumpys forum pre AHB) at my place and the looks of amazement as my mill with 2" diameter 10" long motorised rollers ate 5kg of grain in 60 seconds.
All stood in silence looking at it and then Ross says..... "well that takes the fun out of it"

I was contacted by the folks at the Grumpys home brew shop and asked to go into production of them and they would market them as you just couldnt get a mill in Aus for under about $600 or so from memory. Certanly nothing Aus made.
I ended up making 2 more, Stu has one, and a member in Sydmey called Redbeard has the other. I called them the Bull Crush.

If I could get one of the mills available today I never would have spend countless night at work on a laythe making rollers etc.

But........ there will always be someone out there who will say....... Na, I will make one myself, they have just reduced in numbers.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Back when I started brewing you couldnt buy all the flash gear you get now.

The shelves of a HBS were kits, sugars, fermenters, airlocks, bottling stuff...... and not much else.

I went AG after I made half a dozen kits which I found distatefull, and the best advice I could find on the internet back them (before AHB existed) on cracking grain was to wrap it in a t-towl and roll it with a rolling pin.
Try it one day...... its fun!
I got a little Marga mill and it would take 3 hours to crack (destroy) the grain...... it was fun also!
I then set to work building a grain mill.
I will never forget the day I had Ross, Ducatiboy Stu and Pumpy (we were all mates on the Grumpys forum pre AHB) at my place and the looks of amazement as my mill with 2" diameter 10" long motorised rollers ate 5kg of grain in 60 seconds.
All stood in silence looking at it and then Ross says..... "well that takes the fun out of it"

I was contacted by the folks at the Grumpys home brew shop and asked to go into production of them and they would market them as you just couldnt get a mill in Aus for under about $600 or so from memory. Certanly nothing Aus made.
I ended up making 2 more, Stu has one, and a member in Sydmey called Redbeard has the other. I called them the Bull Crush.

If I could get one of the mills available today I never would have spend countless night at work on a laythe making rollers etc.

But........ there will always be someone out there who will say....... Na, I will make one myself, they have just reduced in numbers.

That mill still goes. And it does a fantastic crush. My kids will grow old and that mill would still be going

All those years ago there was very little you could buy...

Pretty much everyone had an Esky tun of some description...thats all there was..

We had no pumps. no electronics, no controllers, etc..

We had to make everything. We had to experiment with what we had. We had to make what we had work.

Even the range of malts back then was limited...and when you could find one that had some you had to ring them up.

I remember Ross selling Hops from under his house...

He had hair back then :lol:

 

[mje1980]

I went even less technical. From 3v to biab. The most Blingy tech thing in my brewery is the $12 digital thermometer. I know it's crazy but a keggle, a 3 ring and a bag can turn out pretty good beer. I'll admit that I do have a stir plate and stc1000. Blinged up yo

 

[Tony]

No he didnt.

Pre Craftbrewer in my loungeroom:

 

[Kingy]

I remember people crushing with rolling pins and posting photos for feedback on thr the crush lol.
The marga mill tought me how to use feeler gauges many years ago. Still got it here somewhere. Maybe i should pass it on to someone or modify it to make pasta.

 

[manticle]

I tried crushing with a rolling pin and with a wooden mallet before I bought a mill. Do not recommend.

 

[Tony]

I sold my Marga mill to Ross

 

[Danscraftbeer]

$0.02
I don't think this phenomenon is just this forum I think it is all forums. Internet opened up doors to those with nous to search and research. Then they felt like sharing in a great community way. Then opens the door to marketing oportunity and a flurry of diluted product, sound familiar?
Some of the best things I've learnt from peoples posts are threads that are years old that can often outweigh modern posting.
Then I notice those people don't post anymore. They must have moved on with thier own things after the crowd got too big maybe.
This day and age is immediate want and need of new updated information yada yada. I can only answer newbie questions and I enjoy
being able too but even for me it gets tedious.
Sometimes your writing a response and then think..(I found that simple question for myself) There is so much info already posted.

 

[nala]

Thanks to all who replied.
Been very interesting to see how others feel.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

man what is with that bizare text layout? Please Help!!!! , quick responces please!!!! Now!

 

[Tony]

Trial and error is a great teacher.
The disasters make for great storys, like never EVER open a stubby of yeast given to you by Ducatiboy Stu!

Soo many spend soo much time googling and not enough time "doing"

 

[Moad]

It's the natural evolution of internet forums, luckily there are still enough experienced brewers/engineers/funny /smartass blokes on here to keep it entertaining and educational. It's the only forum I check daily, I think there is just a higher volume of new brewers lately that dilute the quality of threads. That can only be a good sign for the community and industry in general.

I'll be building a home bar soon and I know where I'll go to get all the answers to my questions.

 

[manticle]

Trial and error is a great teacher.


Soo many spend soo much time googling and not enough time "doing"

Bang

 

[spog]

I haven't seen a new inovation on this forum for a very long time.
What used to be essential reading for me on a daily basis,now has very little to offer.
I don't know whether the availability of the Braumeister and the Grainfather have negated the once great inovations conceived on this forum.
The absence of contributions from some of the great thinkers...Thirsty Boy, Wes Smith et al,too many to mention,in their place we have some very patient well meaning cintributors answering the same mundane questions virtually every day.
Has the forum become a social media/agony aunt site ? Some of the question to start a topic are to say the least pathetic.
I learned what I know about brewing from this forum, and am most greatful for that,however, I did try to ask what I would consider sensible questions in the first instance having read a book on brewing, and needed some clarification.
Or,maybe,I have moved on and the forum is just as good as ever!

I have read as far as post#5,but I get the gist of the topic.( I will read all posts).
So here is my take.
Yeah some of the long standing ( founding) members may not post as much here,perhaps they have found they no longer need to or have moved on.
Since the tightening/ changes of rules and indeed ownership of this site people have made a decision .
Some knowledgable people have been banned. Rules.
Since I joined ,the site has progressed along with experimentation in procedure ,styles and equipment etc.
AHB has many newbies joining each year,asking the same old questions or making the similar enquiries , but the DASFFS. Has gone?
This sites topic base gets larger by the day so little wonder that newbies ask the same questions,they want to learn,it's easier to ask than trawl through X amount of posted ...well posts.because practices change. A prime example being transferring to secondary.
Cheers....Spog.

 

[spog]

Just read the remainder of posts from # 5 onwards.
Oldies..........Tonyyyyyy........

 

[Nizmoose]

As someone who is 22 and only started brewing a year and a half ago I can say that I really have had it easy compared to some of you guys that have been around here for ages, it's easy to take it for granted but the hard work and trial and error you guys have done over the years has made my brewing hobby a much faster learning process and a much easier one. When I started it was Ian's spreadsheet that taught me how to balance an extract recipe, it's the threads on this forum that allow biab to exist let alone teach me how to use the method. In less than three batches I went full all grain and am making great beer almost entirely because of this forum. I think maybe a lot of us new guys and particularly young ones don't say thanks enough to a lot of the guys here answering silly questions, if it wasn't for ahb I'm not sure I'd be brewing beer, in fact I'll even go as far to say beer has become a passion in a very short amount of time largely due to the enthusiasm and encouragement from this community. A few weeks ago I was short-listed to become a cadet brewer for coopers. More than 50 people applied and around 15 got short-listed and we got to tour the brewery and meet the brewing team, they needed one person, the only person hired as a brewer for years. I didn't make the cut unfortunately but the fact that I even got that close made me realise how close beer came to really changing the direction my life was heading, and to then think none of that would have been possible without the help of this forum and the guys that have been here for so long is a humbling experience to say the least.

 

[Steve]

I still use a 2 litre plastic jug to transfer my strike and sparge water to my mashtun. I then come in to work and I sell Grainfathers to guys that have only ever done kit n bits, without any knowledge/research of how to do all grain beer. They take them home and boom....another AG brewer is born. To see the excitement on their faces every time they come back in for more ingredients is fantastic. Had one of the guys bring in a couple of samples yesterday. Bloody great beer. When I tell them about my 3 vessel system of 3 old kegs, jugs, no pumps just gravity their eyes glaze over. I love it.
Cheers
Steve

P.S. And you know what, every time I sell a starter kit I hand the person a note with the AHB website address hoping that they learn as much as I did from this site.

 

[KevinR]

stillkicken around