I don't ever do this enough!My recommendation? Redo your first one and see if it comes out differently. If it does, find out why and correct.
I don't ever do this enough!My recommendation? Redo your first one and see if it comes out differently. If it does, find out why and correct.
Nahhh.... I'll wait with honing my repetitiveness skills for after I have better understanding of the different ingredients, etc. (and for when I have a recipe that I really do want to repete.My recommendation? Redo your first one and see if it comes out differently. If it does, find out why and correct.
Then, if your process is inconsistent, how will you know the changes you notice are because of the ingredients? I made the same mistake when I was starting. But your choice. I would limit changes to one ingredient at a time to limit the variability in the process.Nahhh.... I'll wait with honing my repetitiveness skills for after I have better understanding of the different ingredients, etc. (and for when I have a recipe that I really do want to repete.
Tend to agree with Nosy here , Consistency and predictability are very useful for novice brewers .Good luckThen, if your process is inconsistent, how will you know the changes you notice are because of the ingredients? I made the same mistake when I was starting. But your choice. I would limit changes to one ingredient at a time to limit the variability in the process.
I don't disagree with the importance of this practice. I just think that at this stage, I need to focus on things that are even more basic - I need to have the most basic "moves" down before I start fine-tuning them. I need to be able to not waste a ton of time when I brew due to my inexperience, and get to the point where everything feels somewhat familiar, before I can even think of the more delicate things.Then, if your process is inconsistent, how will you know the changes you notice are because of the ingredients? I made the same mistake when I was starting. But your choice. I would limit changes to one ingredient at a time to limit the variability in the process.
I enjoyed my first batch also. But I don't see that as the one that I'd want to make and remake and remake.That makes sense Tal. Once you have found that beer you like definitely rinse and repeat to shoot for consistency. I plan to start this soon. I do argree with you on nailing a recipe and THEN going for consistency. Hopefully you enjoy at least one of the split batch.
Yup. That's my mindset.Personally I'd say do what interests you for the first while, once you're comfortable with the various steps and not having random "WTF does that mean?" moments then you can begin hammering out consistency in my opinion. It doesn't do you any good to try and get consistent while still trying to learn the terminology.
I think that's what I'm going for - having the basics down. Of course some WTF moments are still bound to happen from time to time, but I wanna feel comfortable with the process before I go for consistency.
I think you are taking things from one extreme to the next.Gentlemen, despite my recommendation, you describe the track I took. When I say to go for consistency early, I'm recommending the track I'd like to have taken. So I do understand where you are coming from, I understand the desire to experiment, to brew everything but as mentioned here and elsewhere, it wasn't until I brewed Helles for six straight months that I learned to brew.
Well, you quite obviously know a lot more about music than me. Good luck with whatever you choose but remember this: Unlike the mediocre "Hallelujah," in brewing, you won't know you hit a wrong note until about six weeks after you do so. You're right in that you should be having fun with it, whatever your definition of fun might be.I think you are taking things from one extreme to the next.
I completely believe what you're saying about the importance of shooting for consistency. However, I also think that doing that too early is futile - there's no way that I'll be able to consistent, when the gear that I'm brewing with changes each and every time. There's also very little chance that I'll be able to analyze any lack of consistency when I'm not yet familiar with the basics. On top of that - I think it will also make things less fun. If I'm not yet ready for this stage, I am far more likely to get frustrated.
When you're learning how to play the guitar, you're not going for a perfect "House of the Rising Sun" - you're going for an OK one, and a reasonable "Knocking on Heaven's Door", and then a mediocre "Hallelujah". At the same time, you run scales. After a while, you're able to strive for a good "Stairway to Heaven" - it requires you being "stuck" on the same song for what feels like eternity - but you're at a point where you're able to make it into something. If you tried perfecting it to begin with, or even if you tried perfecting a simpler one like "House of the Rising Sun", you'd get so frustrated, you'd quit. I apply a similar approach here.
I don't plan on brewing randomly for 6 years before I start honing my skills, but I do think that maybe brewing 6 times before I do that would be good.
I think that the reason you advocate shooting for consistency from the get-go, is because you feel how much it improved your brewing skills, but I don't think you're taking into consideration the fact that it improved your skills as much as it did, partly because you were "ripe" (maybe too ripe) - you were ready for this stage.
And of course, I could be totally wrong...