Hi all,

I guess you can get a more novice question than this but here goes.. do
you guys produce really good beer? I mean, brew that causes you to proudly
turn your nose up at anything from a store or pub?

This is a really serious question. I really like beer but I really love
making crafty artisan type things of good quality. I've known people that
make their own wine but between you and me, it always tastes like grape
juice with crushed aspirin in it.

My two favorite commercial beers are Pilsner Urquell and Newcastle. I like
Guinness too but it's best in Dublin. If there was hope I could homebrew
something close to any of these, I would gladly embark on the expense and
effort to learn it and try try again.

I have this assumption that homebrew would taste much like the microbrews
we have in the States, at best. Typically I don't like them due to
sweetness and aftertaste.

Some good success stories or experiences producing good brews would really
be inspiring.

Thank you,

- JoeB

On Jan 17, 11:21 pm, JB <z...@yahoo.com> wrote:[color=blue]
> Hi all,
>
> I guess you can get a more novice question than this but here goes.. do
> you guys produce really good beer? I mean, brew that causes you to proudly
> turn your nose up at anything from a store or pub?
>
> This is a really serious question. I really like beer but I really love
> making crafty artisan type things of good quality. I've known people that
> make their own wine but between you and me, it always tastes like grape
> juice with crushed aspirin in it.
>
> My two favorite commercial beers are Pilsner Urquell and Newcastle. I like
> Guinness too but it's best in Dublin. If there was hope I could homebrew
> something close to any of these, I would gladly embark on the expense and
> effort to learn it and try try again.
>
> I have this assumption that homebrew would taste much like the microbrews
> we have in the States, at best. Typically I don't like them due to
> sweetness and aftertaste.
>
> Some good success stories or experiences producing good brews would really
> be inspiring.
>
> Thank you,
>
> - JoeB[/color]

In a word, YES!
The best beers I have ever tasted are homebrews. Some mine, some made
by others.

On a whole it depends what your tastes are and what you want to make.
If you want to make a beer that tastes exactly like Guinness then just
go out and buy a Guinness. Its quite hard to match a commercial beer
exactly. The really great part of homebrewing (to me at least) is that
you can make beer that is exactly what you like. You say that
microbrews are too sweet and have an aftertaste. Well then you can
make up a recipe that isn't as sweet and has less hops to match your
tastes. Think of it like any type of cooking. Homemade tomato sauce
is always better than Ragu, but the Ragu is more convenient and nearly
impossible to replicate exactly at home. Then again why would you
replicate it if your recipe tasted better to you...

One other thing to state about homebrewing is that you can make up
beers that are similar to foreign beers that either are not imported to
the US or taste like crap once the make the slow boat ride here for
England/Germany/etc and then get light struck in those $%^^&@ green
bottles! Fresh brewed German Lagers taste NOTHING like Becks!

JB wrote:[color=blue]
>
> I have this assumption that homebrew would taste much like the microbrews
> we have in the States, at best. Typically I don't like them due to
> sweetness and aftertaste.
>
> Some good success stories or experiences producing good brews would really
> be inspiring.
>[/color]

Yes you can make great beer at home. Also, you may want to broaden your
tastes a little bit and homebrewing can do that for you too. Not to
offend, but Newcastle isn't exactly considered "good" beer in many
circles. On the other hand, American craft brewers make some of the
best beers around and you may grow to love "aftertaste" which is so
often derided in marketing for mega-breweries. After all, if the taste
is good, why not have it linger?

Basically it is up to you to take the hobby as far as you want. You can
stick with malt extracts and steeping grains if that is what you like,
or you can go all out and take total control and basically build a mini
version of a commercial brewery in your garage.

Here is the requisite staring place, John Palmers online book:

[url]http://www.howtobrew.com[/url]

You might also want to check out a local homebrew shop (LHBS), find
some brewers or a brew club and sit in on a few brew sessions.
Homebrewers are a great bunch of people and are always willing to help
someone else get into the hobby.

Good luck and have fun,

_Randal

Other posters have given good answers. I'm going to answer some of your other
items...

[color=blue]
> I guess you can get a more novice question than this but here goes.. do
> you guys produce really good beer? I mean, brew that causes you to proudly
> turn your nose up at anything from a store or pub?[/color]

Yes, absolutely. (I'm not saying you would your first few batches... but it is
possible and with some experience you can match or beat almost anything you can
buy).

[color=blue]
> My two favorite commercial beers are Pilsner Urquell and Newcastle. I like
> Guinness too but it's best in Dublin. If there was hope I could homebrew
> something close to any of these, I would gladly embark on the expense and
> effort to learn it and try try again.[/color]

PU is a lager and those require a bit of care to make (ie., controlled
temperature and longer aging times), however, PU is one of my favorites
and I make a lager that is very close to, and as good as, PU. Newcastle is a
British ale, and those are easier to make than light lagers like PU. It should
be no problem coming close to Newcastle (or making a British ale you might like
even better). Regarding Guinness, you can also make some very excellent
stouts... they are, perhaps, one of the easiest styles to homebrew. Note that
they may not be exactly like Guinness, but they'll be excellent. (Guinness
actually comes in several different versions and some are easier to duplicate
than others).
[color=blue]
> I have this assumption that homebrew would taste much like the microbrews
> we have in the States, at best. Typically I don't like them due to
> sweetness and aftertaste.[/color]

As another post said, YOU control the sweetness and (probably) "aftertaste."

Bottom line, you can get an equipment kit and first batch ingredients
for around $100. In a few weeks you'll have an idea of what you can do
homebrewing and how easy it is! If you try it, be SURE that your liquid
extract ingredients are fresh. I'd start with a stout, then the British ale.
Do a few batchs of those for experience. Later on, you can try the lager (ask
back here for specific help with lagers when you are ready to make them).

Derric

[smokeweednow]

Not only is homebrewing fun and EASY (lots of people forget that part) the real thrill I get is from showing up at a friends house with a case or two and blowing away whaterver they have in the fridge.

I don't try and match commercial beers - too much work. However I CAN
say that after 30+ batches of home brew I've made some pretty bad,
alright, good, and really good beers. I've prbably made 15-10 batches of
really really ood stuff. a friend thought some of my stout was the best
he'd ever had.


JB <z33r@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:pan.2007.01.18.04.23.48.300020@yahoo.com:
[color=blue]
> Hi all,
>
> I guess you can get a more novice question than this but here goes..
> do you guys produce really good beer? I mean, brew that causes you to
> proudly turn your nose up at anything from a store or pub?
>
> This is a really serious question. I really like beer but I really
> love making crafty artisan type things of good quality. I've known
> people that make their own wine but between you and me, it always
> tastes like grape juice with crushed aspirin in it.
>
> My two favorite commercial beers are Pilsner Urquell and Newcastle. I
> like Guinness too but it's best in Dublin. If there was hope I could
> homebrew something close to any of these, I would gladly embark on the
> expense and effort to learn it and try try again.
>
> I have this assumption that homebrew would taste much like the
> microbrews we have in the States, at best. Typically I don't like them
> due to sweetness and aftertaste.
>
> Some good success stories or experiences producing good brews would
> really be inspiring.
>
> Thank you,
>
> - JoeB[/color]

[BierNewbie]

JB, if you are interested in getting into making your own beer, don't start with a lager as they are less forgiving of errors. Porters and stouts are a great place to start. Get equipment for 5 gallons and do it right. Definitely well worth the trouble to make your own. Of the 15 batches I made last year, all but 2 were better than anything that I ever got in a 6-pack. There are a lot of brewpubs making great beers as well. I'd go into your LHBS (local home brew shop) and ask what brewpubs make good beer and go there and find out what styles you would really like to make.

[dlihcsnatas]

Try and try again. If you make a batch or have ever tasted someone elses batch that you didn't care for then try a different recipe. With an unlimited possibility of malts, hops, additives, yeasts, and even water & temp variables there is a homebrew out there for even the hardest critic. I even made an ale once that my wife kinda liked and she flat out hates ale.

As for most of my creations... once I drink one of mine I just cann't follow up with an average store brand. The quality and taste of mine wups the living daylights out of most comercial brews without spending more than $8 a six pack. For the record, labor excluded cause I don't consider it work and without sitting down to do some serious mat, one of my brews probably runs around $5 to $6 a six pack just because I likes mine very strong. Avg 8% by volume with lots of body and plenty of hoppiness.

October 29th of last year I finally jumped into homebrewing after a year
of reading and talking with others that have done it now and then.
Batch 1 (English Pale Ale) is gone, 2 (Marzen) and 3 (Irish Dry Stout)
are being drank now and 4 (Imperial Wit) is in the secondary, 5
(Marzen)is in the primary.

I have been buying singles of different types of beer for a while taking
note of what styles I like most. I homebrew in those styles.

Homebrewing is pretty easy if you follow the steps and maintain a clean
environment. I am quite pleased with all of the results so far, the
Marzen is so good I plan to keep brewing it to always have it on hand.

There is nothing wrong with commercial beer, there are some local joints
that have GREAT beer which I enjoy, but I have grown to prefer a bottle
of my own.

On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 04:21:17 +0000, JB wrote:
[color=blue]
> Hi all,
>
> I guess you can get a more novice question than this but here goes.. do
> you guys produce really good beer? I mean, brew that causes you to proudly
> turn your nose up at anything from a store or pub?[/color]

Absolutely. I make ales, meads and sparkling wines. I get the flavors *I*
like, and many other people like them too. I have turned a considerable
number of people who previously had only drunk bud/miller/coors/michelob
into beer aficionados. I have even turned people who did not drink
beer/ale at all into fans.

When I go to holiday parties/barbecues or other events, people ask me if
I'm going to bring some more of *my* brews. I was never one who sought
popularity but my brewing has certainly made me a wanted man.

It takes some time and care, you don't just dump a bunch of stuff in a pot
and expect something good to come out of it, but it isn't all that
difficult either. You just have to know what you like, and/or be willing
to experiment to find it.

My first brew (a sparkling strawberry/raspberry gingermead, loosely based
on Papazian's recipe) was an overwhelming success. People wanted to know
where I bought it, and were disappointed to learn that the entire quantity
available in the world was just what was there.

--
Falcon's Rest
Zymurgical Alchemy
First Inter-Galactic Guild House Of
The Brotherhood Of St. Cathode Of Anode