gunhaus
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2006
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So- the water is in the grains, and I have a little time to kill. I was thinking as i read over some new posts that there are people who obsess, sometimes dramatically, over every little number in the brew process. If they miss their predicted OG, or their FG, or any of the other assorted G's by even a point or so, they wig out and try to decipher and question every possible angle. There seems to be a real anxiety that something may be seriously off!
On the other end of the spectrum there seem to be brewers that shun the numbers as potentially evil or demonic, and act as if the mere possession of a hydrometer is a hell worthy offense, and may result in removal of ones brewing card. (I admit that the little mean anarchist in me envies the way they recklessly pour sugary liquids in a bucket, dose it with yeast and ride the whirlwind to conclusion!)
I myself like the numbers, but have never been able to muster any degree of obsession about them. I take predicted OG and FG with a grain of salt and am more worried about the end product and a fair degree of repeatability. If the end product from my set up suits my tastes that is the goal i seek, and if my numbers do not jive with the software by a few points so be it. If a tasty looking recipe comes out a little sweet or a little dry or a little off then i can tweak the system till the tastes are what i like and I use the numbers to achieve this goal. As an example i have a nice "Mocktoberfest" type ale that I brew. The original recipe called for 1.050 OG, 1.014 FG, and the software numbers matched up to that with all MY system numbers installed. It came out at 1.054 OG, and 1.010 FG, and was wonderful - still is after ten years of brewing it! I could have adjusted the bill a tad, dinked around with a different yeast etc to EXACTLY hit the number - But why? It's good as is! The numbers guide me and tell me if I am off somewhere - But if the one sitting on the cupboard mashing right now ends up at 1.052 OG, (And later finishes at say 1.012) I am gonna sleep good tonight and drink good in about three weeks!
I have also learned in the past 30 years or so to accept the fact that as with all cooking endeavors I have ZERO control over the many factors of nature. Like it or not there are going to be times things happen! Some years the barley will have a higher sugar content. A particular lot of yeast may contain an inordinate amount of muscle bound over achievers. Or maybe the touch or Silenus will combine with the seasoning from the tears of baby Jesus, and a particular batch will attenuate a little more or less than normal! These, to me, are those "special batches" you remember fondly over time! I like that!
So where do you stand with the numbers? How do you view them and use them? Does your brew day crash down if each batch does not exactly match predictions? Do you, like me, use them as a guide line to recreate as closely as possible from batch to batch, but you don't live or die a little inside aver them? Do they suck and you wish that numbers had never been drawn from the primordial ooze?
Time to stir the mash! Tag you'er it . . . .
On the other end of the spectrum there seem to be brewers that shun the numbers as potentially evil or demonic, and act as if the mere possession of a hydrometer is a hell worthy offense, and may result in removal of ones brewing card. (I admit that the little mean anarchist in me envies the way they recklessly pour sugary liquids in a bucket, dose it with yeast and ride the whirlwind to conclusion!)
I myself like the numbers, but have never been able to muster any degree of obsession about them. I take predicted OG and FG with a grain of salt and am more worried about the end product and a fair degree of repeatability. If the end product from my set up suits my tastes that is the goal i seek, and if my numbers do not jive with the software by a few points so be it. If a tasty looking recipe comes out a little sweet or a little dry or a little off then i can tweak the system till the tastes are what i like and I use the numbers to achieve this goal. As an example i have a nice "Mocktoberfest" type ale that I brew. The original recipe called for 1.050 OG, 1.014 FG, and the software numbers matched up to that with all MY system numbers installed. It came out at 1.054 OG, and 1.010 FG, and was wonderful - still is after ten years of brewing it! I could have adjusted the bill a tad, dinked around with a different yeast etc to EXACTLY hit the number - But why? It's good as is! The numbers guide me and tell me if I am off somewhere - But if the one sitting on the cupboard mashing right now ends up at 1.052 OG, (And later finishes at say 1.012) I am gonna sleep good tonight and drink good in about three weeks!
I have also learned in the past 30 years or so to accept the fact that as with all cooking endeavors I have ZERO control over the many factors of nature. Like it or not there are going to be times things happen! Some years the barley will have a higher sugar content. A particular lot of yeast may contain an inordinate amount of muscle bound over achievers. Or maybe the touch or Silenus will combine with the seasoning from the tears of baby Jesus, and a particular batch will attenuate a little more or less than normal! These, to me, are those "special batches" you remember fondly over time! I like that!
So where do you stand with the numbers? How do you view them and use them? Does your brew day crash down if each batch does not exactly match predictions? Do you, like me, use them as a guide line to recreate as closely as possible from batch to batch, but you don't live or die a little inside aver them? Do they suck and you wish that numbers had never been drawn from the primordial ooze?
Time to stir the mash! Tag you'er it . . . .