How long before you made your first real good beer?

[jturman35]

Hey guys I was wondering how many brews most of you had under your belt before making what I would consider a really good beer? I’m getting a little frustrated my beers aren’t turning out very well.

I have made 3 extracts, two of those were pretty good. The first one I made was just beer. I have made 5 AG batches and one of those turned out ok. I have two fermenting as I type. My best was a Nut Brown Ale but It lacked body and head retention. I mostly keg. Maybe I’m just being hard on myself but I’m hoping the two I have in the fermenter turn out better. I got into home brewing wanting to make exceptional beer and it just hasn’t happened yet. I’m starting to wonder if I should just stick to one beer and try and perfect it rather than jump all over the place.

 

[beerlover77]

Not including all grain wort kits... About 3 batches for me. My first was an extract/steeped grain (it wasn't good), then I went to BIAB and it got better from there

 

[SEndorf]

Interesting question!
A "really good beer" is subjective.
Ironically... My first beer a hundred years ago was an Irish Ale extract kit. I did everything imaginable WRONG but it turned out to be a very tasty brew that got me interested in going further with the hobby. Eventually graduating to all grain took me about 2-3 brew sessions to dial in a "really good beer". Moving further into water science takes it to an entirely new level.

 

[Sammy86]

Agree with @SEndorf really good is subjective. I will always remember my first beer Cascade Orange Pale Ale...recipe here on the forum...thought it was good but not great...in hindsight it was a little too sweet.

Then I just kept brewing and brewing...I have my process down now and I’m making what I think are consistently good beer...I even did what I swear I would never do and entered a comp and got 3rd place...meaning someone other then my friends and family likes my beer and I was hitting the mark style wise.

I’m in the camp of if I like it and my beer geek friends and family like it then I’m good with saying it’s a good beer.

Once the SWMBO and I and the family move to the new house water chemistry is next on my list...interested to see how new water and making adjustments with make my beer better.

 

[mongoose33]

Hey guys I was wondering how many brews most of you had under your belt before making what I would consider a really good beer? I’m getting a little frustrated my beers aren’t turning out very well.

I have made 3 extracts, two of those were pretty good. The first one I made was just beer. I have made 5 AG batches and one of those turned out ok. I have two fermenting as I type. My best was a Nut Brown Ale but It lacked body and head retention. I mostly keg. Maybe I’m just being hard on myself but I’m hoping the two I have in the fermenter turn out better. I got into home brewing wanting to make exceptional beer and it just hasn’t happened yet. I’m starting to wonder if I should just stick to one beer and try and perfect it rather than jump all over the place.

I hit on my sixth batch. First three were extract, then AG from then on. I didn't get to where I would expect, reliably, to brew a good beer until probably the 15th or so batch.

I think you are on to something about trying to nail down a recipe. Oh, not 15 of them, but if you do 2 or 3 of the same recipe, you can hone the process. From my 6th to my 14th batch, I only brewed 3 different recipes. I think, in retrospect, that was helpful as I kept improving my process and I could see that reflected in the beers. I just finished brewing my 48th batch, and it's a repeat of #46, which may have been the most exceptional beer I've brewed--if not, it's tied for first.

I'm a big believer in continuous quality improvement. Every time I brew I try to do something better. Over time, that's been everything from fermentation temp control to better water for my all-grain mashes to controlling mash temp better to...a whole lot of stuff. I'm doing some low-oxygen techniques and brewing this weekend; I'm going to work on controlling mash temps better with that procedure, as it's been a little tough to dial it in.

***********

Here are several places you might look at to see if you can improve.

1. Fermentation temp control. Most experienced brewers, when asked, seem to identify this as a huge step forward in their brewing.

2. Water. How are you managing water in your mash? Ever had a water report done? Are you using RO water? Is there Chlorine or Chloramines in your water and you're not neutralizing it? Where is your mash pH at (and if you can't test for pH, do you use a good water spreadsheet like Brunwater to estimate it, and get it in range?)

3. Do you oxygenate your wort before you pitch? Or at least splash and shake it up to aerate it as much as you can so the yeast have a decent head start?

4. If you use dry yeast, do you rehydrate it? If liquid yeast, do you do a starter?

5. How are you getting your grain crushed? Do you brew as soon as possible after crushing or does it sit around for a week or two before it's doughed in? The closer to dough-in you can crush your grain, the better it is.

***********

A nice simple beer would be a good one to work on. I brew a SMASH from time to time using Maris Otter malt and Styrian Celeia hops. Nice and crisp, a lighter beer, and a lot of people like it. Something simpler that would suit your palate might be something to work on.

Good luck!

 

[mrbeachroach]

It was pretty natural for me right away. I don't think I've ever made a bad batch. Most the kits I have bought been recipes from Austin Home Brew. I would recommend any of their extract mini mash.

That's also a good point I have never just use extract, but there have always been grains to soak. And when given a choice I always used liquid yeast. If you want to beer that will put you back on the map of being happy with it try a double Bock or imperial stout. If you like high gravity bump the alcohol by 1% and it will make a great winter brew.

The only other advice that I have is that I am pretty consistent with sanitation procedures. If something taste off or not what you thought it should be it could be due to that. A good friend once told me there is no such thing as bad beer only bad attitudes.

Hope that helps. I find beer to be very forgiving.

 

[mrbeachroach]

I hit on my sixth batch. First three were extract, then AG from then on. I didn't get to where I would expect, reliably, to brew a good beer until probably the 15th or so batch.

I think you are on to something about trying to nail down a recipe. Oh, not 15 of them, but if you do 2 or 3 of the same recipe, you can hone the process. From my 6th to my 14th batch, I only brewed 3 different recipes. I think, in retrospect, that was helpful as I kept improving my process and I could see that reflected in the beers. I just finished brewing my 48th batch, and it's a repeat of #46, which may have been the most exceptional beer I've brewed--if not, it's tied for first.

I'm a big believer in continuous quality improvement. Every time I brew I try to do something better. Over time, that's been everything from fermentation temp control to better water for my all-grain mashes to controlling mash temp better to...a whole lot of stuff. I'm doing some low-oxygen techniques and brewing this weekend; I'm going to work on controlling mash temps better with that procedure, as it's been a little tough to dial it in.

***********

Here are several places you might look at to see if you can improve.

1. Fermentation temp control. Most experienced brewers, when asked, seem to identify this as a huge step forward in their brewing.

2. Water. How are you managing water in your mash? Ever had a water report done? Are you using RO water? Is there Chlorine or Chloramines in your water and you're not neutralizing it? Where is your mash pH at (and if you can't test for pH, do you use a good water spreadsheet like Brunwater to estimate it, and get it in range?)



Good luck!

I give a bump to the water.

All the water I use for my wine and beer comes out of the mountain from a local source around here literally you take the jug and hold it under a Spicket that's always running out of the side of this mountain. Everybody knows the water is awesome. Spring has been tested many times in the past and is excellent for brewing it's the only thing I use.

I cannot imagine using anything else. But when you consider that water is the number one ingredient very important.

 

[mongoose33]

I give a bump to the water.

All the water I use for my wine and beer comes out of the mountain from a local source around here literally you take the jug and hold it under a Spicket that's always running out of the side of this mountain. Everybody knows the water is awesome. Spring has been tested many times in the past and is excellent for brewing it's the only thing I use.

I cannot imagine using anything else. But when you consider that water is the number one ingredient very important.

Wish I had your mountain!

My water is terrible for most brewing. Very alkaline, only good for stouty beers. Mostly I use RO water with a little of my tap water in it.

 

[grampamark]

I've never brewed a truly awful beer. I've never dumped a batch, never had an infection (or, never had a brew that lasted long enough for an infection to manifest itself). I brewed extract kits for about 2 years, about 15 brews in all. I noticed that all of these beers tasted quite a lot alike, regardless of the style. They were certainly drinkable; nobody ever turned down the offer of a second one. But, none of them tasted like the kind of beer I wanted to brew, so I decided to try all grain.

My first AG batch was a Cream Ale. It turned out much better than I expected for a first effort. Everyone who tried it really liked it. I thought "Gee, maybe I should have been doing this all along". That recipe has become my fizzy, yellow, house beer. I make it about every third brew, or so.

Since then, for the last 4 years, I've done, I think, 45 AG batches. Whenever I try a new recipe I select what, for lack of a better term,could be called a "reference beer", an example of the style which I like. I'm not trying to clone these beers, I just want a point of reference with regard to style. Having a basis for comparison makes it easier, for me at least, to make adjustments to a recipe to come up with a beer that I really like, not just a beer that is an acceptable example of a style.

As always, YMMV. I've gotten to the point that I can consistently brew beer that I like, and friends/family don't try to slink off when I show up with a growler or three. Either I make good beer or my friends will drink anything that's free. I think my friends have better taste than that. I think.

Mark

 

[thehaze]

My first beers were brewed last year around August. All 5 batches I made then were good, but the Session IPA, the Reddish Saison and the Rye ale were very good, with the rest of two being OK. So I probably was lucky...

I brewed 19 batches since August and I never had a dumper, nor an infection. I already brewed 2 batches here last week with 3 more to follow late this week. I plan to brew around 40 batches this year.

But taste is relative and everyone thinks differently what " good " means.

 

[oakchips]

Four batches for me, I tried quite fancy grain bills and odd combinations of hops at first that didn’t really work, brewed one batch of porter which looked and tasted like diesel oil. The fourth was a simple recipe and turned out a very decent 5.2% IPA.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

My first "really good" beer was my 4th batch. I have made a lot of good beer, but really good beer? Out of the 14 batches that I've made there have been only 2 really good batches. The rest have some minor fault of one sort or another, and mostly it is not related to the particular recipe I am making, so for me, I don't think it would have helped to make one recipe over and over until I mastered it. One sort of funny error that I made was a Christmas beer that I thought good Christmas spices are vanilla and cinnamon. The beer was actually quite tasty, but vanilla and cinnamon are more notable in horchata or fried ice cream than Christmas is what I found out.

 

[chris000]

as others said it really depends on expectations.

• first pick a forgiving style, like an IPA for example
• second focus on fermentation.
  to make this easier, stick to extract (with steeping grains) until you get that figured out. make sure you don't have chlorine/chloramine in the water (forget about the rest for now, the extract will provide some buffer)

remember you only can make wort, but the yeast makes the beer. so, no point in making good wort if that is never going to turn into good beer.

 

[cubalz]

Man I have brewing for a long time but if I remember correctly, it was about 7 batches in when I thought that they were getting really tasty and more to the point, consistent. My brewing really turned a corner when I started taking meticulous notes and not drinking during the brew session.

 

[gunhaus]

My first beer was truly awful. It was one of those kits you could buy from the front of the Popular mechanics - You know the one with the smiling guy with the immaculate beard that promised you could make you favorite brews for pennies a glass! It was an awful kit with a big can full of ancient ingredients and I was totally unprepared. It was a good five year later i fell in cahoots with a dedicated home brewer, and he helped me step by step to brew an extract stout that he helped assemble at a local store. THAT came out wonderfully. I have to put in 2 cents on water and temp control as well. I am fortunate that my well water works very very nicely for most of the styles i brew. But it does benefit from tweaking on others. And although my first few beer in both extract and AG were quite good under my friends tutelage - I did not a decided increase in my repeatability and consistency when i finally built a ferm chamber.

 

[jturman35]

I have jumped all in which is my reason for starting this thread. I built a keezer and fermenter before i ever started and recently picked up a Brew Boss system which should help me become more consistent. I also, just sent off my water to Ward Labs. I also received a ph meter and refractometer for Christmas which I used for my last two brews. I have yet to make any water adjustments.

The best beer i have made to date was a Nut Brown. It lacked head retention and had a slight off flavor that for me was hard to describe. I noticed when i did my last two batches my mash ph was high 6.2-6.5 during the mash. Which i have read can lead to tannins. I also made my first two starters for my last two batches using my new brew boss. I have been trying to dial in BS and learn all I can and most likely my biggest issue is not being patient, lol!

Going forward i believe it would serve me well to try and nail down this Nut Brown Ale the only reason I haven't is because i like variety. I also highly favor big abv beers in the 7-8% wheelhouse. Which I haven't quite hit yet.

Thanks for all of the replies!

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Hey guys I was wondering how many brews most of you had under your belt before making what I would consider a really good beer? I’m getting a little frustrated my beers aren’t turning out very well.

The truth is that you're going to get responses all over the map. Some people here probably researched endlessly to the point that they already had a REALLY solid idea of process before they brewed their first beer. Others started brewing years ago and only found their way to HBT after they realized they needed to make changes to improve their beer.

The key is that practice doesn't make perfect beer, making use of best practices makes really good beer. Doing the wrong things over and over doesn't help.

So much like Mongoose above, I recommend you think of your beer with the "continuous quality improvement" mindset. That is, look at what you do and ask yourself two questions. First, am I doing anything *wrong* that is actively ruining my beer? Second, is there anything that I can do *better* relative to my current process to either make it more consistent, or better align with brewing best practices? That's how you make good beer. Actively reduce bad things, and continually try to hone your process to improve good things.

That said, I'll give you a couple main ones that are common for a new brewer to look at:

1. Sanitation. This one's obvious, but just make sure that you're using whatever sanitation methods you use correctly. I recommend star-san, as it's a no-rinse sanitizer. Obviously if you're using bleach or something similar, you need to rinse that.
2. Oxidation. This isn't related to LODO brewing or anything like that, it's just to make sure that you're not introducing any oxygen after fermentation has started and completed. Oxidation will ruin a good beer. This means that you shouldn't be opening your fermenter a bunch to check gravity, it means that you should hone and PRACTICE your techniques for siphoning/transferring wort, that you should purge the keg of O2 before putting the beer in, etc. Practice siphoning with water if you need to do it to improve your process. Depending on what you ferment in, a closed transfer pushing the beer with CO2 is even better. Since you keg, you have CO2 and you can probably rig something up to transfer this way.
3. Yeast pitching quantity. At this point, you shouldn't worry about overpitching. So in 5 gallons, use a sizable starter [if using liquid yeast] or use 2 packs of yeast if using dry. Yeast in their reproductive phase can throw out off flavors, and you want to avoid that.
4. Yeast pitching temp / fermentation temp. Cool your wort to your target fermentation temp, or even a few degrees below it, BEFORE pitching yeast. Keep your temperatures controlled during the first few days of fermentation. If you're making a typical American ale, try to keep the actual fermenting wort in the mid 60's. Fermentation creates heat, so base the temperature on the WORT temp, not on the ambient air temp. The stick-on thermometer on the outside of your fermenter is sufficient for this.
5. Water. If your water is terrible, you need to address it. If your water is "good enough", then this can go into an advanced "I'll tackle this after I get #1-4 out of the way" pile. But if your water is terrible, don't brew with it. Either get a filter [RO water plus minerals is preferred], or go to the grocery store and buy spring water. Either way, if you think you have bad water, it'll end up muddying the flavors of your beer and keep them from reaching their true potential.

Notice that very little of what I've put in the above has to do with bling, with fancy boil equipment, with complicated RIMS/HERMS equipment, etc. You can screw up ALL sorts of things on brew day and if you handle your yeast properly, you'll still make good beer [just not the same beer you planned]. Brewers often focus on the brew day equipment, and not on taking care of their yeast, and that is IMHO backwards. Make your yeast happy first.

 

[jonny24]

I don't have my brew book handy, but I want to say it was probably around my 7th brew as well. My first 3 were extract- first one was pretty bleh, would probably dump it if I made it today but thought it was okay at the time. The next two were okay, then I switched to AG. The first couple weren't bad but I was making them overly bitter. Around that time I made two changes that I believe had the biggest effect:

1. I switched to using non-softened water. I was on my parents farm at the time and we had a softener on our well water, mostly for iron. Brews were much better after that switch. Now I'm on city water and it seems to be just fine. I'll do a test eventually.

2. Fermentation temp control. My dad had a freezer he used for storing chickens to sell. When it was empty between crops I was allowed to use it, so I got a plug-in temp controller.

I've made 30 batches now, as well as one cider (went well) and one wine (sucked). I'm fairly consistent now, where beers are always good, even if not turning out as anticipated. I'm also fairly relaxed in my brewing- I don't get too worried about a few degrees of mash temp, don't worry about PH or water chemistry, striving for super efficiency or anything like that. That's not to say these things don't matter, they absolutely can, and may make a bigger difference on someone else's system or situation than mine.

I do however tend to struggle with IPA's. I don't drink them that often, maybe one or two a month, and I'm never happy with my hopping- usually too bitter with not enough aroma. Something to play with I suppose.

 

[AZBeer]

Probably my 3rd of 4th batch. Not that it was great, but I think it was my 4th brew when I realized I had the potential to make great beer. Not sure if I am there yet or not to be honest. But I consistently make good beer, and usually make beer that I grab for before any commercial offerings in me fridge.

As far as where to focus on improvements, bwarbiany pretty much nailed it IMO.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I really can't recall the few extract batches from the 90's, but they were well received. When I got back into it, I went straight to all grain and pulled out all the stops: RO water with gypsum and calcium chloride, pH management, a yeast starter, and fermentation temp control.

It was fantastic.

 

[brewcat]

First time was good. I think kegging provided my biggest improvement. But it has always been about improving things incrementally. I'm with the other guys on continual improvements.

Are these your recipes? Process is important, but you need to start with a good/great recipe. For me the times beers haven't turned out as good was because of recipe.

 

[deadwolfbones]

First batch was good (converted the NB amber ale to an amber saison with WY3711, added coriander and orange zest). Second batch was a disaster (1gal extract IPA kit), and from then on it's been pretty solid. IPAs are still trickiest, but I'm getting a handle on it.

 

[Stepp2]

I hit on my sixth batch. First three were extract, then AG from then on. I didn't get to where I would expect, reliably, to brew a good beer until probably the 15th or so batch.

I think you are on to something about trying to nail down a recipe. Oh, not 15 of them, but if you do 2 or 3 of the same recipe, you can hone the process. From my 6th to my 14th batch, I only brewed 3 different recipes. I think, in retrospect, that was helpful as I kept improving my process and I could see that reflected in the beers. I just finished brewing my 48th batch, and it's a repeat of #46, which may have been the most exceptional beer I've brewed--if not, it's tied for first.

I'm a big believer in continuous quality improvement. Every time I brew I try to do something better. Over time, that's been everything from fermentation temp control to better water for my all-grain mashes to controlling mash temp better to...a whole lot of stuff. I'm doing some low-oxygen techniques and brewing this weekend; I'm going to work on controlling mash temps better with that procedure, as it's been a little tough to dial it in.

***********

Here are several places you might look at to see if you can improve.

1. Fermentation temp control. Most experienced brewers, when asked, seem to identify this as a huge step forward in their brewing.

2. Water. How are you managing water in your mash? Ever had a water report done? Are you using RO water? Is there Chlorine or Chloramines in your water and you're not neutralizing it? Where is your mash pH at (and if you can't test for pH, do you use a good water spreadsheet like Brunwater to estimate it, and get it in range?)

3. Do you oxygenate your wort before you pitch? Or at least splash and shake it up to aerate it as much as you can so the yeast have a decent head start?

4. If you use dry yeast, do you rehydrate it? If liquid yeast, do you do a starter?

5. How are you getting your grain crushed? Do you brew as soon as possible after crushing or does it sit around for a week or two before it's doughed in? The closer to dough-in you can crush your grain, the better it is.

***********

A nice simple beer would be a good one to work on. I brew a SMASH from time to time using Maris Otter malt and Styrian Celeia hops. Nice and crisp, a lighter beer, and a lot of people like it. Something simpler that would suit your palate might be something to work on.

Good luck!

Well stated.

 

[Miraculix]

Hey guys I was wondering how many brews most of you had under your belt before making what I would consider a really good beer? I’m getting a little frustrated my beers aren’t turning out very well.

I have made 3 extracts, two of those were pretty good. The first one I made was just beer. I have made 5 AG batches and one of those turned out ok. I have two fermenting as I type. My best was a Nut Brown Ale but It lacked body and head retention. I mostly keg. Maybe I’m just being hard on myself but I’m hoping the two I have in the fermenter turn out better. I got into home brewing wanting to make exceptional beer and it just hasn’t happened yet. I’m starting to wonder if I should just stick to one beer and try and perfect it rather than jump all over the place.

Actually, my first brew was really nice. Pilsener citra smash ale. If your stuff is not satisfying, go for easier recipes first. A nice maris otter smash with cascade or citra, maybe add a bit of Munich or Vienna, but that's it. Us05, 35 ibus, 1.05 og, awesome beer!

 

[thejuanald]

My first batch was an extract recipe for a double IPA I built from looking at recipes here, but I really didn't like it. It was way darker than I expected (because I added the DME at the beginning of the boil I suspect) and was not very hoppy. Other people liked it though.

After that first recipe, I switched to all grain, built a fermentation chamber, added a starter and built a stirplate. Then, I made my second batch, a similar DIPA to what I did in the first extract, and I loved it. Everything I've made since, I've at least enjoyed (made a few fruity wheats that I thought came out too tart but the fiancee loved). Now, I've added a pump, a plate chiller, and a 'manual' HERMS system, and I want to start automating things a bit and maybe add in line oxygenation of the wort while going to the fermenter. I definitely got the bug.

 

[Schreiner]

Objectively, or subjectively? The more I've learned to more picky I've become. The beers I dump today I probably would have been stoked about 10 years ago.

 

[hopness monster]

It took about 12 AG batches and pretty much every improvement you could make, temp control, oxygenator, stir plate with starter before I made a beer that I deemed drinkable. I think a kegging system and using acidulated malt to lower ph ultimately is what made the difference

 

[EtchyLives]

I had been brewing off and on for about five years and 20 batches before I really had a beer that I thought, "that was good." It was my third attempt at an ESB. That was a combination of fermentation temp and yeast management, as well as all-grain process tweaking to get it right. Then I started regularly making "good" beer to the point that I gave up 20 gallons of Centennial Blonde and 20 gallons of Summer Stout for an event.

My first really "got dam that's good!" beer was a couple batches later with a Punk Monk clone. All the hop pop and malt flavor of the original. Now with water chemistry practice I'm having to tweak things and only one out of three is fantastic. The rest are good except the ones that I purposefully experiment with - those are hit or miss.

My biggest lesson recently has been patience, especially with my big Belgians.

Mostly my advice is to read, read, and reread. Then pick one or two beers you like and practice then over and over tweaking one or two factors at a time. Like hooked on phonics, it wurkd four mii.

 

[jturman35]

I have been continuously trying to improve my process. When it comes to sanitation I use PBW and Starsan for cleaning my equip, kegs, carboys. I have a glass carboy brush but it’s not the easiest to use.

I have probably been guilty of pitching into warm wort at times. I use an immersion chiller with whirlpool which isn’t the best. I also recently started using a oxygen stone with oxygen before pitching. And also started making starters using a stir plate.

My next process improvement is to use co2 to push beer when racking into my closed keg that is purged with co2.

 

[theseeker4]

I have been continuously trying to improve my process. When it comes to sanitation I use PBW and Starsan for cleaning my equip, kegs, carboys. I have a glass carboy brush but it’s not the easiest to use.

I have probably been guilty of pitching into warm wort at times. I use an immersion chiller with whirlpool which isn’t the best. I also recently started using a oxygen stone with oxygen before pitching. And also started making starters using a stir plate.

My next process improvement is to use co2 to push beer when racking into my closed keg that is purged with co2.

How about fermentation temp control? This is much more important than temp you pitch at. Also, have you looked at your water chemistry? Lack of body, lack of head retention, and just tasting off makes me think you might have issues with your water profile.

 

[GnenieGone]

Great question. My 1st go around..all were mediocre. 2nd go around read up and studied more about sanitation and technique. 1st beer was a Falconer's Flight IPA and came out better then anything before.

1st trully professional grade beer was an Imperial Stout brewed about 4-5 months later. And about 4 months after before I could say that. Goal was 75% of my HB is equal or better then 75% of retail for that style. Pretty much there except for NEIPAs. But got one fermenting now using different technique..we'll see.

 

[Braufessor]

How about fermentation temp control? This is much more important than temp you pitch at. Also, have you looked at your water chemistry? Lack of body, lack of head retention, and just tasting off makes me think you might have issues with your water profile.

+1 on the Water.... If you happen to have water that is high in alkalinity, or there is chlorine in your water that you are using - it can be almost impossible to brew good beer with it - especially pale beers.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I’m still waiting to make a mind blowing beer. Patience I tell myself.

 

[GnenieGone]

Listen to Braufessor!!

 

[FloppyKnockers]

After tasting my first beer I'm surprised I'm still alive much less still brewing. That said my second batch was amazing by comparison. Not as great by today's standards, but good.

 

[GnenieGone]

I’m still waiting to make a mind blowing beer. Patience I tell myself.

What do you like to brew?

 

[GnenieGone]

After tasting my first beer I'm surprised I'm still alive much less still brewing. That said my second batch was amazing by comparison. Not as great by today's standards, but good.

Haha! 1st beer for me was seriously bad. But our oldest boy just happened to be on his first leave from the Navy and saw me dumping bottle after bottle. He begged me to stop and without sampling, took the remaining 4 gallons of bombers to his friends. Didn't hear from him for days. Apparently they had some bad hangovers. I warned him..but all he saw was FREE BEER! ha!

 

[hagar]

Took my stubborn azz till batch 4 to decide that gruit wasn't gonna work. My first good batch was a Reinheitsgebot compliant blond ale. It tasted so good it made a believer out of me.
Since then it's been a quest to find or make recipes I like, then focus on them until I get them right. Also a focus on consistency of process. I've made some crap the past couple years but I've learned something each time.

Cheers!

 

[Braufessor]

Oh...... and, by the way, I was a very "hit and miss" brewer for probably 12-15 years. I feel like I have gotten to a place where I have become a very consistent brewer over the last 6-7 years. In particular, I would say the last 3 years I have really felt like I could "know" a beer was going to be good in advance as opposed to "hoping" it would turn out well.

For me, the single best thing I ever did was to pick 1-2 relatively basic styles at a time, and brew them over, and over, and over.... not kidding - brewing a Pilsner 30 times, or a blonde ale, or a British Dark Mild, etc. There is really no substitute for repeatability and gradually changing variables to really learn. Even brewing a blonde ale or a british dark mild 10 - 20 times lets you transfer what you learn to lots of other beers.

 

[GnenieGone]

Hey guys I was wondering how many brews most of you had under your belt before making what I would consider a really good beer? I’m getting a little frustrated my beers aren’t turning out very well.

I have made 3 extracts, two of those were pretty good. The first one I made was just beer. I have made 5 AG batches and one of those turned out ok. I have two fermenting as I type. My best was a Nut Brown Ale but It lacked body and head retention. I mostly keg. Maybe I’m just being hard on myself but I’m hoping the two I have in the fermenter turn out better. I got into home brewing wanting to make exceptional beer and it just hasn’t happened yet. I’m starting to wonder if I should just stick to one beer and try and perfect it rather than jump all over the place.

So for my 2 cents. Once i started fermentation temp control, which at first was just throwing ice cubes in a container I had the fermenter in, quality significantly improved. Use RO and re-minerize using something like Brew'n Water software. Never had an issue with yeast. Seems like a pouch or smackpack is fine for 5gallons to 1.070. Make sure you sanitize everything! I use Starsans. It's cheep so everything gets a spray; fermentor, spoons, yeast container, scissors, even my hands.

Also, different beers require different techniques. A basic Milk Stout, double bock and NEIPA are 3 different animals so go to forums and read according to your needs. Good luck, It's worth it!