Slightly long story, can skip to the end if it gets boring.
So I visit HBT almost every day, and have done for the last four + years since I started down this path. For the most part, after I check to see who liked/didn't like/commented on my posts/comments, I start in General Homebrew, then say to myself, "let's see what the noobs are up to today" and head over to the Beginning Brewing forum. Not meant to be derogatory, but I like to see if there's any posts there where I can offer some assistance, as I'm sure many of us do; also to see if I can learn something new. More and more, I'm seeing posts from new brewers just finding out what happens when malt, yeast, hops, and time really come together and make something awesome, with a little help from us humans.
So here's my question; what do you most miss, or NOT miss, about being a rank beginner? For positives, was it your first equipment setup, that moment when you discovered "hey, this is BEER and I made it!!!", a recipe you made once and just haven't been able to repeat? For negatives, realizing that yeast (except for those kveik strains) do NOT like being dumped into super hot wort where they will mostly die and cause really nasty off-flavors (waves hand guiltily in the air)? Or that cleaning your equipment right after a brewday is a must (once again, waving hand slowly, guiltily, slightly above shoulder level)?
I'll start. I do NOT miss being ignorant of all the information available out there, and ruining several batches that could have been good by my rookie mistakes. I'm not going to include equipment upgrades (I've had several) since those come with experience; back in the day I could have made some great beers if I had just pulled my head out of my a** and realized what I was doing wrong, which I could have easily done with a couple of google searches, or purchasing the books I currently have on my shelf, which didn't happen until after I'd been stumbling along for 2 years; or by knowing exactly what questions to ask on this very forum. I have nothing but admiration for the folks on here who started homebrewing before the internet (yes I do remember back that far).
I DO miss a few batches I made as a beginner that were (at least to me) absolutely stellar; an IPA that I brewed with water from Lake Chelan (no adjustments) that turned out the best I've ever made; the Orange Coriander Wit that I made for my daughter's wedding that was perfect with no ferment fridge; and, believe it or not, the first batch I brewed from fresh ingredients in my old Mr Beer barrel, mainly because I made it and it was drinkable.
So, anyone want to chime in? Won't be offended if this one falls to the basement, or if the mods move this to the beginner forum.
So I visit HBT almost every day, and have done for the last four + years since I started down this path. For the most part, after I check to see who liked/didn't like/commented on my posts/comments, I start in General Homebrew, then say to myself, "let's see what the noobs are up to today" and head over to the Beginning Brewing forum. Not meant to be derogatory, but I like to see if there's any posts there where I can offer some assistance, as I'm sure many of us do; also to see if I can learn something new. More and more, I'm seeing posts from new brewers just finding out what happens when malt, yeast, hops, and time really come together and make something awesome, with a little help from us humans.
So here's my question; what do you most miss, or NOT miss, about being a rank beginner? For positives, was it your first equipment setup, that moment when you discovered "hey, this is BEER and I made it!!!", a recipe you made once and just haven't been able to repeat? For negatives, realizing that yeast (except for those kveik strains) do NOT like being dumped into super hot wort where they will mostly die and cause really nasty off-flavors (waves hand guiltily in the air)? Or that cleaning your equipment right after a brewday is a must (once again, waving hand slowly, guiltily, slightly above shoulder level)?
I'll start. I do NOT miss being ignorant of all the information available out there, and ruining several batches that could have been good by my rookie mistakes. I'm not going to include equipment upgrades (I've had several) since those come with experience; back in the day I could have made some great beers if I had just pulled my head out of my a** and realized what I was doing wrong, which I could have easily done with a couple of google searches, or purchasing the books I currently have on my shelf, which didn't happen until after I'd been stumbling along for 2 years; or by knowing exactly what questions to ask on this very forum. I have nothing but admiration for the folks on here who started homebrewing before the internet (yes I do remember back that far).
I DO miss a few batches I made as a beginner that were (at least to me) absolutely stellar; an IPA that I brewed with water from Lake Chelan (no adjustments) that turned out the best I've ever made; the Orange Coriander Wit that I made for my daughter's wedding that was perfect with no ferment fridge; and, believe it or not, the first batch I brewed from fresh ingredients in my old Mr Beer barrel, mainly because I made it and it was drinkable.
So, anyone want to chime in? Won't be offended if this one falls to the basement, or if the mods move this to the beginner forum.