How do I know if my beer is really any good?

[Blackdirt_cowboy]

I’m relatively new to homebrewing. I’ve only been brewing for about 8 months. I do all grain and have brewed 13 five gallon batches so far and 1 one gallon batch. I try to be objective when I taste my beers. There’s only been one that’s not worth a damn. A couple have just been ok, and the rest, to me, have been outstanding. I’ve only shared my beer with a few family members and close friends. Some have raved and helped me float several kegs. Others have told me that the beer was great, but never asked for another. So how do you know if your beer is truly good? Is homebrew an acquired taste? Or are some people just used to the flavorless macro brews and homebrew will just always be offensive them? I guess all that really matters is that I enjoy it, but it’s nice to be able to share it with people and know that they enjoy it, too.

 

[jerbrew]

You can always send it off to some local competitions for feedback. Sometimes the smaller ones are great on the feedback because they seem to take a lot of time filling out the forms, explaining why they scored it the way they did. Sometimes you get a "I really liked this beer but, you missed the style" which is fine because they still give you good sensory details. You can also try to find any faults they may have picked out that you didn't notice before.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

People often have their personal favorite styles of brew, so I don't take it personally if someone isn't fond of some of my brews, but when they ask for another, you know they really did like it.

 

[AkTom]

The only way to know for sure is to send me samples of every batch... pm me for my address.

 

[C-Rider]

Taste it. If you like it...ITS GOOD. Weather it's correct to a STYLE then you need a contest or a friend that'a a judge.

 

[JohnSand]

I found a homebrew club to be most helpful. My first year was spent making mediocre to poor beer, which at best achieved a kind rating of "Okay" from fellow brewers. Then came the day when they all reviewed my brew as "really good", and a few months later "professional quality".
I also rate friend's feedback by whether they drink more, especially in the presence of craft options.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

"Is homebrew an acquired taste?"

That's a question that makes me wonder if you're there yet. Good homebrew is good...for a homebrew. If it needs that caveat, you're on your way, but not there yet. Great homebrew is indistinguishable from quality commercial craft beer.

You're goal should be to brew beer that an experienced taster can't discern as homebrew. That's a perfectly reasonable goal well within the grasp of any of us.

 

[cubalz]

"Is homebrew an acquired taste?"

That's a question that makes me wonder if you're there yet. Good homebrew is good...for a homebrew. If it needs that caveat, you're on your way, but not there yet. Great homebrew is indistinguishable from quality commercial craft beer.

You're goal should be to brew beer that an experienced taster can't discern as homebrew. That's a perfectly reasonable goal well within the grasp of any of us.

I agree with this 100%

 

[mongoose33]

Taste is subjective. I can judge some styles for how accurately they represent a style, but I would never order them in a pub. Belgians, for instance. Don't care for them. Does that mean Belgians are not very good?

The first person you have to please is yourself.

I have what I consider to be a fairly foolproof measure of my beer: when people have a glass, do they have another? Lots of people will compliment a beer just to be nice, but what I want is the unvarnished truth. Can't get better if people blow smoke up your shorts.

Competitions are chancy affairs for judging your brew, IMO. I've entered beers in our local homebrew competition that I thought were excellent. Others didn't agree. During a comp in November, I entered an Amber I though was terrific; all the right flavor notes, no aftertaste or off flavors....didn't win.

The beer that won? Had extract twang. Apparently the judges were used to that being a necessary flavor component.

*************

Brewed that Amber again Dec. 3. On Dec 24, the family was over for Chrismas Eve celebration. My brother-in-law had a glass of the Amber, which he liked. His wife, a committed wine drinker, asked for a taste. Then she sets her wine glass aside and says "I'll have one of those." Before long, 3 of the 4 wine drinkers were drinking the Amber...and having seconds, and even thirds. Finally had to pour a pitcher as my son grew tired of taking glasses to be refilled.

THAT, IMO, is a measure of a beer being good.

 

[Darwin18]

In my opinion, one of the best ways to get unbiased feedback on the quality of your beer is to enter it into local BJCP competitions. Here's a link to all the BJCP sanctioned competitions:

https://www.bjcp.org/apps/comp_schedule/competition_schedule.php

Before you enter anything, review the Style Guidelines and make sure that what you're entering is representative of the style. That's how your beer will ultimately be judged. Understand also that can be subjective and you may have different results at different competitions. For example, I sent in a Spruce Beer to two competitions recently. One competition scored it a 29, the other gave it a 2nd place ribbon.

You can also bring your beer to a local homebrew club meeting. I've done this before, but it's much harder to get critical feedback on your beer face-to-face.

Hope this helps!

 

[cactusgarrett]

I'm a fan of entering competitions and having other experienced tasters partake. One thing I recently found useful for my own behalf (regarding the skill of tasting/evaluating) was a blind tasting of multiple different brews of the same style. The club I'm in recently had a low-key competition for belgian blonds, and all entries were blinded, and members tasted and judged.

Ultimately I found that my beer tasted different in that context than it does right from the keg at home. Much different tasting experience when you, yourself, are blind to the process.

 

[soccerdad]

I found a homebrew club to be most helpful. My first year was spent making mediocre to poor beer, which at best achieved a kind rating of "Okay" from fellow brewers. Then came the day when they all reviewed my brew as "really good", and a few months later "professional quality".
I also rate friend's feedback by whether they drink more, especially in the presence of craft options.

I agree, but with a slight twist. Fellow club members will be honest and give suggestions. I had a beer recently that I thought was very good .. hop forward with centennial which I really like. Gary did not did the beer, but told me that he thought it needed more body .. and told me how to achieve more body. My first taste of the beer showed me no flaws, with his feedback I more carefully analyzed the second bottle. He was right.

 

[mongoose33]

I'm a fan of entering competitions and having other experienced tasters partake. One thing I recently found useful for my own behalf (regarding the skill of tasting/evaluating) was a blind tasting of multiple different brews of the same style. The club I'm in recently had a low-key competition for belgian blonds, and all entries were blinded, and members tasted and judged.

Ultimately I found that my beer tasted different in that context than it does right from the keg at home. Much different tasting experience when you, yourself, are blind to the process.

Blind tasting is really about the only way to be sure, unless there's a grotesque difference between the beers.

When I did my Brewtan-B experiment last fall, I could always tell a difference between the with- and without versions of the beer, served off the keg.

Then I had someone administer a blind triangle test to me. Got it wrong. Talk about your confirmation bias!

 

[chickypad]

I think Hwk-I hit it on the head. If the people tasting are only macro lager drinkers then of course I wouldn't go by their opinion. But even with the craft beer drinkers there's always the trouble telling if they are just being polite when you give them something to try. Here's what you do - throw a big party with a bunch of beer geeks but also buy a good supply of popular craft beer in various styles. If your kegs kick early while the commercial beers are sitting untouched you know you're there.

 

[knotquiteawake]

People often have their personal favorite styles of brew, so I don't take it personally if someone isn't fond of some of my brews, but when they ask for another, you know they really did like it.

My favorite feeling in homebrewing is seeing someone mosey on back up to the tap tower and pour themselves another. Thats when I know I've succeeded. Not only is it good enough to have seconds but they're comfortable enough to just go pour it themselves (but gosh darn if they don't know how to tilt the glass to reduce the foam it makes me twitch).

 

[kevin58]

If you like your beer then it is good. You can put a little more stock into what your friends & family say. I wouldn't rely on any kind of competition to gauge whether your beer is good or not. At best they will tell you whether your beer fits a style guideline and not so much if your beer is "good".

 

[cactusgarrett]

You can put a little more stock into what your friends & family say

I would posit the opposite is true when it comes to feedback on one's beer.

 

[Cevan65]

I have my buddy can some of my beer and then put Treehouse labels on them. ;-) I have done this once and it was pretty funny.

Honestly, I think it depends on what your goal is. Mine is to have delicious beers on tap in my house. I personally don't care what a beer judge says about my beer in terms of staying within a certain style. My local beer supply shop owner will gladly sample my beer and give me feedback, and he's a BJCP judge.

 

[kevin58]

I would posit the opposite is true when it comes to feedback on one's beer.

And if your friends like it but you don't? Brew for yourself first.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

And if your friends like it but you don't? Brew for yourself first.

No, key being that your friends and family are not trustworthy for two reasons:

1. They're usually not hardcore beer experts and have the palate to really evaluate beer.
2. They're your friends and family. They want to be nice to you. They'll tell you it's great even if it's not.

 

[TwistedGray]

Consider this - https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/fothb-iv-trying-to-catch-me-brewin-dirty.647785/

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

"Is homebrew an acquired taste?"

That's a question that makes me wonder if you're there yet. Good homebrew is good...for a homebrew. If it needs that caveat, you're on your way, but not there yet. Great homebrew is indistinguishable from quality commercial craft beer.

You're goal should be to brew beer that an experienced taster can't discern as homebrew. That's a perfectly reasonable goal well within the grasp of any of us.

Agreed 100%.

 

[Yooper]

We have many BJCP judges on our forum. You could offer to send them a couple for honest feedback if you put it out there that you are looking for that. I'm not able to do it- I've had WAY too many people send me mediocre beer for it to be something to do very often outside of judging competitions- but you may find someone who can do it, and they can honestly score the beer and offer you tips on how to improve if it's not great. If it is great, you've made a new friend!

 

[FloppyKnockers]

As far as I'm concerned if you like it, you win.

I knew I reached the peak of superior epic greatness of all that was or will be called a homebrewer when I can't remember the last time I got a commercial beer, salivated at the thought of what's in the fermenters, and prefer (my) beer over any other offerings.

Sure friends and family will drink my beer. Most like it, some don't, but I don't make beer for them.

 

[seatazzz]

Well said floppyknockers. The one instance where I knew I'd made something incredible was my daughter's wedding last year. About 15 people I didn't know, most of them twenty-somethings, killed my keg of orange coriander wit in less than 3 hours. And then started asking where I had stashed another keg of it (only brought one, not enough room in the car). Even my daughter, who can be a bit of a beer snob herself, and has never pulled any punches with her old mother, loved it. I've had some failures since then, but the last two months have seen the best brews I've done yet.

I'm my own worst critic; but if it tastes good to me I don't give a rip if it's true to style or tastes like something I can get at the store. I made it, it tastes great to me, end of story (and end of keg in about 2 weeks for most of them).

 

[kh54s10]

"Is homebrew an acquired taste?"

That's a question that makes me wonder if you're there yet. Good homebrew is good...for a homebrew. If it needs that caveat, you're on your way, but not there yet. Great homebrew is indistinguishable from quality commercial craft beer.

You're goal should be to brew beer that an experienced taster can't discern as homebrew. That's a perfectly reasonable goal well within the grasp of any of us.

You are the best one to judge whether your beer is good or not. A homebrew club would be second. A judge would be telling you if your beer was to style more than if it is good or not. Friends and family might lean toward not upsetting you if they don't really like it and/or they might not be familiar with how different styles should taste.

I judge my beers by comparing to mid priced commercial craft beers. I can't make myself pay big $$$ for 22 ounces of a beer that may be more hype than good, so I can't compare to those. I would rate 50% of my beers better than the mid priced commercial beers. 40% as good as and 10% not so great.

If you like it, it is a good beer.

 

[TwistedGray]

Well said floppyknockers. The one instance where I knew I'd made something incredible was my daughter's wedding last year. About 15 people I didn't know, most of them twenty-somethings, killed my keg of orange coriander wit in less than 3 hours. And then started asking where I had stashed another keg of it (only brought one, not enough room in the car). Even my daughter, who can be a bit of a beer snob herself, and has never pulled any punches with her old mother, loved it. I've had some failures since then, but the last two months have seen the best brews I've done yet.

I'm my own worst critic; but if it tastes good to me I don't give a rip if it's true to style or tastes like something I can get at the store. I made it, it tastes great to me, end of story (and end of keg in about 2 weeks for most of them).

Add yourself to the link I posted!

 

[Blackdirt_cowboy]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. There seems to be a distinct line between craft beer drinkers and BMC drinkers. The craft beer drinkers seem to be more open to the varying flavors of beer. I think when a hard core BMC drinkers tastes craft beer or homebrew, the flavors can be to “in your face” for them.

I used to drink Budweiser all the time. I never knew how terrible it was until I started homebrewing. The only commercial beers I’ve bought since I started homebrewing have been a few craft beers. And that was just to taste a style of beer I’ve never had to see if I would be interested in brewing 5 gallons of it.

I’ve had one BMC drinker who won’t touch my beer and one who says he enjoys it, but has never gotten a second. The rest have told me that they’ve bought beers that were far worse than mine, and would gladly pay money for mine. Those also helped me to float 2 five gallon kegs at our family cheistmas party, so I guess I could consider myself there.

 

[Staticsouls]

I have my snobbiest friends taste it. They like brewery special release ****, so if it's good to them, then it's prolly killer, and I will drink the rest by my self thank you.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. There seems to be a distinct line between craft beer drinkers and BMC drinkers. The craft beer drinkers seem to be more open to the varying flavors of beer. I think when a hard core BMC drinkers tastes craft beer or homebrew, the flavors can be to “in your face” for them.

I used to drink Budweiser all the time. I never knew how terrible it was until I started homebrewing. The only commercial beers I’ve bought since I started homebrewing have been a few craft beers. And that was just to taste a style of beer I’ve never had to see if I would be interested in brewing 5 gallons of it.

I’ve had one BMC drinker who won’t touch my beer and one who says he enjoys it, but has never gotten a second. The rest have told me that they’ve bought beers that were far worse than mine, and would gladly pay money for mine. Those also helped me to float 2 five gallon kegs at our family cheistmas party, so I guess I could consider myself there.

I consider myself a decent brewer, and I make beer that has won awards and seems to be commercial quality. My dad, a dedicated Genessee Cream Ale drinker, would not touch my beer, calling it "that homebrewed ****". He went with me to private brewery tours at times, and politely nodded, but had NO interest in any of their offerings except for the lite beer they may have had on tap. And even then, he disliked it. We were invited to some very well known places when I visited him, and thanks to friends in the industry, we had private tastings with owners. He was polite, but he certainly didn't enjoy much of the beer.

One time, he and my brother drove 900 miles to visit me, in a 90 degree warm weather spell. He got out of the car, and I handed him a sparkling clear beer. He said "That ain't none of your homebrewed **** is it?" and I told him to just drink the damn beer. He guzzled it down, and then he and my brother kicked that keg the same day. It was a cream ale, a clone of his beloved Genny Cream Ale. It WAS my homebrewed ****, but in his favorite style and he loved it.

Once that keg was gone, he wouldn't even try any other tap. I didn't take it personally- people like what they like. I was just happy that once in his life I made a "good" beer.

Edited to note: I just love that our new spam filter changes sh*% to "poopy". LOL!

 

[Staticsouls]

Lmao

 

[cloudybrewer]

Before long, 3 of the 4 wine drinkers were drinking the Amber...and having seconds, and even thirds. Finally had to pour a pitcher as my son grew tired of taking glasses to be refilled.

THAT, IMO, is a measure of a beer being good.

So your Amber tastes like wine? Yuck. Don't worry, you'll get there. Wink wink

 

[HomeDrewBrew]

I notice that (at least my) homebrew tastes way differently than Craft, more on a water profile scale than any other.

 

[BrewKnob]

I’m relatively new to homebrewing. I’ve only been brewing for about 8 months. I do all grain and have brewed 13 five gallon batches so far and 1 one gallon batch. I try to be objective when I taste my beers. There’s only been one that’s not worth a damn. A couple have just been ok, and the rest, to me, have been outstanding. I’ve only shared my beer with a few family members and close friends. Some have raved and helped me float several kegs. Others have told me that the beer was great, but never asked for another. So how do you know if your beer is truly good? Is homebrew an acquired taste? Or are some people just used to the flavorless macro brews and homebrew will just always be offensive them? I guess all that really matters is that I enjoy it, but it’s nice to be able to share it with people and know that they enjoy it, too.

Send it to me. I will advise.

 

[kevin58]

No, key being that your friends and family are not trustworthy for two reasons:

1. They're usually not hardcore beer experts and have the palate to really evaluate beer.
2. They're your friends and family. They want to be nice to you. They'll tell you it's great even if it's not.

You are making my point.