I'm a noob who does everything wrong

[Rhumbline]

I’m a noob, I do almost everything wrong… and I still brew some great beer.

This isn’t meant to knock anyone’s passion, I know how much fun it is to throw yourself headlong into a hobby. I recently saw a post that claimed it was impossible to brew great beer without a wort chiller and it got me thinking that it easy to engage in the kind of endless pencil sharpening, always chasing one more decimal point, that ruins the fun of just brewing.

This post is for my fellow noobs, the ones who fret at every new thing they hear that they haven’t been doing. I’m not suggesting for a second that I know more about brewing than the old-timers. My point is just the opposite, that as ignorant as I am, and with all the things I do that should result in disaster, I still get great results.

For the record, I’ve brewed exactly seven extract kits. Only three of them are at a point where I can try them. Although I’m organized and a bit of a lunatic about cleanliness, I do all kinds of wrong stuff. I have never had an infected beer or one with an off taste.

1. I brew all extract kits. This may change at some point but it’s working for me for now.
2. I never make a starter.
3. I use city water, unfiltered. I boil it the night before but I’ve never had it tested.
4. I’ve never calibrated my thermometer. Truth is, I figure plus or minus 3 degrees is close enough.
5. I dump all the LME in at the beginning of the boil.
6. I don’t use a wort chiller, I top off with cold, boiled water and drop the pot in an ice bath on the back porch.
7. I usually forget to measure the OG, wouldn’t know how far off was too far or what to do about it anyway.
8. When I do measure specific gravity, I never bother to adjust for temp.
9. I ferment at whatever the temp is where ever the fermenter is. Sometimes that’s out on the back porch here in Florida, sometimes it’s inside the house. I do use a water tub to stabilize the temperature swings.
10. I always rack to a secondary. I do wrap the glass carboy to block light.
11. About a week in the primary, and two in the secondary is the max unless it’s a slow fermenter. Usually one week each has worked for me.
12. I bottle the beer.
13. The beer gets stored in the closet at whatever the temp is. In FL that’s usually 75-80 degrees.
14. I have little willpower so I usually sneak a bottle way before it’s supposed to be ready.

So, for my fellow noobs, don’t be afraid of going the low tech, simple, unfussy way. Sometimes, the pencil is sharp enough.

Happy brewing,

 

[Weizer]

This post gave me cancer.

 

[dcodd87]

Exactly, remember beer is very resilient. A recipe is a suggested method. Sometimes screwing with it whether be on purpose or on accident will still (for the most part) turn out to be great.

Remember, you made it!

 

[Rhumbline]

This post gave me cancer.

Gee, I hope it isn't the slow lingering type that killed my Mom and three of my sisters.

I'll keep you in my prayers.

 

[Waynep005]

Rhumblime good for you. Some times some people forget this is a hobby. It is ment to be fun and enjoyable.

 

[RogerDeRok]

I'm still such a noob that I haven't brewed my first batch yet. Still researching and learning as much as I can until I buy the gear. Until I had taken a recent class I was totally intimidated. Seeing stuff like this helps and is reassuring.

 

[ProfessorWoland]

I've made a ton of mistakes on my current batch of bitter but it is looking like it should tuen out alright

 

[Yooper]

So, for my fellow noobs, don’t be afraid of going the low tech, simple, unfussy way. Sometimes, the pencil is sharp enough.

Happy brewing,

Absolutely! Often "good enough" IS good enough.

For others, "good enough" just isn't good enough, ever.

It really depends on the type of person you are.

I'm more of a perfectionist, and "good enough" isn't part of who I am in anything- not in work, food, drink, maintaining my house, my car, etc. My brother, on the other hand, is the most laid back person I ever met. Most of his life is filled with "good enough". And that's cool, because we're both very happy productive individuals.

We drive each other crazy, though!

There is room in this hobby for everyone, for those who make "ok" beer to those who make commercial quality beer. As long as the brewer is content with the quality, that's all that matters.

 

[boydster]

Nobody makes it through every single brew day without making mistakes here or there. The goal should be simply to minimize risk. I think of it in terms of "necessary risk vs. unnecessary risk" and it's proven to be a good way of encouraging best practices not only for brewing, but also for teaching my kids how to make it through life. If you are going to brew beer, there are necessary risks - your wort might spill, a freshly cleaned carboy may slip out of your hands and shatter, etc. ad nauseam - and there are unnecessary risks - these are the things we have control over like sanitizing, taking hydrometer readings so we know fermentation status, controlling temperatures. By minimizing the unnecessary risks, you are maximizing your chances at having a truly great beer.

Does this mean that the OP hasn't brewed delicious beer? No. Does it mean that he/she is opening his/herself up to more chances for something to go wrong? Absolutely. Statistically, every one of the controllable elements that is ignored will add to the chances the beer will be adversely affected. Personally, I feel like it's worth it to give my beer the best chance at becoming great. It hasn't disappointed me yet.

Don't get me wrong here... I think it is great for us to talk about mistakes we've made and how we have learned from them. If we don't learn from our mistakes though, and if we develop the mindset that we don't need to learn from our mistakes, we are just being lazy. Don't be afraid to make mistakes... just learn from them and use that knowledge to your advantage in the future.