Anna's Brewdays

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Missing all things brewing at the moment. Too busy with all things winter and health... oh and the complexities of starting a new secondment in January so I'm trying to arrange people to go in my place to meetings and finish off projects I'm involved with the best I can now. Oh and there's Christmas which is a wee bit busy (I work over much of Christmas/New Year and focus on family the rest of the time).

I'm also reflecting on the recent lager competition, yes it was just a wee bit of fun but it made me realise that I really want to make good beer, not just ok beer. I'm always trying to do ever more complicated things and I do need a bit of time now to plan rather than just grab some hours in the week to brew ...and then do so properly rather than the rushed affair it so often has seemed so far. Oh and I'd like the children to be a bit more involved too...

2021 is to be project kegging though. I haven't mentioned yet but I've sort of umm.. well ... accumulated all the bits and pieces necessary and haven't put them all together yet. I'm never going to be @The-Engineer-That-Brews but I would like to be able to be in vaguely touching distance of making really good beer.

A bit of a diary entry I realise and perhaps a teeny bit indulgent to post here on this, but there's a bit of the equality thing of wanting to be good enough to be here, brewing properly smart stuff.

Anna

Tell us more about your kegging project, sounds fun!

 

[Buffers brewery]

there's a bit of the equality thing of wanting to be good enough to be here

Hey @DocAnna , I didn’t sit an entrance exam to be involved on this forum! Did you? I know the answer. That means you ARE good enough! Let’s not hear anymore of that kind of talk please (says he in a masterly, masculine, grown-up voice ).
Just for the record, I always look forward to the things you have to say. Merry Christmas!

 

[Gerryjo]

Tut tut now hit yourself a good kick up the arse, drown your sorrows and get the kegging sorted.

 

[Clint]

EVERYONE IS GOOD ENOUGH TO BE HERE!

 

[Buffers brewery]

I'm never going to be @The-Engineer-That-Brews but I would like to be able to be in vaguely touching distance of making really good beer.

The inference from this is that @The-Engineer-That-Brews makes better beer than you do. As a scientist can you show me the evidence? (No offence @The-Engineer-That-Brews but we seem to have a bit of a crisis of confidence going on here). I’m sure your beer is better than mine

 

[Clint]

Why not send a few brews out and ask for feedback?

 

[foxy]

Its worthwhile for a few forumites to sit the BJCP only costs $100 here, probably similar in UK 50 GBP helps to evaluate your own beers too.
https://www.bjcp.org/exams.php

 

[Gerryjo]

Its worthwhile for a few forumites to sit the BJCP only costs $100 here, probably similar in UK 50 GBP helps to evaluate your own beers too.
https://www.bjcp.org/exams.php

If you can drink it and you enjoy it then your flying and everything after its a bonus.

 

[foxy]

If you can drink it and you enjoy it then your flying and everything after its a bonus.

Doesn't work like that when your swapping beers, one mans meat can be another mans poison.

 

[Gerryjo]

Doesn't work like that when your swapping beers, one mans meat can be another mans poison.

Oh I know that but you need to be happy with your own brewing before passing it on to others never mind sitting the BJCP .

 

[Clint]

Yeah..your mates and others who only drink Boddingtons might not like your beer but trained judges judge by standards of styles...don't they?

 

[foxy]

Oh I know that but you need to be happy with your own brewing before passing it on to others never mind sitting the BJCP .

You would be surprised the helpful feed back entering competitions brings.
No matter how much you like your beer, and even though you believe you've nailed it, it's inevitable the next brew you will still be trying to beat it.

 

[Deadhead]

@DocAnna , the thing with forums, well you can say whatever you want No one is posting about the wet dog tasting, mediocre, uncarbonated piss water they've brewed up are they? Well unless it's for a laugh or to get advice!! I've had lovely brews and brews I have cleaned the toilet with. All part of the fun!! You don't need to 'prove' anything to anyone here.

Of course doctoring kit up is a lot of fun if you have the know-how, but you can make good beer with pots and pans and a bucket too. And you can make really crap beer on commercial kit (I've tasted many a ***** commercial beer!).

Some people love to enter competitions. Others just like to sit back and drink what they've made!

 

[Clint]

Ah! People do actually post about their no so good brews...true so better than average brewers may be being hyper critical about themselves and about what to the rest of us is a great beer but it's probably all been reported over the years on here... infections,non starters, oxidation,over carb/under carb...wombling free!!
Sink tippers..paint strippers..cabbage tasting...sludge!
I found realising your kits potential then starting with a forgiving style helps...not lager or a pressure transferred NEIPA with 1kg dry hop! Perfecting YOUR method and making the results repeatable are key...if you get 65% efficiency...all the time..that's fine and easily sorted if you want to. Chopping and changing methods all the time and having your numbers bouncing is no good. You will get anomalies but when only small variables change like,say for the next brew you change base malt variety or supplier your efficiency shifts well you have a good starting point rather than if you changed the malt and sparge method together..
Another thing for myself was to venture into basic water treatment...thanks Strange Steve! It does seem daunting but if I can do it...

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

2021 is to be project kegging though. I haven't mentioned yet but I've sort of umm.. well ... accumulated all the bits and pieces necessary and haven't put them all together yet. I'm never going to be @The-Engineer-That-Brews but I would like to be able to be in vaguely touching distance of making really good beer.

Hey! Don't go looking at me... I'm just making it up as I go along!!
I'd be very surprised if my beer is any better than yours :-)

 

[DocAnna]

Dancing around the kitchen listening to Taylor Swift, enjoying getting the Sunday roast ready with a nice glass of my pilsner beer - home brew definitely has it’s positives! Happy Scottish Tier 3 everyone ☺.

Anna

 

[Rodcx500z]

Hey! Don't go looking at me... I'm just making it up as I go along!!
I'd be very surprised if my beer is any better than yours :-)

Is that a nice way of saying winging it i do it all the time and still get decent beer

 

[Clint]

Dancing around the kitchen listening to Taylor Swift, enjoying getting the Sunday roast ready with a nice glass of my pilsner beer - home brew definitely has it’s positives! Happy Scottish Tier 3 everyone ☺.

Anna

Ya'all be gettin pished then?

 

[DocAnna]

Ya'all be gettin pished then?

Sadly rather hopeless at that - I have a tendency to fall asleep if I drink too much - much to the annoyance of the OH. I have really tried in the past as a student to reach that ‘pished’ state and failed miserably. Despite my penchant for home brew I’d far rather give it away than over indulge myself. This week we had painters and a remarkably tall joiner with us, they each left on Friday with a collection of beers, I didn’t really give them the option to decline !

Anna

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Sadly rather hopeless at that - I have a tendency to fall asleep if I drink too much - much to the annoyance of the OH. I have really tried as a student to reach that ‘pished’ state and failed miserably. Despite my penchant for home brew I’d far rather give it away than over indulge myself. This week we had painters and a remarkably tall joiner with us, they each left on Friday with a collection of beers, I didn’t really give them the option to decline !

Anna

I also push my beers on the local trades! Two guys came to do our drive and on their first day they spent half a day prepping and half a day drinking. Needless to say they left the van and got a mate to take them home.