Homebrew Beer Myths

[kelper]

bacon is already dead! Which three elements????

 

[DavidHatton]

@kelper accept my apologises, I was posting under the influence and didn't take the time to read the posts correctly, and made a half assed attempt at humour. not succesfully.

 

[Keruso]

You're talking about aerating the cold wort before pitching the yeast, which is very different and is considered good practice.

Phew, I see some people use an aeration stone and pure oxygen at this point in the process

 

[terrym]

Forgot this one...
It is essential to know the exact ABV of your beer

 

[Oneflewover]

Brewing at home saves you money

That one's the biggest myth!

 

[trueblue]

Home brewed beers don't give you hangovers - I've proved that one wrong

 

[Clint]

Kelper why do I look at your posts and hear Brian the dog reading them to me...

 

[andynohearu]

Well there will be a CO2 gradient which is more dense closer to the surface of the beer as long as it's being produced, but unless it's in a perfectly sealed environment it will gradually mix with the atmosphere, especially if the FV is opened.

just the other day I was told this. Don't you you need the blanket of CO2 to protect it from oxidation? If there is no CO2 due to there being a non fully sealed fermenting bucket, meaning CO2 is escaping, does thay mean oxygen is getting in? Therefore oxidation will happen inevitably?

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Brewing is hard
Homebrew is crap
It’ll blow your head off/make you blind
Brewer’s all have beards and beer bellies

 

[Cwrw666]

You need to aerate your wort before pitching yeast.
You need to hydrate your dried yeast before pitching.
You can't make beer as good as commercial beer.

 

[MickDundee]

Brewing is hard
Homebrew is crap
It’ll blow your head off/make you blind
Brewer’s all have beards and beer bellies

I’m not sure any of us hold those myths dear! The “blow your head off”/rocket fuel myth does my head in, but I do think more people are coming around to the idea that people brew beer in the same way people bake.

I gave a couple of bottles to the mechanic last week when the car was getting new brake discs and it’s the first time I‘be given a bottle to a “new” person and not had the rocket fuel comment (I went to school with him and he’s commented on a couple of my Facebook brewing posts, I didn’t just give bottles of beer to a random bloke fixing my car).

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

To dry-hop you need to sink/float the hops, put them in the FV dry/wet, put them in during/after fermentation, put them in on day x, leave them in for y days, don’t leave them in for more than z days, etc.

I didn’t just give bottles of beer to a random bloke fixing my car).

That’s a shame, I like the image of you “pushing” homebrew on unsuspecting victims

 

[Deadhead]

That you can't make a good quality beer or wine at home
That you need to employ all kinds of fancy techniques to make good beer
That no bubbling in the airlock means a beer/wine is not fermenting
That you need to spend a lot of money on kit to make good beer
That women don't like beer (in relation to the fact that we 'can't' brew beer per the comment above )

 

[jceg316]

Yeast nutrient, servomyces etc, is it really necessary, can you tell the difference in a blind test ?

I've never used it in most ferments as it's not needed. I believe (but correct me if I'm wrong) yeast gets it's nutrients from the wort and aeration. However, some strains are deficient in nutrients and require more for a healthier fermentation, for example kveik. I think nutrients are useful for culturing up yeast which isn't too healthy.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Not so much a myth but a mystery.
I have a friend (Who was a fizzy can drinker not known for his astute mind ) Once asked to watch me make a brew. After putting the airlock in & clearing up asked, "When do you put the alcohol in it?" :tinhat:
Now you try & keep a straight face if someone asked you that. He got an unexpected chemistry lesson after I'd stopped rolling on the floor.
He was fascinated & turned out to be a really good brewer himself.

 

[chthon]

A home brew is rocket fuel and blows your head off...
I get this off nearly everyone who I mention brewing to...
Then there's the "do you sell it"..
Then..."it always tastes dreadful..
Then "do you put loads of extra sugar in the BOTTLE to make it stronger?"
I don't mention brewing much now...

Here on the continent, people are always genuinely interested when one mentions homebrewing. Maybe because there is also no lore about cheap beer kits here.

 

[chthon]

At the risk of starting another pointless debate, one of my favourite myths is "my homebrew tastes better than any of that stuff you can buy".

Well, mine tastes at least as good However, I have also tasted professionally produced beers from microbrewers, which had errors that I had encountered myself.

 

[Neil Whittaker]

Since you can brew great beer, means turning your hobby into a business will be: the natural next step / easy / a good idea.

 

[Hanglow]

If you are re-using yeast a lot from batch to batch then nutrients are needed I think

 

[Hanglow]

Here on the continent, people are always genuinely interested when one mentions homebrewing. Maybe because there is also no lore about cheap beer kits here.

I know most people of my parents generation think that homebrew is rocket fuel/cheap and bad, I think it's because in the UK homebrewing grew out of saving money and that's been an attitude that's been hard to shift. Whereas in other places like the US for example it grew out of being unable to get good commercially made beers