H
harebare
Hello all,
Great forum you have here. I just started playing with the Beer Smith software and I think I can safely say I won't be using all those Excel spreadsheets I developed along the way.
I started brewing extract/steeped grain beer about 6 or 7 years ago. It was fun but I always could point to something I didn't like about my beers. Too dark, too sweet, too cloudy, chill haze, not enough head... You name a characteristic, I could point to weaknesses in my brew. About a year ago I found a great microbrewery in my neighborhood with an even greater brewmaster. The guy was friendly, helpful and above all encouraging. (I think the way my friend and I constantly fawned over his EXCELLENT pale ale put us in his good graces.)
As we (my old high school pal and motorcycle buddy) got more and more aggressive, doing mini-mash recipes, building wort chillers and aerators, the more control we found we had over the finished product. And it was getting... well GOOD! After taking a few bottles down to the brewmaster, relating how we brewed and what our complaints were, we finally tumbled to the fact that we needed to skip the spray malt and start brewing all grain. WHAT a difference!
As my brew buddy likes to say, "It's all about science." That's what brought me to try Beer Smith. As I said, no more Excel spreadsheets for me.
Happy brewing, everyone.
- Harebare
Elgin, IL
Great forum you have here. I just started playing with the Beer Smith software and I think I can safely say I won't be using all those Excel spreadsheets I developed along the way.
I started brewing extract/steeped grain beer about 6 or 7 years ago. It was fun but I always could point to something I didn't like about my beers. Too dark, too sweet, too cloudy, chill haze, not enough head... You name a characteristic, I could point to weaknesses in my brew. About a year ago I found a great microbrewery in my neighborhood with an even greater brewmaster. The guy was friendly, helpful and above all encouraging. (I think the way my friend and I constantly fawned over his EXCELLENT pale ale put us in his good graces.)
As we (my old high school pal and motorcycle buddy) got more and more aggressive, doing mini-mash recipes, building wort chillers and aerators, the more control we found we had over the finished product. And it was getting... well GOOD! After taking a few bottles down to the brewmaster, relating how we brewed and what our complaints were, we finally tumbled to the fact that we needed to skip the spray malt and start brewing all grain. WHAT a difference!
As my brew buddy likes to say, "It's all about science." That's what brought me to try Beer Smith. As I said, no more Excel spreadsheets for me.
Happy brewing, everyone.
- Harebare
Elgin, IL