How about 1 show for the "novice?"

[Brewcaster J]

a couple things worry me about this thread.

1. is that we are not being approachable to novice brewers. As most of you know, even though I am 4 years into this gig I am a novice brewer. I still question every part of the process (which makes it fun for me actually). So I will see if we can do better to cover the whole spectrum of brewers as we do the CYBI shows and get the novice questions that I always have answered.

2. is that we can't get a major brewery to give us details about their beer. I take that as a personal challenge bitches. Let me see what I can work on to get a clone of a very widely available beer that we can all enjoy and attempt. Most of these guys are great and it might just require a bit of the old Crossley charm to get them talking

Prost!

J

[Jimbo]

J,
Thanks for the feedback!

I guess I never really understood the premise of CYBI correctly. I always thought the "challenge" was to have the brewer figure out the recipe on their own - not necessarily after an interview with the brewer/company. The part of this show that interests me the most is the identification of flavors and profiles - which lead the brewer to making choices and decisions on malt, hops, yeast, etc...

I view CYBI as a show that helps me learn how to formulate recipies - not just see how to get a recipe from someone else and "tweak it".

Just so folks don't get the idea that I think its EASY to do this; I don't! I have the highest respect for the guys on the show (even you J) - I look at your lineup of talent and know that it's the top .5% of the brewing community - I know there is NO WAY that I can do what you guys are doing. I could list the number of reasons, but it doesn't matter - I know you guys can do it and I'm a LONG way away.

When I'm ready to brew a new beer/recipe, I usually do two things: Pick up the Jamil show podcast for the appropriate style and listen to it (again...) and then refrence Jamil/John's book for a good starting recipe. That has proven really helpful - the show helps me understand what flavors/process are important and the recipe puts me on the "right track". That's great!

Now, when I'm trying to formulate my own recipes - I'm having some difficulty figuring out how to start; so the title of my post might be a little mis-leading. I used the term "Novice" as someone who understands the "basics" of brewing; but is ready to try and perform some recipe development on their own.

When asking for a show like SNPA; I'm really just asking for a show that uses a "standard" that every tends to already know pretty well. If I asked for a show on Bud/Miller/Coors - I have little doubt that I'd be laughed at for years; however - everyone would know EXACTLY what the taste would be! They would be able to tell the difference between their "copy" and the BMC with little trouble. I haven't tasted enough of the brews on CYBI to be able to say that I "know" them well at all...

I hope this helps explain my initial post...

[dontblake]

Jimbo's actually got a great point - do a "newbie" show - maybe an episode of Brew Strong for beginners.
I've taught several intro to homebrewing classes and there's nothing like the excitement and enthusiasm of new brewers. However, there's also nothing like the glazed-over eyes that quickly happen when too much detail is thrown at em.
Just a thought - like J mentioned, these shows should be accessible to everyone, maybe having a 'back to basics' show would be good to get a foundation for the folks that haven't been all-grain brewing for years.

Maybe a CYBI episode that uses extract?

Some thoughts...

[BDawg]

2. is that we can't get a major brewery to give us details about their beer. I take that as a personal challenge bitches. Let me see what I can work on to get a clone of a very widely available beer that we can all enjoy and attempt. Most of these guys are great and it might just require a bit of the old Crossley charm to get them talking

Prost!

J

Yeah, a Pacheco Tank Top works wonders

[Jimmeh]

hey guys the SNPA recipe is here for those who were talking about it: http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtop ... =4&t=15532

[Tom from Raleigh]

The point of CYBI is pretty obvious: to produce a clone recipe of a given beer and then taste the clone side-by-side with the commercial example to determine if the clone recipe gets you there.

When J asked Jamil a few shows back when he selected 5 different crystal malts for the grain bill of Arrogant Bastard, Jamil couldn't give him a definite answer beyond that's what I think it should be. Jamil and Tasty have brewed so much on their systems, they know what results they'lll get given a certain recipe.

If you want to learn how to formulate a recipe, look in the archives of the Sunday Session. I'm sure that the information is there. I don't think that CYBI will succeed for you in this regard.

Recipe formulation is over rated anyway. Until you master the basic fundementals of homebrewing: cleaning & sanitation, pitching the right amount of healthy yeast and fermentation temp control, the recipe won't matter. If you want to get a hold of a collection of proven homebrew recipes, get Brewing Classic Styles. You need to get your process down, so you can consistently produce good beer before you will be able really be creative.

[Chaz]

hey guys the SNPA recipe is here for those who were talking about it: http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtop ... =4&t=15532

I was thinking of that exact thread...

I met Steve Dressler from SN a couple months ago and he's a very cool guy and very open about SN beers and process. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd give everything needed for a CYBI show. I happened to be wearing a Hop Grenade shirt and someone in the group made a comment about how they liked it, Steve then replied saying he thought it was a pretty badass shirt. He'll probably be a GABF, J, nudge, nudge.

[Brandon]

I don't get the issue?

With the exception of oak, or chocolate or some other additive...The cloned beers so far are all still water, hops, barley and yeast. Brewing Moose Drool or Green Flash IPA is no different than Daddy's Little Helper or Ballast Point Calico Amber. Maybe I am just that awesome (not really ) but why would brewing Sierra Nevada be any different than brewing the others??? Its not any easier to do SNPA than it would be to brew Moose Drool.

The thing I love about the show is they are getting clones out there for beers I simply do not have access too, unless I want to pay 50 bucks in shipping.