argument - homebrew irs vs. stone or yeti

Personally, it all depends on the brewer. Skilled brewers are totally capable of brewing very good RISs. One of mine took 3rd in BOS at a local competition out of 100+ entries this weekend.

 

not sure it is possible to be FAR better than those two great beers, but absolutely possible to be on par with, sometimes even a little better. My last batch was just about perfect; will bottle another in a few months.

maybe we need a Homebrewing Board Stout Off.

 

I'd love to see that! Count me in...

 

I think the implied point that people are kind of dancing around is that homebrew gives you the ability to make a beer exactly the way you want (provided you are sufficiently skilled).

When you're talking about "the best" beer possible, you are really talking about personal tastes. Of course any beer you can customize is going to taste "the best" to you.

It is a different question to ask what is "the best" for a general population. Most commercial operations are the way they are because they are able to make beer that appeals to a lot of people, even if no one particular person thinks it's perfect.