Changing the "Homebrew" forum.

I think a few sub categories would be beneficial. Maybe recipes, techniques, fermentation would be a few good ones to start out with.

 

Todd-

I think just a simple sub bar in the homebrew forum that people could add recipes too. I would also encourage that the person posting have atleast a certain post limit before they are allowed to post into the recipe forum. Would keep some of the trash out of the forum, and also allow poster to be vetted in terms of their knowledge. Otherwise the recipe section would be cluttered with junk.

It would also be a place for us to store and post the crowd sourced BA beers we all put together.

I don't think it needs to be broken down into a bunch of sub sections.

Perhaps, even easy as American Styles, Belgian, Wild/Sour, so it's easy to look up and to moderate and keep it clean.

 

I agree with the latter part of this post, however I really disagree with restricting anyone from posting. Under this school of thought I would probably be prohibited from posting. I brew commercially for a living and homebrew every other weekend, which means I dont have alot of free time to post to this forum (unfortunately). I also think that what makes homebrewing unique is that anyone can stumble onto something great. I got where I am in life through the generosity of more experienced commercial/homebrewers willing to share with me. Not all good brewers are good posters. Cheers!

 

Lets keep it simple and see how it rolls:

• American Ales
• Belgian Ales
  
• Wild/Sour & Barrel Aged
• Lagers

I would be happy to help moderate it, I have enough free time to do so, and get on atleast daily, but I don't care who does it. I think a cohesive section for someone to post a recipe that has been brewed, not a place to post a recipe as ask questions about what others think, thats the purpose of the main forum.

 

I can agree with that- I was merely pointing out a need to perhaps keep some of the junk to minimum. Obvious one recipe can be loved by some, and hated by others, and like you said, some people don't post often. Fair enough.

I was more gearing it towards someone new coming in and posting a regurgitation recipe from a brewing sheet they got from a brewers best kit, especially without anyone knowing much about them, or their brewing style/recipe function.

But, if someone had something really nice, and placed, or scored well on a recipe, regardless, I'd love to have access to it, regardless of their posting nature.

 

Where do English and German ales fit in? I think converting American ales to Pale/Amber ales and Dark ales/Stouts would be more encompassing.

If I came up with it from scratch, I'd propose these to focus on some of the challenges that each group of beer shares.

Hop-forward
Malt-forward
Roast-forward (might be fine mixed in with malt-foward)
Belgian
Wild/Sour/Wood
Fruits/Spices/Smoke
Lagers

 

I can sympathize with having to sort through a bunch of junk before finding some good stuff. Perhaps it's time for you to start your own brewery FATC1TY! I really like the idea of keeping the sub forums simple and few in number. I think this is headed in a good direction. Keep up the good work guys. Cheers!

 

I agree with sub forums, and would also like to see a FAQ or "getting started" sub category for new brewers! Also, I'd like to throw my hat in as a mod, I'm on here daily anyway...

 

so format for recipes? any ideas?

Off the top of my head:

Field, example:

[Name] (bob's super stout)
[Style] (American Stout)
[Type] (all grain, mini-mash, extract)
[Batch Size] (in gallons)

[Efficiency Target] (if all grain)

[Grain Bill] (include extract or steep grains here)

[Hop Bill] (recommend asking for target IBU contribution for each addition OR quantity + alpha, and times)

[Yeast]

[Process] (any brewing notes, such as boil time, mash temps and length, etc).


Maybe a template for Extract and one for All-Grain? Leaving some of the details in the Process box might be a bit risky.

Possibly a good place to look for a template is Zymurgy's recipes?

 

I would, but I don't want to be broke! hah!

I think keeping it simple and seeing how it's used and works, before making the grand changes would be ideal here.

 

Yes, there will be a standard format, as well as maybe some info for the thread titles, ie:

"Heady Flopper" DIPA, -AG
"Moose Knuckles" Brown Ale- Extract

 

I don't see the reason to expand based on profiles of hop/malt/roast levels. I can see the whole, European and German ales, so we could simply do an American Ales, and then a European section that fills the voids of Belgian/German/Euro.

Fruit/Spice/Smoke isn't a bad idea, but those are generally small notations of the beer. Want a Rauchbier? check the European Ale section.

Want a fruit beer? Well, is it a sour? or is it a strawberry blonde? Check the WSW section, or the American section for a blonde ale to use and add fruit to. I think having a fruit section would also have people coming for ciders. Not sure on the stance of this site at this point of the game on wanting to host something with cider as a focal point.

Too spread out, I think things will be thin and hard to find, at which point, doesn't serve a valid purpose.

 

If you are still looking for someone to moderate the homebrew forum I would be happy to help.