2016: Year End Reflection

Overall, 2016 has been a good year for homebrewing for me.

I brewed six beers, which is down from my average, but as my son and daughter-in-law have moved away I'm pretty much on my own as far as consumption goes. The brewed beers were a Munich Helles, a Cz Pils, the APA IPA, a Session IPA, a Belgian Best Bitter, and an Oatmeal-Milk Stout. The last four are still on tap.

@VikeMan and I have been doing experiments to determine (1) distilled-water mash pH and (2) the buffering capacity of a number of brewing grains. We've focused on grains that have been largely neglected by experimenters in the past: noncrystal specialty grains and flaked grains. Vikeman has been collecting the data, while I've been doing the analysis. The overall goal is to come up with a better model for the prediction of mash pH. Along the way I've come to a much better understanding of the factors that determine mash pH. There is more experimental work to do (especially with regards to being able to predict changes in pH with acid additions), but we have a very good model for predicting the mash pH when using distilled water. I'm currently writing up a paper which will (1) detail our data, (2) collate our data with all other data out there, (3) and present a robust model for predicting distilled-water mash pH. I hope to have this paper available on my blog within a couple of months.

Happy brewing in 2017 to all BA homebrewers out there! Cheers!

 

I'll be curious to hear what you think about it after you get a chance to play with it.

 

2016 was another good year for my homebrewery...
-As far as production, I hit my yearly average 50 batches a year (give or take a batch) and didn't have a bad batch.
-Got my first 2 barrels and began my barrel sour program...first batch is in the keg and drinking nicely!
-Entered 3 comps and won 1st place at a one and placed 4th at another one.
-I'll be brewing the 1st place beer (Double Chocolate Coconut Porter) on a Nano system in collaboration with a local brewery in either January or February...first time I've brewed on a bigger scale.
-Otherwise, I kept at least 5 beers on tap at all times during the year and bought less than a case of commercial beer all year long, besides beers I drank at a brewery...a good measure of how successful the homebrewery was this year IMO

I'm looking forward to experimenting with some new yeast stains/hybrid strains in 2017 and keeping the good mojo going from 2016...cheers and best wishes to all!!!

 

I had a pretty good year homebrewing, I had really not brewed much in 2014 and 2015, and half what I brewed was subpar. In 2016 I went back to basics, brewing some simpler IPA's, stouts/porters and pale ales. I used a lot of my stock of malted rye and wheat with very good results, and I'm about to get back into some lagers, including some rauchbiers which I haven't done in 3 or 4 years. Another positive development is that we now have a functioning homebrew club in our town so there are now brewers I can get together with instead of just being a lonesome garage brewer/drinker.
My focus now is more on getting my process dialed back in and getting back to producing the beers I loved before my hiatus. I think my days of high gravity Belgians and Imperial stouts are well behind me, I'm trying to stick with beers in 6.5% ABV range so I can drink more without getting hammered. The sole exception may be a barleywine I've been considering, something to set aside for my retirement in 2 or 3 years.
But I'm happy to be back brewing, and you may even see me here more often in 2017

 

I'm with ya - trying to start this year off by honing in on some lighter, simpler, traditional recipes. No weird ingredients or unnecessary boil additions, to a degree. SMaSH saison and a gose are in the works. I can't drink a bunch of high og homebrew like I used to without feeling like crap the next day

 

I'd like to say that I have raised my standards, but the truth is I am on a losing streak. Infected batches. Oxidized batches. A fluke mishap leading to an unnoticed piece of plastic falling into a boil kettle and turnjbg a batch into band aids. And a keezer failure that allowed 5 good batches to sit warm for three months. The brewing world is abuzz with gossip. Will he ever return to form? Isn't it time he retired?

 

Well 2016 was my introduction to actually homebrewijg and I'll be bottling my first batch at the end of this week or early next week I think. A milk stout that I'm hoping I didn't make any mistakes on

 

2016 was an absolute insane for all aspects of my life. New job, new living situation, and I was introduced to homebrewing!

I have been absolutely addicted to brewing beer and this beautiful segment of science. I have strived to learn (and retain!) as much as possible. From participating in this community, to going to LHBS events, and most importantly brewing.

Since March 2016, we have brewed 25 beers. Moved from a Cajun cooker doing extract to a homemade 3 tier gravity fed AG system with a homemade HERMS. Fermenting in a literal broom closet, to building a fermentation chamber automated by a homemade temp controlling system. Not to mention kegging as well!

I am a little taken aback by the progress that we have made, and wonder if I jumped the gun at all on these steps. All I know is that we are making great beer, and friends along the way. I'd really love to be able to put some beer on tap in a local place, and it's unfortunate that I can't.

Who knows what this year has to bring, but I do not see my hunger for learning more about this trade diminishing.

Happy New Year, and Happy Brewing!

 

@invertalon - Nice FB page (I'll be following your progress for sure) and good luck with your brewery! Very inspiring

Great and busy year for me as well: bought and moved into a house and finished my keezer all within 6 months (4 taps). Before the house I brewed maybe 6 times a year because I was reliant on my friend's schedule (brewed at his place), but now I have a garage and brew about twice a month allowing me to really dial in my system. Bought a new fridge for the house and used our old fridge to make a fermentation chamber w/temp bypass. Looking to go electric soon and buy the Spike Brewing 30 gallon system (early May). I love brewing more than anything else - thank you all for your help/suggestions!

 

I ended up doubling my homebrewing efforts in 2016 from the previous year. Won a label design contest (technically Readers' Choice) and got serious about my hop yard. Went from 50 hills to 360. Prepped the hills and added the poles in 2016 and they will be ready for field grade plants this spring. Had our first ever beer burial the day before Halloween. Was a blast, buried about 30 different beers with about 15 of our friends. Building a bigger coffin for next year as it has been a big hit. Looking forward to 2017.

 

The brewing world is abuzz with gossip. Will he ever return to form? Isn't it time he retired?

You're already my leading candidate for "Comeback Player of the Year" in 2017

 

2016 was my first full year as a home brewer. My first child was born in February, so I wasn't able to brew as actively as I would have liked, but was still able to pump out a batch every month or so. With child #2 already on the way, I don't envision brewing getting much more frequent in 2017. Since I won't be able to brew often, I think I'll try to focus more on brewing beers that can't be found easily or cheaply in craft beer stores, rather than brewing things that I could just as easily buy. Hoping to jump quite a bit into some Belgian styles, and even experiment with aging with wild yeast.

 

2016 was a fun year for brewing for me. I began to get comfortable with what I was doing and not feeling like I needed to constantly check everything. I relaxed. I entered my first comp and came away from the MD state fair with 4th and 5th place ribbons.
I'm starting 2017 by giving a BIAB demo/class at my lhbs in 2 weeks.