Beer Forum

Hi BN,

I'm sorry this was not my first post, I was in a bit of a crunch.
(First post Read here: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=31520 )

I am a relatively new brewer with only 13 Extract brews and 2 full grain under my belt but have learned a lot in that short amount of time.

One of my favorite things about brewing is the metrics and trying as hard as I can to gain efficiencies. I love to use Excel and MS Project to plan, execute and document each brew's performance and outcomes.

I haven't started developing my own recipes just yet, but I did download the trial of beersmith so I'm hoping I can make since of that soon.

I currently reside in Northern VA. but am a transplant to the area, (originally from Texas) so I don't know a lot of people. That being said, I'm going to start getting more involved in the community and hope to meet the locals soon.

Chat soon BN. Thanks again for all the support and information.

MACADAY

Love Beersmith. Never looked back at any of my old Spreasheets to brew anymore since Beersmith. I have just upgraded to version 2. I am lucky to reside in Portland, OR. Great beer community here. Love the Home Brew club I am in now. Great people and good times. Would recommend joining something local of you can. Good luck in VA.

Yes, welcome!

I highly suggest you get a copy of Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels, and get a couple of clone recipes books, as well as Jamil Zainisheff & John Palmer's Brewing Classic Styles.

When I started doing my own recipes, I'd think of a good commercial that I like, and use the clone recipe books as a starting point.
Then, I'd start adding/subtracting one or at most 2 ingredients and brew the beers over and over until I dialed in on what I wanted to make. Also, study the ingredients specs (such as HopUnion's hop descriptions book, wyeast and white labs yeast description web pages, and pages like this: http://www.winning-homebrew.com/malts.html) to get a good understanding of what the various ingredients will impart into your beer.

I'm a software engineer. I am attracted to brewing because I can combine the science (ie, systems of linear equations to calculate hop bitterness) and the art (ie which combinations of flavors work well together and which tend to fight each other). Best of all, the end product is BEER!

Good luck and keep coming back. The guys on this board really know their shit and although you'll see we fuck around a lot, you'll see that we're a pretty good bunch of asshats.



HTH-

BDawg wrote:Yes, welcome! I'm a software engineer. I am attracted to brewing because I can combine the science (ie, systems of linear equations to calculate hop bitterness) and the art (ie which combinations of flavors work well together and which tend to fight each other). Best of all, the end product is BEER!
HTH-

I am a mechanical engineer by degree, Hydaraulic/Pneumatic/Controls/Systems engineer by Trade. Love building the equipment. Not too mention the love of cooking (not good at it) all leading to homebrewing.

Hi Macaday,

I grew up in northern VA. It can be a hard place to meet people because it's so sprawly and congested that people basically live in their cars. But VA/DC has a lot going for it if you know where to look. I'd see if there's a homebrew club nearby, or a group linked to any other hobbies you might have.

Highly recommend driving 2 hrs S/SW to hike in the Shenandoah/Massanutten area, if you're into that kind of thing. Check out Thornton Gap. Great canoeing on the N Fork Shen. River (in summer) as well. Pretty country out that way. Excellent backpacking in NE West Virginia too. Also tons of Civil War history, everywhere you look. Also, don't be shy about using the Metro subway/train system. By the time you pay for gas and parking (and therapy for road rage), Metro tickets into DC or wherever else look like a pretty good deal.

Thanks to all those welcoming. I will certainly heed the recommendations of thy brethren.

Chat soon,

MACADAY