You can tell a lot about a home brewer by how and what they brew. The two extremes are the brewers that brew the beers that they love in the most efficient way that they can, and then there are the brewers who brew beers that they've never tried, and they do it the "hard way." I'm that second one. For me brewing is more about the journey than the destination; I love the process.
If you've been following along at home than you have probably figured that out by now. I didn't need to do a decoction mash for my Munich Helles. I could have just added a few ounces of Melanoidin malt and made my brew day about an hour shorter. Why brew a sour beer, or a mead, that won't be ready to drink for 2 years? Why boil for 90 minutes when 45 would do? With all the high quality extract out now, why brew with all grain? Why? Because I love the process.
When I taste my beer I love to remember what I did to get those flavors into that beer. The beer becomes more enjoyable to me when I remember all the extra work that I did to get it into the bottle; how I tried to shape it in unconventional (or perhaps more conventional) ways. Sure, sometimes my brew day can push 8 hours, but what a way to spend 8 hours. I love the process.
Perhaps you're that first kind of brewer. You know exactly what you like and exactly how to make it. If so you can probably go from a 3 hour brew day to a glass in under a month, and in some ways I envy that. For example, the spring weather has put me in the mood for my summer line up, but they won't be in the glass for another 2 months. But what can I say? Lagers take time, and I only have one primary fermenter. So I wait patiently, because I love the process.
There is plenty of grey area in brewing philosophy. There are people who only brew their favorite beers, but do it the "hard way." And people who love to experiment with new beers the easy way. And probably a lot of others in between. On which side of the fence do you lie. Do you love the process?
Melanoidin malt blows.
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