73 replies to this topic

[matt6150]

So back in May there was a beer festival that I poured at. Our homebrew club was voted to have the best beer at the fest. And in turn my beer was voted to be the best in my club. So I've been invited to brew at a local brewpub on there small batch system. I little bit about the brewpub, only brews beer to serve at the restaurant, has good food but the beer is kinda meh. I think they have a 7bl system but the small batch system, that I am supposed to brew on, is only 1/2bl. The 1/2bl. system consists of a 100qt. cooler mash tun and a couple 20gal pots, so not too exciting. When the beer is finished they plan on doing a taping of the beer on a Sunday afternoon at 3. The guy has already cancelled on me once to brew it and I just don't get a good vibe from the guy. So we are rescheduled to do it next Sat. the 23rd. He has requested that I get there by 7am and it will take about 6-7hours from start to clean up. So with all that said does this sound like something you guys would want to do? On one hand maybe it will be a cool experience and I will meet some good people and may come in handy down the road. On the other hand I think why would I want to go there at 7am on a Sat. morning (about 30-40min from my house even) and waste 7 hours brewing a beer that I don't get to keep that they will be selling and making money and I would have to pay for to drink, when I could be brewing at home for myself on a system that sounds much nicer than they have?

[MakeMeHoppy]

I brewed a 10 gallon batch at my local brewery for their rotating new beer monday idea. It was a good experience and I was reimbursed for my materials. It kind of upset me that when I showed up on the Monday my beer was on with about 15 people I had to pay for my own pint.  I'd still do it again it was a once (or few) in a lifetime experience.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Anytime I've brewed with a pro (2x) they've given me free beer. I was cool with that. Granted they weren't my recipes. 

[Big Nake]

I don't think you can ask us. Everyone will have their own ideas and opinions so you need to shake the answer loose from your brain and go with it. This isn't ASSCLOWN Brewery is it? Anyway, you don't get a good feel from them, the system looks like a ghetto homebrewing rig and the chances that your beer will actually taste like YOUR beer could be small because of the system and not being familiar with it. Dunno... if you think there is ANY good that can come from it, go for it.

[Hines]

why does Ken always have the right answers?

[MyaCullen]

why does Ken always have the right answers?

he's old, err wise

[Big Nake]

he's old, err wise

Hmm. More old than wise, just ask my wife.

[matt6150]

I don't think you can ask us. Everyone will have their own ideas and opinions so you need to shake the answer loose from your brain and go with it. This isn't ASSCLOWN Brewery is it? Anyway, you don't get a good feel from them, the system looks like a ghetto homebrewing rig and the chances that your beer will actually taste like YOUR beer could be small because of the system and not being familiar with it. Dunno... if you think there is ANY good that can come from it, go for it.

No not Assclown, there beer is even worse!

[Big Nake]

No not Assclown, there beer is even worse!

Oh dear.Here's what I would do: Weigh it between now and the weekend. On Friday night, do something fun and put your mind in the zone of finding whether to go to the brewery in the morning or not. I think your brain will tell you what the answer is. If you think it's a headache you don't want, don't go. If you envision it as being fun and a rare opportunity, go. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer and I also don't think it's anything to lose sleep over. Btw... congrats on having your beer mentioned as the best of the club and festival. Good on you, my friend.

Edited by KenLenard, 12 August 2014 - 07:39 PM.

[HVB]

To be honest, as fun as it would be to have a beer on tap at a commercial establishment I would punt.  If it was on the 7bbl system that would be cool but this does not sound much more than a modified homebrew setup and I would rather mine time spent making something at home that I could drink.

[Big Nake]

To be honest, as fun as it would be to have a beer on tap at a commercial establishment I would punt.  If it was on the 7bbl system that would be cool but this does not sound much more than a modified homebrew setup and I would rather mine time spent making something at home that I could drink.

I agree on the "system" part. If I ever had the chance to brew on a professional system, I would do it just to see how it would go. There was a very weird situation a few years back where a local brewpub changed locations and it was taken over by a "chop house". They wanted to keep the brewery open so someone there contacted someone through someone else, blah, blah, blah and ended up hiring a guy I knew who was a brewer and worked at a LHBS. He had never brewed an AG batch in his life. He called me and asked if I would meet him at the brewery to go through everything. I was pretty excited about it and I had toured that brewery in the past. I met him there and we went into the basement brewery to look at all of the equipment. I quickly realized that even though I recognized what was what, I had absolutely no idea how to run any of it. There were six 500-gallon fermenters, a giant MT and kettle, a walk-in filled with serving tanks, pallets of grain bags, buckets and buckets of hop pellets, etc. but neither of us had a clue how to use any of it. To be able to actually *USE* all of that equipment would have been awesome. But it doesn't sound like that's going to happen here, unfortunately.

[SchwanzBrewer]

If it were my brew pub, I'd do it on the small system, work out the bugs, scale it to the big system, and invite you for both sessions that way you had input on the whole development process and got to brew on the big rig. I wouldn't jump to the big system unless I knew it like the back of my hand, and knew the beer style and yeast REALLY well.

[matt6150]

To be honest, as fun as it would be to have a beer on tap at a commercial establishment I would punt. If it was on the 7bbl system that would be cool but this does not sound much more than a modified homebrew setup and I would rather mine time spent making something at home that I could drink.

This is kinda how I feel.

[denny]

I don't think you can ask us. Everyone will have their own ideas and opinions so you need to shake the answer loose from your brain and go with it. This isn't ASSCLOWN Brewery is it? Anyway, you don't get a good feel from them, the system looks like a ghetto homebrewing rig and the chances that your beer will actually taste like YOUR beer could be small because of the system and not being familiar with it. Dunno... if you think there is ANY good that can come from it, go for it.

 

Absolutely!

[neddles]

It's seems that it is your beer that is getting the rave reviews, not his. Perhaps toss an invite his way to come over to Matt's Brew Shack and let him brew with you.

Edited by ettels4, 13 August 2014 - 11:12 AM.

[MyaCullen]

It's seems that it is your beer that is getting the rave reviews, not his. Perhaps toss and invite his way to come over to Matt's Brew Shack and let him brew with you.

was just thinking this, whoa!

[Big Nake]

It's seems that it is your beer that is getting the rave reviews, not his. Perhaps toss an invite his way to come over to Matt's Brew Shack and let him brew with you.

+1. Would read again.

[aquahijo]

No not Assclown, there beer is even worse!

+1

 

Let them brew the beer for you? I'm holding out hope for the new assistant...

[matt6150]

+1Let them brew the beer for you? I'm holding out hope for the new assistant...

The new assistant to Assclown or Heist? I heard Heist just hired a new assistant brewer.

[Big Nake]

I know this is OT but how on Earth do these people get their brewery up & running (with everything that goes into it) and then make crappy beer. I'm not talking about styles that people don't care for or whatever... I'm talking about low-quality or poorly-made beer. I just don't get it. Even if you *DID* make a terrible batch of beer, you can't SELL it. All it takes is one bad batch for people to say to each other, You know, these guys don't know how to make beer. and that's the end of your brewery. I went to a place that had local beer from a father & son brewery nearby. We ordered their Amber Ale and it arrived at the table looking like dirty dishwater, hazy and no head. My wife and I looked at each other and then tasted it. ZOMFG, I can't see how they even released it from the brewery.