[HabeasCorpus]

Is the creativity of the homebrew community limited by the artificial labeling of right/wrong, do this but don't do that and the use of software and commercial brewing parameters as a guide?  Do arguments of mash pH, pH measurement temperature, mash step temperatures, water, etc... fruitfully contribute to the hobby as a whole or do they just pigeon hole things as right or wrong, my way is the best.

Or is it the opposite, they act as guidelines such that a motivated individual who is willing to read/research enough will be able to know what is needed to brew a good beer?  As long as they're still willing to think outside the box of parameters that has been outlined for them.

[Village Taphouse]

I feel like the structure is there to keep you from going off the road (a guardrail)... and when I mean 'off the road', I mean making a BAD, undrinkable beer.  Some rules are there because brewers have known how to avoid this or that problem.  But creativity is still thriving in terms of way-out recipes with unusual ingredients, the mixing of strange malts and/or hops and/or yeast, adding fruit or spice, etc.  An example:  I used to make pale lagers and they came out dreadful.  My water composition and my pH control were not sufficient and once I got that in place, the angels began to sing.  I needed that specific structure to make sure my beers were coming out well.  But inside of those parameters I could pretty much do whatever I want. 

[coonmanxdog]

I don't limit myself at all. If I like the taste of a certain grain or the smell of a certain hop then in it goes. Doesn't matter to me if anyone has used that combination before or not. I really don't like being limited by styles or whether or not a hop is referred to as being a lager or an ale hop.

Check out my golden amber ale recipe that I just posted up today that has Melanoidin, Carafoam, Carared, Caraamber, Special B and Special Roast in it. I used four different hops.... Amarillo, Tradition, Glacier and Strisselspalt. Here's to creativity!

[coonmanxdog]

Now there are some basic things that I always follow. And that is always good. But when it comes to ingredients I think that the sky is the limit. Except for maybe using peanut butter or chicken in a beer. LOL.

[denny]

Now there are some basic things that I always follow. And that is always good. But when it comes to ingredients I think that the sky is the limit. Except for maybe using peanut butter or chicken in a beer. LOL.

Annie Johnson makes fried chicken beer.  I've made clam chowder saison.

[EnkAMania]

I'm the opposite, I find inspiration about hearing about what others do. 

[coonmanxdog]

I remember reading that you shouldn't use real chocolate in a beer so I did the cocoa thing but it just wasn't right. When I then used the best chocolate that I could find it came out great and exactly like I wanted it. So sometimes you have to figure things out for yourself.

BTW, that was my Dark Chocolate Ale and I will never give out that recipe to anyone.

I will say that it is a good idea to chop the chocolate up as fine as possible and add it at the end of the boil. Also I will say that it is necessary to rouse the chocolate slurry that settles at the bottom of the carboy once fermentation begins. Use a long sanitize racking cane to do that.

[denny]

I think sometimes "creativity " gets the better of brewers.

[coonmanxdog]

I also had to learn for myself how to use DME for priming when bottling. Nobody even mentioned it before I started doing it. I figured out how much to use by comparing the fermentabilty of DME to corn sugar and then doing the math. That came out to using 1 and 1/4 cup per 5 gallon batch.

[Village Taphouse]

Another thing to mention is that there has been quite a bit of "right and wrong" in homebrewing for a lot of years.  Some of this may have been assumed and then passed on like gospel to more and more people.  Recently some people have been looking into some of these things and have determined that many are not true.  The web has made it easier for all of us to communicate but it has also perpetuated a lot of nonsense as well and after some amount of time you begin to know whose information to trust.  There are a lot of smart people out there who research and experiment and share that information with us, thank Jeebus.  There are also a lot of cowboys out there who like to sling information around that may or may not be true.  They may just be trying to 'give back' to the community and not intentionally trying to deceive but it's there either way.  It was just mentioned that sometimes you have to try things out for yourself and I agree 100%.  If it's good, nice work.  If it's bad, either rework it or forget it.  If it comes out REALLY bad, I bet it never happens again!   

Also, sometimes I want to try to nail a style based on the guidelines and to make a traditional version of a beer by using the proper ingredients.  Other times I like to wing it and make something that just pops into my head... it may not even be a style.  Both are great ways to brew. 

[coonmanxdog]

I think sometimes "creativity " gets the better of brewers.

I think that is why I never make huge changes to any recipe that I make but sometimes just give it a small "tweak". I stick to the basics of what I have learned over the years and then modify a recipe slightly from time to time. I have improved on things that way. But there will be not goat fur, coffee, cigarette butts, quadruple IPA in my future....

[BrewBama]

In my brewery, the ‘guardrails’ come in with mill setting, recirculating flow control, pH control, water build, mash thickness and temp, boil length, kettle finings, pitch rate, fermentation temp, cold crash/lager/condition/mature, etc...

The creativity comes in thru base recipes from country of origin malts if possible and swap in/out yeast, hops, and adjuncts to shoot for different flavor profiles.

That being said, I generally like beer flavored beer. I admit my creativity doesn’t go as far as other brewers. For example, I’m not really into the chili peppers, glitter, birthday cake, guacamole, mushroom, etc. beers.  ...but I must admit a chocolate stout is pretty good for a pint or two but I don’t want a 5 gal batch of it.


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[coonmanxdog]

Another thing to mention is that there has been quite a bit of "right and wrong" in homebrewing for a lot of years.  Some of this may have been assumed and then passed on like gospel to more and more people.  Recently some people have been looking into some of these things and have determined that many are not true.  The web has made it easier for all of us to communicate but it has also perpetuated a lot of nonsense as well and after some amount of time you begin to know whose information to trust.  There are a lot of smart people out there who research and experiment and share that information with us, thank Jeebus.  There are also a lot of cowboys out there who like to sling information around that may or may not be true.  They may just be trying to 'give back' to the community and not intentionally trying to deceive but it's there either way.  It was just mentioned that sometimes you have to try things out for yourself and I agree 100%.  If it's good, nice work.  If it's bad, either rework it or forget it.  If it comes out REALLY bad, I bet it never happens again! 

 I see a lot of brewers now saying not to do a secondary fementation but I disagree with that. If done right it should introduce no ill effects into the beer at all and should clear it quite a bit. And at that point I like to leave the carboy alone for as long as needed until I keg that batch. Did this last year in an apartment with temps approcahing 80 degrees. The carboy was in the closet for about 3 months time until I finally primed a keg with it and threw the keg in my firend's basement for 2 weeks time. We enjoyed it at my birthday poker party where the buy in is my age. So last year that buy in was $59. Seven people almost drained the entire 5 gallons and I think one person wasn't really drinking on it either.

[coonmanxdog]

In my brewery, the %u2018guardrails%u2019 come in with mill setting, recirculating flow control, pH control, water build, mash thickness and temp, boil length, kettle finings, pitch rate, fermentation temp, cold crash/lager/condition/mature, etc...

The creativity comes in thru base recipes from country of origin malts if possible and swap in/out yeast, hops, and adjuncts to shoot for different flavor profiles.

That being said, I generally like beer flavored beer. I admit my creativity doesn%u2019t go as far as other brewers. For example, I%u2019m not really into the chili peppers, glitter, birthday cake, guacamole, mushroom, etc. beers.  ...but I must admit a chocolate stout is pretty good for a pint or two but I don%u2019t want a 5 gal batch of it.


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Beer that tastes like actual beer is good. I remember recently going to a brewery where they had a Peaches N' Cream Ale with only 5 IBUS. Now that just sounds like a wine cooler. To me, that base beer has to be able to stand on its own and then when other flavors are added in you get something that works as a whole. But it should always be a good beer to start with....

Now that mushroom beer might be good depending on what kind of shrooms you put in it... LOL. Might add a whole different dimension to the mix.

[PORTERHAUS]

In my brewery, the ‘guardrails’ come in with mill setting, recirculating flow control, pH control, water build, mash thickness and temp, boil length, kettle finings, pitch rate, fermentation temp, cold crash/lager/condition/mature, etc...

The creativity comes in thru base recipes from country of origin malts if possible and swap in/out yeast, hops, and adjuncts to shoot for different flavor profiles.

That being said, I generally like beer flavored beer. I admit my creativity doesn’t go as far as other brewers. For example, I’m not really into the chili peppers, glitter, birthday cake, guacamole, mushroom, etc. beers.  ...but I must admit a chocolate stout is pretty good for a pint or two but I don’t want a 5 gal batch of it.
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^This is almost what I sated off writing so I feel about the same. My main goal is to make good beer first, within my creative limits. But on the flip side I respect the basics and understand having solid practices along the way to make a good final product. I enjoy the science side of brewing. I enjoy the process, I like to hit my numbers, I make adjustments, I keep notes...I want to still make the beer I intended on brewing. I usually stick to classic styles, but there is enough room for experimentation and creativity within those styles for me personally. That is my take on it, but I am never against anyone trying whatever it is they want to try but if you plan to make a Coconut/Coffee "Cream Ale"...it's not a Cream Ale. Or a Captain Crunch/Cinnamon Toast Crunch/Lucky Charms Pilsner...I just don't see it that way. I'm not knocking it, just saying I have seen some interesting things out there recently.

I guess I am more into thinking outside the box with my process more than I am ingredients. All I need is water, malt, hops and yeast. But as of lately I have made some changes in my process and do some things that others might not understand or say I shouldn't do, can't do that, this will happen, that will happen, what about this, what about that...etc. Which brings us back to the OP's point, for me I look at like playing music you can play whatever you want, some will like it some will not. But to make something sound good you might help to follow the basics of song arrangement, chords, tempos, tuning, etc then you are playing within the "guidelines" but with your own creativity and twist on things.