Any audiophiles brewing beer?

Great thread.

I have always wanted to brew my own beer and have read a bunch of books on how it's done but didn't feel I knew enough about the different styles to be able to do it well. Therefore, I have spent the last two years tasting and reviewing different styles of beer from across the globe in order to train my palate and figure out what style of beer I'd want to brew.

I'm sure I'll never stop seeking out new beers to try but hopefully next year I'll be able to stop reading books about brewing and just go ahead and try it.

It would be great to hear some of your brew stories - good batches, mishaps etc. as well as maybe some advice for a novice but passionate brewer in training. Oh yeah and how about a list of the best 5 beers you've ever had.

Mine (in no particular order)

Thomas Hardy: English Ale
Eku: Optima 28
D carnegie and Co.: Stark Porter
Malheur: ale 12
JW Lee: Harvest Ale 1999

Damn that was difficult.
Enjoy,
Dave

Dave,
Glad to hear the appreciation you have for good beers!
I would just go for it, you'll need to start with the less complicated beers any way so get a kit or have a brew shop set you up with a bunch of ingredients and a set of instructions. The sooner you start the sooner you'll realize you will have to catch up for all the lost time seriously.
As for me I brewed 14 gallons in two weekends which is alot for a returning brewer.
My beginnings in homebrewing began with a pumpkin ale that couldn't be found that easily 16 years ago, so I had to brew. And pumpkin ale is what I brewed, I had a blast!
This time around I started with an IPA, then Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Barley Wine and up next will be a Brown Nut Ale.
Home brew beats commercial ale most of the time.
As for my favorites:
#1 best beer best anything I ever put in my mouth is Duchesse de Bourgogne. You'll never look at beer the same way again.
#2 Jolly Pumpkin Ale Rojo. A beer made with wild yeast.
#3 Dog Fish Head Ale IPA 60 MInute
#4 Stone IPA Ruinition-- this will make you drunf oops I still can't spell correctly.
#5 Corsendonk Pale Ale
There are so many more but I haven't explored lately.

Hi. I strongly favor American beers. Here's my list of the five best breweries in the country, though I could have easily added 10 more.

1. Sierra Nevada (CA)
2. Bell's (MI)
3. DuckRabbit (NC)
4. Rouge (OR)
5. Stone (CA)

Favorite brews I've done:

Dogfishhead 120 clone (18%abv!)
Chocolate Chilli Imperial Stout
Sierra Nevada Pale clone

Remember: if you've never had to mop the ceiling, you're not a homebrewer!

Happy Holidays! John

John,
18% !!!!!!!!! That's an achievement. What yeast did you use?
Peter,
Merry X-mas everyone!

Pedrillo:

It's a complicated recipee for the Dog 120, which is from an old issue of Zymurgy. The short of it: first pitch with a High Gravity Ale Yeast, followed in a few days by a second pitch of Champagne or Eau de Vie (sp?) yeast, followed by ten days of "feeding" with highly fermentable sugar, like dextrose, and very high IBU hops. Beer reminded me a bit of Sherry, tho it was surprisingly light in body, and had a bit of whiskey burn. Not the first thing I'd try, but if you're brewing regularly, a memorable challenge. John