Homebrew expectations vs. commercial beer

[MickDundee]

Does anyone remember when Green King IPA won the CAMRA Beer of Britain award at the GBBF?
'nuff said.

It’s never won Beer of Britain, although it did win the Bitter category in 2004:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champion_Beer_of_Britain

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I think the real question is do you like the beer you make? If the answer to that is yes you’re doing just fine.

If not learn quickly or find another brewer to sell you some cheap beer!

 

[An Ankoù]

It’s never won Beer of Britain, although it did win the Bitter category in 2004:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champion_Beer_of_Britain

It won gold in the bitter class in the Champion Beer of Britain competition at Olympia, whatever that means.
https://protzonbeer.co.uk/features/2004/08/01/the-greene-king-ipa-controversyMy point, though was about the apparent subjectiveness of judging.

 

[trueblue]

I would be very surprised if the beer GK entered was exactly the same as they sell.

 

[starseeker]

Does anyone remember when Green King IPA won the CAMRA Beer of Britain award at the GBBF?
'nuff said.

I quite enjoy a a decent pint of this ,but then i am not a fan of over hopped beer .

 

[Clint Eastwood]

It's probably sulphites you're allergic to, in which case I would be careful around Campden tablets.

Yep mate the darn auto-spell caught me out again. I wake up in the morning with my nose completely blocked if I go near them.

 

[obscure]

I quite enjoy a a decent pint of this ,but then i am not a fan of over hopped beer .

It’s not an exceptional beer, but I always quote enjoy it on the occasion I want something a little lighter and easy to drink. Also with most of the pubs around me being Greene King it tends to be the cheapest beer on the menu, I still remember being quite surprised to get a five pounce note and some coins back from a £10 when I bought a couple, of pints of it last year.

I have my issues with Greene King but the IPA I still feel is a fairly respectable cask beer.

 

[trueblue]

GK IPA was a decent session beer back in the day before accountants started to write the recipes.

 

[foxy]

Its a hobby not a contest

We're a competitive bunch in Australia, everything is a contest.
Exactly what was mentioned above, competitions enable the brewers to learn from their mistakes. Its not just a score card with numbers, its faults found or how to improve or how good it was, its the feedback which is important, not whether you won or didn't come anywhere.
I was always taught, whatever you do, always do it to the best of your ability.

 

[Mrhandsome]

Adds more ambiguity. Can I make a better beer than Carling? Yes, as I don't have to add DMS to my beers to meet consumer expectation. Can I make beer better than Carling? Absolutely not. I bet I don't even know 10% of what they know about brewing.

I think you're focusing too much on the commercial brewery's equipment and consistency rather than just making good beer with what you've got.

Sure if you had a water heater that could heat water to 0.00001 of a degree, or a mash tun that was so well insulated you lose no heat whatsoever, or all manner of hypothetical things.

You're comparing apples with oranges.

Focus more on YOUR ingredients and recipes. Get to know YOUR equipment and get YOUR processes nailed. You'll be making great beer in no time, and yes, it can easily be better than many commercial beers.

I make 10l batches Biab with a big saucepan on the hob and I've made some cracking beers. You don't need all the shiny equipment.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Sure if you had a water heater that could heat water to 0.00001 of a degree...

You might be pressing a point there!