One of the simplest things you do as a proper brewer is
write a recipe. It’s a simple mathematic exercise using yields and a bit of
experience and reading to predict how a beer will come out and through a number
of iterations, getting it to taste how you want it to given the characteristics
of your process. For the some it appears to be of the most fundamental
importance. That is because they are not brewers and do not brew for a living.
Why is there this misapprehension in some of the drinking
public? It’s because brewing isn’t as simple as most people want it to be. A good
analogy is cooking. Great chefs don’t do a great deal of cooking. They like
great brewers design a process which brings their ideas to fruition. They
procure equipment to their design, they assemble, train and manage their team,
they set the specification of their ingredients and every aspect of what they
send to the diner’s table. They have the level of education and experience, the
talent and most importantly total dedication to produce great flavour under duress. That’s what separates the “chef”
in a Nando’s and one in a Michelin- starred restaurant.
The hard bit about making beer is making sure that all the
elements which impact on your recipe are defined, controlled and protected from
balls ups, accountants and changes inherent in natural ingredients with time
and season. Not writing a recipe.
Also for those interested here’s some facts and opinion
about the UK’s biggest selling cask ale from two learned gents and a shaven monkey
with a face that looks like he’s fallen down stairs with his hands in his
pockets.