That’s the problem… the stuff is awful coming out of a bottle!
Don’t get me wrong, I do like a number of the beers I brew but I would say about half of them, they’re just kinda “meh”. Not bad, but just not something if I bought a 6er of I would probably buy again. And now I’m stuck with 48 of them to drink.
Are these mostly new, first time recipes or tried and trued ones that you just aren’t happy with the execution? I’ve gotten into situations a couple times where I’ve ended up with a keezer filled with ‘meh’ beers cause everything was a first-shot attempt at a style or something experimental. It can definitely make you question your skill when all your taps are filled with mediocre beer. I’d say making an awesome beer (or expecting to) without going through at least a couple iterations of a recipe/process to fine-tune it is asking a lot of your brewing prowess.
A number of them are first time recipes but they are based off tried and true recipes. I would say 90% of my recipes come from existing NB kits or from Brewing Classic Styles which have also produced some of the best beers I’ve ever made (even on the first attempt).
Though I am guilty of trying new recipes with almost each batch I brew. I think I’ve only repeated a recipe half a dozen times.
Matt, I think sometimes we ARE our own toughest critics. I’m sort of in the same mindset that you are. I like my beer, but have only made a couple that I think, “man, this is every bit as good as ______”. If you’re doing clones, you should do blind tastings (I think I read in another thread that you actually do). I’ve done maybe three or four beers that I actually think were good enough for somebody to pay money for. I’ve probably brewed 60 or more batches. I’m definitely my own worst critic. My friends and family have no problem devouring them.
Also think about the fact that you are probably comparing what you do to the best of the best in commercial beer(at least for your taste). If yours were compared to all commercial beers, they would probably do very well.
I’ve got a hefe in the fridge right now that just won’t go away. Seems there’s just something missing, and I don’t come home and think, “oh great, I’ve got that hefe left!”. But I know it’s a pretty good beer, and my friends who like hefes think it’s good, and they don’t mind hurting my feelings with the truth!
Don’t be too hard on yourself, though. I think brew envy is probably pretty normal among those of us who are committed to making something special, not just “homebrew” as Pietro would say. I’m with ya , man. I wanna make something great, not just drinkable, and that can be frustrating. But keep the bar high. Better to aim high and miss by a little, than to aim low and hit the mark.
Brew on,
Ron
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Another point of view for what it’s worth. I just put up batch #202. Don’t do competitions regularly but did win three awards at local HB competitions. I also try as many craft brews as possible at brew pubs, etc.
I am finding that when I try ‘new/different’ commercial beers, I really like about 1 of 5 and would buy a second. The other 4 are average and I wouldn’t buy them again.
I’m not hung up on the technical details and style guidelines. My approach is simple, if I like it I drink it/brew it.
As for my brews, I find about the same ratio. Generally I am making proven recipes from various postings; maybe tweaking them slightly. When making new recipes, I am finding that same ratio as with the commercial beers: about 1 of 5 are really good and will make them again. The other 4 are ho-hum with an occasional bad one.
After 200 batches, I have 15-20 recipes that I’ve locked in.
All that said, we may tend to compare our homebrews to the best the commercial beers, not the ‘run of the mill.’
…keep brewin’
Of your beers that you like, they’re ones you’ve brewed multiple times right? Maybe out of all the beers you’ve brewed only once you should pick a couple that were close to what you wanted from them and try perfecting them? Change the hops, a grain or two, the yeast, tweak your process or the water profile to get something you think is exceptional.
This is how I’ve been brewing for the last year or so. Won’t say I’ve brewed anything exceptional yet but I’ve enjoyed MOST of them and feel a few measure up to some commercially available beers that I respect.
Some days i drink a Bell’s 2 Hearted on tap and think my centennial IPA isn’t even close. Other days I drink mine and say, this is a damn fine beer.
Maybe drop to brewing 2-3 gallons at a time and then scaling up when you get one you love. I’m in the same boat…so I dropped down to 3G biab and started experimenting with a few things at a time. While my palate is nowhere near where it needs to be…I have had around 700 commercial beers so I have had a lot of beers I have really enjoyed…and I’m very tough on my home brew. At least with 3G there is a lot less to dump out 
Either way it’s just a hobby and there are plenty of others out there!
Normally I brew stuff I like. When sampling craft, and local brewpubs I try to get more specific than just they are better or worse. My local brewpub had a tripel at the same time as one of mine. I thought mine compared well. Rather than, “theirs is better” I was pleased at how close I got to a pro job. (Mine didn’t attenuate well, and I had some foamers, but the flavor was spot on.) I’ve had other craft beers, where I thought, I’ve done better.
If you know specifically what you like better about someone else’s beer, you know what to change in your own recipe.
Hey, maybe time to step back fer a couple of months, review yer brew notes and look hard at the ones you liked. From there, you could look for tweaks that could, in yer mind , improve it. Then, just as Uncdeo pointed out, do a small batch…. Just keep yer self in the race. Make a pit stop. Nobody ever did well by giving up…. You’ll git yer finger on it! Sneezles61
I said it above, I’ll say it again, I think sensory training will really help. “Meh” is not a flavor defect (though it is my reaction to a lot of commercial beer I drink, and every once in awhile, one of mine). But after “meh”, I can tell you specifically WHY it doesn’t butter my bread, and how I would brew it differently the next time.
Does it need more hop aroma? More bitterness? More malt character? You’re far enough down this road of the obsession where you need to be able to accurately identify flavor defects and not just say “it doesn’t measure up” or some other general critique. I’m guessing there is a huge homebrew community in Ctown, and at the very least, get involved with a few clubs and ASK for honest feedback and/or confirmation of your findings.
BJCP. Or Cicerone.
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Let me echo the suggestion of confirmation bias mentioned above. Don’t kid yourself–your mindset GREATLY influences how you perceive something.
On a more technical note, is there a common thread of qualities that you’re dissatisfied with?
From my own experience, my beers have improved a great deal over time due to a great many factors, but there are a few big ones that stand out:
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Fermentation temp control–I used to ferment at ambient temp, which I think was almost always too warm for what I was making at the time. Bought a ferm fridge and paid very close attention and things got a lot better.
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Secondary conditioning–I don’t have a super-sensitive palate, but one thing that really stands out to me is yeast and sediment, which I had a lot of when I bottled. Adding a secondary where I could leave behind the vast majority of sediment before bottling made a big difference in the amount in the bottle and the effect it had on flavor.
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Kegging–as above, this helped even more with conditioning and also being able to control carbonation, which I found to be a crapshoot when bottling.
With those and many other minor tweaks, I have gotten my beers to the point where I rarely see anything technically wrong with them. From there, it’s just a question of optimizing recipes, which I don’t always bother to do because I don’t brew as often as I like and I enjoy making new things.
I don’t think my average beer is better than the best beers I’d buy off the shelf, but I do feel like it’s better than the average commercial craftbrew. I feel like there are a LOT of craftbrewers out there making “meh” or derivative beers…not necessarily doing anything wrong, but not anything I couldn’t or haven’t either.
I didn’t mean this to come off like I was giving up or contemplating taking a break. I still plan on brewing just as much as my schedule allows. I guess I just wanted to see what everyone else’s experience was. I don’t expect every beer I brew to be world class. I just have a hard time finishing a couple cases of beer that I wouldn’t even buy in a store (there are a lot of beers I wouldn’t buy in a store).
Guess it’s time to start giving the stuff away 
Definetly give it away. You will get a lot of positive feedback. Great for your ego anyway.
I think pietro’s post above is a very good one. If there are technical issues with what you’re brewing, you should be able to identify and improve upon them.
Just my opinion, but I don’t think you should give up on fully enjoying your beer any more than your should brewing in general! 
Well for the most recent pale ale I know what I don’t like about it and have a pretty good idea what I would do to change it. It doesn’t change the fact that I have a crap load of them to drink 
see I’m saying this goes beyond technical process issues. The average craft beer drinker should be able to at least identify out-of-place funk, butter, green apples, and others. But learning how a simple element like mashing temp/schedule can affect a beer will let you say, “this is a good beer, but next time I would do ____”.
For example, I have a German Pils on tap now that is solid. Lots of good feedback from friends/family, some of whom are beer nerds. However, I can taste two things I would absolutely change next time: the boil (and finished) pH needs to be lower, and I can omit some of the late-addition hops. I would probably give it low-mid 30’s in a comp, but I want to brew 40 point minimum beers. Our Heady/SoS-inspired beers can go toe-to-toe with the commercial equivalents.
Matt, have you read Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels? If not, some great information on there. Your first move though is to refine tasting skills and qualitative/diagnostic chops.
I know how you feel, I did feel the same way at a point. The novelty of “I made this!” wore off and I wanted to make beer that could approach the best commercial stuff I have had. That’s when I started down the BJCP track.
This might be the next thing I need to look at is kettle pH and finished beer pH. I don’t own a pH meter and just use Brunwater for my acid additions. At least for this most recent pale ale, the body is completely lacking and I know this is due to my mash temp which dropped to 148. So I know what to do some of the time. But I agree, knowing the different small nuances would definitely help me better achieve going from good beer to great.
Wow, I have to admit that I have never even thought about ketttle pH…didn’t really even know it was a thing as long as it’s not completely off the charts…
What’s the effect?
Depends on tve type of beer… For example, I’ve found for an IPA, a kettle pH of 5.4 and higher lends itself to a really harsh bitter flavor, whereas at 5.2 the hop flavors really shine.
