Fermentation Friday - Horror Story(s)

Aahhh... its Fermentation Friday once again! And, once again it's never too late...damn it!

This month Fermentation Friday is hosted by Pfiff! So check out his site for his post and the others who have contributed for this month. Here is my collection:

HORROR STORY #1
My first horror story comes at the expense of my first homebrew session. Let me explain. After visiting a local brewery and later bumping into a homebrewer, I wanted to brew my own. So, I bought all the gear and listened to the easy brewing instructions the homebrew shop owner gave me. The guy at the brew shop said "It's so simple you don't even have to write down any instructions...umm OK! So, I went home with a S.A. Boston Lager clone. I followed directions the best I could remember anyway and later that day the beer was fermenting in a dark closet. A week later I bottled, two weeks later I tasted. Well, it was a HORROR SHOW! I wasn't sure what is was supposed to taste like, but it really tasted rancid. It could have been the high fermentation temperature, or that it took hours for the wort to cool off, or who knows. All I know is that it had plenty of fusel alcohol flavors...yuck!

HORROR STORY #2
Each time I brew! Yes, I know. But, I like to try to hit each mark on the dot (mash, hop schedule, etc.) and sometimes it makes me nervous. I have a homebrew and relax, but I still get nervous. I check, double check, triple check and aahhh its time to sparge! I guess its because I'm paranoid of losing a batch, like my first experience. So, to me its kind of like a HORROR SHOW! I think I need to...Relax, have a homebrew!