biggest improvement on your beer

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What made the biggest improvement on your beers?

  • Full boils

  • All grain

  • Control fermentation temps

  • other


Results are only viewable after voting.

grrtt78

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What did you all find to be the biggest improvement on your beer? Going full boils, going all grain, or controling fermentation temps?
 
i thought all the secondary did was clear the beer. o and i agree about letting it wait. patience is a homebrewers greatest talent.
 
I have to agree with "time". 2-3 weeks in the secondary is definitely a plus.
 
If you aren't full boiling you won't get to all-grain, or proper hopping, quality chilling... the list goes on. I say from a foundational point of view, if you are not full boiling start there.
 
For me, it's been temp control throughout all aspects of the process. Mashing, cooling, fermenting, conditioning, and serving. Fermentation tempurature is a much bigger variable that a lot of brewers give it credit for being.
 
I'll say going all grain, but I might have to change my mind once I start controlling fermentation temp.

- magno
 
grrtt78 said:
i thought all the secondary did was clear the beer. o and i agree about letting it wait. patience is a homebrewers greatest talent.

Clear beer is pretty much all secondary does... but clear beer is good beer.

And i havent been brewing too long... thats one of the only things ive chenged...
 
I'm saying going AG, but that's mostly because I only have limited fermentation temp control right now (that's the next biggie). Going AG was huge in continuing my enjoyment of the hobby, being able to more-readily experiment with different malts, being able to try different techniques and stuff. But, I can say for certain how much of my beers' improvement is DIRECTLY related to that, and how much is related to simply having more experience under my belt.
 
Most folks don't go to a full volume boil until they go all grain, I am the same. I went AG after 2 years of extract brewing. The improvement was significant, not only did I get away from old extracts from the LHBS but I went full boil. The next step was carefully watching my fermentation temps, this improved my beers even more than switching from extract to AG. It is possibly the biggest improvement you can make in my opinion.

J
 
of what you said, i'm going to say fermentation temp. keeping it cool makes for a much better brew. I've got my current batch at a steady 68. giggity.

i haven't done any of my own all-grain, tho :D

and, yeah, experience.
 
I voted for going all grain.
But going all grain coincided with doing full boils, getting fresh ingredients (especially the hops), and changing my water supply, all of which contributed.
But probably the most important thing was the Internet.

-a.
 
I said "All grain", but...I went all grain, made my kegerator, and went to full boils all at once. I think all of these had a large effect on how much I enjoy brewing and how much better my beer tastes.

edit:

ajf said:
But probably the most important thing was the Internet.

Oh yeah! HBT improved my beer the most by far!
 
finishing the DAMN system I have been working on for almost two years!!!!LOL. I have never done a partial boil wouldnt even know what to do there. sound like a pain though. all in all crushing my own grain seems to be a big improvement in the EFF. and temp control throughout the fermentation helped a bunch too. But I think understanding beer math and how to make corrections has been the bigest improvement thus far.
Cheers
JJ
 
the one thing I did that yielded the most improvement was the use of this board. Seriously. My first two batches were god-awful, because I didn't read enough.

However, 2 all-grains under my belt and both have been outstanding. Partially due to improved techniques, more careful and deliberate brew days, and fresher ingredients.
 
Pabst Blue Robot said:
Fermentation tempurature is a much bigger variable that a lot of brewers give it credit for being.

I second that for sure. Even with a temp controlled freezer, I turned out a couple beers with slight off flavors until a guy on another forum suggested that I set the ambient temp at 62-64F for ales. That has made my fermentations so much cleaner and the resultant brews much better.

I must say, having used the late extract method, I've never seen much difference between full boils and partial boils in terms of quality.

monk
 
Experience.

I voted other because everything mentioned about caused improvements. I would like to include that with experience I was able to find recipes that I liked much better than the first ones I made. Every step was an improvement.
  1. Extract with Specialty Grains.
  2. Experience, HBF, NBF, Austin Zealots, AHBS, Joy of Homebrewing.
  3. Mini Mash
  4. More Experience, HBF, NBF, Austin Zealots, AHBS, Palmers Online How to Brew, Joy of Homebrewing.
  5. Late Extract Addtion
  6. More Experience, HBF, NBF, Austin Zealots, AHBS, Palmers Online How to Brew, Joy, Designing Great Beers.
  7. Full Boils
  8. More Experience, HBF, NBF, Austin Zealots, AHBS, Palmers Online How to Brew, Joy, Designing Great Beers.
  9. Making Starters & Better Aeration
  10. Chest Freezer and Temp Controler
  11. More Experience, HBF, NBF, Austin Zealots, AHBS, Palmers Online How to Brew, Joy, Designing Great Beers.
  12. BrewSmith Software
  13. More Experience, HBF, NBF, Austin Zealots, AHBS, Palmers Online How to Brew, Joy, Designing Great Beers.
  14. All Grain - Fly Sparging
  15. All Grain - Batch Sparging (Same beer-Easier Time)
  16. More Experience, HBF, NBF, Austin Zealots, AHBS, Palmers Third Edition of How to Brew, Joy, Designing Great Beers.
  17. Stir Plate
  18. Better Thermometer (Certified Lab Thermometer)
  19. More Experience, HBF, NBF, Austin Zealots, AHBS, Palmers Third Edition of How to Brew, Joy, Designing Great Beers.
  20. More Experience, HBF, NBF, Austin Zealots, AHBS, Palmers Third Edition of How to Brew, Joy, Designing Great Beers.
  21. More Experience, HBF, NBF, Austin Zealots, AHBS, Palmers Third Edition of How to Brew, Joy, Designing Great Beers.
  22. More Experience, HBF, NBF, Austin Zealots, AHBS, Palmers Third Edition of How to Brew, Joy, Designing Great Beers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If I have left anything out it was unintentional.
 

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