What have you learned this year?

So, we're never too old or too experienced to learn something new.

What have you learned so far this year that has improved you homebrew?

I have learned a lot of things. It's amazing how far you can advance in as little as 6 months. If I had to choose the most important thing I've learned it would be the impact of proper fermentation temperature control.

Folks, listen to me.... when the experienced brewers on HBT tell you that fermentation temperature control is one of the most important things for quality... they mean it! I've never learned a more true lesson than this. I've been trying to control fermentation temps for quite a while, and I've finally gotten to where I have the swamp cooler process down. I can keep my temp within +-1 degree now. The day I switched to an ice chest vs. Rubbermaid containers I no longer had to fight with keeping a stable temp. My beer has improved dramatically thanks to this consistancy.

The second most important thing I've learned... I'm sick of swamp coolers!! A fermentation chamber is in the works, and should be up and running in due time...

HAHA so true.. I learned this year that I'm sick of swamp coolers also. Temp controlled freez in my near future.

I learned that upgrading equipment doesn't automatically make better beer. You have to know how to use the better equipment before it will make better beer.

nukebrewer said:

I learned that upgrading equipment doesn't automatically make better beer. You have to know how to use the better equipment before it will make better beer.

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Very true. One man's ghetto brewery can easily brew better beer than another man's fancy, stainless steel, automated brewery!

I've learned that a water report is useless when the city you live in randomly changes wells on you throughout the year. I've also learned that chlorophenols suck and that spending a few bucks on RO water might just be worth it.

i learned no matter what you brew, people LOVE it, if its free. I've heard "this is the best beer I've ever had" from at least 5 people in the last month. its nice to hear, but i think the free price tag places a pretty big role in it...

Stauffbier said:

Very true. One man's ghetto brewery can easily brew better beer than another man's fancy, stainless steel, automated brewery!

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As I found out the hard way trying to dial in my process for using my new grain mill and false bottom. Stuck sparges don't make for very good beer.

I learned that it has nothing to do with space aliens or special ingredients.

Oh yeah, and that space aliens lie a lot, like mostly.

Stauffbier said:

If I had to choose the most important thing I've learned it would be the impact of proper fermentation temperature control.

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This is such an important lesson and it's really hard to understand just how much impact a few degrees has when you're starting out. My switch to using a temp controlled fridge as a ferm chamber is the single most important upgrade I have made. The difference in beers I've made before and after is extremely noticeable. Now I just wish I had two so I could lager and ferment at the same time.

DankHead said:

i learned no matter what you brew, people LOVE it, if its free. I've heard "this is the best beer I've ever had" from at least 5 people in the last month. its nice to hear, but i think the free price tag places a pretty big role in it...

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I have a few people that I can't get an honest response from. Every beer I make that they try is "great" because they think if they say anything otherwise I'll stop giving them free beer. I've tried to drill it into them that I want honest critiques, but I keep getting nothing but positives. There are two people who I can trust to tell me they don't like one and why they don't like it, but that's it.

I have learned, or still learning to close valves after I turn off my pump. It sucks to lose 3 gallons of finished brew because my kettle valve was left open and siphoned into my cleaning solution bucket.

I have learned that brewing with other people who don't brew is bad(at least for me), I get distracted very easy and mess up somehow.. Like forgetting to add hops at correct times, etc.

tally350z said:

I have learned that brewing with other people who don't brew is bad(at least for me), I get distracted very easy and mess up somehow.. Like forgetting to add hops at correct times, etc.

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This. The first time I made my hefe I got caught up talking to the neighbors. Missed my strike temp, og, and my pitching temp. That beer was... Drinkable.

I've only been brewing a total of about 6 months so everything I've learned has been very important. But I have noticed a few things that I've been doing(thanks to great guidance and knowledge from you all here on HBT) that people in my HBC don't know the importance of or don't do. Even some of the guys that have been at it for a few years now. Like.....

Keeping a consistent fermentation temperature, fermenting in the lower end of the yeasts temp range, fly sparging, proper pitching rates and temp, sparging temps, really just the basics to having a good sound process and fundamentals.

I had one of the older members in the club casually tell me today that he just sticks his ales in the closet and ferments at 78-80f, I was shocked. I watched the same guy sparge at 178 today and it almost made me cringe. Or another member that asked me if my controlling ferm temps was helping me make better beer. So what I've learned is why and how to do everything the right way, and because of it I've quickly become one of the better brewers in the club.

tally350z said:

I have learned that brewing with other people who don't brew is bad(at least for me), I get distracted very easy and mess up somehow.. Like forgetting to add hops at correct times, etc.

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I can't brew with people around either. It's a private, zen-like experience for me. I look forward to the solitude. I always open a high gravity, aged beer of some kind. Light a pipe or cigar, and become one with my brew day!

+1 on fermentation temps.

I have been brewing for 2.5 months. I now have a 4 tap keezer, a fermentation freezer, have switched to all grain, and just put my 8th batch in a fermenter. Batch number 9 tomorrow. So suffice to say I have learned a lot. The last few months have been a pretty awesome whirlwind, I am now just trying to remove variability in my process and just make good beer.

One overarching thing I would say is that while fun and rewarding, brewing is expensive and a lot of work.

I learned how to make excellent meads and melomels!

I've only been brewing for about a year, so I've learned a lot. one of the more interesting things I've learned is to appreciate a well made beer, even if it's a style I don't particularly like. for instance, I'm not a big hefeweizen fan, but if I have one at a tasting or something I can drink a glass and enjoy the craft involved, even if I would never order a pint of it for myself.

I learned how to do all-grain by using the BIAB process. I think I made my best beer ever (a chocolate oatmeal stout) with my first BIAB batch. BIAB makes it so easy to go all grain. I want to get a grain mill now because I dont think my LHBS mill crushes fine enough for BIAB. I also learned that if you are brewing beer for your wedding then SWMBO will let you buy a 5 cu ft chest freezer so you can use it as a fermentation chamber when you tell her it will make the wedding beer better. I think having a true temp controlled environment also contributed to the quality of the stout. The previous batch was brewed at the end of winter so I just kept the window open in the spare room and used the temp controller I bought to keep the beer warm enough with a brewbelt.

I also learned to make sure your CO2 regulator has a washer installed in the connection between the regulator and the tank otherwise all your gas leaks out after a week or so.

I learned that I should have bought a refractometer years ago. No more accidentally freezing pre-boil samples when I get distracted!

dryboroughbrewing said:

No more accidentally freezing pre-boil samples when I get distracted!

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HA! I have to use a timer to remind me not to freeze mine...