What's the Most Important Thing in Brewing Great Beer?

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Catfish

Art by David Shrigley
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The title explains the entire question. But for you, what is the most important part of making great beer..... ignoring Sanitation. I think we can all agree, from the hot water kit brewers to the 50g all grain brewers, that sanitation can kill your beer faster than you can drink it. Apart from sanitation give your list of the most important parts to make great beer.
 
Consistency. If you can't be consistent, you can't learn to control the variables.
 
This may sound a bit odd, but for me it's state of mind. When I'm happy I'm focused and when I'm focused I brew good beer because I can juggle all the variables successfully.
 
That's a difficult question to answer...

Overall, I can't disagree with any of the comments so far, but some or all of those (and others) IMO can be lumped into taking good notes of your procedures.

The details should lay down what you did or failed to do and the results of those actions.

Learning from your mistakes and striving to make a great brew every time should be the ultimate goal.;) It is for me.:D
 
The most important thing to me given your question is temperature. In fact, I have a digital probe AND an analog (to cross-check for accuracy) for mashing, sparging and boiling.

I have a wireless digital system in my basement that shows the temps of my primaries, secondaries and bottles during carb/conditioning. Way over-doing it, but at the same time way geeky-cool.
 
Exo said:
The most important thing to me given your question is temperature. In fact, I have a digital probe AND an analog (to cross-check for accuracy) for mashing, sparging and boiling.

I have a wireless digital system in my basement that shows the temps of my primaries, secondaries and bottles during carb/conditioning. Way over-doing it, but at the same time way geeky-cool.
As long as the technology allows you to make great brews...I wouldn't worry about being labeled geeky.:D
 
If only I could hook it up to my computer so I could graph the swings and then do my best down there to reduce them. When the AC kicks on I get a big swing. The hotter it is outside the colder it is in the basement...yes, yes. Have a 10" AC duct running right through my brew room.
 
I cast my vote for temperature control. In my opinion, it is also the hardest thing to be really consistant on.
BTW, this should be a poll.
 
Keeping your yeast healthy, pitching high, and giving them an easy a job as possible. Well aerated wort, and a well aerated starter medium if using liquid yeast or a couple of packs of good dry yeast, and temperature control as mentioned. These things make or break a beer IMO.
 
The problem with a poll is that the auther has to feel he has all the valid answers already.

And I still think consistency is most important. : )
 
Epistemology. Its pretty much the answer to everything.
How we percieve the finished beer, why we think its good, the psychology of our tase buds, our background assumtions, etc..

I think my beer is great therefore it is.
 
While I think Andre above might have it, I will say that there is probably nothing more important than patience.
 
For me, I'm going to agree about temperature control. And I'm not just cosidering fermentation temp. I'm talking mash temps, chilling, fermentation, the whole thing. Since going AG, it's been a more critical part of the process, but the quality of my beer has greatly improved. And I'm hoping to continue the trend. A friend of mine is remodeling his kitchen and getting rid of some appliances, so it looks like I might have a fermentation cooler here soon. :D
 
I think a good assistant brewer is a big help:

viral_marketing_beer.jpg
 
I don't think this has been said yet, so I'll say that the most important thing is quality ingredients. I'm still very new to this and the fact that I buy all my ingredients from my LHBS and spend a little extra, I feel this picks up the slack in my brewing capabilities.
 
I just did an AG -and temp. is critical. So are quality ingedients.
But also preparation should be a major factor. You can have a good system, good ingredients, and then something goes goes wrong and you think to yourself "I knew I should have looked after that before I did...."
Hopefully things go better the second time around. Also, its no fun brewing when you are rushed, then it becomes frustrating and mistakes are more frequent.

Cheers.
 
jaybird said:
"D" all the above:rockin:


I agree. But what I really should have asked for is a ranking of what's important. Is fermentation temp as important as mash temp control? What about quality ingredients and liquid yeast?
Let's see your top 5 or 10 most important things.
 
Temperature control, organization and pre-planning. Also it helps to have a naughty beer-server:

Big_Beer_Girl_Pink_6704e-1.jpg


Skol!
 
HOT!!!!

Actually I think the most important aspect is knowledge. Learn as much as you can, and apply it to your brews.
 
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