At the end of last year, I noticed that I had fallen into a rut of sorts.
My batches were very similar, no off the wall ideas, or groundbreaking brews. There was also a little funk, an off-flavor, lurking that I just couldn't put my finger on. I harvest my yeast most of the time, brew all grain, and really enjoy it. My friends will happily drain a keg at the mere mention of it. But for me, I was missing something.
I wanted to upgrade some equipment, so I decided to gear up to be able to do 10g batches. For me, it only required some fittings, I had the pots and coolers, and a burner that can get it done. But this gave me an opportunity to press the reset button on my operation.
I have a very small dedicated brewspace. I cram everything in there, in no real order. I started by removing everything, every last thing. Really treated it like cleaning out your chest freezer, you can't clean the bottom with a frozen turkey in the way.
Then I cleaned, scrubbed, vacuumed, sanitized. I figured if it was a lingering yeast or bug causing my uneasiness, I'd remove the issue. I did this with everything, kegs, fittings, tables, tubing, spoons, sink. All my farmed yeast, down the drain. The keggles all got a generous cleaning before they got their new blingy SS fittings. I redid my space with cleanable surfaces, and created an organized system.
Then I looked a little closer at my process. I decided to start paying better attention to my water, and then the recipes and how I was putting them together. Fermentation temps were also another area of focus.
I decided to start brewing the beer styles I've been seeking out, instead of the ones I've been settling on. I'd like to think that my brew is the one I want to savor, if not, I'm doing it wrong. Part of that problem is schedule. Looking back at the calendar, I brewed the beer when I wanted to drink that style, instead of planning ahead and brewing it to be ready. To remedy this, I've decided to just skip spring beers, and get ready for summer. So when things start warming up, and I want that crisp beer, it'll be ready. I've planned out my major brews for the year, leaving space to whip up a crowd beer if I need to. I've stockpiled enough supplies for a few brews out, so I can't use that for an excuse either.
My reset started in November. I'm happy to say the two latest brews are nothing I've ever done before. One, they are the big, bold, flavorful monsters I've been seeking. And secondly, they are now what I want to grab first.
I was in a rut. I'm out now.
My batches were very similar, no off the wall ideas, or groundbreaking brews. There was also a little funk, an off-flavor, lurking that I just couldn't put my finger on. I harvest my yeast most of the time, brew all grain, and really enjoy it. My friends will happily drain a keg at the mere mention of it. But for me, I was missing something.
I wanted to upgrade some equipment, so I decided to gear up to be able to do 10g batches. For me, it only required some fittings, I had the pots and coolers, and a burner that can get it done. But this gave me an opportunity to press the reset button on my operation.
I have a very small dedicated brewspace. I cram everything in there, in no real order. I started by removing everything, every last thing. Really treated it like cleaning out your chest freezer, you can't clean the bottom with a frozen turkey in the way.
Then I cleaned, scrubbed, vacuumed, sanitized. I figured if it was a lingering yeast or bug causing my uneasiness, I'd remove the issue. I did this with everything, kegs, fittings, tables, tubing, spoons, sink. All my farmed yeast, down the drain. The keggles all got a generous cleaning before they got their new blingy SS fittings. I redid my space with cleanable surfaces, and created an organized system.
Then I looked a little closer at my process. I decided to start paying better attention to my water, and then the recipes and how I was putting them together. Fermentation temps were also another area of focus.
I decided to start brewing the beer styles I've been seeking out, instead of the ones I've been settling on. I'd like to think that my brew is the one I want to savor, if not, I'm doing it wrong. Part of that problem is schedule. Looking back at the calendar, I brewed the beer when I wanted to drink that style, instead of planning ahead and brewing it to be ready. To remedy this, I've decided to just skip spring beers, and get ready for summer. So when things start warming up, and I want that crisp beer, it'll be ready. I've planned out my major brews for the year, leaving space to whip up a crowd beer if I need to. I've stockpiled enough supplies for a few brews out, so I can't use that for an excuse either.
My reset started in November. I'm happy to say the two latest brews are nothing I've ever done before. One, they are the big, bold, flavorful monsters I've been seeking. And secondly, they are now what I want to grab first.
I was in a rut. I'm out now.
