Help an old lady cross the street

[TommyTheCat]

Okay, I'm not an old lady and the only reason I want to get across the street is that ale house there on the other side. So, I lied, sorry.

That said, I'm just four or five batches past noobie and finally decided to register because most of you all seem to know so much more than I do.

Hey, would anyone be so kind and tell me the one thing or two they did that ended up producing much better beer.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it.

 

[maltMonkey]

Being a non-liar will help you produce a better beer

Welcome!

 

[bradsul]

Welcome to HBT!

I think the single biggest improvement in my brewing (besides going AG) was fermentation temperature control. I built myself a son of fermentation chiller that holds 2 primaries. No more off-flavours from too-high temperatures makes a HUGE difference in your beers.

 

[Kai]

Good aeration.

 

[mrk305]

..... reading on here, almost every day!

 

[RichBrewer]

Welcome to HBT!
Probably the most important thing I learned is to have patience. This is tough at first when you don't have much home brew but if you can let your beer condition for awhile it really does get much better. I'm always surprised how much better my beers are a month after bottling or kegging.

Now there are some out there who will tell YOU to be patient but barely let their own beers carbonate before they start drinking them. I won't name any names YB!

 

[TommyTheCat]

I'm starting a milk stout tomorrow and I'll make sure I pay attention to these things.

I've done pretty well with everything mentioned except keeping the fermenting temperature exactly where I'd like it. It varies about 5-6 degrees. I can probably do better by just moving the location of the fermenter.

Thanks again, guys. Good brewing!

 

[Silviakitty]

First, may I applaud your choice of handles...if I hear that song it'll be in my head for days (this is not a bad thing, by the way).

Second, welcome to the board. I'm more of a n00b than you are, so beware. I'll eventually hit you up for advice.

Have fun reading.

 

[Revvy]

Here's an entire thread about tried and true methods of improving your brewing...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=54362

 

[Kevin Dean]

Hey, would anyone be so kind and tell me the one thing or two they did that ended up producing much better beer.

RDWHAHB = Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Home brew.

Panic makes mistakes and mistakes make bad beer. It takes a lot of error to totally ruin a batch of beer so relax, don't stress and enjoy the process. When you start freaking you get frustrated, run behind schedule and forget to sanitize your fermentor or forget to cool your wort before pitching. So relax.

 

[Yooper]

Now there are some out there who will tell YOU to be patient but barely let their own beers carbonate before they start drinking them. I won't name any names YB!

OH, let's see. Who do we know around here with the initials YB?

I'm sorry, that just doesn't ring any bells for me.

My number one tip for better beer has to be paying attention to what each one of the ingredients is supposed to do. Some newbies want to add 10 things to their beers because they are so excited to try new things. I'd suggest making small changes and remembering simpler is better. My favorite brew has one base malt, and a little specialty grain (one kind). Sometimes you might want more "biscuit" flavor, or more "roasty" flavor, so then you can learn which ingredients you need to add that. It's much easier than it sounds- and gives you great control over your brewing!

 

[the_bird]

Welcome to HBT!

[YOUTUBE]Yn3uiLZY9Jg[/YOUTUBE]

 

[TommyTheCat]

Thanks again guys.

I gotta say, I use TommyTheCat as my handle all the time and people just think I'm a cat lover or something. At this forum, people got the Primus reference right off the bat. Homebrewers are awesome.

 

[EbenezerScrews]

Keep brewing.
You, like we all have, WILL make mistakes. A brew log of EVERY step-by-step detail of your process. Refer here for any possible mistakes. Mistakes don't necessarily make bad beer, but learning from them will make great beer. Keep brewing and learning.

Eb

 

[Joker]

I think the biggest effect on brews is learning the ingredients and modifying recipes with these effects in mind.

 

[Brewing Clamper]

not getting blitz on your own brew while brewing really helps too.

 

[Homercidal]

For me, one thing that often messed with me is messing with the recipe. Get a nice, simple recipe (you can probably find some good one around here), and stick to it. I've been known to make "adjustments" on brew day, then wish I'd stuck to the recipe.

Also, RDWHAHB! After a few batches it will get easier and you'll begin to understand more of how everything works, and THEN you can start messing with the recipe!