Protips!

[bransona]

I'm still a very green brewer, but I'm doing my reading and research very thoroughly (and my 3rd/4th batches are on their way to being awesome, 1st and 2nd were honestly better than expected ), so I wanted to get everyone's favorite protips for brewing! Basically just tips and tricks you've gained along the way that you think are worth imparting in aspiring brewers.

I'm thinking of things like:

The standard, RDWHAHB, of course
Yeast can look like an infection
Temperature control makes all the difference

This should be fun!

 

[Hobanon]

 

[kev211]

Take NOTES! Best way to learn what worked and what didnt, and will allow you to (hopefully) repeat the parts that worked.

Dont stress about what the yeast are doing (hardest part for newbies). They know what to do. Trust them to do their job. Leave the lid on your bucket/carboy and let it ferment.

Congrats on the first two batches!

 

[bransona]

Take NOTES! Best way to learn what worked and what didnt, and will allow you to (hopefully) repeat the parts that worked.

Dont stress about what the yeast are doing (hardest part for newbies). They know what to do. Trust them to do their job. Leave the lid on your bucket/carboy and let it ferment.

Congrats on the first two batches!

+1 on the notes. Had a notebook from brew #1.

I hate just leaving the yeast be. It's like I think staring at them will help or something -.-

Thanks!

 

[Brew_Dude41]

I agree everything above, suggest those first above all. My suggestion can be as simple or complex as you make it:
Water is a key element in your finished beer and if you stick with the hobby, you will start to worry about your's. Before going crazy and getting an expensive RO system or paying through the eye for bottled water, try a relatively cheap inline filter from the hardware/home improvement store for $30 and some campden tabs.
There is a ton of literature out there on water chemistry, and you can really go deep on the topic and the results of modifying your brew water, but that filter and capmden tabs made a great improvement in my final beer instantly.

 

[kjm13]

I agree everything above, suggest those first above all. My suggestion can be as simple or complex as you make it:
Water is a key element in your finished beer and if you stick with the hobby, you will start to worry about your's. Before going crazy and getting an expensive RO system or paying through the eye for bottled water, try a relatively cheap inline filter from the hardware/home improvement store for $30 and some campden tabs.
There is a ton of literature out there on water chemistry, and you can really go deep on the topic and the results of modifying your brew water, but that filter and capmden tabs made a great improvement in my final beer instantly.

But Capmden tablets are only necessary if there is chloramine in your water correct?

 

[kev211]

But Capmden tablets are only necessary if there is chloramine in your water correct?

That and the fact that the make sulfur dioxide which can act as a sanitizer and supposedly can ward off infection (cannot confirm from my own brewing; supposedly this is more common in wine and cider making). But yes, the main use is removing chloramines

 

[wallybangbang]

I could probably pick 15 things but if I had to narrow it down to the thing that made my beer improve the most it would be brewing with RO water and building the water profile up myself with additives. I'm no water chemistry expert by any means, probably quite the opposite. Do your research and you can find a good starting point. There is a great sticky in the brew science forum hat gives you a great starting point . I get RO water from outside the grocery store, costs me about 4.50$ for 14 gallons to fill my jugs. Just my experience. Buying a temp controlled freezer for fermentation is probably a very close second.

 

[Rhumbline]

1. Patience
2. Sanitation
3. Attention to detail in your brew steps & recipe
4. Get a water report from Ward Labs then use Bru'n Water to see what you might do to dial in the process.
5. Try splitting a batch and experimenting with different yeasts
6. If you bottle, try to bottle condition for an appropriate amount of time for the style. A Saison needs much less time than a stout.

 

[FatDragon]

- 3 weeks in the fermenter, 3 weeks in the bottle, then start cracking em open. Drinking a week after bottling "because I just want to be sure I didn't screw it up" is usually going to make you more rather than less concerned since you're drinking relatively green beer. Experienced brewers can fudge on this, but it's best for new brewers to just sit back and let time do its thing.

Sanitation and fermentation temperature are the first and second priorities. If your beer isn't infected and wasn't fermented well out of range, it's going to be at least decent.

Repeat and dial in recipes. Making something new every brewday allows you to grow horizontally - becoming mediocre at a wide range of styles - but dialing in a few brews is a very important skill if you want to make consistently good beer. Wish I could have told myself this a couple years ago.

Finally, seal and freeze your bulk hops. I made a few really crappy APAs and IPAs at the beginning of the year. It turns out my hops, which had been opened, clipped closed after rolling the bag, and stored in the freezer and were all less than a year old, had grown insipid and lost aroma. I was getting plenty of IBUs out of them, but almost zero flavor and aroma. A vacuum sealer is a worthwhile investment if you're buying hops in bulk and not using them up within a couple months.

 

[p_p]

Write yourself a good checklist and, once you believe you have a fairly complete setup, stick to a method / process so you can achieve consistency. This will minimize variations with unknown root cause and allow you to tune in your recipes by making small changes based on taste (and learn about ingredients and your equipment while doing it).

Keep working on your checklist based on the brew day experience. If something did't go quite to plan or you think you could improve on something, make sure it makes the list.

 

[sky4meplease]

In order of importance (IMHO of course):

Recipe

Cleanliness and sanitation

Temperature control (mash, boil, chill, fermentation, cold crash, conditioning, serving temp)

Water composition and adjustments

PH

Yeast (health, pitch rate, oxygenation)

Notes and documentation

Patience

Patience

Patience

 

[bransona]

In order of importance (IMHO of course):


Water composition and adjustments

PH

Yeast (health, pitch rate, oxygenation)

Wow, you would say water control is more important than yeast control? That's the first time I've heard that. I've yet to get into water adjustments (because budget), so I haven't seen the apparently magical effects it has on the end result. I'm even more interested in it with each passing day though, this time not withstanding. What do you do to manage your water?

 

[tracyk]

Here is the list that I go by:
1. Clean, Clean Clean, Sanitize, Sanitize, Sanitize can't stress that enough
2. Fermentation Control Makes a big difference in the outcome of your brews
3. Yeast Am I using a dry yeast or making a starter? Pitch rate there are numerous on line calculators. Yeast Calc, Mr. Malty
4. Eventually down the road started working with water adjustments and pH
Patience, Patience, RDWHAHB

Also taking good notes can make a big difference if you will brew the same beer again. Take gravity readings at the beginning and the end. I will usually print out my recipe and by the time the beer is in the bottles, my whole front page is full of notes. Was I able to maintain my mash temp? if not how much did it vary? Did I have any problems with equipment? Should be checked the day before, but you never know there is always the pesky pump problem occasionally. What was my pre-boil gravity? What did I bottle condition with? How Much?

 

[lumpher]

Clean and sanitize
Patience
Ferm temps
Patience
Do your research with store-bought craft beers so you only get stuck with a 6 pack instead of 5 or 10 gallons of something you don't like
Patience
Stay thirsty so you can brew often (so you can get plenty of experience, of course)

 

[Terek]

always have a game plan. My worst brew days were spur of the moment brews, with not really enough time to do everything. Get preped the day before. I like to get all my equipment pre washed and layed out, ready to go. Measure out hops, and put them in there marked bowls, ready to toss in. Have water ready and measured. Grind all grains. Etc......I like to be able to wake up, walk into my brew room, and just start going at it. The plan is in place, and everything is ready to throw in.

Another good tip is when you are done, CLEAN EVERYTHING. Dont put it off for a few hours, or whatever. When grain, hops, and wort dry, its like concrete. Especially the mash tun. Clean it out while its still hot, comes out crystal clear. Same with boil kettle. I wash it out as soon as i put the lid on my bucket. The dried hop residue around the top lip is a ***** to get off.

Sanitation is important, but people take it too far. There is no reason to make up 5 gallons of star san for brew day. I usually make up a half gallon in a small pail, and fill my star san squirt bottle. Brew day doesnt consist of much sanitizing. Fermenter, air lock, bung, and thats about it. I do like to dip my hands in the star san whenever im gonna touch anything that needs sanatizing. I love having a squirt bottle full, as well. You can squirt everything you want. Hit the rim of the bucket, and the lid before you close it up. And so fourth. You will use most of your star san at bottling.

Be patient. This one is almost impossible. But let your stuff be, and let the yeast do there work. I think a lot of people will disagree, but most beers can be bottled in about 10 days. I do a lot of ipa's. I will fe3ment for 7 days, dry hop for 3, then bottle. If i got time. They usually will be carbed in 3-5 days. Of course it will get better with time, but most session beers are fine and tasty in this time frame. Bigger beers, malt forward beers, and ciders i let go about twice as long.

I wish someone had told me all this stuff when i started. i had to learn from mistakes :/

 

[sky4meplease]

Wow, you would say water control is more important than yeast control?

I put in that order because everyone pitches yeast but a lot of Brewers don't give a thought the their water.
If you have a good recipe, good temperature control and the right water for the recipe, your PH will fall in line and even if you under or over pitch you make pretty good beer.
On the other hand if you take a crap recipe and completely screw up your temperatures, brew it with a water that doesn't fit the grain bill then your PH will be way out of line and it won't matter how good of a pitch you gave it will still be crap.
Again that was MHO.

 

[pvpeacock]

Cordless drill + stainless steel paint stirrer! Use for mash in, batch sparging, cooling with an immersion chiller, whirlpooling and aeration.

 

[kjm13]

That and the fact that the make sulfur dioxide which can act as a sanitizer and supposedly can ward off infection (cannot confirm from my own brewing; supposedly this is more common in wine and cider making). But yes, the main use is removing chloramines

Thanks for the reply. I'm just getting into water adjustment. I looked on line for my towns water report, and it didn't have that much. So I called the town hall and they put me in touch with the chemist who works for the town water department and he sent me the full report. Went through it with a fine tooth comb, and couldn't find the chloramine count. So I contacted him again, and he told me my town does not use chloramine in the water. Just wondering if anyone knows how common this is?

 

[kev211]

Thanks for the reply. I'm just getting into water adjustment. I looked on line for my towns water report, and it didn't have that much. So I called the town hall and they put me in touch with the chemist who works for the town water department and he sent me the full report. Went through it with a fine tooth comb, and couldn't find the chloramine count. So I contacted him again, and he told me my town does not use chloramine in the water. Just wondering if anyone knows how common this is?

They could use chlorine instead I believe. Chloramine is chlorine with ammonia added so does basically the same thing, but doesnt evaporate when it comes in contact with air. Does the water report list chlorine levels?

 

[Clonefan94]

You hit my big one in your post. Fermentation temperature control.

After that, another thing I like to tell people, is that if you are not happy with something about a beer you made, don't make wholesale changes. It goes along with good notes in some ways, but if you are trying to figure out where something went wrong, it really helps to only change one variable at a time.

 

[kjm13]

They could use chlorine instead I believe. Chloramine is chlorine with ammonia added so does basically the same thing, but doesnt evaporate when it comes in contact with air. Does the water report list chlorine levels?

I didn't see any. This is what the chemist told me...

"We don’t disinfect with chloramines in Andover. Andover uses Sodium Hypochlorite."

Maybe that's why the Na+ content of my water is 57ppm?
Tha
Thanks.

 

[kev211]

I didn't see any. This is what the chemist told me...

"We don’t disinfect with chloramines in Andover. Andover uses Sodium Hypochlorite."

Maybe that's why the Na+ content of my water is 57ppm?
Tha
Thanks.

Nah. Na+ is a sodium ion. Sodium hypochlorite would show up as NaClO (after a quick Google search). Don't know what campden or filtering would do for the sodium hypochlorite. If you're interested in building water I would recommend starting with distilled or RO water so you can learn what each of the additions will do for you. It's a little more expensive but its a good way to learn.