Hello all!
Recently I have been on a mission to significantly improve my home brew. I have been brewing for about 5 years, mostly extract, however the extended time in between batches (~4-5 months) has made it so that improvements have been minimal across this time. All in all I've brewed around 11-12 extract batches and recently switched to BIAB, completing my fourth batch this past week. Over the years I've made a few investments such as a fridge for kegging and temp controlled fermentation, a wort chiller, some nice thermometers and pots, etc. I've had a few batches I've really liked and others that were not good at all. So with all of this is mind, I've really wanted to step up my brew game to consistently get beer that I want to drink and share with others.
As I've said, I recently switched to BIAB which I feel has helped motivate me to get better. Not only is it cheaper to buy the grains, but I have stuck with brewing 3 gallon batches making less beer for me to drink before brewing another batch. I'm hoping that brewing more batches will also help me get better. One recent improvement which I feel helped the overall quality of the beer was fermenting out beyond 7-10 days which I often see mentioned as a adequate fermentation period. Now I've been going out at least 2 weeks. Also, I am very satisfied with the flavors and colors of the beers that I am getting with BIAB and definitely feel like I am heading in the right direction. Although I would like to have a bigger set up, living in a small apartment has restricted my setup. I guess I just wanted to share my thoughts on trying to get better and was interested in other brewers perspective on the path to making good homebrew. Is there any advice or thoughts to share with someone (still early on like me) that you feel has helped achieve the next level. I'm not just saying for beer that is drinkable, which I can already accomplish, but something on the next level.
Just to share some info on my last batch, I attempted to brew the northernbrewer dead ringer IPA, but picked up the grains from my local HBS. I did a slightly lower grain bill than what they call for.
5 lbs Rahr 2-row
1 lb Caramel 40
I was on temp during the mash (152 for Sacch' rest and 170 mashout) and added a slightly lower hop bill with just 0.2 oz centennial for the 60 min (I wanted a lower bitterness), 0.6 oz for 20 min, and 1 oz for 5 min. I used the recommended wyeast 1056 which started bubbling in 12 hrs and looks like it's already finishing up after 2.5 days. Now I've just waiting to finish up fermentation before dry hopping, cold crashing, and kegging. Here's a pic of it in the fermenter.
Anyways, It's been a while since I last posted but I wanted to hear from everyone on homebrew talk and share my story.
Cheers!
Recently I have been on a mission to significantly improve my home brew. I have been brewing for about 5 years, mostly extract, however the extended time in between batches (~4-5 months) has made it so that improvements have been minimal across this time. All in all I've brewed around 11-12 extract batches and recently switched to BIAB, completing my fourth batch this past week. Over the years I've made a few investments such as a fridge for kegging and temp controlled fermentation, a wort chiller, some nice thermometers and pots, etc. I've had a few batches I've really liked and others that were not good at all. So with all of this is mind, I've really wanted to step up my brew game to consistently get beer that I want to drink and share with others.
As I've said, I recently switched to BIAB which I feel has helped motivate me to get better. Not only is it cheaper to buy the grains, but I have stuck with brewing 3 gallon batches making less beer for me to drink before brewing another batch. I'm hoping that brewing more batches will also help me get better. One recent improvement which I feel helped the overall quality of the beer was fermenting out beyond 7-10 days which I often see mentioned as a adequate fermentation period. Now I've been going out at least 2 weeks. Also, I am very satisfied with the flavors and colors of the beers that I am getting with BIAB and definitely feel like I am heading in the right direction. Although I would like to have a bigger set up, living in a small apartment has restricted my setup. I guess I just wanted to share my thoughts on trying to get better and was interested in other brewers perspective on the path to making good homebrew. Is there any advice or thoughts to share with someone (still early on like me) that you feel has helped achieve the next level. I'm not just saying for beer that is drinkable, which I can already accomplish, but something on the next level.
Just to share some info on my last batch, I attempted to brew the northernbrewer dead ringer IPA, but picked up the grains from my local HBS. I did a slightly lower grain bill than what they call for.
5 lbs Rahr 2-row
1 lb Caramel 40
I was on temp during the mash (152 for Sacch' rest and 170 mashout) and added a slightly lower hop bill with just 0.2 oz centennial for the 60 min (I wanted a lower bitterness), 0.6 oz for 20 min, and 1 oz for 5 min. I used the recommended wyeast 1056 which started bubbling in 12 hrs and looks like it's already finishing up after 2.5 days. Now I've just waiting to finish up fermentation before dry hopping, cold crashing, and kegging. Here's a pic of it in the fermenter.
Anyways, It's been a while since I last posted but I wanted to hear from everyone on homebrew talk and share my story.
Cheers!