What would be your next improvement?

[PADave]

Looking for what my next brewing process improvement should be. Currently I am doing full volume, no sparge, BIAB brews, using bottled water because our well sucks. I've always used dry yeast, and my basement stays a consistent 60-62, so fermentation temps have been kept in check. I buy all my grains precrushed. I have got my process down and have made good beers using this system but want to take the next step. What's going to give me the best bang for the buck? And before anyone mentions it, no I'm not interested in kegging.

Using liquid yeasts and starters
pH and water chemistry
Better fermentation temp control
Grain mill
Oxygenation with an O2 wand
Other suggestions?

 

[Toejam792]

I make a list of wants every time I brew. I have three categories that I put those in, better beer, cheaper beer, and easier brew day. Once something has been on there for a few brews I move it up in the queue line of things to buy. Adding electric to my system was one of these. I can mash at the same temp for more consistent beer, It is cheaper in heating costs verses propane, and now I set the temps and come back for transfers no more babysitting my brew.

From your list I would get the grain mill or ferm chamber

 

[Calder]

Using liquid yeasts and starters
pH and water chemistry
Better fermentation temp control
Grain mill
Oxygenation with an O2 wand
Other suggestions?

All good suggestions. Not knowing your set-up, I don't know what you really need.

There are excellent dry yeasts out there; there is no need to use liquid yeasts unless there are particular yeasts you want to use. I exclusively use liquid, mainly because there is a lot more variety. If you want to use the Chico strain for everything, then S-05 is perfectly fine. If you want to experiment with Belgians, then you really need to be using liquid yeasts.

PH and water chemistry is not something I have gotten into yet. It is low on my list for improvement. Maybe it is because I don't seem to have any issues with my water or mash ph.

60 - 62 is a great temperature for most beers. If that is all you want, I'd recommend a swamp cooler (bucket with water) as a cheap way to maintain the fermentation temp close to the room temp reducing the self heating of the ferment. I also use a fish-tank heater in my swamp cooler to get the higher temperatures needed for Belgian yeasts.

A grain mill will probably improve your efficiency. You can also store grain, and be ready to brew at any time. Not sure it will actually improve your beer.

I've not found 2 necessary. Many people swear by it. I don't do high gravity bees often (>1.080), when I do, I usually aerate for a second time after 12 hours to help the yeast.


Some items I have found useful:

FermCap
Mason jars for storing yeast (hallf pint jars for storing 'exxtra' yeast off starters for future use, pint jars for storing slurry, quart jars for short-term storage of starter wort, half gallon jars for washing yeast and for starters).
Vacuum sealer for hops
5 gallon paint straining bags for lots of things (straining wort into fermenter, over racking cane to strain out dry hops, etc)
Refractometer

 

[McKnuckle]

After about 65 batches, I do all of the things on your list except the O2 wand. I do full volume no-sparge BIAB, too.

Starters are essential for some styles, as are liquid yeast strains. A stir plate and flask is a moderate investment. Liquid yeast is a couple extra bucks on brew day, and you can always harvest and store it.

pH and water chemistry is an intellectual investment rather than financial. Salts are cheap and a bag of gypsum or CaCl lasts forever. It can definitely take some styles to the next level to understand and manipulate that stuff. It is confusing when you start out, and advice on HBT is a bit unbalanced at times. I distill water at home, so this is essential to my brewing.

Ferm temp control is crucial. You have great temps for basic ale brewing, but you can't do anything to manipulate the temperature curve during primary, and you can't brew lagers. That would be a nice thing to latch onto, and a small fridge can double as a place for stored yeast, bottles of beer, etc.

I would be lost without my grain mill. It's not that it makes better beer, but its repeatable crush offers a known variable in my efficiency planning. And most importantly, it lets me buy grain and store it for whenever I want to brew. I always have fresh grain, and I can mix up whatever concoction I want anytime. No need to rely on a shop to mill my grains and ship them - priceless.

Just a few random thoughts.

 

[PADave]

So far I'm liking the grain mill. I order all my ingredients online due to lack of a good local source. I'd love to be able to order ingredients for my next 4-5 brews at one time and not have to worry about brewing them quick because they are crushed. Now question is, which one? So far got my eye one a Barley Crusher.

 

[Cyclman]

Oxygenation, all the way.

 

[Tactical-Brewer]

Cannot wait to make a dial stage wort chiller. One cool in ice water, going into the chiller in the wort then out.

Chilling the wort is my least favorite part of brewing. By that point I'm ready to have it in the fermentor and yeast pitched. This should help!

 

[PADave]

Cannot wait to make a dial stage wort chiller. One cool in ice water, going into the chiller in the wort then out.

Chilling the wort is my least favorite part of brewing. By that point I'm ready to have it in the fermentor and yeast pitched. This should help!

Pretty much got this already. I use a fountain pump in a cooler and pump ice water through my chiller. I save the initial hot water for clean up, but once it gets around 100 degrees I just recirculate back into the cooler. Having access to free ice helps too.

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

I'm torn between temp control and a good mentor. I live in SoCal so the temps are fairly steady, but tend to waiver in my house by ~10 degrees between summer and winter. Temp control could allow me to keep fermentation steady.

However, brewing with a more experienced mentor could really help my short game, so to speak. I'm sure there are some nuances I could improve. I tend to cut corners. I'm more of an artist than an engineer, so the science part I tend to let go...

Great post to get me thinking.

 

[hogwash]

Everything on your list, save for the grain mill, can be accomplished with minimal investment and all of them will improve your brewing. Personally, I would start with fermentation temperature control first. If you are sticking with ales then a water bath (rubbermaid tub from Target, etc. full of water) with an aquarium heater/bottles of frozen water will get you up and running. Next, I'd go with liquid yeast and starters. It opens up so many options over dry yeast and you can rinse it and save it for future batches, eventually saving you money. Third, I'd go with O2. My O2 set up is a .5 micron diffusion stone, a regulator for disposable oxygen bottles, a length of hose, and an O2 bottle from the hardware store. I've been using this for a good 4 years and I'm on my 3rd bottle. Fourth, improving water is mostly lots and lots of research, trial and error, and of course getting your water tested so you know what you're working with. Send it to Ward Labs, don't trust your local water provider's numbers. Minerals &c. are inexpensive. In terms of improving your beer, the grain mill will have the least impact. That being said, I absolutely love mine and I love being able to have a variety of grains on hand. I have a Crankandstein 2S and it has been great. Come to think of it, I need to go crush the grains for tomorrow's batch! Good luck!

 

[BeardedBrews]

Water chemistry, as mentioned, is not really a cost. You can get a 0.1g scale from Amazon for $10, and the Gypsum and CaCl is like $1/baggie at the home brew shop. Add a child medicine syringe (free at walmart) and some lactic acid for $4 and you can do your pH too. If you're using bottled water, then most of the mystery is taken care of, just plug your numbers into your brew calculator.

After that, my happiest investment was bulk grain. I got sold on the idea when I picked up a bunch of the Northern Brewer All-Grain Sale kits. Having enough ingredients on hand to brew whenever I wanted felt great!

Knocking the ingredient cost down, and the convenience factor up, has meant that I brew at least 2x more often. That extra practice and process stability has done more to improve my beer than anything else.


<Edit> Whoops, forgot to mention the fermentation chamber. That really was my 2nd brewing investment. Even if your basement is steady, the ability to raise and lower temperature is awesome. If you find a deal on a chest freezer from Craigslist, you can cold crash too, which is very nice even when bottle conditioning.

 

[Malty_Dog]

Based on the list I vote for 1) ferm temp control 2) yeast starter supplies. Both pretty essential for good/great brews.

 

[ChelisHubby]

Temp ature control should be first. then the oxygen set up. I will suggest that you try to reuse some of your yeast slurry. it did help with the wait for the fermentation to start, and it is paid for.

 

[jerryboy]

Grain mill would be my suggestion, if you have a place that you are able to get bulk bags. The money saved on just base malt would be notable in a few beers time. Also, water chemistry would be cheap to do.

 

[hatterdude]

From cost savings and quality together I would invest in a good yeast starter kit (or build your own) then you could look at harvesting yeast and saving $3+ per brew (more $$ when you move to liquid yeast). It also would let you have a nice strong start for your yeast which would improve overall quality.

Next pH strips and some salts to balance things out.

Then grain mill.

I'm not sold on the oxygen thing yet, personally, but I may have to do a triangle test sometime to prove it to myself.

 

[Michigan_Wolfman]

I'm getting ready to pull the plug and invest in a 5 gallon electric BIAB system, so my next improvement from there will probably be a grain mill.

 

[PADave]

Out of necessity I had to go with fermentation temp. control. In the winter my basement temps are around 60-62. With this warm weather they've started climbing into the upper 60's. So the other day I went and got a new chest freezer and my Inkbird controller came yesterday. Had it running overnight with a jug of water and everything looks good, so time to brew again today.

 

[mattdee1]

Out of necessity I had to go with fermentation temp. control. In the winter my basement temps are around 60-62. With this warm weather they've started climbing into the upper 60's. So the other day I went and got a new chest freezer and my Inkbird controller came yesterday. Had it running overnight with a jug of water and everything looks good, so time to brew again today.

I think the fermentation temperature control was a superb choice. Even if you have a cool basement with relatively stable temperature, it still helps to be able to narrowly control the temperature because different yeast strains leave different “signatures” on the beer depending on the temperature.

Building water profiles from RO/distilled water can be another very significant improvement, depending on what process you’re comparing it to, and what styles of beer you’re making. I was using clean-tasting-but-untreated tap water of unknown composition for a long time to make a broad color-range of beers, and most of them turned out really well, but wow, did my pale beers ever get better with RO water, salts, and acid. I don’t mind calling the difference “night and day,” although admittedly I’m probably noticing the benefits more than guests to my house who have tried before/after samples.

I’m a bit surprised to see multiple votes for oxygen in this thread, considering the mounting evidence—both anecdotal and experimental—suggesting that it provides no detectable benefit in the final product for most beers at the homebrew scale. Whereas you will see verifiable impacts from the above-mentioned items, all oxygen will get you is less money in your pocket, more gear to store on the shelf, and some academic mumbo-jumbo on why your beer should be better from using it (but probably isn’t).