I have been brewing for about a decade but haven't done a lot of varying in my methods/styles since starting. I've found myself to be generally pleased with the beer that results, however it tends to have some variations in outcome from batch to batch.
What I'm curious about is what other homebrewers believe took their beers to the next step, be it something you changed about your brewday, a change in method, or equipment that took it to the next level. Looking for free-ranging discussion here but realistic and practical things
i can only give practical and realistic advice from personal experience and as of late it seems a few brewers in here dont share my thoughts on certain processes and vice versa ,but since you asked and expect a wide range of answers I'll be glad to tell you what I DID to improve my beers in no particular order of importance since your brewing conditions are surely varied from mine in one way or another.
Sanitation is a given so that goes without saying.
I bottle by choice and also by lack of space and expense for the system. I've read the many problems people have with kegging and it just keeps me from doing it even if i did have the room and funds for it.
I like to keep a variety of beers in my fridge so i bottle. 54 bottles per batch isnt a chore for me.
I gravity transfer .I dont use pumps for the simple fact that anything motorized or spinning ,besides creating heat, and can harbor bacteria, eventually fails for one reason or another.
1) water- have it tested and if it has been processed ( city water, water softener,etc) make a change by buying, filtering, RO or simple addition of a campden tablet and/or minerals to your strike water.
2) buy higher quality malts or at least stick with a malt within the same name(weyermann or Briess, etc) same with hops and yeast.
2a) know the characterisics of what youre putting into the recipe and how they work together.
3) buy a mill , mill your own grains .
4) step mash vs single infusion mash...control of your temps and rest times will greatly improve the proteins and sugars conversions and give you more body in your beers.
4a) buy a quick read digital temp probe.
5) buy and read a few brewing books. make sure you know the basics before wanting to get bigger in your brewing.
6) if you dont have one or arent already using one , buy a hydrometer and learn how to use it. step up and combine with a refractometer ( i have a digital one) to keep an eye on your numbers so you at least know when fermentation is done and stabilized.
7) take notes, know your brew rig, dont overthink your brewing. get your own personal process down pat so you can almost predict your outcome . keep your batch sizes consistent. stick to one process and get confident. Keep It Simple .
8) once in a while step outside the box and brew something you would normally think you can't. I brewed a blackberry lime hibiscus kettle sour that is out of this world tasty .
9) dont get discouraged if a brew doesnt go right.
10) try a variation of different steps or processes one at a time so if something doesnt work , you can pin point what changed and where the problem might lie. if you find it works , great, adopt it into your brew day but if it doesnt , go back to what you did before that.