Homebrewing Progression

[3 Dawg Night]

What is the progression of skills that the novice brewer should focus on? What is the single most important thing to perfect before worrying about anything else?

For instance, I take it from reading the forum here that I should really lock in my fermentation temperature control before I start worrying about water mineral/ion content.

So, experienced brewers: what's the order of things that I should worry about? What has made the biggest difference in the quality of your beer, and what has made little to no difference?

 

[videojunkie1208]

For me, the biggest thing I did that changed the whole brewing process was upgrading to SS fermenters - even if it's just a brew bucket, the cleaning/sterilization process is so effortless compared to glass carboys that it allows you to focus on other things, plus being able to take samples with little risk of contamination has really changed how I do my brewing.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

fermentation temp and closed transfers are huge for me. but that was an upgrade to equipment not skill. skill will come with time, pick a recipe you like and brew it regularly and try to dial it in. not saying make the same beer every brew but have a kind of flagship. the other thing that has helped my progress has been joining a home brew club and more so joining this forum. i have learned more in the past couple months here that i did in the past 2 years of brewing. ive been brewing for about 10 years and the knowledge that i have gained since joining this forum i dont think i could have learned anywhere else. no matter what your style is and what your equipment set up is there is some one here with a good answer to any question.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

So, experienced brewers: what's the order of things that I should worry about? What has made the biggest difference in the quality of your beer, and what has made little to no difference?

I like the idea of the "Top 5 Priorities" from How to Brew (4e) as a minimum starting point:

• Sanitation
• Fermentation fermentation control
• Proper yeast management
• proper boil
• good recipe

Get all five of these right with an extract+steep recipe, and one has a solid base to build on.

BIAB makes "all-grain" a plausible starting point for many people.

Introductory "water chemistry" can be reduced to measuring (teaspoons) or weighting (highly accurate scale) when using distilled or RO water (see Brewing Better Beer or Homebrew Beyond the Basics for details).

Oxygen ingress avoidance either has been covered or will be covered by others.

 

[rburrelli]

I would say that understanding the basic processes of brewing and what is happening in mashing, sparging, boiling, fermenting, etcetera gives you a more solid base to begin branching from. From there begin to incorporate things step by step.

I can say that there are many little things beyond fermentation temperature control that can elevate your beer. But that is a great place to begin. One variable out of the way so to speak.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

fermentation temp and closed transfers are huge for me.

What are "closed transfers"?

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

So with the right fermenter you can transfer from the fermenter to a keg using c02 and not exposing the beer to oxygen.

 

[9Kegs]

If you are in the equipment gathering stage, purchase a good quality thermometer. So much of the brewing process relies on trusting your temperatures.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

To answer your question a little better let us know your current process and setup and style, extract, all grain, biab

 

[jrgtr42]

I can't disagree with anything said.
My recommendations to newbies to concentrate on are Sanitation, yeast heath, sanitiation, fermentation control, sanitiation and sanitation.
IMO everything branches from appropriate cleanliness. Anything that touches your beer post boil needs to be spotless and sanitized. You can get away with a bit more pre-boil, but it still should be clean to the touch and view.
Second is temp control, mostly in fermentation. You want to keep it (usually) in the mid-60s or se (Farenheit). I like to ferment a bit lower, in the 60 - 62 range, mostly because I don't have a heated / cooled cabinet, and the closet I ferment in is that temp. That said, I seem to be getting better results that having higher temps.
Next up is yeast health. If using liquid yeast, you want to make a starter. For dried, you want to rehydrate in water before pitching. You can usually just sprinkle it on top, says the packaging. But making sure the yeast isn't too old and is working well before pitching will result in better beer.

 

[ike8228]

This.

I joined (well came back to) about 4 months ago and really started reading almost every post even if I think I know what will be asked or said, it never fails to hear something new. I would say my knowledge has been ten fold since really reading this site on a daily bases. The more you read the more questions you’ll have. The old saying goes ‘The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know jack’. There is always something new or different, or unique ways of doing something or new ideas or equipment. Just search for anything you may think of, I guarantee there is some version of the answer in here. If you aren’t sure you got what you’re looking for, ask. I ask stupid questions all the time.

I have ‘upgraded’ my equipment almost every batch I’ve made since reading this stuff. I’m always finding new things to improve a process. Mostly small stuff, but the occasional bigger item. Even getting ideas and fabricating something that I want to try or do.

In terms of rehydrating dry yeast (I still only use dry) I recommend doing a mini starter at least. I find that my fermentation starts in less than 12 hrs verses 24-36 when not starting. Less chance/quicker anti bacteria army production and I think the beer hits my FG more and it tastes cleaner.

Sanitation, temp control, knowledge are my recommendations. Sanitation and post brew cleaning accounts for at least half my time in the brew lab.

 

[Beholder]

Thinking over the last 10 years, I would put it at:

1. Sanitation (I used to make up a 5 gallon dunk bucket, but since just use a spray bottle, but mindset is key to avoid non sanitized item touched post boil wort)
2. Cold side temperature control (ESP if warm climate, less so if cool climate or using kveik yeast)
3. Process stability (hitting expected numbers repeatedly)
4. Water chemistry and profiles
5. Cold side oxidation minimization (eg closed transfers)

 

[jswillbrewforbeer]

I'll take the road less traveled here...
Cleanliness and sanitation are on top, with fermentation control immediately next. After upgrading to stir plate starters, diffusing pure O2, using yeast nutrient and using a system capable of maintaining fermentation set temperature +/- 1F, I noticed far better attenuation. Not only further attenuation in a given batch, but consistently having fully attenuated batches. To be honest though, I didn't notice much difference in quality. Here's what made the biggest change in quality for me, it may be controversial: Recipe design and palate education. It takes time to develop recipes suited to your palate and you will only get there by trial and tribulation. You can follow someone else's recipe to the tee but the resultant beer may not be your cup of tea, (see what I did there?) Perfect your own recipes one piece at a time. Also, know what you're tasting. Study the guidelines, do sensory training, judge competitions, etc. The last bit has been game changing for me. Being pickier about beer forces you to perfect your homebrew. Cheers!

 

[Calder]

If I had to pick 5 things (in no particular order):

1) Extract brewers need to move to partial Mash. With only 2 or 3 lbs of grain, you can make huge differences to the dry/sweetness of the finished beer, and it brings into play a whole lot of new malt flavors. And reduces cost. Eventually moving to more grain and less extract ... to all grain. No need to make the big jump all at once.
2) Pitching the right amount of yeast. No need to get it exact (I think most people use educated estimates rather than absolutes), but you should be pitching about the right amount. Pitching a vial of liquid yeast is well under-pitching, and putting a new beer on a complete fresh yeast cake is well over-pitching. Both can cause issues.
3) Fermentation temperature control. Preventing high temps in some fermentations leads to cleaner ferments and prevents un-wanted flavors (and higher alcohols), and the ability to raise temps for Belgians can produce great beers
4) Good sanitation practice. Don't scratch fermenters, sanitize before use, make sure everything that touches the wort post boil is clean and sanitized. While you can get away with minor problems where something wasn't sanitized but was clean, some things need extra attention, such as hoses and spigots where it is difficult to clean out wort residue (bugs/bacteria love wort). If you don't have good practices, and gamble, you may get away with it for a while, but eventually you will dump a batch (or more). It is a bad feeling thinking of the cost and effort that went into a batch while you are pouring it down the drain.
5) Read. Read respected authors and also follow advice given here. Most of the advice given here is decent. Occasionally bad advice is given, but usually corrected pretty quickly.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

To answer your question a little better let us know your current process and setup and style, extract, all grain, biab

So far, I've brewed two 1-gallon all grain batches. I'm planning on two more 1-gallon batches (to refine skill a bit) before moving up to larger batches. I'm the only beer-drinker in my house, so I think 3-gallons will be the sweet spot for me.

Current setup (1 gallon):
All grain
2.5 gallon stockpot (mash tun and brew kettle; I preheat oven for a few minutes and put the mash in there to insulate it)
Pour mash through strainer into plastic bucket, then back through into pot, then sparge to boil volume.
After boil, cool in ice bath in kitchen sink.
Plastic 2-gallon bucket fermenter (first batch used 1-gallon carboy for secondary, but the forums have convinced me that's not necessary).
Temperature control is the room thermostat in my bedroom.
Bottle conditioning.

Planned setup (3 gallon):
BIAB
10-gallon Igloo cooler mash tun
6-gallon brew kettle (will still fit my kitchen gas stove, as well as my kitchen sink)
Ice bath in kitchen sink (unless it turns out that it won't cool my wort quick enough, then I'll have to invest in an immersion chiller)
Plastic bucket fermenter (although my brother-in-law has an old 6-gallon carboy he said I can have; I'll probably give that a try to see which I like better)
Temperature control will be room thermostat in my bedroom (although I'll probably end up building a Son of Fermentation Chiller in the garage)
Bottle conditioning.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

I'll take the road less traveled here...
Cleanliness and sanitation are on top, with fermentation control immediately next. After upgrading to stir plate starters, diffusing pure O2, using yeast nutrient and using a system capable of maintaining fermentation set temperature +/- 1F, I noticed far better attenuation. Not only further attenuation in a given batch, but consistently having fully attenuated batches. To be honest though, I didn't notice much difference in quality. Here's what made the biggest change in quality for me, it may be controversial: Recipe design and palate education. It takes time to develop recipes suited to your palate and you will only get there by trial and tribulation. You can follow someone else's recipe to the tee but the resultant beer may not be your cup of tea, (see what I did there?) Perfect your own recipes one piece at a time. Also, know what you're tasting. Study the guidelines, do sensory training, judge competitions, etc. The last bit has been game changing for me. Being pickier about beer forces you to perfect your homebrew. Cheers!

So, do most of you guys jump around from style to style, or do you have one or two that you really try to dial in on?

 

[3 Dawg Night]

Thanks to everyone for the AMAZING feedback! Keep it coming!

Here's how I'll summarize what I'm hearing:

1. Sanitization
2. Sanitization
3. Education
4. Fermentation Temperature Control
5. Yeast Care/Pitching
6. Minimize Oxidation
7. Water Profile

 

[jswillbrewforbeer]

So, do most of you guys jump around from style to style, or do you have one or two that you really try to dial in on?

I have maybe as many as 10 "house" recipes that are close enough to dialed in that I can brew them the same way I did last time, know what to expect and enjoy them. I make tweaks or minor experiments with them on occasion. In between those though, I love to attempt a wide variety of new styles!

 

[ike8228]

The 6 gallon carboy would be better than a bucket but that might be too much head space for a 3 gallon batch. It’s perfect for 5 gallon. If you have a 6 gallon kettle you could brew 4 gallon and do an 1 gallon top off for 5ish. It wouldn’t cost you anything more than more ingredients since the equipment is suited for 5s.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

If you have a 6 gallon kettle you could brew 4 gallon and do an 1 gallon top off for 5ish.

I don't have the 6 gallon kettle yet; 6-gallon is just what I've calculated will fit on my kitchen stove. I think if I move up to an 8-10 gallon kettle (for 5 gallon BIAB), I'm going to have to brew outside on a burner. Not the end of the world, but brewing in the AC on an Alabama summer night sounds nicer.

What would a top-off look like? Do you use the full amount of grain for a 5 gallon wort? Otherwise, it seems like your OG would be way low.

 

[bracconiere]

i know my opinion is not welcome...lol, but i've got to say it anyway!


when i learned to slow down my sparge and started adjusting ph in the mash...i went from getting mid 60% efficiencies to mid 80's.....saved me a ton of money on malt, now i do a step mash and get 90%!

(as far as quality goes, it's my same lovable crap...but it's A LOT cheaper now! )

 

[3 Dawg Night]

Some additional research has led me to a way to brew 5-gallon batches in my kitchen (i.e., in the AC):

I bought a 10-gallon Igloo that I'm going to convert into a mash tun.
I bought an 8-gallon kettle that will fit under my stove exhaust hood.
My brother-in-law gave me a 6-gallon glass carboy that he had leftover from his homebrewing days (plus a couple of 6.5 gallon buckets and lots of bottles).

With a batch sparge and a 7 gallon pre-boil volume, I think this will work!

You guys are already costing me money.

 

[Transamguy77]

You guys are already costing me money.

You’ve only begun to go down the rabbit hole....buckle in and enjoy the ride!

 

[beernutz]

Thanks to everyone for the AMAZING feedback! Keep it coming!

Here's how I'll summarize what I'm hearing:

1. Sanitization
2. Sanitization
3. Education
4. Fermentation Temperature Control
5. Yeast Care/Pitching
6. Minimize Oxidation
7. Water Profile

That is a very astute list.

Maybe add 8. Patience as that helps me in almost every brewing phase but particularly in fermentation.

 

[Andrew7447]

1. Sanitization
2. Sanitization
3. Good fresh/correctly stored ingredients
$. temp/yeast control
$. pressure ferment/pressure trans
(Broke). Water/PH if its not too far out of wack. Might be higher if its way off.
Kinda how I fell though the rabbit hole.

 

[ike8228]

Ya #9 money. I have a new toy almost every brew. Some just a few bucks some big tickets. Once you start going you’ll find/ask yourself if I only had ‘?’. Just enjoy. Perfect your system. Who cares what we say, if you have fun and the beer is drinkable cheers. When you get your next Christmas bonus or get lucky on a scratcher, upgrade.

 

[mashpaddled]

You've got lots of good answers above and would add a more conceptual skill to learn: having a clear vision for what kind of beer you want to brew. That applies both to individual beers and generally to your brewing.

If you have a clear idea of the types of beers you want to brew and brewing processes you can spend on equipment more efficiently by not buying every new toy that comes out and using most of them once or twice before they disappear into the back of your equipment storage. You can also do a better job dialing in your system and techniques with a clear image of what you intend to brew. If you want to make a lot of five gallon lagers then a fifteen gallon brewhouse and all sorts of hopping equipment might not be as efficient as a good fermentation temperature control system and a five gallon brewhouse.

If you can conceptualize the individual beers you want to brew you will do a better job crafting recipes to that end. That might sound like an obvious and easy skill but look at most of the recipe threads here (or on any other brewing forum). The OP comes in with some recipe and a handful of words describing what they want and then people rush in and pull the recipe in twenty directions leaving the OP to come up with some recipe assembled out of bits and pieces of what everybody said and absolutely no idea what the beer was supposed to be in the first place.

 

[Bean]

I only did a quick glance but I would say some of the answers you are getting are the popular ones right now, they are popular because as the hobby gets more and more popular the "big ticket" items of a few years ago are now not so niche. If you told someone, who 10 years ago was taking a tin can worth of concentrated LME hop extract, boiling it with some extra water, wrapping a plastic bucket in wet blankets and locking it away in guest shower (for two weeks, no more and no less!) to today where water chemistry, custom kettles, jacketed stainless conicals with glycol chillers and mini canning lines are not the standard but common they would think your running half million dollar nano brewery out of your basement.

1. Education - We all know you can down the rabbit hole quickly but if you don't understand the basics it doesn't matter how deep you go down your beer will always be "okay" or "good for home brew." Education is everything and you will see that no matter what top 5 list you look at you can master each point by educating yourself on it.

2. Sanitation - Understand the difference between cleansing, sanitation, and sterilizing.

3. Equipment - I wish I had started with my cold side first instead of getting lost in my hot side for a few years. Try to delete as much plastic from your brewery as possible especially on the cold side. Treat your equipment with respect and it will last forever, replace gaskets, seals, o-rings, and Teflon tape before they fail or harbor something, same goes with hoses.

4. Yeast Management - A clean fermentation is crucial, a beer is ready when the yeast say it is not some arbitrary timeline on a recipe. I've had beers finish in 10 hours and others in 10 days. Doing the calculations to make sure the pitch rate was correct and not simply one smack pack, vial, or packet per 5 gallons was a game changer

5. RDWHAHB - The one thing I love about homebrewing is it encompasses so much more than just brewing beer. Personally, I love the tinkering of my system and making things work more efficiently. My other brew buddy loves the data, tracking fermentaion, recipe price breakdowns, all the number. Another friend of mine enjoys tinkering with yeasts. Find what you love about the hobby and concentrate on that otherwise whats the point?

 

[Day-Day]

Here's the top five that took my beer to that commercial quality. I'm not adding sanitation because it has been said a million times already.

1) Water Chemistry ( I use R/O, then build via Bru'N Water)
2) Yeast management (starters/storage, oxygenation, fermenation temp)
3) Calculators (pitch rates, strike water, brix conversion, etc)
4) Kegging (lump closed transfers into this category)
5) Learning off flavors (know what they are, and how to avoid them)

Taking notes helps, and this forum is gold.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

So, the last couple of posts have called out yeast calculators. What are some of the best options there? I've been using Brewer's Friend, and the yeast pitching calculator there has me pitching 2 packets of (rehydrated) US-05 for 5 gal of 1.050 wort. Is that reasonable? Are there better calculators out there?

 

[VikeMan]

So, the last couple of posts have called out yeast calculators. What are some of the best options there? I've been using Brewer's Friend, and the yeast pitching calculator there has me pitching 2 packets of (rehydrated) US-05 for 5 gal of 1.050 wort. Is that reasonable? Are there better calculators out there?

<shameless plug> Are you using any brewing software? If not, I recommend checking out BrewCipher, which is free and includes a yeast pitch/starter calculator integrated into recipe design. You do need Excel or OpenOffice to use it.

 

[Day-Day]

So, the last couple of posts have called out yeast calculators. What are some of the best options there? I've been using Brewer's Friend, and the yeast pitching calculator there has me pitching 2 packets of (rehydrated) US-05 for 5 gal of 1.050 wort. Is that reasonable? Are there better calculators out there?

I use Brewer's Friend...I like their calculators...no issues here. Their calculator says you need 176 billion cells for 5 gallon of 1.050 wort. Two packets would give you 220 billion cells, so I'd say you're fine. I'd rather pitch a little extra than not enough. I haven't used dry yeast in years, but when I did I never rehydrated, I just sprinkled on top and let er rip.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

So, the last couple of posts have called out yeast calculators. What are some of the best options there? I've been using Brewer's Friend, and the yeast pitching calculator there has me pitching 2 packets of (rehydrated) US-05 for 5 gal of 1.050 wort. Is that reasonable? Are there better calculators out there?

Willing to skip calculators and consider a recommendation from the maker of US-05?

What is the recommended pitch rate for E2UTM by Fermentis ADY?

ADY is dry yeast biomass with almost no water (94-97% dry matter). A pitch rate in weight per volume (grams per hectoliter) is the most accurate way, for ADY, to achieve consistency in your fermentations time after time. For E2UTM by Fermentis ale strains we recommend a pitch rate of 50-80 gr/hL (2.06-3.3 oz/bbl); and 80-120 gr/hL (3.3-4.95 oz/bbl) for our lagers strains. In other words, one 11.5grs sachet (0.406 oz) is good for 5 gallons for ales and two 11.5g sachets for 5 gallons for lagers. For high gravity beers (over 18°P) it is better to pitch 2 sachets per 5 gallons brew.

 

[Stand]

I don't think you can beat beersmith overall, but I use Brew United yeast calc Homebrew Dad's Online Yeast Starter Calculator

 

[bwible]

I’ve used BeerTools for probably 18 years, mostly because I have a mac and its one of the few available for mac. Its good software, easy to use, customizeable. I haven’t looked at many others.

 

[thworted]

Some great advice from all the experienced folks here. Only thing I would add, and only because I didn't see it mentioned (may have missed it) is to get good at taking notes. Record every data point that you can think of on brew day and during fermentation. This will help avoid future mistakes, and help you to repeat a recipe when you brew a winner.

Record everything at first, then as you gain experience, you can back off as you like. Invest in a good thermometer, and once you (like most of us) realize that this hobby is going to stick around and drain your wallet, invest in a refractometer and a pH meter.

 

[NobleSavage]

When I first downsized to 2.5 gallons I was still using my 10-gallon mash tun, then I converted a 5 gallon igloo cooler. In the end, brew day was much easier and enjoyable just using doing BAIB right in the kettle.

What has worked really well for me is the following:

5.5-gallon SS Brew Tech boil kettle (Anvil makes a really nice one too for roughly the same $)
5.5 gal | Ss Brew Kettle
Anvil 5.5 Gallon Kettle | Durable, Reliable Quality
A kettle with a spicket is a massive improvement over siphoning.

Another upgrade I really love is my Brew Bag (I started with paint strainer bags - the Brew Bag is worth every penny):
https://www.brewinabag.com
Us the bag right in your kettle and put the $ you would have spent on a cooler mash tun into an immersion chiller.

When (if) you want to start kegging, there are several brands of 2.5 or 3 gallon kegs as well (unfortunately these are often the same or even higher priced than 5 gallon kegs).

I’m not going to link the other items I use because they are available at any brew supply store (immersion chiller, 3 gallon PET carboys, etc.…). Oh, also invest in a good gram scale for your hops – you will feel like a drug dealer ordering it, but it is worth it!

Finally, fermentation temp has been mentioned several times in this thread. One added benefit of smaller batches is less thermal activity from the yeast. I have a temperature-controlled chamber now, but when I first switched to smaller batches a 3-gallon carboy on a concert basement floor stayed right at 63 degrees. So, fermentation control does not have to mean a large investment (think wet t-shirt, swamp cooler, etc....).

Keep brewing and have fun!