I wish I would of

[Toejam792]

Hi I haven't seen one of these threads yet, but I would like to help everybody on HBT about the little things. We should all share all the little things you wish you did differently.

I wish I would of put the inlet for my HLT as high as I could on the kettle. I have a 20 gallon HLT and put the intake about 2.5" from lip when could of been 1.5" giving me an extra gallon. It's not much but aggravates me on double brew days.

 

[day_trippr]

You wouldn't be the first home brewer to use one of these.

Cheers!

 

[seatazzz]

I wish I would've started homebrewing ten years ago instead of last year....

 

[Davevjordon]

That’s what I was gonna say: “wish I started sooner”. I looked into it, not 10 years ago, but maybe 5-7 years ago. And all that was involved looked pretty daunting. But I AM glad that when the time care, I dove in head first: jumped right into all grain, built a kegerator and got into kegging from the start.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Wish I would have started 5-6 years ago when my buddy wanted me to get into it (he was a phenomenal brewer I could have learned a lot from). He got out of it right before I started and sold his stuff. Wish I would have bought his 3 tier brew stand. Had I done all this, I could have already started the brewery I'm thinking about . Lots of "wish I woulda's".

 

[myndflyte]

I wish I would have just started with BIAB when I switched to all grain. I made a few batches using a batch sparge but I'm really looking forward to using BIAB to make my brew day simpler.

 

[mongoose33]

I wish I would have invested in high-quality gear up front, and saved the money I wasted on selling the lesser gear at a fraction of what I paid for it.

Just about impossible to do, given that we don't know if we'll really like brewing or not, but still.

 

[TheAleRunner]

I wish I would have bought more Galaxy hops when they were on sale.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

I wish I would have had a Hydra chiller when I started brewing almost 22 years ago. The water and the hours for chilling wasted...

 

[cactusgarrett]

I wish I would have invested in high-quality gear up front, and saved the money I wasted on selling the lesser gear at a fraction of what I paid for it.

This. I would further add to this by saying not only getting high-quality gear up front, but the BIGGER VOLUME stuff up front. I've outgrown equipment twice over when I never thought I would. Specifically my boil kettle.

 

[Velnerj]

I wish I had the patience for smash brewing so I could really learn flavor profiles but I just can't justify the limited time I have to brew on beer that doesn't excite me.

Wish there was a place (near me) to taste many different smash beers. I'd be willing to pay the pint price rather than do all the work...

 

[ancientmariner52]

The best advice I received when I started ag was to pick a simple recipe that I liked, smash or close to it. Then brew it over and over til I was comfortable with the process.
I made about 5 batches of basic american pale ale, without worrying about expensive ingredients and unfamiliar timings and temps.

I'm going to resume brewing after a near three year hiatus. Guess what my first brew is gonna be.

 

[mongoose33]

I wish I had the patience for smash brewing so I could really learn flavor profiles but I just can't justify the limited time I have to brew on beer that doesn't excite me.

Wish there was a place (near me) to taste many different smash beers. I'd be willing to pay the pint price rather than do all the work...

I lucked into a smash that, in my household, became....well, a SMASH.

Maris Otter as the malt, Styrian Celeia as the hops. It's lighter, crisper, a nice beverage but one that many people who aren't big craft beer drinkers also like.

Don't assume it's going to be bad.....mine sure isn't. It's in the rota.

 

[nDub]

I wish I brewed more

Once a month is all I seem to do.

 

[triethylborane]

Gone straight to 10 gallon batches.

 

[Toejam792]

Taken better tasting notes when I started. My brew day notes were good but I would forget what the beer tasted like after a while. I'm still working on it but getting better.

 

[thaymond]

Lots of good ones already. Definitely echo spending the money up front rather than piecemeal. Would have saved money in the long run.

I wish I would have started with easy recipes rather than going all gung ho right away. I tried doing fancy brews when I should have been focusing on processes and consistency. It wasn't until 7 mediocre brews in until I realized that simple can be better. Now my rotation brews are consistent, and I know what to expect and how they should taste.

I limit my grains to 5 (for stouts or porters) or less. I can get crazy with hop additions, which I tend o only use the 4 hops I grow. Keeping it all simple has gotten me to focus on the "little things" that are big things, like sanitation, yeast health, and water chemistry; not the "big things" that are really little things, like adding chocolate and coffee to an imperial stout as a 2nd brew, or the obligatory fall pumpkin beer with 7 or 8 grains or adjuncts as a 3rd brew. Those are fine and have their time and place, but the simplicity of the regulars has made the complexity of the seasonals better.

Also, the move to all grain and growing my own hops is a game changer. It has definitely kept me in the hobby. Wish that would have happened sooner also.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Another one that might be an "I wish I would have" is BIAB.

Like most brewers, I started with a few extract batches and eventually built a three-vessel all-grain system, and then, going through a divorce, sold almost all my gear. Fast forward 2 years, started brewing again, having to start from scratch, and this time built a "way better" three vessel system with site glasses, pumps, three burners, camlock fittings, direct fire mash tun. Love my system. But if I had learned about BIAB before I built it, I never would have built it. I still brew on it because it has a couple of advantages and because it's fun, but I brew just as much on my 15 gallon BIAB.

 

[HiImBrian]

I wish I would have gotten set up with Beersmith earlier. Fantastic program that'll help nail numbers and volumes early on. Lots of info has slipped through the cracks with older recipes and I have very little record. Best $20 purchase I've made in 5 years of brewing or so.

 

[Sbe2]

I wish I kegged from the beginning.

 

[MrPowers]

I wish I would’ve bought a stir plate sooner.

I firmly believe that yeast health is just as important, if not more important, than yeast quantity. Give those little guys the oxygen they need. Beers have turned out a lot better since I started pitching stir plate starters at high krausen.