If you had to choose ??

[user 51917]

The process or piece of equipment that has made the most difference in making your beer the best it can be What would it be?

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Digital temp controller and an old fridge...no more buttery nanners

 

[Revvy]

Wort Chiller. Long primaries....

 

[pstrohs]

Fermentation chamber by far. In St Louis it can be in the 90s one day and the 30s the next so temp control can be difficult.

 

[Yooper]

Without a doubt, it's taking care of the yeast. That means pitching the apropriate amount of yeast and keeping fermentation in the correct temperature. All the rest is good, but yeast is number 1.

 

[Golddiggie]

To date...
Process: All grain brewing.
Hardware: Wort chiller.

I reserve the right to amend the hardware item to a fermentation chamber later, once I have one... Although, I'm fermenting in a place that's more thermally stable than before. So I might not need the chamber for some time.

Of course, Yooper brings up a valid point... Keep your yeast friends happy and they'll make something really wonderful for you... So whatever you need to do to get that to happen, do it...

 

[stanley1271]

Process: Drinking
Equipment: Me
Without me the drinking would not happen.

 

[kingmatt]

+1 on temp control.

I have been using my old kegerator w/ a johnson control as a fermentation chamber, since I haven't bought a commercial keg since I started making my own beer, but now that I have taken the leap into kegging, I am going to have to invest in a chest freezer :rockin:

 

[windbreaker123]

+3/4/5 temp control

 

[MRbutlertron]

Wort chiller

 

[McMalty]

candy thermometer. very quick, very accurate. way better than the floating thermo or the thermometers on my kettles

 

[Colby]

GE mini fridge and a Ranco digital temperature controller. Without that, fermenting would be so much more complicated.

 

[jfowler1]

Fermentation temperature control should just become a given. It is really a neccessity more than a luxery. I think it needs to become just as common for homebrewers as a kettle and a camp burner.

So excluding FTC, the biggest change I saw from a new process was the addition of an oxygen kit. I was shocked the difference pure oxygen made in my final product as compared to the "splashing the wort around is good enough" philosophy I used to follow. In the same theme, I have really enjoyed using a stir plate for starters with liquid yeast strains. However, I would not put this in the same realm as oxygenation, because great beer can still be made with properly rehydrated dry yeast.

The other step I'll throw out there is taking the stupid pack of one-step that came with the starter kit, introducing it to the trash, and buying PBW and Star-san. The little doo-dads and process changes that we play with to strain a mash, pump around wort, etc., have very minor effects and may make slight changes to your beer. Ignoring sanitation, on the other hand, will ruin your beer. A high quality cleaner and sanitizer is a must.

Joe

 

[Homercidal]

Fermentation temp control. Although I would say that quality and pitching rate goes right with that, as Yooper said. They yeast can thrive in a variety of situations, but you REALLY want to give them the best conditions to make the best beer, and that means pitching the right amount of healthy yeast, and keeping a constant, proper temp for them to make the best beer.

 

[ayoungrad]

Fermentation temperature control should just become a given. It is really a neccessity more than a luxery. I think it needs to become just as common for homebrewers as a kettle and a camp burner.

So excluding FTC, the biggest change I saw from a new process was the addition of an oxygen kit. I was shocked the difference pure oxygen made in my final product as compared to the "splashing the wort around is good enough" philosophy I used to follow. In the same theme, I have really enjoyed using a stir plate for starters with liquid yeast strains. However, I would not put this in the same realm as oxygenation, because great beer can still be made with properly rehydrated dry yeast.

The other step I'll throw out there is taking the stupid pack of one-step that came with the starter kit, introducing it to the trash, and buying PBW and Star-san. The little doo-dads and process changes that we play with to strain a mash, pump around wort, etc., have very minor effects and may make slight changes to your beer. Ignoring sanitation, on the other hand, will ruin your beer. A high quality cleaner and sanitizer is a must.

Joe

I'm with the fermentation temperature control gang as well.

What has been the difference you noticed with oxygenation?

 

[integrator]

ferm chamber. It probably makes the biggest difference to the flavor profile.

wort chiller makes my life very easy compared to the other methods!

 

[jfowler1]

What has been the difference you noticed with oxygenation?

It is a little tough to articulate.

I actually dedicated a thread here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/i-completely-underestimated-role-oxygen-235663/

Basically, the beer tasted like beer. Further, it tasted like fresh beer. I have been brewing for almost two years, and was really happy with my process and result. However, I could always pick my beer out of a line-up. It just had a certain taste that I attributed to "house flavor" or "taste of the land"- you know; some combination of the brewer, equipment, and the water. However, the first batch that I used my oxygen kit on lost a lot of that "house flavor".

Trying not to sound stupid, it was the first batch I made that tasted like beer; not like homebrew. As consistent and repeatable as my process was (largely due to digital fermentation control), the lack of proper oxygen levels was holding the beer back from reaching that next level of quality. I am glad I found the importance of this process sooner than later, but I was also a little irritated that its importance has been so underplayed. I have to imagine that it is because the members with a true oxygen kit fall in the minority on this board (so I am trying to change that). Since bottling day, I deduced that the X factor between commercial beer and homebrew may in fact be that oxygen is a given in a commercial set-up, and looked upon as a luxery in the homebrewery - it shouldn't be; it is like a $45 luxery.

Shaking, splashing, spraying, air pump; all good - but no where near as good as oxygen.

I have only had two tastes of bottled samples, but they are really coming along very well. Out of the carboy, it was my already my best beer to date (and no, it was not my first time with this recipe). I was planning on having my third taste tomorrow night, and was planning on updating the thread I linked above with my analysis.

Enough hijacking for now,
Joe

 

[Sean0301]

I would say that the small fridge and the temperature controller I bought were the best additions that I made.

 

[ThePearsonFam]

Chiller
Freezer w/ temp control
Starter gear

 

[dancness]

Outdoor propane burner. Reduced the time getting everything boiling by probably 2 hours - reducing brewday from 6 hours (how long it used to take using the stovetop) to 4 hours with the propane beast.

 

[dunnright00]

Ferm Temp Fridge.

Just tasted my first Lagers, Wooo!!
:cross:

 

[Bubba]

Full Boils wort chiller and grain mill

 

[robtotten]

The process or piece of equipment that has made the most difference in making your beer the best it can be What would it be?

1. Wort Chiller
2. Fermentation fridge (with controller, does that count as two?)

 

[wilserbrewer]

Kegging! Nothing like consistently carbed, brilliantly clear well conditioned brew. Never had real consistent success w/ bottling and decanting off the yeast.

 

[o4_srt]

I have a feelin it's going to be the ferm chamber I'm building. At the very least, I'll be able to brew lagers.

 

[LagerLover24]

Temp control. Without a doubt.

 

[Teromous]

1. Building my baby (my Kegerator). Without this I would still be forced to bottle all the time instead of when or how many I want. A Kegerator is just sexy to have anyway. Building it is even more satisfying. I could probably go back to extract brewing but you'll have to fight me to take my Keggy.

2. 15 gallon brew kettle. Without this I probably would still be stuck with extract brewing. I just wish I had a couple more Plus it just looks friggin sweet and draws the conversation to brewing when people see it

3. Propane burner. Without this I would still have wort-vapor-condensation stuff dripping from my kitchen ceiling. If I ever needed to escape the Earth in an alien invasion or zombie apocalypse, I'm 100% certain my Bayou Classic kick a banjo ninja ranchero could double as propulsion jet.

 

[donshizzles]

Strippers on brew day

 

[o4_srt]

Strippers on brew day

Too distracting. I always end up inside the house looking for dollar bills instead of monitoring my mash temps and boil kettle for boilovers. Plus, The wife is always pissed for a few weeks afterwards.

 

[drkaeppel]

My first temp controlled brew is currently fermenting away so I need to reserve judgement on that. I have to agree with Revvy, though. Letting primary go 3-4 weeks has made a big difference. My first few brews were rushed. Letting them sit a while has made a big difference.