If you knew then what you know now

[ghpeel]

1) Temp Control during fermentation. Swamp coolers work great if you can't afford a fridge.

2) Don't make up your own recipes until you've made 20+ batches. No, that Hibiscus Mild Wheat Braggot is NOT going to work (not kidding, I actually made that abomination as my 10th batch or so)

3) All grain is really not that hard. Read up on Brew In A Bag and the No Chill technique. Together, they make all grain a snap.

 

[Daybis]

Patience and controlling the fermentation temperatures. Sanitation and cleanliness is also up there on the list.

 

[seanybubbles]

1) All grain isn't all that complicated
2) fermentation temps are just so important
3) keep grain bills simple. Simple recipes usually end up as my best beer.
4) Sanitation. Infections suck! because beer should go through you before it goes to the toilet.

 

[robtotten]

I avoided a lot of mistakes because of this forum. Went to full boils my third batch, all grain not too long after. Started kegging after bottling 2 batches. It took about 5 batches before I started paying close attention to fermentation temps, that was a huge boost as well.

Over the course of your brewing experience what things have you learned that really made a noticeable "aha!" difference in the quality of your beer. I'm hoping that some of the less experienced among us can pick up a few tips.

 

[944play]

A 10 gallon round cooler is a homebrewer's Swiss army knife.

 

[joe1996]

It's extremely simple. I will say that the cost does not include two things: a temperature controller and window AC unit.

You just need three 8x4 pieces of foam insulation board, a trash bag, and a roll of duct tape.

As soon as I get my digital camera back, I'll make a thread. Do a search for "cheap fermentation chamber" in a week and you'll find my thread.

im still waiting for this thread

 

[knightbeer39]

1) Sanitation is key
2) Like laughing gnome said, don't panic!
3) Remember, its a hobby. Its supposed to be fun!

Two pieces of equipment I wish I had bought many, many years ago:

a plate chiller and pumps!

 

[DrinkNoH2O]

im still waiting for this thread

Seems pretty simple. Build an enclosure of foam insulation board and duct tape it together, and use a trash bag to funnel the air into the enclosure from the AC unit.

 

[DrinkNoH2O]

Fermentation temperature control was far and away my biggest improvement. I used to think "hey, my place is like 70* with the AC on - I'll be fine." Not so. Fermentation is an exothermic reaction and the inside of the fermenter will likely rise about 10 degrees over ambient. Must cool it down.

Sanitation seems like a no brainer - hopefully everyone had that covered from day one.

Pitch the proper amount of yeast - that's very important.

 

[Nugent]

Make your yeast very happy.

 

[Sudz]

Take good notes on all you do. It'll constantly remind you of what not to do next time.

Make yourself a simple paper form to follow. It'll limit the number of times you say, "damn, I forgot the *&#@".

Don't take it serious. It's supposed to be fun and we all make a ton of mistakes. Fortunately, most of the brew survives just fine.

 

[XtremeBrew]

Shop around. My best finds were Northern Brewer, and Adventures in Homebrewing. I've saved a TON of money shopping online. I'm all about supporting my LHBS, but I have to be practical too. That, and research your yeast strains. Yeast makes all the difference.