Newer Brewer

[I_Brew_Too]

Howdy all, my name is Mark. Glad to be here!

I've been fortunate enough to have tons of great breweries open in my area the past few years. I get booked as an Singer-Acoustic Performer at most of these places, so I get to sample a lot of beer and talk with a lot of brewers and fellow beer lovers.

One day, the wind blew me the right way and I decided to try an extract kit from MoreBeer. It was awesome...but I didn't realize that chlorine would leave me with a band-aid like after taste!

That being said, it was still inspiring to drink my own home brewed beer. I've since moved to BIAB and keg carbonating. I've brewed about 6 batches total so far. All except one have turned out pretty awesome.

I like to brew two batches at the same time. Usually, a West Coast IPA/Pale Ale and a blonde. I want to dial in a few "staple" recipes and then experiment with other styles once I've mastered my processes more.

I love the balance between creativity, theory and science that homebrewing offers. The rules are ridged, kind of like music! This site has been an amazing resource. Reading about what has and hasn't worked for other brewers has helped speed up my learning curve and has kept me engaged.

My question for other brewers - what was the most significant piece of advice or equipment that took your beer from "hey! That's pretty good!" to "Holy ****! This is AMAZING!"?

Here's a picture of my current setup and a pour of my most recent session IPA! Cheers!

 

[IslandLizard]

Hi Mark! Welcome to our homebrew forums.

My question for other brewers - what was the most significant piece of advice or equipment that took your beer from "hey! That's pretty good!" to "Holy ****! This is AMAZING!"?

Becoming aware of oxidation due to oxygen being or entering in the wrong places at the wrong time.

 

[I_Brew_Too]

Hi Mark! Welcome to our homebrew forums.


Becoming aware of oxidation due to oxygen being or entering in the wrong places at the wrong time.

That seems to be a major factor, especially for hop forward beers. Next run I plan to try a semi-closed transfer. Fingers crossed.

 

[Happy Tails Brewing]

The thing that improved my beer the most is water. I always went with the logic that if your water tastes good you can make good beer. Many beers were good, but I had some styles that didn’t taste correct. Not bad from off flavor more like they were missing something. I did some research on salt additions. Made up in my head what was too high and what was too low. I then got a water report and compared that to what the style guide said for a water profile, and what I thought I had too much, and too little were correct. Went to the store to buy distilled water and added salt to my next batch. After tasting I bought a RO System. If your water is correct for the style of beer you want to make you don’t need to worry about this, but if not this will make a big difference.

The other thing that makes a big difference is fermentation temperature. If you cannot keep the beer in the correct temp for your yeast during fermentation you will have issues. I bought a Fermizilla All Rounder which lets me ferment under pressure helping some with temp swings, have a nice cool dark spot to ferment, and I can do closed transfers. No oxidation.

The best thing I added was a three tap kegerator. The up-front cost was tough to swallow, but so much easier to package in a keg, rather than bottles. I also find that with bottles, I have to decide if a want a full beer or no beer, and that includes another beer. With beer on tap, you can pour ½ beer, ¾ beer, whatever you want, and if you want more you just get more. I have had several beers in a night with the logic; I just want a little more. When people come over, they can poor a little of each, and what they like they can drink more. I don’t have a handful of half full open bottles so people can try my beer.

Most import advice I can give is brew in a manor that you are happy with your beer, and you enjoy the process. If you are not having fun, you will not enjoy the hobby, no matter how good the beer is, but if you enjoy the process you will have fun, even if they beer doesn’t knock you socks off, and is merely good beer.

 

[I_Brew_Too]

The thing that improved my beer the most is water. I always went with the logic that if your water tastes good you can make good beer. Many beers were good, but I had some styles that didn’t taste correct. Not bad from off flavor more like they were missing something. I did some research on salt additions. Made up in my head what was too high and what was too low. I then got a water report and compared that to what the style guide said for a water profile, and what I thought I had too much, and too little were correct. Went to the store to buy distilled water and added salt to my next batch. After tasting I bought a RO System. If your water is correct for the style of beer you want to make you don’t need to worry about this, but if not this will make a big difference.

The other thing that makes a big difference is fermentation temperature. If you cannot keep the beer in the correct temp for your yeast during fermentation you will have issues. I bought a Fermizilla All Rounder which lets me ferment under pressure helping some with temp swings, have a nice cool dark spot to ferment, and I can do closed transfers. No oxidation.

The best thing I added was a three tap kegerator. The up-front cost was tough to swallow, but so much easier to package in a keg, rather than bottles. I also find that with bottles, I have to decide if a want a full beer or no beer, and that includes another beer. With beer on tap, you can pour ½ beer, ¾ beer, whatever you want, and if you want more you just get more. I have had several beers in a night with the logic; I just want a little more. When people come over, they can poor a little of each, and what they like they can drink more. I don’t have a handful of half full open bottles so people can try my beer.

Most import advice I can give is brew in a manor that you are happy with your beer, and you enjoy the process. If you are not having fun, you will not enjoy the hobby, no matter how good the beer is, but if you enjoy the process you will have fun, even if they beer doesn’t knock you socks off, and is merely good beer.

That makes a lot of sense. I've been using tap water with campden tablets with good results but since researching water chemistry...I have no idea the actual ppm of my vitals. Any tips or recommendations on RO systems would be helpful.

I actually just ordered an All Rounder and I think it arrived today! Can't wait to try a closed dry hop and transfer. It's reassuring to hear you also use them.

I appreciate all of your advice, other brewers have been the best resource. I plan to keep having fun and sharing my beers whether my friends like them or not!

 

[T Murph]

@I_Brew_Too Happy Tails gave you some good advice. Termerature control is of the upmost importance. Sanitation is another critical concern. As you grow and try different pieces of equipment it is a must to maintain strick sanitary practices.

Enjoy your gourney. It is a very rewarding hobby. It requires a lot of effort, money and time but with dedication and the drive to create your own alcoholic beverages, you will be rewarded with great results.

 

[Happy Tails Brewing]

That makes a lot of sense. I've been using tap water with campden tablets with good results but since researching water chemistry...I have no idea the actual ppm of my vitals. Any tips or recommendations on RO systems would be helpful.

For an RO system you want to look at two thing the waste water ratio. This will tell you how much you will use to make a 1 gallon of clean water. The next is the cost of replacement filterers. If you have a large enough storage tank the output become something that doesn't matter. Even if a unit only produces 1 gallon per hour that is 24 hour per day or 168 gallons per week, more then you will every need for homebrewing. I bought mine off Amazon around $160 generic filters I can buy from anywhere, and was one of the cheapest I could find with good reviews. It produces 2 gallons per hour. If you want water on demand, ei you don't have a large enough storge tank then that rate would take a long time to fill your kettle. I have 1 gallon jugs that I fill up and always have enough on brew day.

You can search online for a water report for your town. This will give you some idea of what you currently have. You will not know for sure, but you will know if it is a good fit for what you want to brew, or if it could be holding you back.

Sanitation is another critical concern.

Cleaning and Sanitation is what almost every new homebrewer doesn't do well enough. Clean everything make a batch of Sanitizer and put some in a spray bottle so you can spray large things quickly and easily. On the hot side boiling will do your sanitation, but everything on the cold side needs this protection.

 

[IslandLizard]

I've been using tap water with campden tablets with good results but since researching water chemistry...I have no idea the actual ppm of my vitals.

You can call your water supply company/utility (ask for quality control) and get the ion content (ppm) in your tap water we brewers are interested in.
Those numbers are typically not provided on their yearly "quality" report.

You also would want to know the source(s) of your water and fluctuations of those ions with seasons or after heavy droughts or heavy rainfalls. They have the numbers.

If your water is indeed (very) hard, an RO system will help make excellent brewing (and drinking) water.
Once you have your mineral numbers (from the water company) @Buckeye_Hydro is the man you want to talk to for your water treatment and obtaining a very affordable RO system that doesn't use $$$ proprietary filters.
Russ is also a sponsor of our forums and very helpful.

Here's a recent thread on water treatment options.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/hard-water-treatment.736569/#post-10466777

 

[Closet Fermenter]

The two biggest advancements for me with respect to beer quality came with temperature control and excluding oxygen.
I danced around the temperature issue for awhile by brewing in cooler weather with regular ale yeast and using the kveiks in warmer temperatures.
Reducing oxygen exposure by purging lines, kegs, and doing closed transfers made a huge difference! My hop flavors persisted throughout as well as the roasted barley flavor in my stout.

 

[Ramjet]

Welcome to the forum.
Water chemistry and fermentation temperature control helped my beers the most

 

[BongoYodeler]

@I_Brew_Too Hi Mark, welcome from just up the road in SLO county. I would agree with the folks who said the single action that had the biggest impact on brewing better beer is post-fermentation oxygen avoidance. As soon as I acquired the equipment to easily purge kegs with fermentation blow-off, and pressure transfer beer from fermenter to kegs, my beers took a dramatic leap forward.

Looking forward to hearing more about your brewing adventures, and possibly hearing one of your sets sometime. I'm down your way quite a bit as we have family in Camarillo.

 

[YeastFeast]

Controlling temps from yeast pitch to transfer.

I make a ton of Hazys, and to have the ability to control fermentation temps, as well as soft and cold crashing has made all the difference for that style.

No oxidation exposure a close second.