Stepping up your brewing game.

[freisste]

I think you're fine. Glass doesn't float, so if you're careful not to get copious amounts of trub, you will certainly get no glass.

 

[pernox]

Austin Homebrew is my local shop, I'm doing extract recipes. Two of the beers I made I used liquid yeast and poured it right in after I put the cooled wort in the primary and then sealed it.

The last beer I did with my buddy I had a smack pack and I made a starter over two days with some of the DME I had. After looking at Mr. Malty it looks like I need to add a little more science into what i'm doing.

What is really the benefit of doing a starter as opposed to not?

Making a starter increases the cell count of healthy, active yeast that will ferment your wort. As needed, making a starter will result in more consistent flavor profile, properly attenuated beer, and fewer risks of unintended tastes. In your starter wort the yeast will grow strong, replicate to produce healthy cells, and become active - they will also acclimate to the climate you're going to ask them to live in.

Under-pitching is like sending a team of ten guys to do trash collection in the whole city of Boston. Sure - they'll get it done eventually... But the work is going to be shoddy, and there's some nasty stuff going on while those poor bastards try to catch up.

There are some issues associated with over pitching too, but they tend to have minor if any impact on a homebrew scale.

Not to beat a dead horse, but as with several posters above, I found "Yeast" to be a very interesting and informative read that comes highly recommended.

 

[imrook]

I would say what separates the great brewers from everyone else is knowledge and experience. Anyone can brew beer, the Mr Beer kits sold every year for Christmas prove that. But not everyone brews great beer. As you learn more about the whole process, you'll go from blindly following instructions to not even needing them. Reading about the science of brewing helps, as does reading forums such as this.

Keeping a log is a must. Also try different things and observe the changes-your log will help here. Try a 90 minute mash and compare with a 60. Ditto for boils. Mash high, mash low. Play with hop schedules to see the effect hop additions at different times have. Calculate your efficiency. Try to improve it. Harvest your yeast and reuse it. Compare the results of different fermentation temps. You will find that after doing all these things you will understand a *lot* about how and why brewing works. The better you understand how things work, the more control you have over making the beer come out exactly the way you want it.

 

[bobcatbrewer]

I'm keeping a log it has just been pretty basic thus far. The templates that I have found are much more intricate than what I have so I will be sure to keep better records going forward. If i'm looking to perfect certain types of beer how far out should I space the times that I brew them.

By that i mean that I should have about 2-3 beers that i'm working on perfecting correct? So shouldn't I make 1 of the three every 1-2 weeks until I get it how I would like it? Or is that the incorrect frequency?

 

[tally350z]

I'm keeping a log it has just been pretty basic thus far. The templates that I have found are much more intricate than what I have so I will be sure to keep better records going forward. If i'm looking to perfect certain types of beer how far out should I space the times that I brew them.

By that i mean that I should have about 2-3 beers that i'm working on perfecting correct? So shouldn't I make 1 of the three every 1-2 weeks until I get it how I would like it? Or is that the incorrect frequency?

Well depends on what you are making and how quick the turnaround is. I personally have never made a second batch of any beer I have made before. For me its using the same process and just making the little adjustments between the different batches. I would say if you were to turn around the same beer I would try and shoot for one every 6 weeks.

 

[Treners74]

G'day all, I've read through this thread and found it very interesting reading. I've been brewing on and off now for about 10 years using malt extracts and am yet to try a mash. However, through the discussion, I've seen water pop up from time to time and thought I'd put my two bobs worth in. I've found that water quality varies from town to town, state to state depending on what councils put in their water supplies. In my opinion, tank (rain) water is far superior than any tap or shop bought water. If you have or know someone with water tanks, grab some you won't be disappointed.

 

[unionrdr]

When we lived in cinci,we had a sistern under the back patio that the rain gutters drained into. Wish I had that now. But it would be wise to check the PH. It could be too acidic.

 

[Treners74]

G'day all, I've read through this thread and found it very interesting reading. I've been brewing on and off now for about 10 years using malt extracts and am yet to try a mash. However, through the discussion, I've seen water pop up from time to time and thought I'd put my two bobs worth in. I've found that water quality varies from town to town, state to state depending on what councils put in their water supplies. In my opinion, tank (rain) water is far superior than any tap or shop bought water. If you have or know someone with water tanks, grab some you won't be disappointed.

When we lived in cinci,we had a sistern under the back patio that the rain gutters drained into. Wish I had that now. But it would be wise to check the PH. It could be too acidic.

Yes, good point with the PH, although I've never really had a problem whether I'm using tank water from the Queensland rainforest to the Victorian coast (Australia).