The not so obvious - things I wish I knew...

[flattie]

Only two extract brews under my belt but I've learned a a few things that others who are starting out might benefit from

1. If you are not going to brew your extract kit with LME right away - refrigerate it to maintain freshness.

2. If you refrigerate your LME be sure to remove it from the fridge at least a day before brewing - otherwise it pours like drywall spackle. A combination of scraping with a spoon and swirling some hot water inside helps getting cold LME out of the jug.

3. Bottling wands can be disassembled for cleaning. Thankfully some random soul on this forum mentioned the same on a thread and before bottling my latest batch I found all sorts of crap lodged in the tip. It was a pain to get clean - much easier to do right after bottling but I honestly had no idea it came apart for cleaning.

4. Hydrometers - the scale for final gravity omits the leading "0". I was panicking when I thought my final gravity was 1.12.

5. Immersion chillers - everyone says to dump them in with 10 minutes left in the boil to sterilize. Makes sense. Don't do what I did and run @ 50 degree groundwater through yours to test it and then leave it outside in 30 degree weather before dropping it in. Surest way to kill a boil - there might be more effective ways like dropping in a bag of ice but this worked pretty well. Next time I will crank the burner up for a minute or two before dropping in the chiller.

5. Buy PBW and StarSan in the larger sizes - maybe I'm wasteful but this stuff seems to go pretty fast. Better than ruining a batch of beer but still...

6. Have patience. I didn't give my american wheat enough bottle conditioning time initially. Definitely some green apple "twang" that completely faded after 3 months in the bottle. I wish I had the first gallon or two back...

7. Bigger is better. My first boil was done in a 3 gallon pot on stove top. Constant watching to avoid a boil over was no fun. Moving outside to a propane burner with the 44qt bayou classic kettle was much less stressful. Besides - standing over a kettle that size with a giant stainless mash paddle is fun.

 

[JohnSand]

All good points.
I would add to #2 that if you put the lid on the LME bottle to shake it up, hot water and LME builds up pressure quickly. Open carefully.

 

[BrettCo124]

Thanks for the tips! Bottling day is almost here for me, and it's my first time. Glad I read this so I can make sure I disassemble and clean the bottling wand immediately after.

 

[IslandLizard]

Great list!

Got a few additions for you, if I may.

3. The spigot on your bottling bucket also comes apart. Separate the outer barrel from the inner one by pushing them apart after a 30 second soak in very hot water. Clean well and sanitize. Reassemble wet with sanitizer.

5a. Make your own homemade PBW unless you can split a 50# container in a bulk/group buy.

5b. Good sanitation is half the brewing.
A Starsan working solution can last weeks, months even. As long as the pH stays under 3.0 it does its work (check with a small piece of cheap pH paper). Toss it when it looks obviously grimey and grayish, or when you feel it's time for a fresh load. Fill a small bucket and use a small washcloth to mop it around bucket lids, airlocks etc. Filling a spray bottle is also handy.

A 32oz bottle of Starsan lasted me 7 years. Use a measure, don't rely on the squeeze dispenser, you'll use too much.

8. Always make starters when using liquid yeast. Make 'em double size when brewing lagers.

9. Control your fermentation temperatures.

10. Most importantly: RDWHAHB!

 

[flattie]

Great list!

Got a few additions for you, if I may.

3. The spigot on your bottling bucket also comes apart. Separate the outer barrel from the inner one by pushing them apart after a 30 second soak in very hot water. Clean well and sanitize. Reassemble wet with sanitizer.

Good to know. I've been running warm water/pbw through mine followed by star san solution after use. I actually looked at the spigot and couldn't figure out any way it could possibly come apart. Now I have something to do tomorrow...

Well I probably wouldn't have figured it out if not for this video - maybe obvious to others but not this guy...

 

[Chiller_ale]

Put your LME in a hot water bath (hot tap) in your sink or use a small cooler.

 

[C-Rider]

Only two extract brews under my belt but I've learned a a few things that others who are starting out might benefit from

1. If you are not going to brew your extract kit with LME right away - refrigerate it to maintain freshness.

2. If you refrigerate your LME be sure to remove it from the fridge at least a day before brewing - otherwise it pours like drywall spackle. A combination of scraping with a spoon and swirling some hot water inside helps getting cold LME out of the jug.

Soak it in hot water and it will flow much better

3. Bottling wands can be disassembled for cleaning. Thankfully some random soul on this forum mentioned the same on a thread and before bottling my latest batch I found all sorts of crap lodged in the tip. It was a pain to get clean - much easier to do right after bottling but I honestly had no idea it came apart for cleaning.

As soon as my bucket is full I rinse out the bottling wand and siphon w/hot soapy water. Don't let your beer dry in the siphon and tubing or you will NEVER get it clean again.

4. Hydrometers - the scale for final gravity omits the leading "0". I was panicking when I thought my final gravity was 1.12.

5. Immersion chillers - everyone says to dump them in with 10 minutes left in the boil to sterilize. Makes sense. Don't do what I did and run @ 50 degree groundwater through yours to test it and then leave it outside in 30 degree weather before dropping it in. Surest way to kill a boil - there might be more effective ways like dropping in a bag of ice but this worked pretty well. Next time I will crank the burner up for a minute or two before dropping in the chiller.

5. Buy PBW and StarSan in the larger sizes - maybe I'm wasteful but this stuff seems to go pretty fast. Better than ruining a batch of beer but still...

6. Have patience. I didn't give my american wheat enough bottle conditioning time initially. Definitely some green apple "twang" that completely faded after 3 months in the bottle. I wish I had the first gallon or two back...

7. Bigger is better. My first boil was done in a 3 gallon pot on stove top. Constant watching to avoid a boil over was no fun. Moving outside to a propane burner with the 44qt bayou classic kettle was much less stressful. Besides - standing over a kettle that size with a giant stainless mash paddle is fun.

Good luck on your next brew. CLEAN is the key to good beer.

 

[jbunton]

One thing I see come up all the time that people forget is to correct your hydrometer readings for temperature.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Bottling with two people goes way faster. It's not like it cuts the time in half, more like one third. My lovely bride of 37 years (Not a beer drinker) helps me.

 

[RM-MN]

3. Not all bottling wand come apart. I've tried to take mine apart but it appears to be glued together. It's a real pain to get any hops out.
5. You can't sterilize in boiling water as that requires an autoclave but you certainly can pasteurize. That doesn't take 10 minutes of boiling. When you drop it in you kill the boil for a while so wait until the boil is over to drop it in. At that temp it takes seconds to kill all the bacteria.
5b. Your wash detegent (PBW, Oxiclean, etc) are a once use and dump. Not so with the StarSan. It is a wet contact sanitizer so I pour some into my fermenter, swirl it around and then pour it back into the container it came from. To be sure I have the entire fermenter and lid sanitized I lose some into the sink each brew session as I swirl to cover all areas but even then a half gallon will last several brew sessions if I don't get too wild about it.
6. Patience is a great hint and I usually leave my beers in the fermenter for 3 to 4 weeks but another factor that can reduce the acetaldehyde and any diacetyl faster is to start your ferment at the cool end of the yeast's preferred range until the ferment slows, then warm the beer into the low 70's for another few days.
7. At the start of the boil the build up of foam is a worry if your pot is too small. I have started to use a whisk to break down the foam as it starts to form. It doesn't seem to take long and then the boil can proceed without attention if you manage the amount of heat you add.

 

[hagar]

One thing I see come up all the time that people forget is to correct your hydrometer readings for temperature.

- And if you are using a refractometer the readings must be adjusted if alcohol is present.

- Also, don't take everything you read and hear as gospel. Remember that you are looking for a method that works for YOU in YOUR situation, and consonantly makes beer YOU like to drink. Study, research, experiment. Only you can lead you to great homebrew.

 

[V-Fib]

The first thing i learned by accident was to make sure the valve is off on your mash tun when adding your water.

Equally important is to make a brew every once and a while SWMBO likes. For me its close versions of Blue Moon and Rolling Rock.

 

[schematix]

X. Save the drinking until the wort is in the fermenter.

 

[mongoose33]

7. At the start of the boil the build up of foam is a worry if your pot is too small. I have started to use a whisk to break down the foam as it starts to form. It doesn't seem to take long and then the boil can proceed without attention if you manage the amount of heat you add.

Something that has worked for me: I have a spray bottle filled with water; I use that to cool down the foam if it looks like I'm heading for a boilover. I don't really know why it breaks up the foam so much, but it does. Spray like mad for maybe 15-20 seconds, and the foam drops.

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

I'd add,

1. Take apart your kettle ball valve(s) and clean them periodically. This is more important if you chill in the kettle with an immersion chiller and don't recirculate to whirlpool. Don't assume that the valve gets hot enough to kill through the build up. Even if you do whirlpool, if you don't clean periodically, you'll be completely grossed out in what you find when you finally do clean them.
2. All grain is much easier then most beginner's think. Just do it, BIAB makes it accessible to all
3. The single most important question for new brewers is: How are you going to control you fermentation temperature? If I had a magic wand and could rewrite every piece of literature for new Brewer's it would read. "First things first, before you do anything, before you buy ingredients or equipment, determine how you plan to control fermentation temperature. Here are five approaches....."

 

[JDXX1971]

I'd add,

1. Take apart your kettle ball valve(s) and clean them periodically. This is more important if you chill in the kettle with an immersion chiller and don't recirculate to whirlpool. Don't assume that the valve getshot enough to kill through the build up. Even if you do whirlpool, if you don't clean periodically, you'll be completely grossed out in what you find when you finally do clean them.
2. All grain is much easier then most beginner's think. Just do it, BIAB makes it accessible to all
3. The single most important question for new brewer's is: How are you going to control you fermentation temperature? If I had a magic wand and could rewrite every piece of literature for new Brewer's it would read. "First things first, before you do anything, before you buy ingredients or equipment, determine how you plan to control fermentation temperature.

   Here are five approaches.....

   "

Which are?????

 

[kh54s10]

Only two extract brews under my belt but I've learned a a few things that others who are starting out might benefit from

1. If you are not going to brew your extract kit with LME right away - refrigerate it to maintain freshness.

2. If you refrigerate your LME be sure to remove it from the fridge at least a day before brewing - otherwise it pours like drywall spackle. A combination of scraping with a spoon and swirling some hot water inside helps getting cold LME out of the jug.

3. Bottling wands can be disassembled for cleaning. Thankfully some random soul on this forum mentioned the same on a thread and before bottling my latest batch I found all sorts of crap lodged in the tip. It was a pain to get clean - much easier to do right after bottling but I honestly had no idea it came apart for cleaning.

4. Hydrometers - the scale for final gravity omits the leading "0". I was panicking when I thought my final gravity was 1.12.

5. Immersion chillers - everyone says to dump them in with 10 minutes left in the boil to sterilize. Makes sense. Don't do what I did and run @ 50 degree groundwater through yours to test it and then leave it outside in 30 degree weather before dropping it in. Surest way to kill a boil - there might be more effective ways like dropping in a bag of ice but this worked pretty well. Next time I will crank the burner up for a minute or two before dropping in the chiller.

5. Buy PBW and StarSan in the larger sizes - maybe I'm wasteful but this stuff seems to go pretty fast. Better than ruining a batch of beer but still...

6. Have patience. I didn't give my american wheat enough bottle conditioning time initially. Definitely some green apple "twang" that completely faded after 3 months in the bottle. I wish I had the first gallon or two back...

7. Bigger is better. My first boil was done in a 3 gallon pot on stove top. Constant watching to avoid a boil over was no fun. Moving outside to a propane burner with the 44qt bayou classic kettle was much less stressful. Besides - standing over a kettle that size with a giant stainless mash paddle is fun.

1) Good advice, learn how and properly store ALL your ingredients.

2) You don't have to start so soon. Put the LME container in hot water.

3) as someone already stated, not all bottling wands come apart.

4) also check the hydrometer for accuracy. 1.000 in distilled water at the temperature it is calibrated for. Usually 60 f or 68 f. Make your measurements at that temperature.

5) Use generic Oxyclean brands. Much cheaper than PBW. Re use Starsan many times. If the pH is below 3 it is still good. Don't waste the Starsan, use it only after the boil. If you use it to store equipment it is just wasted. It is only effective while still wet.

6) A wheat beer should be good much sooner than that. Mine would certainly be long gone by 3 months.

7) Depending on how you do your extract boils a 44 quart pot is overkill, If you are boiling 2.5 to 3 gallons then topping up, you have 8 gallons of extra space in your pot.

The biggest leap that most beginners make is fermentation temperature control. Once they learn that their beers improve quite a bit.

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

Which are?????

Hey, I don't have a magic wand so I'd have to type all the details : ), so here are some links!!!

https://byo.com/stories/item/1869-controlling-fermentation-temperature-techniques

http://homebrewacademy.com/fermentation-temperature-methods/

https://learn.kegerator.com/temperature-control/

 

[JDXX1971]

Hey, I don't have a magic wand so I'd have to type all the details : ), so here are some links!!!

https://byo.com/stories/item/1869-controlling-fermentation-temperature-techniques

http://homebrewacademy.com/fermentation-temperature-methods/

https://learn.kegerator.com/temperature-control/

Nice, thank you. Really I was just being a smart a$$ though. Sorry

 

[Manfish]

X. Save the drinking until the wort is in the fermenter.

LOL, yeah, I've learned that lesson the hard way... now, though, my general rule is not until everything is ready to be transferred to the conical (as chilling 1/2 to 1BBL can take a while at times). I can say, though, that I have 'worked' a shift at a local brewery and I had a beer shoved in my hand as soon as I walked in and we were drinking the entire brew day. I think the difference was, responsible drinking vs just simply pounding beers.

 

[Abrayton]

lots of lessons learned after one year of homebrewing. I still bottle condition because I enjoy it. Kegging may be for some, but I don't believe moving from bottling to kegging some how raptures you from "noob" status so you can finally stand amongst the brewing gods and thumb your nose at those who choose to bottle.

 

[modelflyer2003]

An extra package of priming sugar and an extra grain bag have both saved by bacon. I bought extra grain bags after that and have then available. The priming sugar problem was when I had the heat up too high on the priming sugar boil and ended up candying the liquid. Would have been hosed if I hadn't borrowed from another kit I happened to have on hand. Now I always tie both ends of the grain bag. I don't have to be bit twice to learn that one.