We can look at each homebrewer as belonging to one of three 'tiers' of brewing operational abilities. In the first tier is the novice, partial boil, extract brewer, while on the other extreme, the third tier, is a brewer with a seemingly complicated all grain system of pumps and gadgets.
Great beer can be made by a brewer in either of these tiers, but what's in between - in the second tier? How can you make good beer without all the bells and whistles? If you're in the first tier of brewing, you're about to learn a few small, inexpensive steps that will take your beer to the next level.
Make a yeast starter
Having the correct yeast population at pitching time is important to reduce lag time and provide a strong, effective fermentation. This will lead to less risk of infection and a cleaner fermentation with less risk of off flavors.
But what if you don't have a stir plate and a large flask? You could simply boil some DME in water (100 grams of DME per liter of water), cool it to room temp, and add it to a sanitized growler, covering the opening with foil. After pitching your yeast, simply shake it several times a day.
Control fermentation temperatures
Temp controlled fermentation encourages happy, healthy yeast, which means good clean beer for you. A cheap fridge or mini fridge can be found on craigslist -- sometimes for free. For even more control, search the HBT forums for the STC-1000 "ebay aquarium temperature controller build."
An even simpler option is to place your fermenter into a larger bin or bucket that contains water. You can lower the temperature of this water bath by adding frozen water bottles.
Boil your full wort volume
Boiling your full wort volume helps with hop utilization and results in a better final product and all you need is an inexpensive turkey fryer!
Chill your wort before pitching
Chilling your wort quickly after the boil is a very important part of brewing. You want your wort to be cooled down to about the target fermentation temp before pitching yeast. Pitching into warm wort can have negative consequences ranging from off flavors like diacytle, to even killing your yeast. You also want to chill your wort to your target-pitching temp quickly in order to avoid infection.
An expensive counterflow or plate chiller isn't required, however. You can achieve good results with a combination ice bath and immersion chiller. Copper tubing and the necessary hose fittings are sold at every home improvement center. Search the forums various build instructions.
If you're in the first tier of brewers who don't have all of the latest bells and whistles, you can still brew like a pro, simply and inexpensively with these few easy steps, and your beer will be better for it.
Great beer can be made by a brewer in either of these tiers, but what's in between - in the second tier? How can you make good beer without all the bells and whistles? If you're in the first tier of brewing, you're about to learn a few small, inexpensive steps that will take your beer to the next level.
Make a yeast starter
Having the correct yeast population at pitching time is important to reduce lag time and provide a strong, effective fermentation. This will lead to less risk of infection and a cleaner fermentation with less risk of off flavors.
But what if you don't have a stir plate and a large flask? You could simply boil some DME in water (100 grams of DME per liter of water), cool it to room temp, and add it to a sanitized growler, covering the opening with foil. After pitching your yeast, simply shake it several times a day.
Control fermentation temperatures
Temp controlled fermentation encourages happy, healthy yeast, which means good clean beer for you. A cheap fridge or mini fridge can be found on craigslist -- sometimes for free. For even more control, search the HBT forums for the STC-1000 "ebay aquarium temperature controller build."
An even simpler option is to place your fermenter into a larger bin or bucket that contains water. You can lower the temperature of this water bath by adding frozen water bottles.
Boil your full wort volume
Boiling your full wort volume helps with hop utilization and results in a better final product and all you need is an inexpensive turkey fryer!
Chill your wort before pitching
Chilling your wort quickly after the boil is a very important part of brewing. You want your wort to be cooled down to about the target fermentation temp before pitching yeast. Pitching into warm wort can have negative consequences ranging from off flavors like diacytle, to even killing your yeast. You also want to chill your wort to your target-pitching temp quickly in order to avoid infection.
An expensive counterflow or plate chiller isn't required, however. You can achieve good results with a combination ice bath and immersion chiller. Copper tubing and the necessary hose fittings are sold at every home improvement center. Search the forums various build instructions.
If you're in the first tier of brewers who don't have all of the latest bells and whistles, you can still brew like a pro, simply and inexpensively with these few easy steps, and your beer will be better for it.
