What I learnt in my first year. Tips from a novice.

[ThePaleAler]

I did my very first brew almost exactly a year ago. It was Coopers blond ale that I brewed from an extract kit. Since then I have 20 odd brews under my belt and moved on to all grain BIAB after my initial 4 brews using extract kits. Had to take a break for 3 months during the summer, but finally got a fermenting chamber built. Along the way I learnt a thing or two and I would like to share these experiences with new brewers. I am by no means an expert of any kind, and consider myself a rank novice, but here we go anyway.

1. Invest in stuff that saves time and effort.
Any equipment that saves time is worth the while. For instance, when I purchased my starter kit the store was out of hand cappers. I thank my lucky stars. I purchased a stand capper and I am thankful every time I use it. I exclusively bottle and use this every batch. Anything that makes the brew day easier and pleasant is worth its weight in gold.

2. Towels are your friends.
Have at least three handy. One for the floor, one to wipe up spills and one for your hands.

3. Nail your mash temperature:
Difficult though it is the first couple of times, nail your mash temperature. Missing significantly effects the outcome of your beer so do all you can to get this step absolutely spot on. Otherwise you end up with poor beer.

4. Original gravity is important:
Adjust your boil volume by either adding water or boiling off more water so you reach your OG accurately. Otherwise the balance of your beer will be skewed. Remember that if you adjust with large amounts you may need to adjust your hop additions as well.

5. Be organised.
Have everything in place and start cleaning while you brew. It will save you a lot of running around looking for things that you need and cut down on the time you need to brew.

6. Sanitising made easy.
I bought a large crate, marketed as a meat crate. It has no holes and is rather like a large, rectangular, sturdy bucket. It holds about 7 gallons of sanitizer. After sanitizing my fermenter, I pour the sanitizer in here. Everything that touches the cold wort soaks in here during brew day. Easy.
Clean up immediately.
Wash and store al your equipment the same day. Cleaning is a breeze if nothing had the time to dry out and become hard before you do it.

7. Wash up outside
Do all your cleaning outside using the hosepipe if you can. Now you can really blast that grime with a strong jet of water, and you don’t struggle with your large 10 gallon pot in your tiny sink.

8. Keep detailed records.
Sooner or later you are going to get something really right. Or really wrong. Records are the only way to brew that award winning beer again or fix a problem with your last batch.

9. Read a lot, but not too much.
Do not try to learn everything there is about brewing before your first batch. There is way too much to learn and way too much to read out there. Get a good book or learn the basics on this forum, then go and make some beer! The complicated and in depth stuff you will pick up later on in your brewing journey. In the beginning too much knowledge is confusing, and may do more harm than good.

10. Buy a spare now and again.
Upon your next trip to your local brew shop, get a spare or two. Next time again. Nothing worse than being halfway through a brew day and getting stuck because your hydrometer, thermometer or any other critical piece of equipment broke.

11. Enjoy brew day.
I love brew days. Even though I am exhausted after. Even though I have to get up for work the next day after only 4 hours sleep. I love them. Try and enjoy making your beer as much as you do drinking it.

12. Be patient.
My first batch I bottled after a week, and drank my first bottle 5 days later. Now I ferment for at least 3 weeks, and bottle condition for another 3. Trust me, it’s worth the wait. I am talking run of the mill pale ales here. Some brews will take a lot longer to be great.


Hope this helps somebody. I can’t wait to brew again! I have an IPA recipe ready to go. Maybe I should give it a bash tonight...

Happy Brewing.

 

[Hello]

Very nice write up, man.

 

[boicutt]

I disagree with the 6 week total from grain to glass, for standard abv ales, but everything else is spot on! Good write up man! Cheers to many more years of homebrewing!

 

[Onkel_Udo]

I would add one thing to your spares list...a packet of dry yeast either US05 or S04 based on your predominate beer style and temperatures.

Second adder would be the first thing to learn to control, even before you mash temp (I say shoot for 152 and if you hit 155 or 150, adjustments are easy), is your fermentation temps. For Ales, a bit low is OK but for many ale yeasts which raise the wort temp over ambient quite quickly, even a degree or two warm will significantly effect the final flavor.

 

[mrdail87]

I would add one thing to your spares list...a packet of dry yeast either US05 or S04 based on your predominate beer style and temperatures.

Second adder would be the first thing to learn to control, even before you mash temp (I say shoot for 152 and if you hit 155 or 150, adjustments are easy), is your fermentation temps. For Ales, a bit low is OK but for many ale yeasts which raise the wort temp over ambient quite quickly, even a degree or two warm will significantly effect the final flavor.

That's the biggest thing I learned during my first year. Just because a yeast strain says it can ferment at 75 °F, doesn't mean that it should.

It's worth the effort to keep the wort temp down. Even throwing a wet towel around it will help out if you're not able to make a swamp cooler.

 

[slym2none]

I disagree with the 6 week total from grain to glass

For a novice brewer, and as a novice brewer, I don't think that there is anything wrong with that. Once we start getting our practices dialed in, we'll notice that some brews can go shorter by a week or two, as well as knowing that some brews will take a lot longer on the conditioning part.

As of now, I always leave my wort in primary for three weeks. And while some beers might be fully carbed at 2 weeks, the extra week of conditioning might make the brew even tastier.

My very first batch was carbed well right at 10 days. I tasted one at the two-week mark and could tell it needed more time to condition.

This 7% IPA I am brewing now will be in primary 3 weeks, and I am hoping it will be nicely drinkable at the 3-week (post-bottling) mark. I am prepared to go four - but if it's not, I will give it more time, even though I know that some aspects of an IPA will start to diminish, like hops-aroma.

 

[ThePaleAler]

I would add one thing to your spares list...a packet of dry yeast either US05 or S04 based on your predominate beer style and temperatures.

O yeah. Never, EVER get caught without the spare yeast! Ever!

And as for fermentation temperatures I agree totally. I was just lucky enough to have an almost ideal area for fermentation for most of the year. My first brew in my fermentation chamber is carbing at the moment. Cannot wait to try it.

Did end up brewing last night. Edwort's Bee Cave IPA. Brew day went great! Smooth as puddin!

 

[ricshayne]

Dude this list is right on the $$$. Good work