What Is The One Aspect of Brewing That Is Least Important to Brewing a Good Beer? (In Your Opinion)

[Bilsch]

LODO on the hot side...

After doing that for a while, you determined it wasn't worth the effort and decided to give it up?

 

[eric19312]

Intensity of the boil. Really doesn’t seem to matter. Low simmer is fine, no need for hard rolling boil.

 

[Gameface]

I agree with pitch rates. It probably is quite important and I'm a tool, but those yeast seem to be a lot more capable, hardy buggers than we give them credit for.

With that said, I'll probably continue to make starters, but I'm going to glop some DME into a pot, cook it, pitch my yeast and say "close enough" .

Oh shoot, that was a lager...

I recently went from 10 gallon batches to 15 gallon and I was already making 4L starters. Getting a flask larger than 5L seems impractical, so I've continued just making 4L starters. I'm probably still overdoing it for the beers I make, mostly around 6%abv.

 

[dmtaylor]

Farting around with water.

Seriously, just get the chlorine out, make sure it doesn't taste like metal, and unless your alkalinity is sky high, you're good to go.

 

[FatDragon]

Recipe design.

Of course, there are plenty of steps that are more dispensable than recipe design, but many brewers are far too focused on recipes. An award winning recipe brewed poorly won't come close in quality to a simple SMaSH brewed well.

 

[bob1852]

After doing that for a while, you determined it wasn't worth the effort and decided to give it up?

That wasn't the question...

 

[Bilsch]

That wasn't the question...

"What would you give up, but feel you’d still be able to make good beer?"

 

[bob1852]

"What would you give up, but feel you’d still be able to make good beer?"

LODO on the hot side...

 

[CWood]

Water manipulations. LODO extremism.

 

[kevin58]

Does this count, regarding to the topic?

Then I could say "I missed by OG by 1 point", beer still tasted good. I believe OP is more after process than vital data targets.

OP thread title says "one aspect" not one process, not one piece of equipment, one ingredient etc. They are all aspects of brewing. Including my contribution.

 

[Soulshine2]

I'll agree here. Too many people caught up in chasing the ever elusive efficiency point. I'd rather have repeatable low efficiency that random high efficiency.

If I had to have one thing in my process to give up or stop caring about, it might be sparge water temp. Not sure it matters if you use 170 degree water or straight tap water. I helped a friend brew who didn't have nearly the gear to fly sparge with, but he wanted to. I basically just stretched a water hose over his mash tun and let it trickle in. It worked and the beer was good.

I agree with this as well. Once the starches/sugars have been converted and in solution/suspension theres is really no reason to continue with heated water. Its just a rinse.

 

[Soulshine2]

As I have been brewing for several years I often skip at least one so called essential step every brew.

#1. Making a yeast starter. This used to be an essential step but recently I've been getting yeast that's only a few weeks old. However if I get a yeast shipped to me then I typically use a starter.

#2. Cold crash. Me and the people who drink my beer could care less about clarity. The only cold crash i do is after I keg. Now if it's for a competition or I want it clear then I typically use whirlfloc along with a cold crash.

#3. Sparge temp. I will always heat my batch sparge water but if it's 140F or 180F I don't give a flying goose.

#4. Fermentation temperature. I always stay withing guidelines and typically on the low side but I've had temps go out of control and all was good.

#5. Having to drink on brew day. Sometimes this step was the key failure in my beers. Getting blitzed before the boil typically leads to unnecessary headbanging (I listen to metal on brew day) and missed hop additions and key steps. Now don't open a beer until the boil.

lol, I dont open a beer until Im done. after all, I spend a consistent 6 hrs brew day, by then and Ive dumped and cleaned up my equipment, I have surely deserved one.

 

[Soulshine2]

Intensity of the boil. Really doesn’t seem to matter. Low simmer is fine, no need for hard rolling boil.

Mmmm, I could actually argue this to a small point. I usually just simmer the boil like you say. But, I have found that if I roll the boil at the end ,(10 minutes?) the hop particles are boiled up onto the sides of the kettle which leaves less in suspension or settled in the kettle to get drawn into the transfer to the FV.

 

[Soulshine2]

Hi all!
I always like reading about brewing and different techniques/ ideas.
I had a question for the HB Forum crowd.
If you had to give up control of one (only one) aspect of the brewing process, what would it be?
ie: ability to control the quality and pH of your water [emoji97]? The ability to control the temperature of your fermentation? The ability to whirlpool or sparge? The ability to control the temp or your mash?
What would you give up, but feel you’d still be able to make good beer?
Interested in what people find least or, conversely, most important in their brewing process.

the whirlfloc tablet.
Ive brewed with and without , turns out if I get the hotbreak and cool quickly enough ,whirlfloc isnt necessary.

 

[beersk]

Fightin' words with the LODO! haha, love it. I'd say intensity of boils and possibly even the length of the boil.

 

[Birdgunner]

Aeration. Gave it up hundreds of gallons ago and no detrimental effects observed.
Next would be starters. Just dropped 2 tbs of harvested Hornidal (third gen) into a blonde for giggles and 7 hours later the airlock was rockin.

 

[FswBG]

Sanitizing the mash or boil equipment! When I started brewing I spent so much time scrubbing everything with starsan.

 

[dmtaylor]

Sanitizing the mash or boil equipment! When I started brewing I spent so much time scrubbing everything with starsan.

Not sure whether or why this was ever a thing. My tun and kettle aren't the prettiest equipment but they get the job done.

 

[Robert65]

Well, I suppose if you had stuff actually growing in the mash tun, you could possibly end up with some toxins in the beer. But something as simple as a good hot blast with a spray hose as soon as you're done using the equipment ought to do the trick there.

 

[shoengine]

Sanitizing the mash or boil equipment! When I started brewing I spent so much time scrubbing everything with starsan.

I think you are supposed to scrub before the starsan.

I think it is interesting what parts of the process folks think is expendable. I don't agree with most of them, naturally, because my process is perfect

 

[ApolloSimcoe]

Bling Equipment

 

[danielthemaniel]

Basing any of your recipe to hit a particular IBU.

 

[tellyho]

This thread is basically how I brew. Make some wort, boil it some, cool it down, put some yeast in it. Anything more complicated than that is because you like to make things more complicated.

 

[S-Met]

I "feel" that many brewers, both on this site as well as everywhere are prone to grossly over-complicate the process for no reason other than gross over-complication.

Though I'm guilty at times, I am a believer of KISS principles. Rather than saying that "you" over-complicate the process, I would like to suggest that you first understand the process, then chose when and where you "want" to drill deeper. Mentioned earlier was temperature control. It may be Unnecessary if you understand your style and choose the appropriate yeast for your environment (provided its within reason).

Simmer vs vigorous boil affects your evaporation rate. Again, neither is incorrect, but you may miss target og if your post boil volume isn't correct. Not wrong by any means, but plan your recipe accordingly.

Sorry everyone for this, but lodo and any other "advanced" process DOES NOT make good beer. However, making good beer makes GOOD BEER. If your process is sh!t then you will end up with lodo turds.

Also understand the difference between small and large batches. Yes the macro-brewers do things that we want to emulate, but the benefits may be negligible on a homebrew scale.

 

[aeviaanah]

I agree with pitch rates. It probably is quite important and I'm a tool, but those yeast seem to be a lot more capable, hardy buggers than we give them credit for.

With that said, I'll probably continue to make starters, but I'm going to glop some DME into a pot, cook it, pitch my yeast and say "close enough" .

Oh shoot, that was a lager...

I propose pitching fresh yeast is another angle to consider rather than pitch rate. Why I can’t say for certain. Anyone?

 

[dmtaylor]

I propose pitching fresh yeast is another angle to consider rather than pitch rate. Why I can’t say for certain. Anyone?

Well I'd rather pitch a little fresh active yeast than a gallon of dead yeast.

 

[grampamark]

Reading this thread has been interesting. At the risk of hurting some feelings, here’s my take (as if anyone cares ).

The only things really necessary to make beer are water, malted grain, hops, and yeast, plus vessels appropriate to the chosen process. Anything beyond that is a matter of personal preference. Yes, the grist must be mashed. But, as many have noted here, the range of mash temps is pretty forgiving. Yes, water chemistry can make a difference, but adding the other ingredients to the water available will make beer. Often quite good beer. Fermentation temps should be within the range at which the chosen yeast will perform its best, but there are many yeasts to choose from and some are quite forgiving.

Shiny equipment, trick siht, digitally controlled, automated systems are cool, but are more of an expression of a particular brewer’s brains:money ratio and, often, little more than an exercise in dick waving. $20K worth of bling doesn’t guarantee good beer any more than $5K worth of golf clubs will make a chronic slice disappear.

The OP specifically asked about the least important aspect of making good beer. Who gets to decide what “good” is? Taste is highly variable, and easily called into question. Just look at what the best-selling beers in America are. I’m an old guy. I’ve been drinking “craft beer” since that term meant anything other than an American Lager, which, at the time, was usually an import. I don’t claim to possess a particularly refined palate, but I know what tastes good, to me, and what doesn’t. I’ve also learned that, if I’m going to share my beer with others, I need to make beer that will appeal to a wide range of beer drinkers, who have in common the fact that they usually drink light beer, but are open to trying something else. “Something else”, in my experience, means beers from a relatively narrow selection of traditional beer styles. The outliers, the “stand-in-line-for-hours-to-pay-$100-a-case” beers aren’t going to appeal to my circle of beer drinkers, so I’ve concentrated on brewing relatively basic, classic, beer styles. The most common comment I’ve gotten from the 50, or so, folks with whom I’ve shared my beer has been “Geez, I’ve paid money for beer that didn’t taste this good”. So, if I can make beer that is as good as, or better than, commercial beers of the same style, in the opinions of a random sample of beer drinkers, can I claim to make “good” beer?Does that mean that my ghetto-quality, 3 vessel system, and the process I’ve developed using it, is perfect? Again, who gets to decide?

We’re making beer here, not chemotherapy drugs. We don’t need lab-quality equipment, instruments or practices. We need the basic ingredients, the minimum complement of tools and equipment, and an easily repeatable process. Oh, and we need to have fun while we’re doing this. Everything else is unnecessary. In my opinion, of course.

 

[bkboiler]

Enjoyment...
Unlike sports where a really fun player to watch is one who gets satisfaction in being the best, being satisfied with your brew does not make a good beer. Knowing what you're doing and then executing does.

 

[Bilsch]

So does any process matter anymore? Can we just whiz into a moldy bucket of grain, filter it through dirty underwear, ferment with pond scum in the back of the junk car in the yard and get good beer? RDWHAHB

 

[grampamark]

So does any process matter anymore? Can we just whiz into a moldy bucket of grain, filter it through dirty underwear, ferment with pond scum in the back of the junk car in the yard and get good beer? RDWHAHB

If you enjoy the beer and the process makes you happy, why not?

Seriously, who gets to decide? Who is the Grand Poobah of beer?