What makes a good brewer?

[Carnival]

Hey guys,

I've made the transition from Home Brewer, to Chiropractor, to Head Brewer at a brewery... and it's been a bit of a wild ride

I was talking with another brewer the other day, and we were discussing what differentiate's an average brewer from an excellent brewer.... which of course stems from an average home brew beer vs. an exceptional one (it's all great when amazing brewers drop off beer for me to try )

I thought it'd be great for everyone if all the experienced guys shared ONE thing they felt made a big difference in the quality of the beer they were making. Whether it be something like monitoring mash pH, or maintaining a detailed brew log.

So... what ONE thing would you recommend to a new homebrewer to help 'up their game' and start brewing better beers?

Cheers!

PS Excited to be here, and not sure why I haven't hopped on the forum before (no pun intended of course!)

 

[AJBrew710]

Fermentation temperature control, hands down.

 

[CBMbrewer]

When I brew a recipe that I really like, I will eventually brew it again, and again, tweaking the recipe each time until I can't think of any other way to improve it.

 

[MyNameIsPaul]

It's a beard, duh. You gotta have one to rise above the rest!

But for real, I'll second temperature control.

 

[LabRatBrewer]

Brew often.

 

[glick]

Temp control.

 

[Math0]

I would say no matter how good you are if you dont have the proper equipment, you are going to get tired and slack in some ways!

 

[thatjonguy]

I would say no matter how good you are if you dont have the proper equipment, you are going to get tired and slack in some ways!

Proper equipment throughout the brewhouse into the cellar into packaging and service. This is followed closely by technique. Which could include obsession with beer knowledge.

But if you want to make a lager but can't control your temperatures...and commercial breweries don't drop $$$ on tanks with glycol chilling because they like spending that kind of cash. They do it because it is the only way to do it right.

 

[BigFloyd]

Good yeast management (precise temperature control and pitching the appropriate amount of viable cells).

 

[TNGabe]

At least for Belgain inspired beers, it's very important to wear a sweater.

 

[mikescooling]

When brewing becomes part of your personalty.

 

[Snicks]

Understanding ingredients and how to balance them.

 

[jeffjm]

Understanding the process so well that you know what leads to major improvements and why, and what's only a minor tweak.

 

[sivispacemparabe11um]

I don't care what anybody says patience trumps it all!!!!! I guarantee you there are no impatient Brewers that have found success in this business!!!!

 

[Beernik]

For the artistic brewer: thinking in flavors, translating flavors into ingredients and process.

For the technical brewer: documentation and control over the process so repeatability is easy

You need to be at least one or the other and to be great, you need both.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Brew often.

This.

Brew consistently. Take good notes. Refine your processes.

The more you brew, the better you brew - plain and simple.

 

[grathan]

Experience - Don't shy away from opportunities to dig in.

 

[45thparallelhopper]

I agree with brewing often and continually tweaking recipes till they are great beers( by at least two people).
Knowledge is power, and constantly staying up to date on new info and ideas is important to stay ahead of the curve and relevant

 

[causeimthesquid]

For the artistic brewer: thinking in flavors, translating flavors into ingredients and process.

For the technical brewer: documentation and control over the process so repeatability is easy

You need to be at least one or the other and to be great, you need both.

Second this. Repeatability means you know WHAT you are doing and HOW to achieve it. Being able to think in terms of flavor and know how to achieve that means you know WHY you are doing something.

 

[JohnnyO]

I would have to say a really good brewer can replicate their beer without flaw.
They can create great, memorable beer within the style guidelines, meaning that they don't have to be completely outside of the style for you to notice.
That said, successful creative brewing is also a measure of a good brewer IMO; the foresight to know that Ingredient A will compliment the beer is a measure of a good brewer.

 

[The_Glue]

What do you guys mean by good temp control?

Is it the ability to guarantee a constant temperature during fermentation (either by having a controlled cooler or having a big wine cellar etc.) or it's more complex like being able to lower or raise the temperature and then keeping it during fermentation?

 

[ACbrewer]

What do you guys mean by good temp control?

Is it the ability to guarantee a constant temperature during fermentation (either by having a controlled cooler or having a big wine cellar etc.) or it's more complex like being able to lower or raise the temperature and then keeping it during fermentation?

Both.

Depending on style, you might need to hold temp the whole time, drop temp or raise it. It is usually small (a degree a day again style dependant).

So to make a Brown Ale, you want to ferment at say 67F for your house brown. After 24hours left alone, the Ale will probably be at 75F even if it is in 65F air, because the yeast increase the temp - they produce waste heat like humans do. With the right equipment the ferment tank is kept at 67F and the Ale is also.

Some brews (Belgian strong for example) will start at 67F and then ad 1deg F perday until after 2 weeks you are at 80F and let it finish there.

The temp causes the yeast to behave differently. High or low. Beer yeast can live and work at 100F, but you would want to drink that beer. They can survive at 40F, but that takes longer to ferment (look at a lager).

 

[The_Glue]

Both.

Depending on style, you might need to hold temp the whole time, drop temp or raise it. It is usually small (a degree a day again style dependant).

So to make a Brown Ale, you want to ferment at say 67F for your house brown. After 24hours left alone, the Ale will probably be at 75F even if it is in 65F air, because the yeast increase the temp - they produce waste heat like humans do. With the right equipment the ferment tank is kept at 67F and the Ale is also.

Some brews (Belgian strong for example) will start at 67F and then ad 1deg F perday until after 2 weeks you are at 80F and let it finish there.

The temp causes the yeast to behave differently. High or low. Beer yeast can live and work at 100F, but you would want to drink that beer. They can survive at 40F, but that takes longer to ferment (look at a lager).

so basically the "best" beers are fermented in electronically temp. controlled fermenting environments?

 

[kombat]

Another vote for temperature control.

I'm in Ottawa too - which brewery do you work at?

 

[stoneBriar]

Sanitation.

Cleanliness IS godliness when you are playing yeast-god.

 

[Brewbien]

Sanitation. Full volume boils. Temp Control. Then relying on feedback from the beer instead of following a set of "rules".

 

[fuzzy2133]

For the artistic brewer: thinking in flavors, translating flavors into ingredients and process.

For the technical brewer: documentation and control over the process so repeatability is easy

You need to be at least one or the other and to be great, you need both.

Second this. Repeatability means you know WHAT you are doing and HOW to achieve it. Being able to think in terms of flavor and know how to achieve that means you know WHY you are doing something.

+2
Greatly reduces the chance for a new brew being a let down.

 

[GrogNerd]

Brew often.

all good answers, but I would agree most with LBR: PRACTICE

practice making beer

how awesome is that?

 

[Clonefan94]

Maybe this would be too general a term, but I think the biggest thing to be able to make great beer, is consistency. Getting your system dialed in from top to bottom, so you get consistent results every time, would be the biggest thing for me. That's really the only way that you can determine what caused flaws, what caused a beer to be great, etc.

 

[ifnotuthenwho]

I agree with consistency. A friend of mine who works at a brewery said, It's easy to make a great tasting beer. The real challenge is to make a beer that tastes the same with every batch. If I pop the top on a Fat Tire, or a West Coast IPA, I want that bottle to taste just like all the other bottles that I've had.

Edit: And keep in mind that you have to maintain that consistency working with "living" ingredients. 2-Row barley is similar from year to year in sugar content, but it's not exactly the same each time. And yeast profiles can change too. Wine makers have different vintages of their product, and while some breweries will do that with their beer, that is not the norm.

 

[ShinyBuddha]

What separates a good brewer from an excellent brewer? Practice, patience, learning from mistakes, and good documentation of the brewday for replication. Past that, knowing your ingredients and experimenting...