What's the next step in creating better beer?

[lostmind]

So I'm on batch #2 (it's been in primary over two weeks now). Been contemplating #3 for a couple weeks. Before I jump on it, I want to know if there is something fairly simple I can do to create better beer. I'd prefer not to spend big bucks on gear so...

Basically, I've done extract with some steeped specialty grains. Process is fairly simple:

1) Clean & sanitise everything
2) Boil a bunch of water for top up - about 2 gallons
3) Boil a pot of water, cool it down to ~75c and soak the specialty grains
4) Boil my malt extract
5) Add yeast to warm water for ~10 mins, add some cooled wort (this gets about an hour to get foamy)
6) Pour the steeped grains through a strainer into the wort
7) Pour some more warm water through the grains into the wort
8) Boil for another hour
9) Add hops according to schedule
10) Cool wort in sink - I have an ice maker, so I have a bunch of ice prepped for this and it only takes ~20 mins to cool to 20C
11) Pour into plastic fermenter bucket (through strainer to get hops out)
12) Add yeast
13) Put on the lid and hide in my basement.

Temps in my basement do fluctuate. From about 17c all the way up to 20c (62 to 69f?) although typically it only swings from 18.5-20C. I think these temps are pretty much where ale yeast likes to be fermenting at?

Will a fermentation chamber produce better beer due to less temp fluctuations?

Should I upgrade or change anything else?

Bigger yeast starter?

Batch #1 is a very dark ale, almost stout like now actually. It's got an initial "sharp" alchohol taste, then it smoothes out and is very tasty (at least, according to myself and a buddy of mine). I think it may just need more time in the bottle but who knows.

Thanks for your input!

 

[bosox]

Well for different tastes there's always new processes you can try, like dry hopping. That's pretty simple and will add more flavor.

You could get some kind of ice box/cooler to ferment lagers in to try out some different styles.

More or less, the actual process of beer making is the same. It's how you do it and foola round with ingredients, and times that produces some great beer. Just start experimenting now. I made a few batches then decided to order a pound of mixed varieties of hops, and started created my own recipies. Have fun with it to make better beer

 

[lostmind]

Hey Bosox,

There are definitely a LOT of styles and beer to brew - so many it's rather confusing honestly

I'm more concerned about how to my beer better and perhaps even be consistent about it.

I know the ingredients are one thing, but I am reading (which is bad, wayyy too much info) and it seems different temp's give different flavours, the size of you starter can make a difference, hitting the propers temps during the boil, steeping grains, cooling the wort down quick enough...

I just wonder how I can improve the process of it, as opposed to what other types of beer I can make.

Thanks though!

 

[mr_bell]

Not to oversimplify, but I think these are four key components to making great beer, extract, all grain or partial mash. These certainly are not my ideas--just things I've picked up from this forum and also Jamil Zainasheff, John Palmer and Mike McDole, as heard on the brewing network. (www.thebrewingnetwork.com)

#1) Good sanitization practices--I think we're all pretty much there.
#2) Full boils
#3) Yeast starters / pitching proper amount of healthy yeast (and pitching at your fermentation temp). Go to www.mrmalty.com and use the 'yeast pitching rate' calculator to figure out the appropriate starter volume based on OG.
#4) Fermentation temp control

Certainly a good recipe helps, but even the best recipe can come out like crap when these components are not well controlled.

 

[Beer_Guy]

If the temp swings you have are day and night temps, a simple improvement in what you have is a chamber of some kind to steady those ferment temp swings. Fermentation will raise the temp inside slightly. A thermostat and small fan pulling in just what is needed can keep the temp inside steady.

Sounds like you have it down pretty good over all.

 

[businesstime]

Not to oversimplify, but I think these are four key components to making great beer, extract, all grain or partial mash. These certainly are not my ideas--just things I've picked up from this forum and also Jamil Zainasheff, John Palmer and Mike McDole, as heard on the brewing network. (www.thebrewingnetwork.com)

#1) Good sanitization practices--I think we're all pretty much there.
#2) Full boils
#3) Yeast starters / pitching proper amount of healthy yeast (and pitching at your fermentation temp). Go to www.mrmalty.com and use the 'yeast pitching rate' calculator to figure out the appropriate starter volume based on OG.
#4) Fermentation temp control

Certainly a good recipe helps, but even the best recipe can come out like crap when these components are not well controlled.

+1

Yeast starters, more than anything, has given me the peace of mind that the yeast are doing their job. It's great to site back and relax just a few hours after pitching because your yeast are already going crazy.

Jamil once said, don't bother spending all that money on a fancy kettle or wort chiller (another awesome investment, btw), until you have perfected your temperature control. In year #1, my best beers were made during the spring and fall and that's no coincidence.

 

[mikebiewer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by mr_bell View Post
Not to oversimplify, but I think these are four key components to making great beer, extract, all grain or partial mash. These certainly are not my ideas--just things I've picked up from this forum and also Jamil Zainasheff, John Palmer and Mike McDole, as heard on the brewing network. (www.thebrewingnetwork.com)

#1) Good sanitization practices--I think we're all pretty much there.
#2) Full boils
#3) Yeast starters / pitching proper amount of healthy yeast (and pitching at your fermentation temp). Go to www.mrmalty.com and use the 'yeast pitching rate' calculator to figure out the appropriate starter volume based on OG.
#4) Fermentation temp control

Certainly a good recipe helps, but even the best recipe can come out like crap when these components are not well controlled.

+1

Yeast starters, more than anything, has given me the peace of mind that the yeast are doing their job. It's great to site back and relax just a few hours after pitching because your yeast are already going crazy.

Jamil once said, don't bother spending all that money on a fancy kettle or wort chiller (another awesome investment, btw), until you have perfected your temperature control. In year #1, my best beers were made during the spring and fall and that's no coincidence.

+1

Yeast starters, more than anything, has given me the peace of mind that the yeast are doing their job. It's great to site back and relax just a few hours after pitching because your yeast are already going crazy.

Jamil once said, don't bother spending all that money on a fancy kettle or wort chiller (another awesome investment, btw), until you have perfected your temperature control. In year #1, my best beers were made during the spring and fall and that's no coincidence.

+1+1

 

[lostmind]

So it sounds like I have it right in my mind - I need to improve two things:

1) Pitch the correct amount of yeast
2) Temp control during fermentation.

Now to find some simple DIY walk thru's on building something to help control temps...

Thanks!

 

[nasmeyer]

Chris Colby has some great tips to better extract brewing here.
http://***********/stories/article/indices/30-extract-brewing/10-10-steps-to-better-extract-brewing

 

[eddie]

So it sounds like I have it right in my mind - I need to improve two things:

1) Pitch the correct amount of yeast
2) Temp control during fermentation.

Now to find some simple DIY walk thru's on building something to help control temps...

Thanks!

http://www.bayareamashers.org/gadgets/son_of_chiller.pdf

 

[mikeysab]

google "son of fermentation chamber".

 

[shelly_belly]

Quote:
#1) Good sanitization practices--I think we're all pretty much there.
#2) Full boils
#3) Yeast starters / pitching proper amount of healthy yeast (and pitching at your fermentation temp). Go to www.mrmalty.com and use the 'yeast pitching rate' calculator to figure out the appropriate starter volume based on OG.
#4) Fermentation temp control

#5) Ability to 'cold crash'

I prefer clear beers!

 

[lostmind]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/fermoire-45567/

Wish I was able to build something like this

 

[beerman1957]

I am with Jamil Z's comments. If you can control the fermentation phase, then you are going to get a better beer. All other things you mentioned are important and water quality is also something you should look at.
To eliminate water variable, get RO water or pure water to start an add some CaCO3 or other minerals if needed.

 

[dogbar]

3) Boil a pot of water, cool it down to ~75c and soak the specialty grains

Not that it will make better beer, but you could save some time by just heating the water to the steeping temperature and then putting in the grains. You don't need to boil and cool.

 

[lostmind]

Not that it will make better beer, but you could save some time by just heating the water to the steeping temperature and then putting in the grains. You don't need to boil and cool.

Good point, it get's boiled anyways. I just did a full boil on the big pot to get some extra water for top up, etc. and used some of that for steeping.

But boiling less water would be quicker. My gas range is pretty powerful, but boiling gallons of water takes a while.

Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[Yooper]

Good yeast health will make improve the beer. By that I mean temperature control and pitching the proper amount of yeast. I found that controlling fermentation temperature made the greatest improvement in my beer, over all other techniques.

It won't improve the flavor of the beer, but you can definitely tweak a few of your steps. You can take a LONG time off of your brew day and get more into a rhythm by changing up some of your procedures.

Here's what I would do:

Boil the top off water (or use bottled water- no need to boil that) and let cool and put in fridge if you can fit it. You can do that the day before.

1. Bring water for steeping grains to 160. No need to sanitize the pot, or anything else at this point. No need to bring it to a boil first. Steep the grains for 20 minutes or so. Pour water (up to 170 degrees) over the grains to 'rinse' them. It's easier to do that if you put the grain bag in a strainer over the pot. Pour the water over into you reach your boil volume. Then throw the grains away.

2. Bring that liquid to a boil. Turn off heat. Add the malt extract. Bring to a boil again. Add bittering hops and set your timer for 60 minutes.

3. Add hops during the boil as recipe requires.

4. After it's boiled for 60 minutes, start cooling.

5. Stop doing that yeast proofing thing- it's not necessary, and may actually be detrimental. Just rehydrate the yeast according to package directions, or just sprinkle it on the wort. Usually a 15 minute rehydration is perfect, so I start during the wort cooling period.

6. Sanitize your fermenter, strainer, airlock, etc while the wort is cooling. Sanitize anything that will touch the wort post-boil, like a thermometer too.

7. When it's cooled, pour the wort into the fermenter. Add your top off water. If you're pouring through a sanitized strainer, that will help aerate the wort. If you don't aerate by pouring, shake the fermenter up a bit. You want air in there.

8. Add the yeast, either simply rehydrated or just sprinkle it on.

9. Cover, airlock, and done!

It takes about 90 minutes for me to make an extract batch of beer. Sanitizing everything before the boil is unnecessary, since you want to sanitize things that touch the wort post-boil and quite a bit of time passes between the start of the brewing and the time you pitch the yeast. It would be more optimal to sanitize right before using the items. I don't boil my top-off water, but I don't have a chlorine or bacteria issue. If I had to boil my top off water, I'd just buy a couple of gallons of bottled water to save time.

 

[beerman1957]

The only time I make a starter yeast is when I have a Big Beer (1.50 or higher). The rest of the time I just pitch it. I am using Fermentis US-05 almost every brew.

The reason I mention a constant fermentation as key, is because a lot of brewers don't use controls. They DO control everything else fairly well. But who has a "Fermenterator" or controlled conditions for fermentation? I used to just set it in a closet, but I know that the brew was going 5-7 degrees a day up and down.

Now, was it good beer when I just put it in the closet? YES! It was great. But when I constructed my Fermenterator, the quality improved greatly. And by that I mean A LOT better.

Of course, you can build a nice styrofoam chiller and keep the wort happy but I know I am happy that I could have a lot more control by spending a little less than $150.

 

[willynilly]

It has been said before, and I will say it again...

Healthy Yeast
PROPER and ACCURATE fermentation temp. control

Nothing matters if in the final inning, you screw the pooch with yeast and temp.