Your 2011 Brewing Goals

[petep1980]

I didn't set any last year, and when I look back...man I got no where.

Mine this year:
1. Finish perfecting my Pilsner. I got the fermentation down on mine, all I really have to do is find the perfect balance of hops for my partial boil and I'm all set.

2. Develop a house APA. Mine have all been too grapefruity. I have no idea why. My best hopped ales have been PTE clones, but those are a bit overkill to keep on tap regularly.

3. Develop a good house Belgian Beer. Last year's SUCKED. I just think I didn't give it enough time. I tried an Ommegang Abbey Dubbel last night and it was identical to mine. I have at least learned I prefer the really carbonated belgian style beers. This one will be tough because I'll need a bit of patience.

 

[D_Struct]

Right now, my goal is to get comfortable using my turkey fryer and working with full boils.

Next, continue to acquire all the necessary tools for going all grain. I've got my boil kettle, HLT, mash tun, water filter, homemade mash paddle and two solid burners, etc. Still need to build or purchase a chiller and build a three tier setup.

It's all about going all grain by the end of the year. Then the REAL learning begins!

 

[beninan]

Brew beer.... lol

actually, kinda like you petep1980.....

1. develop a good house ale.

2. Increase my kegging setup (I have 4 taps, but only 3 kegs, do the math...)

3. Try to perfect my techniques in everything beer/wine related

4. Incorporate all grain to some brews

5. Most importantly, brew beer

 

[jmick]

1.) keep the pipeline full! It sucks to run out of beer - I now have 10 kegs and 3 primaries, so that should help (as long as I get off my lazy arse and brew 2 or 3 batches a month.)

2.) make my first lager - I just got another Love temp controller in the mail today and need to rewire my kegerator for a fermentation chamber.

3.) send a water sample into Ward Labs so I can start dabbling in water modification. I think that's the next big step in improving my brews.

 

[viking73]

1) Improving my recipies
2) Experiment with more varieties of yeast. I find myself stuck on 1056, 1272, 3944 and US-05.
3) Convert dorm fridge to kegerator and keg at least one batch this year.

 

[ktm250]

1. Increase capacity for more beers at a time, in all different stages.

2. Try to move to all grain by the end of the year.

The second one is a big leap for me, but it is the direction I want to go. Maybe I will try to grow my own barley and malt it eventually.

 

[kaiser423]

1. Kegerator

2. Closed Pressure fermentation

3. Brew more

 

[Gridlocked]

1. Improve my efficiency and increase my understand of the mash/lauter process
2. Build the equipment to dial in a desired and exact fermentation temperature
3. Get my 10 gal. keggle system up and running
4. Cash flow my ingredients by taking donations from friends.

 

[ktm250]

1. Improve my efficiency and increase my understand of the mash/lauter process
2. Build the equipment to dial in a desired and exact fermentation temperature
3. Get my 10 gal. keggle system up and running
4. Cash flow my ingredients by taking donations from friends.

Best idea ever

 

[mattd2]

1. Brew more - get my pipeline up and running = more fermenters
2. Finish (actually start) my E-Keggle
3. Finish (actually start) building my keezer
4. Get a grain mill (build or buy)
5. Cashflow ingredients by building a BMBF and "gifting" beers to my FIL (I try to tell him a cheap price but he seems to be wanting to pay nearly what he would at the bottle shop - just means I have a drive to make the best beer I can!)

 

[remilard]

1. Cashflow ingredients by working.

 

[DizzyPants]

I just got one of mine tonight, a 15 gallon SS kettle.

So, now doing (soon) 10 gallon batches my last and final thing I want is a Therminator Chiller and pump. That is about $350 away. Maybe by the end of the year. Then I will be up and running the way I envisioned.

~Diz

 

[EzMak24]

My goal is to make the jump from extract to all grain. I have been extract brewing for the past 3 years and received a turley fryer for christmas to start the jump to all grain.

 

[bad67z]

1. Add pumps to my system (I'm getting to old)
2. Update fermentation set up
3. Get a better handle of my PH (got a meter from Santa)
4. Keezer build.

 

[marcycaulkins]

Right now, my goal is to get comfortable using my turkey fryer and working with full boils.

Next, continue to acquire all the necessary tools for going all grain. I've got my boil kettle, HLT, mash tun, water filter, homemade mash paddle and two solid burners, etc. Still need to build or purchase a chiller and build a three tier setup.

It's all about going all grain by the end of the year. Then the REAL learning begins!

You really don't NEED a 3-tier setup. I'm sure there are many of us (besides me) who just stack their MLT on a chair to feed down into the brewpot. The chiller, however, is a necessity.

and my goals:
1. build my kegerator... i bought the keg setup from kegconnection on their black friday sale, now I just need to get it up and running.

2. hit target gravity. Seriously, I've always just gone with the "whatever I get" strategy (which gives you beer, anyway, but I'd like to be more true to styles.

I'm sure I'll think of more, but that's if for now.

 

[Frank-Likes-Beer]

1. Stop being lazy and finish gathering/building my AG setup
2. Stop being lazy and brew more often
3. Stop being lazy and build a keezer
4. Stop being lazy and get beer from the fermenter to the bottle/keg in a timely manner

 

[AnOldUR]

Keep it fun and interesting.
Have enough ingredients around so that I don't have to know what I'm brewing until it's in the mash.

In other words, RDWHAHB.

 

[rcrabb22]

Get consistent at mash efficiency so I can trust using the same efficiency number when creating recipes

hitting 85% one brew, then 73% the next isn't working for me, I don't care if it's in the 70's or the 80's, just be +/- 2% the same number each brew

 

[D_Struct]

You really don't NEED a 3-tier setup. I'm sure there are many of us (besides me) who just stack their MLT on a chair to feed down into the brewpot. The chiller, however, is a necessity.

I'm well aware that I don't NEED a 3-tier, however, after much deliberation, I have decided that's what I would like to have.

I'm content in working with my current arrangement until getting my system lined out the way I would like. I'm in no rush.

 

[TheGeek]

1. Lock down a routine for my AG process
2. See how close to 80% efficiency I can get on a regular basis
3. Start harvesting/storing yeast to further reduce batch costs
4. Get my hops to grow this year
5. Finish adjusting my RedLight Irish Ale recipe

 

[WSURaider41]

1. Brew a few more extract kits
2. Move to partial mash brewing
3. Create some recipes of my own

 

[the_bird]

1. Get my efficiency back up to ~75% or so. Figure out what the hell is killing me.
2. Better notes and more careful/frequent measurement. Start measuring pH.
3. More consistent brewing - I kind of need to brew once a month or so, just to keep some balance in my life.
4. More sharing; beer tends to accumulate in my basement, as I don't have people over often enough to drink it with me!

EDIT:
5. Competitions - HBT and one or two others. Get some additional feedback.

 

[Randar]

1) Enter at least one competition per quarter
2) Complete Welding I and Welding II and the local community college
3) Finish brew stand, walk-in-cooler and fermentation/lagering chambers.

 

[marcycaulkins]

I'm well aware that I don't NEED a 3-tier, however, after much deliberation, I have decided that's what I would like to have.

I'm content in working with my current arrangement until getting my system lined out the way I would like. I'm in no rush.

Cool, then! I just hate to see people avoid getting into all grain because they think they absolutely need more than they really do. But if you have a goal and a plan and a design (and you are happy enough with your current setup to be able to wait until you can fully institute your new plan), then go for it and good luck.

And I thought of my goal #3. Start growing my own hops.

 

[JasonInBTR]

1) Build pipeline.
2) Build a 2 corny kegerator.
3) Get into AG.
4) Try to have as many social brews as possible. Much more fun having buddies over to brew than solo.

Happy 2011!

 

[petep1980]

Oh yeah, enter a competition too.

 

[Hawgbranch]

1. Learn to use my new Rims
2. Switch from Batch to Fly sparging
3. Make changes to rack in a closed system
4. Tweak my "Zero Addition" process to accentuate Hop aroma
5. Brew faster than I drink

 

[Boleslaus]

1. Move to PM
2. Develop house Blonde/Wheat and APA
3. Make my first IIPA

 

[Ace_Club]

In no particular order:

1. All-Grain
2. Fermentation Chamber

 

[TheTimotin]

1. Create a perfect beer to celebrate Grover Cleveland Remembrance Day
2. Acquire enough bottles to do at least three 5 gallon batches at once
3. Develop a great, memorable, home brewing company name.