Homebrewing Experience - Top 10

I type poorly crafted sentences from work all the time. Good thing my beers are better than my syntax.

 

To be fair to herrburgess, he likes his German lagers, so his aversion to 6-row is understandable.

Perhaps the rule on ingredients should be "Learn your ingredients; fresh ingredients can all be used to make good beer, but only the right ingredients can make the beer you want." Or something like that.

 

Well, I like German lagers (both German made and US craft brewery made).

I also like CAP beers.

Do the two have to be mutually exclusive!?!

Cheers!

 

HM's 'Top 10' Leaning Experiences...
1) Bigger is not better.
2) There's no such thing as 'free' shipping.
3) Harvesting yeast is a whole lot easier than pimping.
4) Brewing salts are worth their weight in gold.
5) Happiness is a warm tun. (apologies to J. Lennon)
6) There is no six.
7) Analog trumps digital.
8) Warrior trumps Magnum.
9) Home brewing is an obsession...not an addiction
10) Home brewing is an addiction ...not an obsession.

 

Not at all. There's room for variety in my world. But we can't expect everyone to have eclectic tastes like you and me.

 

Well, you did say you were eager to hear from others. Guess I misinterpretted what you meant.

Seriously, RE: bottling, I just wanted to present the position that bottling does not have to be painful and that it is feasible to brew good beer as a bottler. Also, kegging is expensive and I don't think beginners in the hobby should feel like they have to lay out a lot of cash just to get started. It does require more time than kegging. This worked OK for me because I brew mostly in the summer, when I have not had work, for several years. During the off-stretches, finding the time to bottle was not a problem. I also wanted to point out that kegging is not foolproof. However, I expect it will become second nature to me as I get more experience

 

I like German lagers and Cream Ales (haven't had many true CAPs...though I have tried -- and somewhat liked -- both Schlitz Classic Formula and Batch 19).

 

If your hops do not smell good to you do not put them in your beer!

 

#11. Never stop learning and/or asking questions

Forums such as this have been invaluable to me, from my early extract batches on through my current BIAB-ing...

 

1. Sanitize well (think like a microbe)
2. Use quality ingredients (including water)
3. Stir mash well, take temperature in several places
4. Cool wort rapidly
5. Oxygenate wort well
6. Pitch adequate amount of healthy yeast/make big starters
7. Control fermentation temperature well (keep on the low side)
8. Take gravity readings
9. Handle fermented beer as anaerobically as possible (CO2 transfers, purging)
10. Take good notes and establish consistent processes to achieve repeatable results

 

Homebrewing is a journey, not a destination.

Don't get into pissing matches with other homebrewers on whether you should use corn sugar versus DME when priming, it's your beer, do what you want.

Like this guy says:

 

1. Sanitation reigns supreme
2. happy yeast, happy feast
3. Know thy ingredients
4. Keep good notes, very good notes
5. Think about it, all of it
6. Taste the beer at all stages of its short, precious life
7. Read, read, read
8. Become one with the process
9. Be creative
10. RDWHAHB

 

When you buy a thermometer, you need to calibrate it somehow. Ive ruined an expense batch because the thermometer was 15 degrees off. so instead of mashing at 155 i was mashing at 170. OUCH! can you say green apples.

Bigger (higher OG) beers are hard. try doing a 12+% beer and keep the yeast going the entire time. (secret: oxygenate for the first 3 days)

So
1) calibrate a new thermometer
2)use an oxygen bottle to aerate the wort at time of pitching
3) yeast starters. do them. all the time. also a stirplate helps
4) You can add epsom salt to a batch of hoppy beer to extract more hop oils
5) Secondary fermentation not needed when you have kegs, go from primary straight to keg. cold crash a few days then pour the first pint off which is the remaining schlaub
6)PLATE CHILLERS ARE BAD ASS! cannot say enough. boil to primary in 5minutes
7)PREPARATION...sucks when you trying to brew and you have to look for everything
8) MASH pH a big deal. get you a pH meter. $40
9)Fermentation temperature IS important. keep it constant. 65-68 is best for ales usually
10) ALWAYS have a couple packages of dry yeast on hand, never know when you need it.
11)have DME on hand as well. You can adjust your OG if you miss it by a lot.
My list goes to 11

 

Can you go into more detail on #4?

 

This applies to a lot more than just brewing. A lot more.

 

#1 master fermentation and learn all about yeast. (nothing will have a greater impact on the quality of your beer)
#2 cleaning and sanitizing ( this is easy to learn)
#3 calibrate everything including measuring your kettle volume
#4 use brewing software ( like beersmith) allows you to be as creative as you want, but does all the math for you
#5 when just starting out, brew a known good recipe (like something from "brewing classic styles") over and over till you master it....this will allow you to dial in your system and process.
#6 many brewing mistakes can be fixed after the batch has been brewed, (except for infections)...beers can be blended, brewing salts can still be added, hop tea can be added for bitterness, brett can be added, water can be added. (especially if you keg)
#7 get at least a 10 gallon pot for 5 gallon batches
#8 don't be afraid to experiment (but get your process down first)
#9 what works for someone else may not work for you and your system, and vice versa
#10 brew often

 

Epsom salt, aka magnesium sulfate, can be used to lower mash pH and add some sulfate to the water for hop accentuation

 

There are better ways to lower mash pH than by adding magnesium. One of them is Gypsum, which also adds sulfates. But sulfates really enhance the perception of crisp bitterness. I don't think they do a thing for hop flavor/aroma.

 

Calcium is more effective at lowering pH. You don't want too much Mg.

As Vikeman said, SO4 gives a sharper lingering bitterness. That bitterness is from the Alpha Acids, not the essential oils.