Most important 'must do' in homebrewing

I don't think it's the most important, but the most overlooked is certainly brewing water.

 

It has happened more than once with Wyeast 1968, that is my main culprit. I THINK it happened once with 1469 west yorkshire, but not as bad.

 

I usually have more than a few homebrews during the boiling and chilling process, so usually the most important thing for me is to remember to pitch the yeast starter.

 

All grain if you aren't already doing it. Otherwise I also for for full-wort boils.

 

Fermentation (and lagering) temperature. I've noticed a substantial difference in quality since I switched to a fridge with a temperature override thing from "some dark spot in my house that has a relatively constant temperature."

 

The most important variable is YOU, the brewer. Read more, learn more, take care in what you do and make better beer. (And I'm not trying to be condescending or imply that I know everything). Knowledge and practice are paramount in brewing.

Fermentation seems to be a popular answer. More specifically, focus on chilling your wort down to a few degrees below your ferm. temp., pitching the yeast, aerating, and then allowing the beer to warm up to temp. I use a water bath and aquarium heater in my basement for fermentation control. It's cost-effective and has produced great results so far.

Also, purchase a hydrometer and learn how to use it, if you haven't already. Cheers!

 

It's like location is to Real Estate: the three most important things for home-brewers are fermentation, fermentation, fermentation.

Sure there are plenty of process oriented thing you can do, relatively cheaply. You should look into those as well (see thread above). But you're going to spend some money of a fridge / freezer of the correct size and a controller to nail that fermentation temperature. That should be your next expenditure if you plan to continue brewing. Plus, you can explore lagers only if you have fermentation control. Do it.

Jason
Tuxedo Park Brewers Supply

 

You make wort, yeast makes beer. Yeast is the #1 ingredient to take care of in your beer, with both temp control and pitching the proper amount.
You can make good beer with a partial boil
Consistency comes with time

I made good beer for a couple years, then the beers went south for a few batches. With full boils and consistency in place, I was making shitty beer. I then started treating my yeast right, and I can say I have not had a bad batch in two plus year. Even the beers which I would argue were just bad recipe designs have been better than some of those beers in the past.

 

Happy yeast makes happy beer. Pitch a good amount, and keep it happy temperature wise.

 

Well, since everyone else has hammered home the importance of temperature and yeast 'happiness', I'll just had my thoughts...

I almost lean toward yeast freshness/health and pitching rate as being more important than *precise* temperature control. Not becuase I don't think temperature is a key variable, but because I think as long as you pitch cool (always, and I don't think *this* could be overstated!) and as long as you have a space somewhere in your brewery or home where the temperature is consistent and not too warm, you will eventually settle on yeast strains that work well (and reproducibly) in that environment - even if you never know *exactly* what the temperature of your fermenting wort is. I could ferment beer with great consistency in my basement year-round and never worry about temperature probes/controls/jackets... and I've learned which strains will tollerate the consistently cool temps down there and which won't.

But, if your pitching rate is all over the place from one batch to another? Your results will be different each time, even if the temperature is constant.

One thing I credit for making a big difference in yeast health and, in turn, the overall quality of my beer and consistency of fermentation that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet is: proper oxygenation of the cooled wort before pitching. Methods can be debated forever, but I will go on record as saying that I think my beer made a leap forward when I started using an O2 bottle and stone instead of shaking or the John Palmer 'pour it back and forth' method. Likewise, a shot of O2 in the starter and a stir plate go a looong way toward building a happy, healthy yeast slurry.

$0.02

 

Surprised no one has yet mentioned the #1 'must do' in home-brewing is being relaxed...not worrying...and having a home-brew.

Back to basics...my friends.
Back to basics.