2 most important things you learned/wish you knew

[Calichusetts]

Doing an article and was just going to do my experiences along with several of my brew buddies but I figured I'd throw it out to the masses to get a bigger picture.

So...what are the 2 most important things you learned about Homebrewing in your first year or so. Specifically, what did you wish you knew when you started. If you can explain why, that would be great.

Thanks in advance!

 

[unionrdr]

Well, at first, I wish I'd have built some kind of temp controlled cabinet to control fermentation temps. I then wouldn't need to be concerned about the weather dictating what I brew & when. I also wish I'd have tried partial mash sooner, as it has led me into new brewing territory. Like dampfbier, kottbusser, mumme, Burton ales, etc. There's some interesting beers scattered throughout history to discover! The likes of which shouldn't have fallen to the wayside in light of the " next big thing". PM has allowed me to pursue these old, forgotten ales.

 

[mrgrimm101]

1.) Do your homework. It may just be my obsessive nature, but one of my favorite parts of this hobby is the research and thought that goes into just about every aspect. Read books, read articles, read forums, watch videos, ask questions, and learn as much as possible. There is so much information out there that it can be overwhelming, but start slow and build your brewing knowledge. We are lucky to be brewing in the age of the internet. Our brewfathers before us have a lot of knowledge to pass on. Use every resource at your disposal and learn as much as you can. Again, it could just be my "dive in head first" attitude, but it's helped me gain an understanding for this awesome hobby.

2.) Patience is key. Don't try to rush the process, and try not to rely on a calendar. The beer will be done fermenting in it's own time. The bottles will be carbed and conditioned in their own time. Every batch is different, so being patient and letting it do its thing is the mindset I've adopted since starting this wonderful hobby.

 

[didinho]

1) let te beer reach its FG:
I bottled at 1,020 density, as the FG concept was not clear to me and I did't consider effect of overcarbonation. It was summer, and one morning explosion came from the cellar. I was lucky nobody was around, I just had to clean the mess of beer and glass and did,t get hurt.

2) be very careful in sanitizing, infections can come anytime, from every step
I had some infections due to dirty hop bag, bad stocked yeast, badly sterilized starter, dirty spigots. In every step if you're not careful, you can risk infection.

 

[LLBeanJ]

Fermenting in buckets produces the same results as glass carboys, but are easier to use in every aspect. I wasted money that could have gone to something else on carboys I no longer use because I mistakenly believed that you needed to use glass to get great beer.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

1 - Keep it simple. Resist the urge to do a Pineapple Peanut Butter Chocolate Raspberry Coffee Stout. Get good and consistent with your process before you wander into the twilight zone.

2 - As stated previously, temperature control.

 

[andrewmaixner]

You can always add more, but your can't add less. Dry hops, juice, fruit concentrates, chocolate extract, carbonation(bottled)... Etc

Those can also rescue a unimpressive beer, but test the ratios first with a measuring syringe.

 

[Rev2010]

This is hard for me to answer, since I haven't really ever made any major screw ups due to lack of knowing. That could be because I bought some books, read them, and jumped on here early on which was a godsend as the guys/gals here have really helped steer me in the right direction. So it's mostly stuff like, "wish I'd started all grain sooner", "wish I'd gotten a grain mill sooner", "wish I started kegging sooner".

BUT, I will give one and agree with @Mrgrimm101 and say patience! It's easy to read so many on here talk about bottling/kegging after 10 days or two weeks, then when you try it and have green beer and are disheartened it can be a major let down. Some can do it with no problems. My beers need more time, THEN they come out awesome. Literally a week and a half Ionger in the fermenter can be the difference between disappointment and amazing. So I wish from the start that I gave my earlier beers more time in the fermenter.


Rev.

 

[ThomasPaine]

It took me quite a few brews before I realized that I didn't need to fill my kettle with cleaner and then sanitize it before brewing. Now I only lightly scrub it sometimes.

#2 would be using a pump in a ice chest with ice water to chill instead of running the hose for 30 mins

 

[Bender]

1: Sunlight skunks beer. I started brewing in the early 90s and used to ferment on a kitchen counter that was exposed to daylight in a glass carboy.

2: Temp control. See #1, at the time I lived in a house w/o air conditioning and might ferment in temps that reached high 80s in the early afternoon.

Both problems are solved with a chest freezer and a temp controller.

 

[philosofool]

1 - You will learn more in one year with a homebrew club than in five years trying to figure it out on your own. Have a group of knowledgable people you can bring your beer to, hear what they say about it AND also taste other's beers and listen to what people think. SERIOUSLY: a homebrew club is basically a free beer event, so long as you pay a trivial dues payment, and it teaches you to be a better brewer.

2 - There are people on internet forums who will help you if you ask.

 

[ThomasPaine]

1 - You will learn more in one year with a homebrew club than in five years trying to figure it out on your own. Have a group of knowledgable people you can bring your beer to, hear what they say about it AND also taste other's beers and listen to what people think. SERIOUSLY: a homebrew club is basically a free beer event, so long as you pay a trivial dues payment, and it teaches you to be a better brewer.

2 - There are people on internet forums who will help you if you ask.

Where are these forums you speak about?

 

[oljimmy]

#1: Whatever that off-flavor is, it's NOT because you're using dry yeast. Dry yeast is great.

#2: Experiment. For example, if you're wondering how bottle-carbing is going to go for you, bottle 25 different ways and taste the results. It's only one batch, you'll make fifty more and if you have to chuck ten bottles, now, who cares? Many times you'll find that panicky advice given to you by homebrew friends (and forums, sorry...) makes no perceptible difference, and this will save you many future headaches.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I learned how to keep mouth shut
I wish I knew how to read women's minds...and how to make myself invisable

 

[GrainToGlass]

1) Buying ingredients in bulk saves you time and money. 50/55lb sack of malt, hops by the pound, and yeast harvesting.

2) Getting my water tested and how to properly adjust the profile to the appropriate style.

 

[ThunderKhajiit]

Pipeline, time, planning ahead. Yeah, you can go grain to glass pretty quick, but it's better after a few weeks in the keg. The last couple pints are always the best.

All-grain and buying in bulk saves money in the long term.

 

[iijakii]

more hops better good.

 

[Malty_Dog]

1) Relax, enjoy it, you will make beer.

2) Ferm temp control. My first ever brew was an hilariously bad "Octoberfest" and I use that term loosely. I think it featured an ale yeast and was fermented at a buddy's house during an August heat wave. At room temp. 80+ degrees. Rocket fuel. Fortunately I found HBT and my brews have improved exponentially

 

[xandersaml]

1. I make wort. Mother Nature, time and temp make beer. Play nice with them and you will be rewarded.

2. Advanced, complicated brewing can be fun, but... Simplicity can result in awesome beer. SMaSH for instance.

 

[redwing_al]

1. Keep it simple. My best beers were the ones that I didn't fret about. Just make the beer, it's all comes together in the end..

2. Lean out your process! Fewer touch points and being organized and prepared make a better brew day.

There is something to be said for minimalism when Brewing..

 

[aangel]

1 - I'm nowhere near as handy as I think I am, and trying to do things DIY on the cheap will be a nightmare.
2 - Starsan doesn't kill mold.
3 - the cheap grain mill is a trap. Don't do it.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

1.Don't rush. Being in a hurry leads to mistakes or accidents that can cost you,
more time, loss of beer, or even trips to the ER.
2. Check your valves. See #1, open valves are normally the result of #1 and lead to a small mess if your lucky or some painful burns if your not.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Fermentation temp control is key. The sooner you bite the bullet and invest in a chest freezer and a temp controller, the less money you're going to waste on sub-par homebrew.

Campden tablets get rid of chlorine and chloramine. If you use municipal tap water, buy a bottle of campden tablets and use them. You will need them.

 

[poptarts]

temp control and proper yeast pitching rates

 

[NathPowe]

1. You can learn a lot about brewing and beer by taking the time to fine-tune a recipe. It's fun to make lots of different stuff, but I think that spending the time to really dial-in a recipe over the course of several batches is a worthwhile endeavor for any brewer.

2. Simple recipes are great.

 

[BeardedBrews]

1. Get a support network. Someone in your neighborhood brews, plenty of people online brew, your town has a microbrewery with friendly guys who love to talk brewing, and your LHBS (even if it isn't very L) has a support group. It doesn't matter if the person even comes to your brew day. Find someone that you can snap a pic and send a text to while you're brewing and your learning curve will be way less steep.

2. Have a reason for your gear purchases. Good beer can be made with basic gear and bad beer can be made with advanced gear. A $600 brew kettle can get you better beer if it is tied to a process change or improvement, otherwise you will just be making a shinier version of the same bad beer. If you aren't certain that you need an upgrade, then it is almost certainly not going to make your beer better.

2.a. I did not want to say this, but you should probably get a fermentation chamber. You can brew great beer without one, but the cost is (relatively) low and the convenience and peace of mind is completely worth it in almost every case. I built one after I moved to full boils and now that I have it I'm not sure how I'd brew without one.

2.b. Strongly consider a good quality starter kit if you're just starting out. The $99 Northern Brewer Kit (regularly on sale) might feel expensive, and there are a couple bits that you might not use, but the bulk of that kit will see use over and over again. Even after you've moved to a 1/2bbl herms system you will still find uses for nice buckets and pots.

 

[brewcat]

Transferring to a secondary is mostly a waste of time and energy.

Draft beer at the house is awesome.

 

[LandoLincoln]

If your basement stays between 60° and 70° all year, and you only brew ales, then buying a fermentation chamber is not likely to have an impact on the quality of your beer.

If you think that your basement temps are stable, you're probably wrong.

 

[iijakii]

And that your 70F basement might lead to 80F fermentation temps. A nice bubblegum pale ale for ya.

 

[BeardedBrews]

And that your 70F basement might lead to 80F fermentation temps. A nice bubblegum pale ale for ya.

Not to be confused with Gumballhead, which I find to be a very drinkable IPA:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26/9478/


Your points are taken, and I have to backpedal. I will revise my post

 

[NoIguanaForZ]

Pineapple Peanut Butter Chocolate Raspberry Coffee Stout

*makes a note*

1. Every part of the process takes longer than you expect.
2. Take. Frickin'. Notes. The things I didn't write down are really starting to get to me these days.

 

[kevink]

During your brew day, write down not only what happened, but what you need to do differently next time. This makes planning the next brew a lot easier, and it helps make sure that the bad stuff doesn't happen again.

 

[unionrdr]

And don't get drunk on brew day, then try to write intelligently. Hilarity & WTF's can ensue...

 

[ArcLight]

As long as you clean and sanitize your equipment, the yeast will take care of themselves.
Within reason, I don't even think absolute fermentation temperature control is crucial. (fermenting at 62 vs 64 vs 66 vs 68 probably wont make much difference for an IPA, maybe it will for a Weizen with the clove/bubblegum balance).
Don't go fermenting at 78-80, as that's not within reason, that's hot.

The things that will really make a difference are:

1. (if you bottle) Cold Crashing - before cold crashing I always had a quarter inch of yeast at the bottom of my bottles, even if careful when racking, and waiting a few weeks to bottle. If you keg, you have the advantage of drawing off the first pint and dumping it.

2. (if you like IPAs) - instead of adding hops between 0-15 minutes, adding them after flame out (at 185F or less) for 40+ minutes. You get way more flavor and aroma. Plus a dry hop at the end. And don't be stingy with the hops, use that extra ounce or two (or three)

 

[Calichusetts]

Thanks guys. I was already through most of it and this was a great reinforcement of a lot of what I read, and some of your points and how you said them are great. I'll toss a link out there when I get this things done.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

1) Happy yeast = happy beer. Fermentation temp control and proper pitch rates are more important than almost any mistake you can make producing wort.

2) Focus on *why* you do something. Complicated process or recipe is fine, if you can articulate why it needs to be that complex. If you can't, maybe you should focus on simplicity to learn the baby steps. Then you'll understand why the complicated stuff needs to be complicated.

 

[Bender]

Transferring to a secondary is mostly a waste of time and energy.

Unless you are dry hopping.

 

[brewcat]

Unless you are dry hopping.

or do it in the primary...

 

[chisena]

Thermocouple placement matters!

Don't soak plastic stuff in StarSan overnight!

 

[bdb7098]

1) yeast starters=quick fermentation
2) it's a hobby and is supposed to be fun. I can get bogged down and intense on brew day i.e. Homemade wort chiller won't drop temp fast enough and I'm going to have an infection. I've chucked the crappy WC and just put it in the ferment bucket and wait til the morning to pitch (hence #1). The first book I read was Charlie Papazian's The Joy of Homebrewing and RDWHAHB still works for me.
3) I took a 10-15 year hiatus from brewing when I had kids. Don't do it. Keep brewing, even extract. I had gone to AG and didn't have time for the whole process. I should have done extract for that time.