Top 3 mistakes beginners make?

[Newton]

I'm planning my first all grain brew next weekend and I'm looking for advice. What are the top 3 mistakes that beginners typically make?

 

[phatuna]

Overthink the process

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Only 3?

1.) Bad crush
2.) Bad therms
3.) Bad sparge

 

[noblesquirrel]

Top 3 mistakes, well, over-thinking, worrying, second-guessing. Those are what I would guess at. Remember, you can screw up and still make beer!

 

[wildwest450]

Measure out water exactly
Get a reliable thermometer
Nail those temps
Plan on low efficiency

That's 4

 

[weirdboy]

1. Not pre-heating or otherwise accounting for the temp of the MLT, thus missing target mash temp.
2. Opening the MLT 500 times to check the temp and stir the mash, thus lowering it.
3. Not thoroughly stirring the mash and/or waiting for initial mash temps to stabilize before trying to correct them.


4. Using the 179F or whatever Beersmith says for sparge water, which is usually too low. Heat the damn water up to at least 200F.



5. That is assuming you have an accurate thermometer....if you don't, well all bets are off.

 

[rurounikitsune]

worrying, not relaxing, and not having a homebrew?

 

[bmbigda]

If you use your brew kettle to heat the mash water, make sure you have another vessel to drain wort into.

I may or may not have had this problem

 

[kryolla]

do your calculation i.e grain absorbtion, check for deadspace, and evaporation rate. If you dont have a sight glass use and old ale pail for measurements or a stick with marking to make sure you hit pre-boil volume

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

worrying, not relaxing, and not having a homebrew?

which is uniquely similar to;

worrying, not relaxing, and having too many homebrews. Both can be devastating.

 

[HBHoss]

I'm planning my first all grain brew next weekend and I'm looking for advice. What are the top 3 mistakes that beginners typically make?

1. Not reading enough.
2. Not following what they've read.
3. Fretting too much over the small things.

 

[OLDBREW]

If you use your brew kettle to heat the mash water, make sure you have another vessel to drain wort into.

I may or may not have had this problem

Haha Ya got to love that one!!

I like "Denny" Conns thought process when teaching new cooler batch sparge brewers! The KISS Method (keep it simple stupid). Follow his instructions and you can't go wrong!

Also figure about 65% for your first batch. If you get better results add some filtered water and you have more beer, or don't add water and get a better buzz from one pint LOL!

http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/

 

[samc]

1. asking the wrong question.

You should be asking, what are the three things new AG brewers can do to have success with brewing?

Relax, it's only a batch of beer. Make yourself a checklist (http://www.brew365.com/images/timeline.gif) and actually check things off after you have done them. If you goof on something, slow down and calmly deal with it.

Keep in mind that after you brew a few batches it will all seem pretty simple to you and your going to laugh at how much you worried about it the first brew day.

 

[monty3777]

Letting the hoses from the wort chiller hang anywhere near the flame while you are sanitizing the chiller in the wort during the last 10 mins of the boil!!!! I read about that somewhere on the internet - never did it myself

 

[archiefl98]

I'd say leaving the ball valve open on the mash tun when you fill it up with strike water could be easy enough to do. Not that I did that in the kitchen or anything.

 

[Beernip]

Understanding the importance of a good, accurate thermometer. (bit me in the arse the first time)

Have a detailed plan of what you need to do and when.

Trying to do too much on the first session. Block out 6 hours with no other distractions.

 

[weirdboy]

Trying to do too much on the first session. Block out 6 hours with no other distractions.

Yes this cannot be stressed enough. An addendum to this is having something that you can eat during the mash or boil that doesn't involve you cooking or getting otherwise distracted.

My first few AG batches I ended up kicking myself when lunchtime rolled around and I was starving with nothing quick and easy to eat.

 

[malkore]

1. do ALL your math and planning in advance (water volumes, strike temps, grain absorption, evaporation rates, etc)
2. calibrate all your gear (thermometers, measuring devices for water etc)
3. watch the boilover! full boils on AG get outta hand fast.

 

[HoppyDaze]

AG:
1. Not warm up mash tun and miss mash temp.
2. Water amounts.
3. Time window....underestimate the time needed to do it right



General:
1. drink beer too early
2. drink beer too early
3. drink beer too early

 

[bbrim]

I would never heat my sparge water up to 200, I think that is very bad advice. Just stay calm and calibrate your thermometer before you get started.

 

[MarsColonist]

1. Not hitting mash temp
2. Not heating enough sparge water
3. Drinking before the chilled wort is collected

 

[Scooby_Brew]

1. Make your own weird ass recipes like "Quadruple Imperial Strawberry Chocolate Stout With Honeydew and Habaneros". No wonder it doesn't taste like beer.
2. Spend a fortune on the equipment without understanding how the stuff works.
3. Going into this hobby while your favorite beer is and always will be Bud Light.

 

[MarsColonist]

Quadruple Imperial Strawberry Chocolate Stout With Honeydew and Habaneros

Thats going to be my next beer....:cross:

 

[MarsColonist]

I would never heat my sparge water up to 200, I think that is very bad advice. Just stay calm and calibrate your thermometer before you get started.

I wouldnt if I batch sparged, but in my experience, fly sparging with lower temp water typically doesnt raise the bed temp enough (to 168-175°F)... so, yeah I do get my sparge water to 200°F because I flysparge (HLT cools over time, and it cools as the sparge water is sitting on top of the mash), and like the other poster said, BeerSmith's suggestion doesnt do the job for me.

 

[Newton]

1. asking the wrong question.

You should be asking, what are the three things new AG brewers can do to have success with brewing?

Relax, it's only a batch of beer. Make yourself a checklist (http://www.brew365.com/images/timeline.gif) and actually check things off after you have done them. If you goof on something, slow down and calmly deal with it.

Keep in mind that after you brew a few batches it will all seem pretty simple to you and your going to laugh at how much you worried about it the first brew day.

I went back to college last year to become a bio(med)engineer and have consquently spent a whole bunch of time in labs doing experiments that are more complex than an all grain brewing session. So I'm not really worried about the complexity of the process--in fact it does look easy on paper--I just want to get tips from the seasoned professionals to make sure my first session goes as smoothly as possible. Thanks for the tips!

 

[hbomb]

Over estimating efficiency
Underpitching
Inconsistent fermentation temps

 

[ejunk]

panicking. for real. samc had it about right.

yrs-
Evan!

 

[qvantamon]

Not a pro, by far, but I can cite my mistakes.

1. Not stirring the mash. I had the whole "don't disturb the grain bed" thing in my mind, so much that on my first batches I took that as "not stirring the mash at all". Needless to say, that + the lhbs crush got me a crap efficiency around 55%.

2. Not rebalancing hops/gravity. Those first batches tasted like crap because I got a crap efficiency, but then still dumped the full hop bill on the boil. They were planned as strong-ish ales and after the low efficiency could have turned into ok session beers if I balanced everything out, but instead I used the full hop bill and they turned out crap.

3. Totally ignoring water chemistry. Most water is fine, but, for example, Seattle, Portland and Boston have extremely soft water (Seattle's also has no sulfates). My mash pH was fine, but one of the reasons the overhoppy beers above were crappy was that they weren't actually bitter, just harsh and weird (. You most likely don't need to tweak yours, but get your water report, take a look at Palmer's chapter on water chemistry, just to be sure.

4. Not aerating. If you're used to partial boils, you can somewhat get away with not aerating because half your water comes aerated from the tap anyway. On an all grain full boil, all your water was boiled for a long time - it has no dissolved oxygen at all. If you just siphon your wort into the fermenter, be ready for a slow start, and lots of esters.

5. Crushing Weyermann's wheat malt by hand. That **** is HARD! And then when I plugged my drill, it overturned the whole mill instead of spinning just the rolls.

 

[oldschool]

You will struggle a little bit your first time. It's easy...just unfamiliar right now. It will be okay

 

[joety]

I would never heat my sparge water up to 200, I think that is very bad advice. Just stay calm and calibrate your thermometer before you get started.

I did that once and have since replaced my HLT cooler. I now add near boiling water directly to the mash tun to raise the grain bed to 168 and sparge with 175 degree water max.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

I would never heat my sparge water up to 200, I think that is very bad advice. Just stay calm and calibrate your thermometer before you get started.

I consistently have to heat my sparge water to 200 degrees sometimes higher to hit 165 during the sparge. This is NOT bad advice if you calculate what your sparge water needs to be at to hit ~168F accurately. As soon as it's added to the grain it hits 160ish which is where it needs to be.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

I forgot my addition. I only need one.

1. Thinking that the results from your first all grain attempt will blow away a good extract recipe.

 

[permo]

#1 not hitting mash temp
#2 not using enough water or miscalculating water volume
#3 just creating stupid recipes thinking you are going to turn the world upside down.
Learn how to brew an awesome pale ale before you try a to brew a "chocolate doughnut pancake suprise imperial russian dubbel"

that being said, I understood the science and math behind the brewing. My biggest learning was to use the specialty malts in moderation...less is more in many cases. One of my early brews had a pound of honey malt, and it was supposed to be an ESB....some folks like it...me not so much.

 

[Ketchepillar]

1. Do all math beforehand.
2. Visualize and run through the whole process beforehand (specific to your equipment)
3. Have all your needed equipment ready at hand.
4. Calibrate thermometers, be precise with water volumes and temps.
5. Take notes on EVERYTHING.

Essentially, be well prepared and detailed oriented. Later on, once you have a number of batches under your belt you can decide to be a slacker brewer if you want.

 

[bakins]

Top 3 mistakes beginners make:
1 - sparging - no sparge is so much easier to maintain temps -- more thermal mass. No worry about tannins, ph, etc (in general, at least). Only have to calculate initial strike water.
2 - chilling - chill is not needed. Pitch yeast the next day.
3 - not getting the chlorine/chloramine out of the tap water. Campden and/or carbon filtration is a necessity.

At least that's how I wished I would have started.

 

[bbrim]

"I consistently have to heat my sparge water to 200 degrees sometimes higher to hit 165 during the sparge. This is NOT bad advice if you calculate what your sparge water needs to be at to hit ~168F accurately. As soon as it's added to the grain it hits 160ish which is where it needs to be."
If you mash out there is no need for this process. It is a much more more reliable way to hit your temps at this phase in the brew, plus it stops enzyme activity, maintaining the desired level of fermentables.

 

[vgoreham]

Top 3 mistakes beginners make:
1 - sparging - no sparge is so much easier to maintain temps -- more thermal mass. No worry about tannins, ph, etc (in general, at least). Only have to calculate initial strike water.
2 - chilling - chill is not needed. Pitch yeast the next day.
3 - not getting the chlorine/chloramine out of the tap water. Campden and/or carbon filtration is a necessity.

At least that's how I wished I would have started.

If your city uses chlorine, there is no worry because this will boil off quite readily. Chloramine, on the other hand..

 

[jfkriege]

1. Sanitation
2. Yeast Health (pitching rates, oxygenation, etc.)
3. Fermentation control (temperature control and/or stability)

 

[joety]

"I consistently have to heat my sparge water to 200 degrees sometimes higher to hit 165 during the sparge. This is NOT bad advice if you calculate what your sparge water needs to be at to hit ~168F accurately. As soon as it's added to the grain it hits 160ish which is where it needs to be."
If you mash out there is no need for this process. It is a much more more reliable way to hit your temps at this phase in the brew, plus it stops enzyme activity, maintaining the desired level of fermentables.

I raised my efficiency (although I'm not sure why) by mashing-out several batches ago. It allows me to use cooler sparge water and I'm getting the appropriate rests for the mash. If you read your Beersmith tools accurately, you'll see a single infusion mash calls for a second stage "mash out" using water over 200 degrees to raise the grain bed. I will note that once you start doing this it is important to drain enough wort until you can see the top of the grain bed (an inch or less) before you start sparging as you risk collapsing the bed with all that water. DAMHIKT

Edit: Another benefit for me personally is it gave me a job for my original 4 gallon BK, so now all three BK's (15, 8 and 4) have a job to do during brew day and I don't feel I bought something that was quickly outdated.

 

[OLDBREW]

I think one thing that new brewers get confused with is talk of grainbed temps and water temps.

When adding 195-200*F water to a 10-12# grainbed that is at 150*F while sparging, there is no harm in doing so. You can add some boiling water with no harm. The thing that you are concerned with is the grainbed temperature itself.
As long as you don't get that up over 170*F, you are fine. Stirring real well at dough in or mashout/sparge makes the entire bed uniform in temperature. You want to probe different areas of the grainbed after about 5 -10 minutes into the mash after dough in, and try to hit the center of it's depth when taking readings. You're looking to come out with even readings all over the grainbeds center(as in half the depth).
If you have dough balls, or didn't really stir the mash good enough, you may find that some parts of the bed are cold, some are hot, then some right on.

Same goes at mashout or sparge, calculate you water volume, and temp, then stir real well to get the whole bed at a consistant temperature.