Information For All Brewers!

[Bizier]

If you are a kit brewer, don't be scared of getting into grains, they are easy as anything, and contribute totally new dimensions.

Find a style for the other half, a guaranteed ticket to continuing the hobby, and justifying further expenses.

 

[Katherine]

Having people over for brewdays is always entertaining. Don't get too distracted, though, I almost had a boilover because I was distracted by chatting.

so so true.... best time to have people over is chill time I think! (that's if you chill of cause)...

Be organised it makes the day easier.
Write everything down, even your mistakes. You never know it might be a good one!
Clean up after brew day! :icon_cheers:

Don't let people on here confuse you... LOL! taste there beer before taking there advice....

 

[sponge]

Buy some megaswill in bottles, pop the caps, and drop in 2-3 hop pellets or 1-2 whole flowers and recap. Do this for your entire hop inventory or get together with friends or members of your club to share their unique hop varieties. Give the bottles 2-3 days of cold storage, then get together with friends and smell/taste the results. Take copious notes. Use the most neutral beer you can find. This is invaluable for getting to know how hops differ in aroma and taste and will help you to formulate better recipes.

I never thought of doing this before. I just always used other peoples notes and comments when using hops I hadn't tried before. What (megaswill) beers do you mostly use for this process? Oettinger pils or something similar?

Great idea

Sponge

 

[Bizier]

Oettinger pils or something similar?

I'd go for something bland and 'soft' like Titan or Memmenger. That 'cleanskin' Korean stuff would be good. In fact I might get some for this purpose. Good technique Newguy.

 

[newguy]

I never thought of doing this before. I just always used other peoples notes and comments when using hops I hadn't tried before. What (megaswill) beers do you mostly use for this process? Oettinger pils or something similar?

My megaswill is very different from yours. Around here, coors light is almost completely flavourless and odourless when compared to the alternatives. Choose something clean and cheap.

 

[devo]

You become more attractive to the opposite sex once they know you make your own beer.

 

[crozdog]

Some great advice here.

my contribution is "It's pretty easy to control the 'hot' side of brewing, but a lot harder to control the 'cold' side which contributes 50+% to the result."

What do I mean by that? You can adjust the following on the hot side:
- grist composition,
- degree of crush,
- mash profile (single, step, decoction),
- mash temp,
- sparge temp,
- sparge type (batch fly)
- sparge amount eg volume or stop at a sg
- boil intensity,
- boil length,
- hop selection,
- hopping rate,
- hop timings,
- use of whirlfloc or similar,
- whirlpool,
- exposure to aeration ie HSA
- chill or no chill h34r:

on the cold side you're basically limited to
- sanitation
- yeast choice
- yeast health
- pitching rate
- temperature control
- fermentation vessel design eg bucket or conical
- protecting the ferment from undesired micro-organisms
- time on yeast cake
- rack or no rack
- lager required?
- crash cool?
- packaging eg bottle or keg

The cold side of the process or elements of the cold side are often overlooked or not given the focus they should be, considering their contribution to the final product. As the production of beer relies on a "controlling" our favourite micro-organism, control of the cold side is critical.

 

[peas_and_corn]

One of the things I was doing with my other half during the confusing period before we dated was brew!

 

[Katherine]

You become more attractive to the opposite sex once they know you make your own beer.

LOL tell me about it... Try being a girl that brews...

 

[fraser_john]

The repetition of the "shut the tap" is funny but its true, and it does not just apply to taps, its everything.

Double check everthing you do, is my spoon sanitised, have I weighed the right amount of hops out, did I get the right hops out of the freezer, did I chuck in that teaspoon of calcium chloride!

I have a notebook I write in for every brew and only write in it what I have DONE, so then I know what I have missed!

 

[buttersd70]

The cold side of the process or elements of the cold side are often overlooked or not given the focus they should be, considering their contribution to the final product. As the production of beer relies on a "controlling" our favourite micro-organism, control of the cold side is critical.

And of course, this applies equally to the kit brewer, and the grain brewer alike. Which is one of the reasons some grain brewers advocate kits and/or extracts for beginners, instead of jumping straight into grain.....to learn to control the cold side first.

 

[Jase71]

I'v got one ! Best information for brewers, rent a house next door to Butters !

 

[muckey]

I'v got one ! Best information for brewers, rent a house next door to Butters !

Uhhh.... you better be prepared to give up work so you can keep up with the required amount of brewing.

 

[Brewtus]

If you want to make interesting beer, be prepared to throw away a batch (or hide one in shame) every now and then. I haven't had to chuck any but there is one or two I didn't give to my mates. If you take this attitude than you will take some risk and get some great results.

 

[Millet Man]

I believe that should be 'pedants'.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Don't be afraid to try something different. Oh and check the tap is shut...got the t-shirt.

Cheers, Andrew.

Edit : Don't get distracted, I was distracted and forgot to mention that.

 

[buttersd70]

be prepared ......... (or hide one in shame) every now and then.

Funny you should say that......I had one that I was hiding....but I did give one to a neighbour of Muckeys...and tonight, we gave him the much vaunted Golden Ale, the crown jewel of the AG world...and he said...'I prefered that Pommy one you gave me the other week'. :lol: (and this guy is a skip)
Sometimes the ones that you feel should be hidden are actually crowd pleasers!

 

[EK]

Brew what you want, brew how you want. It's your beer.

Keep records.

Hydrometers don't bounce.

Plan. Then Do.

All Grain is not mandatory.

Get others (not necessarily brewers or beer-o-philes) to taste your brews. I have generally found the feedback useful.

Gather your information from as many sources as is feasible, figure out what works for you, then you have the answer.

Figure out the level of knowledge of your local HBS before listening to their advice, some of these people are just salesmen.

Five batches that "aren't quite right" are worth it when you nail one.

Take all information with a grain of salt. Including this post.

:icon_cheers:
EK

 

[Jase71]

(and this guy is a skip)

Is "Skip" a term used for the common "ocker Aussie" ? Apart from the aforestated thread, I have only ever heard the term in some dumbarse 80's or erly 90's aussie sitcom which revolved around a cafe of very silly Mediterrainian boys with hair gel and jokes involving physicial gags such as pelvic thrusting.

For those of us existing here, albeit with potential convict heritage, there's been significant social advancements from the wine-cork swaggies-hat types, and perhaps the cultureless anglo aussies in our midst might just have dropped a love for the monarchy, and carved an itentity of our own.

 

[staggalee]

Gimme the winecork swaggie hat types any day.

stagga.

 

[Joe Palooka]

If you want to make interesting beer, be prepared to throw away a batch (or hide one in shame) every now and then.

Make sure you stash away a six pack of every "failure". I must be too critical, I suppose. I had a dubbel that was like some kind of lesson in infection, but after six months of developing and smoothing, it was a great beer. I felt terrible about the bottles I'd tipped out.

Definitely go all grain. It is the easiest thing imaginable. The difference between all grain and extract is about the *extract*. I cannot make pale ale (my preferred) without making my own extract, it is absolutely mandatory. For me the "craft" part is making and working with your own extract. But if I want to try something new, or if I am making something highly flavoured/spiced, or if I am in a hurry, I use a can. Two cans gets you 1.048, right? - a lot of beers come in at this gravity.

About the tap thing ... I ran to the phone once when I was racking to secondary ... half of it down the sink