Pearls of wisdom

[bum]

Follow the recipe!

Read lots of recipes. Make your own.

 

[Black Devil Dog]

Do set the alarm on your phone for all your step/addition times and keep your phone in your pocket.






Don't go and do your grocery shopping while your wort is boiling. :blink:

 

[Mardoo]

I rehydrate my dry extract, seems to give good results.

But then you can't snort your beer...

 

[Adr_0]

Calibrate hydrometer(against water @ 20oc should read 1.000), calibrate thermometer (in a glass of mostly ice, bit of water should read 0oc)


Take notes on what happened on brew day, unless you are into the pints before mash in.. then all bets are off.

Do this your bi-metal mash tun/kettle thermometers too. Your bi-metal thermometers should have a calibration screw; for glass thermometers write the required adjustment to get the actual temperature on some masking tape or a sticky label. Or, label 'true' on your best and only use this one.

Soak your hydrometer tube + hydrometer in PBW then rinse to get the most accurate readings for calibration (or general use). Dirty glass will affect the meniscus and throw off your readings. Use the same water as you use for brewing for your zero.

Thoroughly stir your pre-boil wort before drawing off a sample, cool this to 20°C and record, then check this against your refractometer Brix measurement to get your correction factor, with something like this:
http://seanterrill.com/2012/01/06/refractometer-calculator/
and adjust your factor until the OG matches your hydrometer sample. This factor should account for dextrines and other sugars on top of your sucrose.

Despite the temptation don't read off the SG from your refractometer, as this has not been correlated properly...

 

[WarmBeer]

Wow.

I thought this whole brewing caper was meant to be fun...

 

[Not For Horses]

Wow.

I thought this whole brewing caper was meant to be fun...

Cleaning sweet sticky oatmeal stout off a white wall is what I do for fun.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Wow.

I thought this whole brewing caper was meant to be fun...

yeah...well we where going to mention that aspect of it .... But then everyone would want to try it

 

[Adr_0]

Wow.

I thought this whole brewing caper was meant to be fun...

It's the most fun you can have without your pants on.

...wait.

 

[Adr_0]

Remove chlorine from brewing and top-up water.

And I guess rinse any chlorine-based chleaners with boiling water a few times to make sure it isn't carried into the beer.

 

[Judanero]

If you regularly brew into the wee hours of the morning, your neighbours across the road(that look directly into your garage of brewing paraphernalia) will think you are running a meth lab. Or so I discovered this morning.

 

[bum]

Cops?

 

[Judanero]

No, my neighbour told me (he talks to them) thankfully he set them straight it is just beery goodness I cook,not crystal meth.

 

[Mattress]

Cleaning sweet sticky oatmeal stout off a white wall is what I do for fun.

Mate, what you do in the privacy of your own bedroom is your business
No need to share it here.

 

[bradsbrew]

Have a second LPG bottle handy. Even better make sure the second bottle has gas in it.

 

[GrumpyPaul]

Dont take your post boil gravity readings in a plastic hydrometer tube - it melts.

Especially when you have a refractometer....

 

[Bribie G]

When reading gravities, do not point your refractometer in the direction of:

• Next doors kids in their swimmers on their slippery dip
• Mrs Next door hanging out washing in her nightie
• Bro boys next door swapping rego plates on a "new" car
• Passing cops
• Or planes

 

[justatad]

Of course no brew day would be complete without forgetting the whirfloc tablet.

 

[Adr_0]

Of course no brew day would be complete without forgetting the whirfloc tablet.

amen. more than half I've forgotten or added too late (Kopperfloc) - think it works best in the 15-20min range.

 

[Charst]

10 minute IPA does not mean 10 minute boil.

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk

Although it can if your using extract.

 

[Charst]

Uncrushed wheat is an decent substitute if your desperately trying to unstick a mash and forgot to buy rice hulls. (but unlike rice hulls I wouldn't add them at the start of the mash).