The one thing to improve your brewday and quality of beer....

[mtb]

I second both metal and sans-pants.

 

[Black Devil Dog]

I like metal pants.

 

[Brewno Marz]

Rookie error. I got the missus to take off her pants....no brewing that day

 

[mtb]

Time it during the mash!

 

[malt junkie]

Time it during the mash!

Reported!

 

[Adr_0]

Time it during the mash!

I'm able to time it during the transfer to the kettle...

 

[Dan Pratt]

The one thing that makes better beer, experience!

The more often you brew, the more you will understand your ingredients and processes.

 

[zeggie]

First big tip was temp control. All the magic happens in fermentation. You can turn the best wort into crap beer if the temps aren't right.

Second, water. Filter, treat, use Bru'n water or EZ water spreadsheet.

Third, oxygen is the enemy. Try and get your DO as little as possible. Take care transferring and purging.

 

[manticle]

3 things.
Reading
Brewing
Tasting.
Repeat

 

[malt junkie]

Hot water ..... no brewer has ever said 'I had too much hot water on hand' Make that HLT huge.

 

[good4whatAlesU]

Time.

Don't be impatient.

Allow brews to ferment out and age properly.

 

[JDW81]

No, bluegrass.

I don't agree. There's nothing like listening to bluegrass while brewing to honour the memory of our moonshinin' forefathers.

Oh, and you need a blue milk crate. Grey is OK, blue is better.

 

[LorriSanga]

Keep the yeast happy - all important processes that lead to that goal. Pitching rates, aeration, temp control, enough fermentation time.
Get that right and you will taste the recipe for what it is.

 

[Adr_0]

Third, oxygen is the enemy. Try and get your DO as little as possible. Take care transferring and purging.

To further clarify this, you want oxygen away from your wort/beer at all times except for the couple of hours around yeast pitching/lag phases.

Oxygen before this will stale the wort, dulling the fresh/bright flavours.

Oxygen after the yeast has taken off will have the same staling effect in addition to a some extra off flavours, including acetaldehyde.

Oxygen around pitching will improve yeast vitality, producing a cleaner beer (less off flavours) and generally finishing stronger. But that's the only time oxygen is a good thing for beer.

 

[mstrelan]

I don't agree. There's nothing like listening to bluegrass while brewing to honour the memory of our moonshinin' forefathers.

I think the comma after "no" was him changing his mind, i.e. "no, not metal, bluegrass is what you want".

 

[Adr_0]

Another one: getting copper out of equipment in contact with wort/beer and replacing with stainless.

Understanding mash pH vs base water and grain makeup (pale, crystal, roast), and chloride:sulphate ratio.

 

[Gigantorus]

No1 Rule....clean and sanitise EVERYTHING that comes in contact with your brew.

 

[manticle]

I think the comma after "no" was him changing his mind, i.e. "no, not metal, bluegrass is what you want".

Um......death industrial, thanks guys.
And sludge

 

[evoo4u]

Another one: getting copper out of equipment in contact with wort/beer and replacing with stainless.

Food for thought , this one.

My heat exchanger consists of 9 metres of copper tube, and my transfer "wand" over the lip of the kettle and reaching down to the bottom (to avoid splashing and aeration) is also about 700mm of copper tube.

So could you discern a difference in taste if I were to make identical brews, one with the existing setup, and another If I replaced the copper with S/S?

 

[malt junkie]

Copper prevents the use of harsh chemical in place cleaning.