Home Brewing Tips and Techniques
Webby... writing my last email I just thought of this. I category for tips and techniques would be neat.
Either way, I wanted to pass on some things I have learned, so perhaps some newbies could learn from what has been passed on to me.
1. Always check your OG (Original Gravity) before starting the fermentation. It doesn't have to be exact on the number, but as long as you know it was 1.042 or 1.044 (not just 1.0 fourty something), if you have a stuck fermentation, or it is done in 2 days, you have something to start with. Also, if you don't have an OG, but record your FG (Final Gravity), there is no way to tell your alcohol content, there is nothing to start with!
2. OG and SG (Starting Gravity), and FG and TG (Terminal Gravity) are the same thing. Took me a long time to find that one out.
3. For those who have not used a hydrometer yet, to estimate your alcohol after fermentation is complete, take the OG, subtract FG, and multiply by .129, which is the ABV. If you don't multiply, you get the ABW. Just about every brewer uses ABV. Example: OG = 1.054, FG = 1.012 = 0.42 (or 4.2 ABW), but take .42 x 129 = 5.4% ABV.
4. Almost every plastic container that has HDPE 2 on it is food grade plastic. 100% of them? No, but the majority are. I use paint buckets for some of mine. Dirt cheap. Make sure the arrows stamped on the bottom show HDPE 2. If in doubt, you can ask someone who works where you are buying from. These are generally much cheaper than buying from the homebrew shop.
5. Dry hopping adds some floral character to the beer. You can either dry hop in your secondary or in the keg. Add between 1/4 and 1 oz of whatever hop in a grain bag (do not let them get loose) and leave them for about 1 week. This is strictly for aroma. Some claim it gives a grassy smell. I have never noticed that. But you will get a nice flower aroma from your brew. It's great!
6. Ever had a hazy beer? If you are from the Pacific Northwest and ever tried McMenamins Ruby Ale (raspberry), one of the signatures is the haze. Doesn't change the taste. They get that from boiling the fruit for 5-15 minutes. Some people have told me its the yeast, but its not. If you want a neat special effect, boil your fruit for a few minutes, cool it, and pour into secondary, then rack your beer over that. You get a nice pectin haze. If you want clear beer, skip this.
7. A cheaper alternative (well, usually) to Straight A cleaner is electrasol. Generic brands are usually a few bucks for several pounds. It's not perfect, but I used it for months with no problem. Just be sure to really scrub and then sanitize. However, Straight A is still one of the best.
8. Star San, while not a real cheap sanitizer, can be used over and over. It only takes a fraction of an once to sanitize. I have sanitized a carboy with a few drops of this and a cup of water, just swish it around for about 30 seconds. Don't worry about the foam. It's food grade. If you keep a sanitizing bucket around and fill it with 1 oz Star San and 4-5 gallons water, that will last for months. Just keep it covered with a lid or plastic bag. Reuse this until it gets real cloudy. Excellent product.
9. For those paying top dollar for liquid yeast, learn to make starters. They are VERY easy to make, they save you money, and stretch your yeast. I have a shelf in my fridge dedicated to yeast slurry in several mason jars. You can reuse it about 5 times, but some people go longer! And it can sit in the fridge dormant for many, many months.
10. Always keep brew logs! Even if you are using a kit. I once made an excellent hefeweizen, but didn't take any notes. A went back to the brew shop but didn't know what yeast I used. With notes, if you make a mistake, you will know what to change. I don't remember what ingredients I used for a batch 2 months ago.
11. ALWAYS throw a towel or shirt over carboys, even if the sun isn't out right away. It only takes a few minutes for sunlight to kill your beer. It's not worth it. Take it from someone who knows.
12. Try different things in your beer. Add some spices. I've read of people using syrups. There are no hard and fast rules. Some of the greatest beers I have tried broke the rules. Just because it sounds sick doesn't mean it will be.
You read my mind - I was about to start this very thread and see if we can't come up with a total of 101 tips for home brewers...
I have only one tip to add at this time:
- When using an airlock, don't use just water - use vodka. This will kill any bugs that try to get in and it is already sanitized. Plus, if you get some in your beer, its just a little extra bonus
13. When making a fruit beer AND using real fruit, not extract, it is highly recommended that you add it to your secondary. Whether whole, blended, or crushed. Frozen or not doesn't matter, it will definitely thaw out in the week it will be in there. You can add it to primary, but during fermentation some of the flavor and scent will escape due to co2 leaving the airlock. Also, USE A BLOW OFF TUBE! I guarantee you will clog your airlock and blow it off. I once had an airlock blow 3 feet from the fermenter because I forgot to use a blow off tube.
14. Save your yeast slurry at the bottom of your primary and put it in a mason jar. Put some masking tape on it and label the type of yeast, date of storage, and how many uses it has had. This is going to save you money in the future so you won't be buying yeast every trip the store.
15. Split your batches, whether 5 or 10 gallons. Use 2 types of yeast. You can get radically different flavors from the exact same beer with 2 different yeast strains. Take notes on the differences as you try them. Excellent way to experiement with yeast.
16. If you have a problem with boil overs, put a few layers of tin foil over your stove. My last place was so bad it took me 4 hours to clean the stove and it sucked. Save yourself this problem!
17. A good way to help keep carboys (and even buckets) cool for proper fermentation temperatures in the summer is to wrap them in a wet shirt or towel. Not necessarily dripping wet, but well damped. Then put a fan on high and blow the air over your fermenters. For those without air conditioning, it's the poor mans method, but I have read over and over it works really good.
18. Put your carboys into a black plastic trash bag and tie it shut at the top, this way not only do you keep the sunlight out, but if the beer blows out, it stays in the bag.
19. Keep a squirt bottle with some Star San and water mixed nearby. If you find yourself changing airlocks or often in need of some quick santization, and you are tired of constantly walking over to your cleaning buckets, this can be very handy!
20. If you brew several beers at once, you already know this, but it is a good idea to put some masking tape on your fermenter with the ale name, OG, and date you put it in there. Busy people can forget these things, so when you come back days later, you know exactly what it is. This is especially important if you have 6 beers going at once.
I think I've read that if you put your fruit in the freezer prior to adding it to the secondary it can increase the flavor imparted. This is because putting the fruit in the freezer breaks down the cell walls and allows more juice to flow, the same reason you don't want to put yeast in the freezer without adding glycol.
Brewbie wrote:
I think I've read that if you put your fruit in the freezer prior to adding it to the secondary it can increase the flavor imparted. This is because putting the fruit in the freezer breaks down the cell walls and allows more juice to flow, the same reason you don't want to put yeast in the freezer without adding glycol.
That certainly makes sense - I have noticed that with all the frozen fruits we keep in our deep freezer...
21. A good way to aerate your wort is with a fish tank air pump. The smallest ones usually run about $6 at Walmart or any discount store. You also need 4-6 feet of tubing and an airstone. While racking your wort into your bucket or carboy, drop the airstone in there and let it go until done racking. You will get a LOT of foam, but that's fine, the yeast needs air to breathe.
22. Buy bulk hops as much as possible. You might not need a full pound of cascade or hallatauer hops, but quantity is always best. Buying hops online is usually cheaper, even with shipping.
23. Try adding different hops at different intervals. Not just 60 and 5 minutes. The longer hops boil, the more bittering properties, around 15-30 minutes is flavoring, and 5 or less is aroma. However, if you just want some bitterness, try 45 minutes. Just because a recipe calls for cascade at 60 minutes, try it at 45 or even 30. It won't be as bitter, but you might like it. Also, try multiple hops at once. Some winter warmers use several bittering hops.
24. There are multiple ways to increase your OG and get more alcohol. More grains, more fermentable sugars like corn sugar (dextrose), or adding DME (dry malt extract).
25. Invest in an egg timer if you don't have one. Most people don't stand around waiting for a 60 minute boil. These come in especially handy if you go all grain.
I was talking to a friend last night - he had collected hundreds of Grolsch bottles from a local bar. Most bars are throwing away things like that (if they have Grolsch bottles) - why not ask if you can have some?
If you purchase hops in bulk, how do you keep it fresh? Obviously, you can put it in some kind of airtight container in the fridge. Beyond that, how do you keep it fresh enough to hang around until the next time you brew something that calls for that type of hops?
What are the best containers to use?
I am also concerned about the sterility of something I have exposed. Once I open a package of hops, if there is any left, I only use it for bittering hops. Because if they have been contaminated in any way, then a 60 minute boil will take care of it.
What do others think?
number 10 is crucial - you need to keep notes of EVERYTHING. every little detail. even a brew that seems like it isnt working how you expected, might condition into something amazing. if you kept notes, you can reproduce it, or tweak it. if you didnt keep careful notes, then you might not be able to clone it.
that, and label everything religously. just keep some type of tape/sticker/label and a marker (make sure it wont wash off with water) in your homebrew "toolbelt". label ingredients, fermenters, yeasts, bottles, kegs, cases...
Car Boy wrote:
If you purchase hops in bulk, how do you keep it fresh? Obviously, you can put it in some kind of airtight container in the fridge. Beyond that, how do you keep it fresh enough to hang around until the next time you brew something that calls for that type of hops?
What are the best containers to use?
I am also concerned about the sterility of something I have exposed. Once I open a package of hops, if there is any left, I only use it for bittering hops. Because if they have been contaminated in any way, then a 60 minute boil will take care of it.
What do others think?
I don't really buy in bulk, but I buy 4-8 ozs sometimes. I just keep mine in the fridge. Nothing fancy.
Some of my hops have been sitting in the refrigerator for MONTHS and I still use them. I probably wouldn't go for years, but I have no problem letting them sit for 6+ months. I keep the package sealed as best I can, but other than that, I don't do anything special.