There are many guidebooks that can teach you how to brew beer at home. They describe the mechanics of home brewing, what to do, and what not to do. But, if you want to know how to brew competition-worthy beer that your friends can’t have enough of, you need something more.
In this post, we’ll share tips used by expert home brewers to design a good beer. You’ll learn the secrets to ensuring a rich taste, the best equipment to use, and what to do to ensure that your beer is always good. You can also check out this article that talks about beer facts to know more about this beverage.
These are secrets that many homebrewers wish they knew when they started. Here are 10 tips to help you brew your own beer.
1. Better Quality Ingredients Produce Better Beer
The one thing that home brewers do to make their beer good is they pay more attention to the ingredients. A key ingredient in beer making is yeast, and If you don’t take good care of your yeast, your beer will not give you the most desirable results.
One important thing to note about taking good care of your yeast is that it loses viability if left for too long. Avoid letting it sit in the fridge for too long.
Your yeast should also receive the right amount of oxygen and nutrients to ensure it performs to its full potential. Investing in oxygenation (whether stone or in-line) will promote a better fermentation process as opposed to hand aeration.
2. Don’t Waste Your Money on A Yeast Starter
A proper home brewing kit is not cheap. Chances are that if you’ve bought one recently, spending more money on a yeast starter may be out of the question.
If you’re short on cash or just want to save, you may consider creating your own yeast starter, as opposed to buying.
Other than being a cheaper option, creating your yeast starter is one of the most effective ways of testing the viability of yeast that has been in storage for too long. It also ensures that the fermentation process starts just right.
If you’re not a DIY type of guy, you can buy multiple pre-made packets. However, making your yeast starter will save you good money.
3. Doing Sanitation and Sterilization Only After the Cooling Process
The period between cooling the wort and the start of the fermentation phase is one of the riskiest. It’s during this time that bacteria and other infections are likely to take over.
It, therefore, makes sense to be increasingly concerned about sterilization issues after cooling.
However, sanitation should concern you from before you start brewing to until when the bottles are capped. The home brewing equipment you use should be easy to clean and sanitize.
4. Buying Equipment to Brew Your Own Beer
You’ve gathered enough information on brewing beer at home and you feel you’re ready to start. But you need to buy the equipment first.
Do you buy a small brew kettle? How big should the auto-siphon be? What size of immersion chiller do you use?
When shopping for professional brewing equipment, you should consider making long-term purchases. Rather than opting for a smaller boil kettle, buy a bigger one since you’re likely to up your production as you get better.
5. Should You Use Plastic or Glass Fermenters?
Different experts have different preferences when it comes to using glass or plastic fermenters. Both glass and plastic fermenters have their advantages and disadvantages, and your choice depends on your preferences.
Glass is relatively easier to clean and sterilize. It also provides a 100% oxygen barrier and doesn’t leak. Glass is, however, fragile and may slip off your hands especially when wet.
In the past, plastic was unreliable. It was hard to clean and sterilize, was prone to leaking. It was also very heavy.
However, the quality of plastic fermenters has improved in the last few years. Modern plastics are easier to clean as glass and are not as heavy.
6. Avoiding Infection
The easiest way of preventing bacteria from growing in your beer is cooling the wort as fast as you can. Not only does it help to prevent bacteria from growing, but it also improves the clarity of your beer.
Investing in an immersion chiller will help quicken the cooling process and prevent infections while increasing the protein and tannin fallout.
7. The Cheapest Way of Controlling Fermentation Temperature
Unless you’re among the few homebrewers who’ve invested in fermentation refrigerators, controlling the fermentation temperature is another challenge you will have to deal with. However, there are some simpler and innovative methods you can use to maintain a constant temperature during the fermentation process.
One of these methods is the use of wet towels to keep the fermenter at low temperatures. For this trick to work, find a cool and dry area in your house. Wrap the fermenter in wet towels, then place fans in front of the fermenter.
The wet towels will provide a cooling effect. Ensure you wet the towels every 12 hours to ensure a consistent fermentation temperature.
8. Cut Cleaning Time by 90%
Creating great beer can be a messy process. You’re likely to experience spillages, and boil-overs, which mean either spending more time cleaning or a very mad spouse. However, with a few tricks, you can drastically reduce your cleaning time and save your self some elbow time.
When using a stove-top, remove the burner and place an aluminum foil to cover the stove. Make sure that you leave spaces for the burners. In the event of a boil-over (this is inevitable), the only cleaning you have to do is to remove the aluminum foil and you’ll still have a clean stovetop!
9. Bottling Your Beer
From having to sanitize the bottles, to cleaning out the fermenter. The bottling session often feels like the worst part of homebrewing.
One of the more efficient ways to improve the bottling process is to bottle on the dishwasher. Having the bottles on the open lid of the dishwasher helps to direct any spillage into the dishwasher. Less spillage means less cleaning up, and more time to enjoy the brew.
10. Hone Your Skills
Many starting home brewers get lucky during their first brew, and can’t seem to remember the exact recipe they used.
Avoid this by recording everything you do during your brewing process. Writing down every step you take also helps you continuously improve your brewing skills. You’re able to recognize areas that need improvement and also have a record of the things you did right.
Brew Can Do It!
Brewing beer at home is an art. If you want to brew your own beer successfully, you have to approach the process with a proper strategy. Take care of your ingredients and make good and timely decisions during the entire process.
Practice makes perfect so work on your craft if you expect to make quality homemade beer. Keep reading our blog for more news on the latest food and lifestyle trends.
