Biggest influence on beer quality

[Braufather]

Feremenation temp control would be number I’d say, then maybe water, but only if needed. i use a Brita filtered for my tap water and that works a treat. used to use ashbec.

kegging also made a noticeable difference, as does semi closed transfers for hoppy beers.

im still trying to work out how much difference dry v liquid yeasts, en different yeasts matter to quality if at all, and also experimenting maris otter v regular pale etc. The lads at brulosophy seem to think feck all matters.

I used to leave the brew at least two weeks somtimes three before kegging but one thing I’ve found is if I’m dry hopping liberally, then I now dry hop whilst there is still some co2, then keg no more than 4 days later, so only maybe 10 -11 days in FV then leave keg at room temps a few days for residual yeast to consume any oxygen, before chilling and carnonating. I’ve found hoppy beers to be cleaner this way.

One thing I would add is that when I started brewing about 4 years ago, I was always looking for that killer recipe, but now realise it’s all about process. In terms of quality a simple smash brewed correctly can be delicious and equal to anything else quality wise, even if it’s maybe not as interesting.

 

[BridgeBrew]

100% Primary fermentation temperature control. A fermentation fridge is a must have bit of kit, if you want consistently good results.

 

[SilverShadow]

Thanks again guys

Sounds like FV temps are probably a huge quality factor for me, as the box I keep it in is maintained around 20'c ambient temp.

Given what's said on here, then I'd guess internally it's probably 23-25'c inside, which is likely to cause off flavours

I'll probably need to modify my FV, so I can properly measure temp without opening the lid. But in the meantime I can see what happens if I keep the ambient temp around 17-18'c

 

[phildo79]

Everything is important. If you balls up one aspect, it will have a negative effect further down the line.

Water chemistry plays a big part and if you are making a hoppy beer, keeping oxygen out is a must. As soon as I started using a keg as an FV and doing closed transfers, my beers came on leaps and bounds.

I have only just started AG via BIAB but pH and water alkalinity are very important factors.

 

[chthon]

After the factors cleaning, making my own water, and trying not to splash while brewing, the single most part that added value to my process was also acidifying my sparge water. I get a much better hot break and my beers drops clear much faster.

As for temperature control, I put my fermenter in spaces where the temperature doesn't change too much. The only beer that ever had a bit of a varnishy off-taste was brewed with S-33. I suppose that open fermentation (which I do) also helps in keeping the temperature more or less under control, as fermenting only batches of up to 10l, which will lose heat easier than 20l and more. It is easy for me to move things around. When you brew larger batches, it makes sense to have a temperature controlled environment where you can rack immediately into the fermentation vessel, and rack from the fermentation vessel into bottling vessel, or bottle directly from fermentation vessel.

 

[Madhouse]

Biggest single thing for me was the brew fridge and therefore controlling the fermentation temperature, although something a simple as a tap in my brew bucket so I didn't need to use a syphon was pretty revolutionary at the time.

The brew bucket's gone from plastic to stainless since then and I've started kegging which has certainly helped with the final bottled beer's clarity and carbonation consistency.