Refining you home brew method - what's made the biggest impact?

[clibit]

I definately agree. Have you ever bought anything from the US and tracked it using UPS. You'll see your goods will be picked up then sit in big depot to be sorted then it might go to one or two more depot's then transported to an east coast airport where it will wait again for a little while to then be flown over here to another depot before getting to your house. All of this waiting around in depots wont be refridgerated of course and the ice packs that the yeast are packed in will have melted ages ago. So no matter what the yeast labs actually say, I will always make a starter, if and when I start to use liquid yeast (my brewing corner is still 23C so I'm still waiting )

The yeast labs are talking to American home brewers, not us. And pushing the boundaries to the max.

 

[mirsultankhan]

I definately agree. Have you ever bought anything from the US and tracked it using UPS. You'll see your goods will be picked up then sit in big depot to be sorted then it might go to one or two more depot's then transported to an east coast airport where it will wait again for a little while to then be flown over here to another depot before getting to your house. All of this waiting around in depots wont be refridgerated of course and the ice packs that the yeast are packed in will have melted ages ago. So no matter what the yeast labs actually say, I will always make a starter, if and when I start to use liquid yeast (my brewing corner is still 23C so I'm still waiting )

I am giving up the no chill method, my beers are getting chill hazed. Beautifully clear at room temperature, chill them in my fridge and they are cloudy. So to combat this I am going the way of rapid cooling to get rid of some of those proteins, tannins etc then two hours cold crashing in the fridge, then I will siphon them off and bring the whole lot to room temperature ready for the yeast. This is one improvement i hope to make.

 

[MyQul]

I am giving up the no chill method, my beers are getting chill hazed. Beautifully clear at room temperature, chill them in my fridge and they are cloudy. So to combat this I am going the way of rapid cooling to get rid of some of those proteins, tannins etc then two hours cold crashing in the fridge, then I will siphon them off and bring the whole lot to room temperature ready for the yeast. This is one improvement i hope to make.

Fair enough. A crystal clear pint is a thing of beauty. The only thing I could suggest it to use gelatine butyou may not want animal products in your beer.

I will continue no-chilling as I like to split my brew day over 3 days.

 

[mirsultankhan]

Fair enough. A crystal clear pint is a thing of beauty. The only thing I could suggest it to use gelatine butyou may not want animal products in your beer.

I will continue no-chilling as I like to split my brew day over 3 days.

I do use protofloc which is as far as I am aware a plant based product. This and using a wort chiller and quickly reducing the temperature so as to solidify proteins etc i think should workout. I plan to refrigerate this wort overnight and rack it off the protein sediment prior to fermentation. Apart from this I don't know what else I can do except for actually filtering the beer.

I think no chilling is the best practice to be honest, the heat alone acts as a sanitary measure and I never had any problems because of it and I don't use any chemical sanitisers, preferring heat in some form or another. But what can I do if I want a clear and crystal beer?

 

[MyQul]

I do use protofloc which is as far as I am aware a plant based product. This and using a wort chiller and quickly reducing the temperature so as to solidify proteins etc i think should workout. I plan to refrigerate this wort overnight and rack it off the protein sediment prior to fermentation. Apart from this I don't know what else I can do except for actually filtering the beer.

I think no chilling is the best practice to be honest, the heat alone acts as a sanitary measure and I never had any problems because of it and I don't use any chemical sanitisers, preferring heat in some form or another. But what can I do if I want a clear and crystal beer?

From what I've read the protiens that form chill haze will eventually drop out as they're marginally heavier (or is denser can't quite remember) than beer but I say eventually so you may have to wait weeks or months for it all to drop out before you don't get chill haze when refriderating your beer

 

[mirsultankhan]

From what I've read the protiens that form chill haze will eventually drop out as they're marginally heavier (or is denser can't quite remember) than beer but I say eventually so you may have to wait weeks or months for it all to drop out before you don't get chill haze when refriderating your beer

Ok, one wonders what effect rapid cooling has on them. I was under the impression that they are kind of like yeast, why i cannot say. I need to read something for sure and find out what going on there. To have the self control to wait months must be amazing, two weeks is pure torture and by the time a month is up the beer is just getting awesome and then its gone

 

[mirsultankhan]

From what I've read the protiens that form chill haze will eventually drop out as they're marginally heavier (or is denser can't quite remember) than beer but I say eventually so you may have to wait weeks or months for it all to drop out before you don't get chill haze when refriderating your beer

BTW was watching an interesting video on beer made with iceberg water. Brewer claimed that it had NO mineral content and was therefore great for brewing. I really wondered about this and I ask you because you seem to be very knowledgeable about water profiles, is this really the case? I thought that certain yeast strains needed certain mineral content to be present to be at its best? I have access to deionised water that has no mineral content whatsoever and wonder if it would be good for making beer?

 

[Sandimas]

What have you found to make the biggest leap forward in the quality of your beers?

Bit late to this thread, but the biggest leap for me has been temperature control - a garden trug and a fish tank heater providing a consistent temp has produced much more controlled ferments and better quality beer.

Have to say I'm the opposite to most on this thread and a little underwhelmed by going AG, a couple haven't turned out that nice, one in particular (but it's not infected) and I've no idea why despite asking on various forums. I'll stick with it, but for me it wasn't the same jump in quality as moving to Extract was.

 

[MyQul]

Ok, one wonders what effect rapid cooling has on them. I was under the impression that they are kind of like yeast, why i cannot say. I need to read something for sure and find out what going on there. To have the self control to wait months must be amazing, two weeks is pure torture and by the time a month is up the beer is just getting awesome and then its gone

I'm the same as you and can never wait long to start tucking into my beer. I know if I start to drink it after six weeks conditioning it will be amazing but usually I coming to the end of the batch.

I'm unsure if cold crashing has any effect on protiens like it does on yeast. Don't think it does though or people would just say cold crash your beer rather than using stuff like gelatine and making sure you get a good hot/cold break

 

[MyQul]

Have to say I'm the opposite to most on this thread and a little underwhelmed by going AG, a couple haven't turned out that nice, one in particular (but it's not infected) and I've no idea why despite asking on various forums. I'll stick with it, but for me it wasn't the same jump in quality as moving to Extract was.

What style of beer was it and what is your water like (hard or soft?) When ever I've read "I'm a little underwhelmed by AG" it's often having unsuitable water for the style of beer the person is trying to make

 

[mirsultankhan]

I'm the same as you and can never wait long to start tucking into my beer. I know if I start to drink it after six weeks conditioning it will be amazing but usually I coming to the end of the batch.

I'm unsure if cold crashing has any effect on protiens like it does on yeast. Don't think it does though or people would just say cold crash your beer rather than using stuff like gelatine and making sure you get a good hot/cold break

Yes i think hot/cold break is important. I can get an amazing boil in my kettle because it has two, 2.2K watt elements, the problem is that its too vigorous and I need to turn one off. Maybe if I reduced the batch size so as to avoid a boil over i could get a real amazing boil and this might make a difference?

 

[MyQul]

BTW was watching an interesting video on beer made with iceberg water. Brewer claimed that it had NO mineral content and was therefore great for brewing. I really wondered about this and I ask you because you seem to be very knowledgeable about water profiles, is this really the case? I thought that certain yeast strains needed certain mineral content to be present to be at its best? I have access to deionised water that has no mineral content whatsoever and wonder if it would be good for making beer?

Is it really the case that no mineral content in water is good for beer or am I very knowledgable abour water profiles?

Well I'm don't think I'm that knowedgable about water profiles as it's a VERY complicated area of brewing so I just tend to stick to keeping things as simple as I can so I mainly focus on Alkalinity/mash PH because this is quite a chunk of water treatment and not actually that hard to get right.

I wouldn't have though that having zero minerals in the water makes the best beer because for example if you add certain salts to the mash it will bring out the hops in the beer and if you add others it will bring out the malts. If you've got completely no minarals in the water it might be good for some styles but I think would make terrible beer for other styles. So I think iceberg water might be just some sort of gimmick

 

[mirsultankhan]

Is it really the case that no mineral content in water is good for beer or am I very knowledgable abour water profiles?

Well I'm don't think I'm that knowedgable about water profiles as it's a VERY complicated area of brewing so I just tend to stick to keeping things as simple as I can so I mainly focus on Alkalinity/mash PH because this is quite a chunk of water treatment and not actually that hard to get right.

I wouldn't have though that having zero minerals in the water makes the best beer because for example if you add certain salts to the mash it will bring out the hops in the beer and if you add others it will bring out the malts. If you've got completely no minarals in the water it might be good for some styles but I think would make terrible beer for other styles. So I think iceberg water might be just some sort of gimmick

Hmm thats very interesting, The brewery was in Newfoundland Canada. I suspect it could be a gimmick too. The beer looks weak and watery!

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9Gh8sfDyLk[/ame]

 

[Covrich]

Bit late to this thread, but the biggest leap for me has been temperature control - a garden trug and a fish tank heater providing a consistent temp has produced much more controlled ferments and better quality beer.

Have to say I'm the opposite to most on this thread and a little underwhelmed by going AG, a couple haven't turned out that nice, one in particular (but it's not infected) and I've no idea why despite asking on various forums. I'll stick with it, but for me it wasn't the same jump in quality as moving to Extract was.

Tis a shame, whilst I agree the leap from extract from kits is huge and I do think you can get a great beer from extract, there is something about extracts I always find... to me there is a certain subtle flavour that always carries through in everyone I tried.. I would perservere though, maybe try some bottled water as a test on a lighter beer.,

 

[MyQul]

Hmm thats very interesting, The brewery was in Newfoundland Canada. I suspect it could be a gimmick too. The beer looks weak and watery!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9Gh8sfDyLk

I notice thery're not making any stout there. If they're only making some sort of pilslner-esque sort of beer (pilsner uses a very soft water profile) that requires very soft water they'd be ok to make it with ice berg water but they would be unable to make anything else (that at least would sell and taste nice)

 

[dad_of_jon]

All interesting stuff guys! It definitely seems like "proper" yeast is the way to go next then. My next brew will def be with a liquid yeast of some sort!

The other thing I have started to look at is my water chemistry. I am wondering how much of a difference it makes? Or perhaps it depends on how good/bad the water is one starts with? I have decided that my tap water has too much of a chemical flavour, so my latest beer - and APA - has been done with bottled water (Tesco Ashbeck). Will look forward to seeing if this makes much of a difference.

What I've since learnt is that I can use one of the brilliant calculators at the top of this page to enter my water chemistry (which of course is much easier to get if using bottles and it's printed on the side) and discover what I need to add to improve it further.

So water chemistry and most importantly liquid yeast will be my main focus next. But to answer my own question (as others have mentioned) there's no doubt that switching to AG has made a huge difference and my beer is now more professional-tasting for sure.

definitely try bottled water I always use tesco chase spring (the 17p value stuff) to see what a difference that makes. I've not used anything else, but suspect its why i've been happy with my beers from day 1. The next leap was lots of late and flameout hops. then steeping grains.

 

[mirsultankhan]

I notice thery're not making any stout there. If they're only making some sort of pilslner-esque sort of beer (pilsner uses a very soft water profile) that requires very soft water they'd be ok to make it with ice berg water but they would be unable to make anything else (that at least would sell and taste nice)

Yes no fine London Porters or Stouts possible with iceberg water which is a pity because its just what one might need on a cold winters evening over there in Newfoundland

 

[Wardy]

I notice thery're not making any stout there. If they're only making some sort of pilslner-esque sort of beer (pilsner uses a very soft water profile) that requires very soft water they'd be ok to make it with ice berg water but they would be unable to make anything else (that at least would sell and taste nice)

I'm confused by all this I have very soft water here (central Scotland) and my first Coopers kit stout is thin and headless after 2 months and following the instructions to the T. The second and third Coopers stout kits I've done have a great body and head but I used DME instead of brew sugar for these. This is where it starts to confuse me! Does the kit have all the additions the harden the water but the brew sugar thinned it with barely no unfermentable sugars in the brew or is the body and head purely because of using DME and some unfermentable sugars with treacle and syrup added?

 

[dweb]

Clibit`s fault!
I switched to BIAB,then bought a BIAB starter kit and soon after got a Grainfather which I love.Best move I made.
Another great jump,was getting 3 cornie kegs and some gas,although my brews don`t last as long now because I force carbonate and so they get drunk far quicker.
My next jump,will be harvesting yeast from my trub but I`m a bit apprehensive about this in case I wreck hours of work.

 

[MyQul]

I'm confused by all this I have very soft water here (central Scotland) and my first Coopers kit stout is thin and headless after 2 months and following the instructions to the T. The second and third Coopers stout kits I've done have a great body and head but I used DME instead of brew sugar for these. This is where it starts to confuse me! Does the kit have all the additions the harden the water but the brew sugar thinned it with barely no unfermentable sugars in the brew or is the body and head purely because of using DME and some unfermentable sugars with treacle and syrup added?

Water treatment only has an impact on the final beer with AG beers. All the water treatment will have beer done by the kit/DME manufacturer.

Your right, the reason why your 2nd/3rd beer has better body/head is because you used DME. Brewing Sugar is almost completely fermentable so leaves no body behind