I have really come into some good practices in my brewing the last couple or three beers.  I am getting a system down, trying some newer things and having some success.  The Christmas Stout turned out really nice (IMHO) and I will actually get to taste my Rogue Dead Guy clone next weekend.  On Thursday I did a partial mash Rye IPA using a sparge bag and a new method for rinsing the grain and mashing out.  I had issues keeping the mash temp just right, but didn’t lose much on the original gravity.  The Pacman yeast has been bubbling away since Friday afternoon and I look forward to seeing what it has done when I go to dry hop later this week.  This week when I brewed, I started noting some things in my mind that I wish I had known originally, but am very glad I learned.

Sanitation – This is one of the most important things.  Period.  I knew this.  However, what you have to do is get your method for sanitation down.  Know that you are going to make a bad beer when you are starting and the odds are that it will be because you sacrificed something in sanitation.  The best thing to do is get into habits quickly when it comes to sanitizing and cleaning your equipment.  Boil the things you can boil and keep sanitizer handy.  It only takes 15-30 seconds in the sanitizer to re-ready something, so don’t skip it.

Experimentation – Do not ever be scared to try something.  I am not a kit guy.  Kits are absolutely wonderful things and make incredible beers, however, I would rather formulate the recipe myself.  I like the idea of putting different things in beers and I like the thought of hopping beers in a different way than I have had before.  I am not that far along in this area, but I have little fear when it comes to throwing an ingredient in as long as I do my research and learn the ramifications first.  There are tons of places to feed the experimental drive of anyone.  Use Google to your advantage.  Find active communities on the internet that allow you to learn from other brewers.

Software – Speaking of the internet…use it to find some good beer recipe software.  I have used both Strangebrew and Beersmith.  Of the two, Beersmith is far and away a better tool.  Strangebrew is a great tool, especially for beginners because the learning curve for the software itself is not that steep.  The downside to Strangebrew is that it doesn’t seem to be updated anymore.  It feels dated (putting on my software reviewer’s cap here).  Each time you reinstall, for whatever reasons, you have to email the owner in order to get a new code.  It happens quickly, but it’s still a pain.  Beersmith, on the other hand, is sleek and very tight as applications go.  It is easy to use and has a huge database of ingredients from which to build recipes.  Neither application is that expensive, so go buy one now.  You can try both, if memory serves me correctly, for a limited time.

Your System – No two brewers do things the same way.  One of my brewer friends sanitizes the floor, just in case he drops something.  Another started immediately with  a conical fermenter, completely jumping past the typical bucket and carboy setup.  Both have found success, regardless of the differences in methods in comparison to mine.  Everyone will do it different, create different things and inevitably, unless they are just not good, will brew good beer.  The devil is in the details and he can drive you nuts if you worry about how others do their brewing.  Find what works for you.

Perhaps more than anything I have learned was stated in the first book I ever read on the subject.  Charlie Papazian states clearly “Relax.  Don’t worry.  Have a homebrew.”  No truer words have been said when it comes to the wonderful art that is homebrewing beer.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 14th, 2010 at 7:59 pm and is filed under Homebrewing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.