Beer Yourself! 10 Must-Have Homebrewing Tips for Beginners
As the weather warms up people want to start doing more DIY projects. Homebrewing your own beer can be really challenging but it’s equally rewarding once you get the hang of it.
Most people start by getting lost in a flurry of books chalked full homebrewing tips that go in one ear and out the other. Most of the tips are helpful but there’s so much to learn that they don’t really stick.
So we’ve picked a few of the important tips and condensed them to make it a little easier to digest.
Read on to learn more!
1. Keep Your Area Clean
One of the biggest mistakes that new homebrewers make is not keeping their brewing area clean enough. Once the cooling process starts it’s really important to make sure that no bacteria contaminate your brew.
To give yourself a little piece of mind and reduce the chances of contamination you can buy a coiled immersion chiller. There are a lot of cool things you can buy to help your brewing experience.
2. Don’t Use Your Kitchen Stovetop
While it might seem like the logical to boil your brew in the kitchen, it’s bound to boil over causing a huge mess.
If you have a patio or garage you should consider getting a propane burner for this step. You also want to make sure that after the boil you keep a lid
3. Use Fresh Ingredients
Just like with most things, fresh ingredients will make a better a better homebrew. Hops, yeast, dry and liquid malts have a short shelf life so make sure you’re only buying what you think you can use in a timely manner.
Quality fresh ingredients will make a world of a difference. If you’re not sure where to get these visit this website. If you want to make quality you have to start with quality.
4. Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Brew
When you first start brewing it can be easy to get swept up in the excitement and want to start doing difficult or fun brews.
Another mistake a lot of first time brewers make is brewing too much at a time. The bigger the batch is the harder it is to control.
It’s best to start with a good base beer and perfect it, before adding twists to it. As you keep practicing your skills will develop and you’ll figure out what’s the best next brew for you.
5. Use Good Water
It the cheapest ingredient – even if you spring for the good stuff. But it’s the one ingredient that almost all homebrewers overlook.
Water is the base of any good brew. In fact, Budweiser has specific specs that their water needs to match so all of their beer tastes the same regardless of what factory it came out of. If any of the levels are off they shut down the production and readjust.
6. Use A Wort Chiller
Using a chiller is the best way to limit the possibility of contamination because they chill the brew faster.
Most beginners chill by doing ice baths, which can take anywhere between 40 mins and an hour. A chiller will do it in about 20 mins.
Getting a chiller will save you time and hassle, while also liming the possibility of contaminating your brew.
7. Oxygenate Your Wort
After being boiled and chilled there is very little oxygen left in your batch. There are a few different ways you can put the oxygen back into it.
You can use an aeration stone or an oxygenation kit. What you really don’t want to do is use water because it will dilute wort.
8. Use Your Dishwasher
One of the things that takes the longest once you start brewing is the bottling. Not only does it take a while but it’s messy too.
A nice heck for this is using your dishwasher. Open your dishwasher and fill the bottles on the lid while your bottling bucket is on top of the counter. This will make the bottles easier to fill and all you have to do is close the dishwasher and clean up is taken care of.
9. Make a Yeast Starter
Using the tube or packet of yeast can work just fine. But Your brew will ferment much better is you make the yeast starter beforehand.
To do this you need to boil some malt extract, water, and hops. Let it cool then throw some yeast into it about 2-3 days before you make your brew. By doing this you can get a faster start and more crisp flavors.
10. Practice, Practice, Practice
Just like any other hobby or skill you need to practice it to get better. Once you perfect your basic brew, start having more fun with it.
Set some goals for yourself and how many brews you want to master. Having goals can help drive you to be a better home brewer.
You can even look up classes online or in person to help you learn faster. Another plus to in-person classes is you can meet other people that also homebrew.
Use These Homebrewing Tips
Not that you have a condensed version of some homebrewing tips and tricks – make sure to use them.
Brewing can be a lot but it’s always incredibly rewarding when you take a sip of a perfect fresh brewed beer, or when someone compliments a batch that you have put a lot of time and work into.
If you like these tips or have others you’d like to share then contact us. We’d love to hear from you.