What NOT to do

[Matt]

Award winning beers have been made with the most basic of all grain kit.

That's what I said

I think my eyesight is a bit slurred today, sorry

[frutbunn]

Don't get a five gallon brewery if you have even the slightest feeling that you'd rather have ten gallons of ale for your six hours of work

You could always add 50% water after the boil. With some experimentation it works quite well! (Just cool the wort before you add water to it).

[frutbunn]

never take it too seriously , dont worry too much about weights and measures if all you want is good beer, have fun and relax.

You are the wind beneath my wings! Excellent advice!

[frutbunn]

Don't turn your back on the boil until the vigorous foamy stage has passed

Truer words you'll never hear You won't believe how sticky wort is until you start scrubbing it up off the floor.

Try the hob...

[frutbunn]

Don't forget to make sure any taps on your vessels are secure and shut before filling them...you will do it.

Oh yes, let us know when.

When you least expect it

Damned taps, that's why I always syphon - burnt my tongue!

[frutbunn]

I second that. In particular, if you are brewing indoors, don't brew in bare feet, socks or slippers ! One time a few years ago a sparge line snaked out of my hot liquor tank and emptied 78C water on my foot

Well said: Routine breeds mistakes!

Be ahead of the game by always wearing good protective clothing. So what if it's hour eight and you have to go downstairs to the hall for your shoes. Safety first. <important>

Edit: Spelling...

[frutbunn]

Award winning beers have been made with the most basic of all grain kit.

And an umbrella dangling from the ceiling I've said too much!

[MightyMouth]

Award winning beers have been made with the most basic of all grain kit.

That's what I said

I think my eyesight is a bit slurred today, sorry

you're not alone, I readit as "don't think you can brew excellent beers with basic kit"

[BarryNL]

Don't forget to make sure any taps on your vessels are secure and shut before filling them...you will do it.

Oh yes, let us know when.

As a hint, it will probably be when you are making a stout.

[ColinKeb]

I'm sure someone on this forum (cant remember who) had a boiler actually split open on them causing quite serious burns. bearing that in mind i would keep kids out of the brewing area just in case .

[PieOPah]

From all my brewing hiccups (not really mistakes), the only thing I would probably never do again is use dried fruit in a brew. Hell, even my 'Mars Bar' experiment was strangely successful.

Most people know that I like to put strange things into my beer. I want them to be as different as possible.

My favourite was putting a number of different cereals into the mash (cornflakes, shreddies and rice crispies I think it was). This resulted in my first stuck mash. Because of this I ended up with loads of crap in my wort so a lot was lost when racking off.

Even though the brew day was one of my worst ever, I still ended up with an amazing stout.

I think that the cause of the problem was forgetting to remove the bucket lid when draining my wort into the kettle - this created a vaccum and compacted the grain bed. Now that I fly sparge, I may try this stout again - hopefully with better results.

[ColinKeb]

pieopah! i thought youd gone for ever ! or have i just missed your posts ?

[PieOPah]

pieopah! i thought youd gone for ever ! or have i just missed your posts ?

Hehe, no I've been gone a while....

Since I have a new job, I am no longer as active as I once was. That and a new baby keep my 'browsing' time well down to a minimum.

I am trying to pop in when I can though....

[ColinKeb]

aha , work the curse of the drinking classes ! i expect you'll be making a farleys rusk and formula milk brew soon then

[brewsters millionths]

glass breaks!