All Grain Brewing Secrets

[SiHoltye]

Since you brewed your first all-grain beer, what changes/improvements have you made to the standard process or areas thereof, that have produced a marked improvement in your beer?

[mysterio]

Good question!

Follow tried and tested recipes; dont rush your brewday, prepare in advance and concentrate on what you're doing; brew low gravity beers because they're easy to make taste really good; use appropriate yeast and look after it - make starters, control the temperature of fermentation; be really anal about sanitation, closely inspect anything that comes into contact with beer, clean your dip-tubes; use lots of munich malt especially in lagers; if you're kegging a hoppy beer dry hop with pellets; vent your kegs, serve your beer properly; use triple strengh isinglass - clear beer tastes better

[SiHoltye]

Wow! What an explosion of good advice Nice one Myste
Assuming you're not going to be rushed on the day, you've got a good recipe worked out, and have fresh ingredients ready, I'd bullet point it for me as:

1. Brew often to get a handle on sanitising and using your equipment, practically speaking...forgotten campden tab...open taps...maintain mash temp...hop strainers...forgotten copper finings...forgotten aeration

2. Control fermentation temperature for your yeast

3. Don't be shy of finings. I use Aux and IG because it makes my beer look good quickly.

4. Consider your water composition - I don't understand the calculations for this, but by badgering the numbers from my water board and entering them into GW's liquor calc, I've been able to make mineral additions and have corrected my alklinity and together these have made such a startling improvement in my beer I'm over the moon. This is because my water alkalinity was not ideal for paler beers to start with, and the mineral composition only ideal for washing your face in. Something I only commited to finding out about at AG brew #38

[mysterio]

Good tips, especially brewing often, brew 5 gallon batches and focus on quality rather than quantity.

Read lots and educate yourself is another one, get Wheeler's book by hook or by crook, get Palmer's book once you've brewed a couple of batches, and then check out other books by the Brewers Association & CAMRA. Stick around forums like these and ask questions no matter how silly they seem. Drink lots of good commercial beer and try to replicate it. Do brewery tours and ask them about their recipes and what they think makes good beer.

[subsub]

1. Water treatment. A camden tab will do, but get yourself a full report from your supplier and treat for alkalinity. The results will suprise you.

2. Fermenting. Strict control of temperature will yield stunning results.

3. Time. Take it.

[drsmurto]

Stick to a handful of styles and brew repeatedly with only one change each time.

Take notes.

Enter comps to get unbiased (and sometimes brutal) feedback.

Take constructive criticism on board.

Good yeast, adequate pitching rates, temperature control.

Drink more = brew more.

KISS

[steve_flack]

Cleanliness and Sanitation - the most dull yet most important part of brewing. Unless you get this right the rest is pointless.

Remove chlorine from your water and treat your alkalinity. Use enough clean healthy yeast. Control fermentation temperature. Use fresh ingredients and store them properly.

Brew lots, brew often. Read as much as you can and (even better) meet and talk to other brewers. I've learnt loads from both this board and from other brewers at CBA meetings.

Note: make shiny brewery kit is not on the list. A great, easy to use brewery set up makes all the rest easier to do but you can still make crap beer on a fantastic brewery.

[Stonechat]

A great, easy to use brewery set up makes all the rest easier to do but you can still make crap beer on a fantastic brewery.

Yup Greene King manage that every day

[Gurgeh]

meet other brewers, compare techniques, compare similar recipes. learn to recognise what is meant by various taste/aroma descriptions.

[prodigal2]

I can't disagree with anything that has been said.

What I would like to add is, understand what you are tasting, this has made a world of difference to my beers, but it is feed by all the other recommendations mentioned by everyone.

Also gearitis does not make great beer, knowledge and patience makes great beer.And as a hobby there is no end to the learning, so the old addage of 'the more I learn, the less I know' stands true.

P2

[agentgonzo]

Take time to understand the chemistry that's involved in brewing. Know *why* you are mashing at 150-154°F, know *why* you're boiling for an hour to 90 minutes. Understand what is happening to the hops (maybe not at the molecular level, but understand that the alpha-acids are isomerising, how isomerised alpha-acids are different from non-isomerised AAs and what properties they impart into the beer). Knowing all of this will help you understand what happens when making beer, allowing you to tweak your procedure to induce different results and cure problems.

Also, if you use a pre-made copper manifold in your mashtun, take a hacksaw to it and cut a shedload of new grooves in it (as close as you can get it) otherwise you will have stuck sparges almost every time you brew.

[softlad]

Take time to understand the chemistry that's involved in brewing. Know *why* you are mashing at 150-154°F, know *why* you're boiling for an hour to 90 minutes. Understand what is happening to the hops (maybe not at the molecular level, but understand that the alpha-acids are isomerising, how isomerised alpha-acids are different from non-isomerised AAs and what properties they impart into the beer). Knowing all of this will help you understand what happens when making beer, allowing you to tweak your procedure to induce different results and cure problems.

Any chance of a chemistry lesson for dummies on whats happening thoughout the AG brewing process ?

All useful points for someone (me) who is about to embark on their first AG beer. This is something that I want to understand in more depth but dont want to overload myself for my first brewday. I'll have enough on my plate running through the recipe and process (pretty much like that first driving lesson I'd imagine !)

[Northern Brewer]

Any chance of a chemistry lesson for dummies on whats happening thoughout the AG brewing process ?

There is a good online book here... http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/SitemapA.html

[delboy]

Find a style you enjoy drinking and get good at brewing it (i spent ages brewing all sorts of weird and wonderful beers, some of them are still taking up cornie room )

[softlad]

Any chance of a chemistry lesson for dummies on whats happening thoughout the AG brewing process ?

There is a good online book here... http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/SitemapA.html

Thanks NB - thats another link added to my ever increasing AG favourites

Will have a read