5 ways to improve your Homebrew

Both new and experienced brewers are always looking for ways to improve the process and make a tasty brew. There are a lot of different ways that the brewing process can be improved. I have put together my top 5 most important and easiest ways to help make better beer.

Number One: Sanitation

The most important advice that new brewers get is that sanitation is paramount. This makes perfect sense because many of the common off flavors stem from contamination from wild yeast or bacteria. You already know the baseline fundamentals—everything that touches your wort or beer needs to be sanitized. It’s a pretty big list: the fermentor, the airlock and stopper, hoses, bottles, kegs and so on. That’s why it’s good to walk through the whole process at the start of your brew day to identify everything you need to handle, from your yeast starter to the tap on your keg. You can do this as a thought exercise and make a list, or just pay extra attention to sanitizing each piece as you brew.

Number Two: Water Profile

Good water makes good beer, but bad water makes bad beer. It’s often said that the difference between a great beer and an amazing beer lies in the chemistry of your brewing water and how this matches the beer you are brewing. The general rule of thumb for beginner brewers is: if your water is drinkable and tastes good, it is suitable for brewing. The first thing you need to do before you start messing with salt additions is to get a base mineral profile of the water you’ll use for your beer. Do your research on what works best for what styles. Don’t go overboard on this, as it can lead to off flavors.

I like to use a general medium and filter. I use an in-line RV filter and RV water hose. This charcoal filter filters out all the harsh chemicals and leaves the ones best for beer behind. In turn it is an easy solution that requires no extra work or thinking. All you do is, set it and forget it.

Number Three: Take Notes

Taking notes seems like a no brainer, but when your through back a few on brewery, it can be easily forgotten. If you’ve ever had a brewery or a beer go bad, you know how important taking notes can be. Writing every step down will allow you to refer back to your notes if you ever have a question about what when right or wrong with that particular beer. This can be anything from whole cone vs pellet hops, mash temps, boil times, specific gravities and much much more.

Number Four: Temperature Control

Every yeast that you buy will tell you exactly what temperature they are most happy and productive at. Good temperature control ensures that fermentation remains within the range of conditions best suited for your yeast of choice. Even fermenting at different temperatures within these ranges can bring out different flavor profiles. There is a sweet spot for ensuring your yeast do their job without producing too many unwanted off-flavors. Yeast THRIVE in warmers temps—but they reproduce more rapidly and produce more esters in the process. We want to avoid this by pitching enough yeast and controlling the temperature.

Number Five: Wort Aeration

Aerating your wort can be the difference in a good beer and a great beer. Aeration is simply adding oxygen to wort prior to fermentation. This is an important practice for several reasons: Adequate oxygen levels in the wort ensure that the yeast grow and reproduce during fermentation. Inadequate oxygen levels can cause poor attenuation (how much sugar the yeast eats) resulting in a sweeter finished product.

In the end, just have fun with it. Try not to overcomplicate things, and always remember: relax, don’t worry, have a homebrew. Cheers!