These are five simple mistakes that many Home Brewers are guilty of making when they first begin brewing beer at home. If you have bought and perused any kind of beer brewing guide, these mistakes were probably already covered, but this can serve as a good reminder. The others listed here are often not covered in enough detail in most brewing guides because, for an experienced brewer, it is just about second nature to evade these errors.
1. It is essential that you understand that cleaning and sanitizing are two different things. Just because you may have cleaned your beer brewing equipment, does not mean your gear is ready to use in the brewing process. After boiling the beer, you must be positive that anything that touches the beer has been thoroughly sanitized.
Without proper sanitation, not only can your beer taste suffer, but it can actually make you sick. Yeast is not the only living creature that thrives at the temperature you are using to ferment your masterpiece. All kinds of bacteria enjoys that same temperature.
2. Using dead yeast without realizing it. It is impossible to identify with the naked eye that your yeast is okay to use. It is vital to be certain that you are storing your yeast properly. Make sure there are no wild temperature swings. It is also recommended that you write the date of purchase on the yeast package. If you are making use of liquid yeast and it is more than two months old, it is probably better to not use it. The yeast might be usable at that age, but it it is also quite possible that it is not usable. If it is not usable, you will have completed a lot of labor for nothing. Dry yeast is a bit different. If stored properly, you can use dry yeast for up to one year.
3. Brewing at home is exciting. However, it is important to not let yourself get over anxious and make up your mind to bottle your beer a bit early. Patience can be a great gift to the Home Brewer. Bottling too soon may be a very nasty mistake. The gases will continue to be released within the bottles. This often results in caps blowing off of the bottles, leaving you with a giant mess to clean up.
4. Not utilizing the correct temperature to ferment your masterpiece. The correct temperature is determined by the yeast strain you have chosen for your brew. For most yeast, the range is somewhere between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. A great number of Home Brewers make use of their garage or basement for storing the beer during fermentation. If there is no heat or air conditioning, the temperature fluctuations can cause disaster for your home brewing beer experience.
5. Use a checklist on brew day in order to avoid feeling weighed down by the many tasks that need to be completed. That feeling can cause many who are brewing at home for the first time to make errors. Either print out the checklist in the brewing guide you are following or type one up. The list will keep you from falling off track, and stop you from missing a step during the brewing process.
Hope this helps those of you just beginning on your beer brewing experience.
Friday, December 11, 2009
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