01/07/2023
Ten Tips for Beginning Homebrewers
There is almost too much information about what a new homebrewer needs to know to brew successfully. Homebrew shops exist to guide new and current homebrewers on all those things nobody else thought to tell them.
1. Get the big(ger) kettle
"I bought a 5-gallon stainless steel kettle for $35. Stupid. It took only 2 weeks of brewing before I dropped another $70 on a 7.5-gallon kettle."
2. Wort chillers are worth it
"You can save a ton of time, eliminate hassle, and reduce the risk of contamination by purchasing a wort chiller."
3. Get the big(ger) auto-siphon
"Most beginning brewing setups include a 5/16" auto-siphon. These usually cost about $10 when purchased on their own, but for just $4 more, you can get a ∏" racking cane that will save you a ton of time getting that precious liquid moved from vessel to vessel."
4. Create your own yeast starter
"Whether you buy a tube of yeast, a smack pack, or a package of dry yeast, creating a yeast starter is a phenomenal way to make sure that your fermentation cycle gets off to a great start. In takes only about 20 minutes to do and dramatically improves your chances of getting a strong, active primary fermentation phase."
5. Oxygenate your wort
"After your hot phase is complete and your wort is chilled, there's relatively little oxygen left, and yeast likes oxygen to get a vigorous fermentation started. My preferred method is to use either an aeration stone or an oxygenation kit."
6. Buy carboy handles
"Carboy handles seemed like unnecessary accessories to me when I first started brewing, but since then, I've bought them for almost all my carboys. Especially if you are using larger glass carboys, these handles are super handy."
7. Use a blow-off tube
"Whether I was using a 6.5-gallon bucket or a 6.5-gallon carboy, my bigger beers were overwhelming the airlocks almost every single time. Using a blow-off tube in place of an airlock doesn't mean your beer won't go bonzo; it just means that you won't have a mess on your hands."
8. Do a mummy bag mash
"Taking the plunge on a mash tun can seem like a pretty big investment when you're just getting started, and some homebrewers think they can't start brewing all-grain beers without one. Wrong!"
9. Bottle on the dishwasher
"Put your bottling bucket on top of the counter immediately above your dishwasher and fill your bottles on the open lid. Any spillage simply gets channeled into the dishwasher when you close the door-one less mess to clean up."
10. Foil stovetop boil-overs
"Simply remove your burners from the stovetop and place a layer of aluminum foil all over your stove, letting your burners poke through the foil. If your kettle happens to boil over, simply remove the burners, collect and dispose of the foil, and voila! Clean stove top!"
