Things I’ve learned along the way for brewing… (for homebrew as in beer, not as in the Mac package manager!)
- The temperature inside the fermenter is usually ~4°C higher than the surface. If you’re trying to ferment at 20, the outside will probably need to read 16 while fermentation is taking place! Depends on a lot of factors of course. Once primary fermentation is complete the difference will be less.
- Before using a new type of yeast read up on it first, especially ideal pitching temperature.
- When using a FWK or kit, wait until the wort temperature is within 2 degrees of your pitching temperature before preparing the .
- Transferring under pressure is awesome.
- CO2 is a useful for so much more than carbonating. Extra tubes and connectors are really handy for purging and transferring.
- FWKs are pretty bland by themselves. Use dry hopping and/or hop teas to improve them.
- Extra corny kegs are useful for conditioning and freeing up your primary fermentation vessel (which is usually more expensive if its)
- PET bottles become really useful for cleaning lines with a carbonation lid.
- PET bottles with a carbonation lid are awesome for travellers, and for getting an early sample of a brew. I can have a few pressurised bottles in the main kitchen fridge and leave the keg fridge in a less convenient place.
- A kitchen blender helps for aerating the wort, but if you can shake the fermenter (ie it is sealed) that works too.
- Using a microwave is an easy way to get water heated to something less than boiling, eg 35°C for rehydrating yeast, or 70°C for hop tea.