I recently had a member of my homebrew club ask me to help him brew better beer, and after thinking about it, I put these words down. I'd like to share them with everyone on the Internet.
1. Brewing is a combination of art and science. I lean more towards the art, but with some understanding of the science. I've seen engineers I work with, or even people in our club, worry too much about the science and forget about the art. I've also seen people try not to think about the science (measuring gravity with a hydrometer), and not have consistency, and have no way to troubleshoot what went wrong, and never learn from mistakes. I make occasional bad beers, but they are good lessons. I've seen too many people worry about the science and their beer comes out awful. They followed all the science, and they are engineers, worrying about how many yeast cells to pitch and other things, and their beer sucks. Don't get too absorbed by the science. Find the balance.
2. Fast fermentation is important. This is two-fold. I would be sure that you have a good wort chiller to cool right away. I also would make sure that you have a good oxygenation system. I use a small o2 tank and my beer takes off within 12 hours. If it doesn't, I know there is more risk of contamination and other issues. These two things have improved my beer.
3. Water. When I moved to RP, my friends kept saying my beer was awful and not like when I lived in downtown Petaluma. I checked the reports and the water was supposed to be the same. Lately, since I know better, I can smell how much chlorine has been put into the water. I use a carbon filter now, and have not had that problem.
Just a few ideas. I can elaborate, but I would recommend those few things before anything else.
I look forward to helping you brew better beer. I have a friend that leans heavily on science and being too specific on things, and I feel you need to balance it with art at some point. I just like to be more artistic with my beers rather than worry so much about the science.
I hope this helps. These 3 things are key to brewing good beer.
Cheers!
