24 Brewing Tips and Rules of Thumb
The great thing about homebrewing is that in most aspects, there is no one correct way to do it. However, some ways are easier than others, and there is a multitude of tips and tricks that can make the brewing process smoother, easier, and more enjoyable.
Is My Beer Done Fermenting?
How to get a wrong gravity reading.
For brewers who lack the equipment to do a full wort boil, many times starting gravity readings are not accurate. Boiling all of the extract in a smaller volume and then using water to top up to the correct volume in the fermenter will usually not have a severe detrimental effect on the finished brew. But it does make obtaining an accurate starting gravity very difficult. The reason for this is that minor differences in temperature and density between the wort and water make it extremely difficult to obtain a homogenous mixture, even if the fermenter is stirred or shaken
vigorously and the color appears even.
If you suspect that your starting gravity reading is either high or low, keep in mind that every pound of syrup extract in a five-gallon batch will result in a change of approximately 0.007 in gravity.
Stronger means longer.
Remember that as the starting gravity of beer increases, the fermentation and conditioning time will increase as well. Extreme high-gravity beers such as barleywine or dopplebock can take months to reach peak flavor.
The three-day test.
If hydrometer readings three days in a row do not show any further decrease in specific gravity, the beer is usually done fermenting.
When in doubt, wait.
If you are still not sure that your beer is actually done, it never hurts to let a beer sit for a few additional days before bottling.
The 25 percent rule.
When trying to determine if a beer is actually done fermenting, it helps to keep the relationship between starting and final gravity in mind. In this relationship, disregard the 1 in front of the decimal point. For example a beer with a starting gravity of 1.048 would be considered as “048.” Multiply this by 25 percent (or divide by four) and the resulting estimated final gravity is “012,” or 1.012. This is very handy for helping to estimate final gravity, but actual gravities may vary by a few points up or down due to the use of high percentages of unfermentable specialty grains or adjuncts, or highly fermentable adjuncts such as honey or corn sugar.
Specific gravity vs. degrees Plato.
When making conversions between recipes it is easy to convert between specific gravity and degrees Plato fairly accurately. As above, disregard the 1 in front of the decimal point. To convert between the two, keep in mind that starting gravity is about four times degrees Plato. A recipe that shows starting gravity as 12° P would translate as 4 x 12 = 48, or 1.048 specific gravity.
The ice tea test.
When using a two-stage fermentation with primary and secondary fermenters, try using the following guidelines to determine transfer and bottling times. During the initially vigorous primary fermentation there will be a large cap of foam, called the kraeusen, on the surface of the beer. As the primary fermentation begins to slow, this foam will drop and the surface of the beer will become visible. Any time after this is good to transfer into a secondary fermenter.
After the beer is transferred, it will usually have a murky appearance. Over a period of several days to a couple of weeks, this will begin settling as a fog down to the bottom of the fermenter, with an ever increasing band of clear ice-tea-colored beer above. When the entire fermenter has settled it is time to take a gravity reading, then bottle or keg.
The siphon bubble blues.
During the transfer from primary to secondary fermenters, many times a bubble will form just downstream from the highest point of the siphon, gradually increasing in size until the flow stops and the siphon needs to be restarted. This is caused by carbon dioxide coming out of solution due to the drop in pressure in the siphon. Preventing the aggravation of a stopped siphon is as easy as quickly pinching shut the flow of beer upstream of the bubble and then releasing. The momentary break in the flow will cause the bubble to flow downstream to the end of the tube. If your siphon tubing is rigid, the same thing can be accomplished by snapping a finger against the tubing at the sight of the bubble to dislodge it.
Yeast Tips
In case of emergency…
For brewers who have advanced to using true liquid cultures, always keep at least two packets of a quality dry yeast on hand in the refrigerator. It will stay viable for a long time, and in the event of a batch failing to kick into initial fermentation in a timely manner the dry yeast can be used to save what might otherwise end up being a spoiled batch of beer.
Warm up to lager.
When brewing lager beers using true liquid cultures it is important to pitch and allow the beer to begin fermenting at room temperatures (60° to 70° F). Only when the fermentation shows signs of beginning, start cooling the beer to the appropriate lagering temperature. This ensures that the yeast has reproduced to where a strong, healthy fermentation will result at the lower temperatures necessary for lagering, without a long and unhealthy lag time.
Also, it is important to allow the fermenter to warm to room temperature for a few days prior to bottling. This step ensures that not only is the fermentation actually complete, it will help the beer to carbonate and condition in the bottle faster as well.
If a little is good, more is better.
When using dry yeast, use at least two packets for a five-gallon batch. While using one packet will usually work, the addition of more yeast is cheap insurance that will help reduce lag times and reduce the possibility of contaminations.
Pitching yeast — into the brewpot!
Many times imported cans of malt extract will have a nondescript packet of yeast taped to the top of the can, which has probably been stored at room temperature. For each five-gallon batch it is important to use at least two packets of a quality dry yeast that has been stored in the refrigerated section of your local homebrew supply shop. Rather than simply discarding the original yeast, throw it into the brewpot during the last 10 minutes of the boil. One form of yeast nutrient is the dried hulls of dead yeast. By pitching this yeast into the brewpot, you are effectively killing it and helping to provide necessary nutrients for the yeast that is pitched later at the appropriate time.
Growling your starters.
The standard half-gallon growler that is available for take-out beers at many brewpubs is the perfect size for making starter cultures of liquid yeast. It has ample room for a good two pints of starter, and most growlers will accept the same size of drilled stopper and airlock as a five-gallon glass fermenter.
Conversion Formulas
One of the fun aspects of brewing as a hobby is being able to share the products of our efforts with others and to try theirs as well. Many times when brewers gather, it is not uncommon to overhear them swapping recipes. Here are a couple of good rules of thumb that can be useful when trying to convert another recipe to conform to your own brewing methods or materials.
Four pounds of dry malt extract (DME) is equal to five pounds of syrup malt extract. DME and syrup malt extracts are basically the same product in two different forms. The major difference is that syrup malts contain approximately 20 percent more water by weight than their dry counterparts, which is why they are syrup as opposed to powder. DME has many advantages over syrup malt. It is easy to measure precisely, and in recipes that call for only a portion of
a package to be used or for several different malts to be blended, it is easier to store the unused product for use in a later brew. Syrup malts tend to be more readily available and are not as foamy as DME in the boil. Whatever your preference, it is easy to convert recipes between the two different forms of malt extract by keeping the above relationship in mind. In mathematical terms it appears as:
lbs. dry malt extract = 0.80 x lbs. malt extract syrup
or
lbs. malt extract syrup = lbs. dry malt extract/0.80
All-grain vs. extract.
The conversion between all-grain recipes and malt extract recipes is somewhat less precise due to the possible variations in efficiency between different homebrewers’ mashing procedures and equipment. However, a good general starting point for converting all-grain recipes to extract can be formulated as follows:
1 lb. malt extract (syrup) = 0.75 lb. base grain malt
Two important factors apply to this conversion. When considering the base malt used in the all-grain recipe, remember that you only want to consider the malt that provides the bulk of the fermentable sugars, usually pale malts such as two-row, six-row, wheat, pilsner, or lager. The malt extract that is substituted, whether DME or syrup, should be the lightest available. Specialty grains such as crystal malts, cara-pils, chocolate, or black patent are used primarily for color and flavor as they usually do not make a substantial contribution to the overall level of fermentable sugars in the recipe. These specialty grains can usually be substituted between all-grain and extract recipes on a pound-for-pound basis. Again, individual efficiency rates can vary substantially, but the above formula is great for determining a starting point.
Recipe and Equipment Tips
The addition of wheat to a recipe will improve head retention. To improve the head retention of a beer, the addition of 3 percent to 5 percent wheat (either extract or grain) will do the job without adversely affecting the flavor of the final product.
Mr. Oakey.
Adding oak to a beer to get an authentic “cask-conditioned” flavor is not difficult. Using a regular coffee filter, load up the basket of your home coffeemaker with oak chips, and then run a cycle. The resulting oak tea is sanitized by the heat, and a precise amount can be added to the finished beer to get the exact level of flavor desired.
Dishwasher sanitizing.
The heated rinse cycle of a home dishwasher is great for sanitizing bottles, but keep two things in mind. First, the bottles still need to be clean prior to being placed in the dishwasher; any deposits inside the bottles will not be removed by the water spray. Second, be sure to run at least one cycle of water only (no soap) in the dishwasher prior to placing your bottles in. The standard detergents used in dishwashing contain chemicals called surfactants that break down the surface tension of water, causing the water to “sheet” on the surface of the dishes and prevent spotting. These compounds are very tenacious (they are not designed to be rinsed away!) and the tiniest amount that ends up in your otherwise clean bottles will destroy the head retention of any beer that is put in them.
I can see clearly now.
The addition of Irish moss in the last 10 to 15 minutes of the boil at the rate of one-half teaspoon per five gallons will help to ensure the clarity of the finished beer by helping proteins to precipitate. The great thing about Irish moss is that it is relatively benign; it settles out during fermentation and will not impart any off-flavors to the finished product.
Siphon into the fermenter from the brewpot.
After chilling, allow the cooled wort to settle in a covered brewpot for five to 10 minutes. Then siphon into the fermenter, holding the intake of the siphon tubing just under the surface of the cooled wort, following it down as the brewpot empties. When you reach the thick layer of protein and hop trub in the bottom of the brewpot, stop the siphon. The result will be a cleaner, clearer finished beer.
Soot solution.
High-output propane cookers are really great for speeding up the boil on a batch of brew, but economy models without good gas and air controls can leave the outside of the brewpot coated with a heavy layer of black soot. Before the brew session, use liquid dishwashing soap and coat the entire lower surface of the pot. After the brew session simply rinse. Most of the soot will rinse right off, making cleanup a breeze.
Easy does it.
If you’re using a kettle that has a probe-style thermometer mounted into the side of the kettle for mashing, use restraint when turning up the controls of the cooker. High-output varieties of 150,000 BTU or more can send out a blast of heat and flame that will curl around the bottom of the kettle and up the sides, quickly incinerating the thermometer.
Keeping in the dark.
A lot of importance is attached to using brown glass bottles in lieu of green or clear to prevent finished beer from becoming light struck. However, very little attention is given while the beer is in the fermenter prior to bottling, yet the same off-flavors can result. If you use clear glass carboys, they can usually be protected from direct light by inverting a standard grocery sack over the fermenter with a hole cut out to allow the neck and the airlock to
protrude.
No-cost temperature controls.
For brewers living in the Southern states, high summer temperatures can mean difficulty in maintaining good fermentation temperatures. However, such a situation does not necessarily mean purchasing an extra refrigerator for brewing or running the household air-conditioning full blast 24 hours a day. By taking a large towel soaked with cool water and wrapping it around the fermenter every morning, you can keep the ferment as much as 10 degrees cooler than the surrounding temperatures through evaporative cooling.
Remember, in brewing there is no one single right way to do everything. Many of these tips and tricks are things that brewers learn while sharing a brewing experience or a homebrew with other brewers over the years. Sharing information can be just as much fun as sharing the finished product, so don’t be afraid to try something different or new!
