[phillamb168]

My last change in procedure was to eliminate two pumps from my regular brewing activities. I got rid of a sub-pump used to recirc ice-water through my IC in the warm-weather months and the march pump for general recirculation and transfer of wort.

Now I just use frozen 20oz PET (soda) bottles to chill the wort down to ale or lager temps. Have found it to be more effective and just as fast if not quicker in cooling the wort down to desired pitching temps!

Through these changes I have accomplished savings in time and effort and have removed the need to make ice, and use a cooler/bucket, two pumps and corresponding hose. I no longer have to move, hook-up or clean these particular pieces of equipment. Also there has been a reduction in mess and spilled wort or water.

Great idea! I guess I would just be worried about the plastic melting. Do you not have problems? Perhaps the thermal transmission through the plastic helps prevent that sort of thing?

[Kaiser]

Bought a mix-stir.  Sure beats a whisk for aerating!

What I found to work well for aeration is to shoot O2 into the headspace of the carboy, close and shake. I can easily get to 8 ppm O2 with this method. Another shot and I can get to 10-12 ppm. I found that more repeatable than the O2 stone. But the problem is that it foams a lot and that foam makes adding yeast suspended in 1-2 l wort difficult.

Kai

[denny]

Adding a pump to do recirculated chilling.

[davidgzach]

My last change in procedure was to eliminate two pumps from my regular brewing activities. I got rid of a sub-pump used to recirc ice-water through my IC in the warm-weather months and the march pump for general recirculation and transfer of wort.

Now I just use frozen 20oz PET (soda) bottles to chill the wort down to ale or lager temps. Have found it to be more effective and just as fast if not quicker in cooling the wort down to desired pitching temps!

Through these changes I have accomplished savings in time and effort and have removed the need to make ice, and use a cooler/bucket, two pumps and corresponding hose. I no longer have to move, hook-up or clean these particular pieces of equipment. Also there has been a reduction in mess and spilled wort or water.

Great idea! I guess I would just be worried about the plastic melting. Do you not have problems? Perhaps the thermal transmission through the plastic helps prevent that sort of thing?

I'm assuming he's using the IC to get it down below 80F and then dropping in the ice bottles.  Euge?

[euge]

My last change in procedure was to eliminate two pumps from my regular brewing activities. I got rid of a sub-pump used to recirc ice-water through my IC in the warm-weather months and the march pump for general recirculation and transfer of wort.

Now I just use frozen 20oz PET (soda) bottles to chill the wort down to ale or lager temps. Have found it to be more effective and just as fast if not quicker in cooling the wort down to desired pitching temps!

Through these changes I have accomplished savings in time and effort and have removed the need to make ice, and use a cooler/bucket, two pumps and corresponding hose. I no longer have to move, hook-up or clean these particular pieces of equipment. Also there has been a reduction in mess and spilled wort or water.

Great idea! I guess I would just be worried about the plastic melting. Do you not have problems? Perhaps the thermal transmission through the plastic helps prevent that sort of thing?

I'm assuming he's using the IC to get it down below 80F and then dropping in the ice bottles.  Euge?

That is correct sir! In the winter the IC will get the wort down to 65-ish. But the rest of the year I drop in 10 sanitized frozen bottles at about 90* and let it sit until desired temps are reached. I can get 6 gallons down to 45* easily; then drain the wort off the bottles and rinse them afterwards.

[AmandaK]

Fermentation temperature control was my big one when I first started.

But really, paying attention to what I'm doing, taking notes and making smart recipe decisions have been a big help. (Thanks Designing Great Beers!)

[beersk]

Big change - chest freezer/controller for fermenting.
little change - quit trying to emulate water profiles, took a minimalist approach to water treatment.

Agreed on the water profiles. Started using only calcium chloride on most beers, just as you have.

[kmccaf]

Using Bru N' Water to get my pH dialed in. I just started this, so I'll just have to see if it works.

I have also started using less crystal malt, and have been boiling the first gallon of run-off to half a gallon. I feel this has been improve the malt profile significantly.

[hopfenundmalz]

Last year Brunwater. The year before the chest freezer with temp control. Adding hops at flameout and whirlpooling helped improve some beers.

[denny]

I have also started using less crystal malt, and have been boiling the first gallon of run-off to half a gallon. I feel this has been improve the malt profile significantly.

You don't feel like they give you different results?

[kmccaf]

I have also started using less crystal malt, and have been boiling the first gallon of run-off to half a gallon. I feel this has been improve the malt profile significantly.

You don't feel like they give you different results?

Ha, I posted that, and thought I should have elaborated, or at the very least rewritten it into two sentences.

Oh, I am looking for different things from both of them. Using less crystal/specialty malt has meant that I spend more time justifying the presence of each ingredient. This I believe has given me a better malt profile, as it doesn't taste so muddied, and it is also giving me a better idea of what each malt is bringing. Boiling the first gallon down gives me a darker color (which is something that I personally like), and also helps get a boil quicker on my fairly weak stovetop. Otherwise, I suppose I should do two batches and gauge how it affects my tastebuds, as I recall a thread where this topic was being discussed, and the results seemed dependent on the individual's taste. Perhaps in the near future: same recipe, one where I don't boil down the runnings, and the other where I do.

[punatic]

I went from a chiller to a condenser.

[Kaiser]

I went from a chiller to a condenser.

Elaborate.

Kai

[Alewyfe]

Using Brun'Water and reading Martin's, AJ's, Kais and Noonans work re: mash pH has helped me to actually start to understand what I'm trying to do with my water. Results today with a newly purchased pH meter indicates that I am getting very close to desired pH using Martin's spreadsheets. Results in recent competitions indicated that my attention to water was netting better beer.

Thinning my mash to 1.5ltrs/# has increased my efficiency from around 70 to 75%. Todays batch of ordinary, using the tighter controls the pH meter afforded has given me another 10% increase in mash efficiency. (what ever will I do with all the extra beer?)

Also got a pump earlier this year which has helped get wort chilled faster. Also like it for recirculating mash to vorlauf...beautifully clear wort into the kettle.

[DrewG]

Extending my cold crash to about a weeks time w/ gelatin a needed. Getting nice clear beers, even the heavily dry hopped ones.