[Tfwebster]

Over the last year, I've made the jump to all grain and have brewed some different styles. I'm wondering if anyone can point me towards a list of homebrew skills ordered from least to increasing difficulty. I want to level up my skills and brew quality,  and I'd like to get advice on where to go next. Thank you.

[Saccharomyces]

The difference between okay beer and good beer is quality control. I have seen people compare brewing to cooking, but, in my humble opinion, there is very little overlap. If we want compare a culinary discipline to brewing, it would be baking. Like brewing, baking is art fused with science. Unlike cooking, baking is exacting like brewing.

The best way to improve quality control is to keep a brewing log where everything you do and everything you observe is logged. That means everything you do while making wort is logged, not just your recipe. You should log how you cleaned and sanitized your gear. Everything related to yeast culturing and pitching should be logged as well as how each fermentation proceeded. Everything in racking and legging/bottling should be logged. The goal is to keep as many data points as possible, so that you will be able to troubleshoot problems as well as establish best practices for your brewery. Quality control is the most important thing a brewer can master. Quality control is how a brewer improves batch to batch consistency.

With that said, like quality control, recipe creation improves with experience. You will gain experience with different grist compositions and hop bills if you stick with the hobby long enough. For example, I tend to stick with Galena and Magnum (Galena is one of Magnum’s parent) as kettle (bittering) hops because I know how they play with finishing hops.

Remember that brewing has always been an apprenticed vocation; therefore, experience, observation, and adjustment are the best teacher.  Other than that, I would read style books and at least one book on yeast.

[BrewBama]

I look at home brewing as individual processes combined. IOW you can advance in one process while simultaneously practicing a less advanced technique in another process.

**It’s only an advance in technology required not necessarily advance in terms of better beer.**

Milling: LHBS milled moves to personal mill

Heat: propane moves to electric

Steam control: open vessel moves to vent or condenser

Mash: single infusion moves to temp rest steps

Mash temp control: insulation moves to HERMS or RIMS

Moving liquid: gravity moves to pump(s)

Cooling: no chill moves to ice bath to recirculating chiller

Fermentation: no temp control moves to swamp cooler to control refrigeration to glycol

Packaging: moves from bottling to kegging


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[Kevin]

Might I add to Saccharomyces excellent advise... take all of those recorded data points and strive for consistency and repeatability. If you make a great beer once but are unable to repeat it then there is something in your process you need to work on. It is very tempting to make an IPA today, a Porter tomorrow and a Belgian Blonde after that. And that is part of the fun in homebrewing for many. But you will greatly improve your brewing skills if you make that IPA over and over until you get consistent results. Not only have you learned to make a very good IPA but your overall process skills will be honed to the point that any other style you attempt will also have a good chance at turning out well.

[hopfenundmalz]

I look at home brewing as individual processes combined. IOW you can advance in one process while simultaneously practicing a less advanced technique in another process.

**It’s only an advance in technology required not necessarily advance in terms of better beer.**

Milling: LHBS milled moves to personal mill

Heat: propane moves to electric

Steam control: open vessel moves to vent or condenser

Mash: single infusion moves to temp rest steps

Mash temp control: insulation moves to HERMS or RIMS

Moving liquid: gravity moves to pump(s)

Cooling: no chill moves to ice bath to recirculating chiller

Fermentation: no temp control moves to swamp cooler to control refrigeration to glycol

Packaging: moves from bottling to kegging


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Very good list.

I can add once kegging:

Push sanitizer out with CO2 to purge atmospheric O2

Learn to do closed transfers from fermenter to the keg.

[Andy Farke]

There are some good suggestions in previous posts, and I heartily agree with BrewBama's caution that "It’s only an advance in technology required not necessarily advance in terms of better beer." This point was emphasized for me when I visited the home of Randy Sauter, who won the gold medal for the Double IPA category at NHC in 2017 (see here: http://blog.brewingwithbriess.com/nhc-gold-medal-double-ipa-recipe-by-randy-sauter/). His setup is one of the simplest I have ever seen--basic cooler mash tuns, no fancy pumps or glycol systems, all easy to put together and tear down. He just knows every inch of his system, inside and out, and how to use that comparatively simple system to get incredible results. As suggested by Saccharomyces, Randy logs the heck out of his brews, does lots of self-evaluation, and iterates until he gets the results he is looking for.

Some other things to add to the previous lists....

Water: Use water straight from the tap w/o adjustment --> adjusting tap water --> building water from RO (and I would add getting and using a water test kit somewhere in there--it has been super helpful for me as I plan out brews); I could almost argue the last two steps could be swapped, because building up from RO is actually way easier and more predictable (if you have an RO source) than fiddling around with your tap water.

pH control: No measurement/adjustment of pH in mash --> pH strips to track mash pH and adjust accordingly --> pH meter to track and adjust pH throughout process

Oxygenation of wort: None --> "splash 'n' shake" method --> sprayer/Venturi pump to aerate w/atmospheric O2 --> aquarium pump to aerate --> O2 wand or similar setup to oxygenate with pure O2 [personally, I use either the spray/Venturi method or O2 wand, depending on the needs of a particular recipe -- it just ain't worth the O2, in my opinion, for a 1.045 session porter fermented at 68 degrees, for instance!]

Recipe design: Premade kits --> following published recipes --> modifying published recipes --> researching, developing, and iterating your own recipes

Along the same lines as the last point, I think truly learning your ingredients via SMaSH beers is another good way to expand your brewing horizons and deepen brewing knowledge. I found I didn't *understand* malts and hops and yeast until I started isolating the ingredients in a particular recipe. It helped me to start to distinguish between different maltsters with similar product (e.g., pilsner malt from Briess vs. Great Western vs. Weyermann vs. BestMalz), and it also really helped me shift my recipe design skills from "doing it just because the recipe or the BJCP said so" to "what does this ingredient actually do for my recipe?"

[hopfenundmalz]

There are some good suggestions in previous posts, and I heartily agree with BrewBama's caution that "It’s only an advance in technology required not necessarily advance in terms of better beer." This point was emphasized for me when I visited the home of Randy Sauter, who won the gold medal for the Double IPA category at NHC in 2017 (see here: http://blog.brewingwithbriess.com/nhc-gold-medal-double-ipa-recipe-by-randy-sauter/). His setup is one of the simplest I have ever seen--basic cooler mash tuns, no fancy pumps or glycol systems, all easy to put together and tear down. He just knows every inch of his system, inside and out, and how to use that comparatively simple system to get incredible results. As suggested by Saccharomyces, Randy logs the heck out of his brews, does lots of self-evaluation, and iterates until he gets the results he is looking for.

Some other things to add to the previous lists....

Water: Use water straight from the tap w/o adjustment --> adjusting tap water --> building water from RO (and I would add getting and using a water test kit somewhere in there--it has been super helpful for me as I plan out brews); I could almost argue the last two steps could be swapped, because building up from RO is actually way easier and more predictable (if you have an RO source) than fiddling around with your tap water.

pH control: No measurement/adjustment of pH in mash --> pH strips to track mash pH and adjust accordingly --> pH meter to track and adjust pH throughout process

Oxygenation of wort: None --> "splash 'n' shake" method --> sprayer/Venturi pump to aerate w/atmospheric O2 --> aquarium pump to aerate --> O2 wand or similar setup to oxygenate with pure O2 [personally, I use either the spray/Venturi method or O2 wand, depending on the needs of a particular recipe -- it just ain't worth the O2, in my opinion, for a 1.045 session porter fermented at 68 degrees, for instance!]

Recipe design: Premade kits --> following published recipes --> modifying published recipes --> researching, developing, and iterating your own recipes

Along the same lines as the last point, I think truly learning your ingredients via SMaSH beers is another good way to expand your brewing horizons and deepen brewing knowledge. I found I didn't *understand* malts and hops and yeast until I started isolating the ingredients in a particular recipe. It helped me to start to distinguish between different maltsters with similar product (e.g., pilsner malt from Briess vs. Great Western vs. Weyermann vs. BestMalz), and it also really helped me shift my recipe design skills from "doing it just because the recipe or the BJCP said so" to "what does this ingredient actually do for my recipe?"

Joe Formanek won 2 Ninkasi awards with a ZapPap Mash lauter tun, and a ceramic coated steel canning kettle. He knew his process, paid attention to fermentation, etc. A PhD in Food Science didn't hurt.

[Saccharomyces]

His setup is one of the simplest I have ever seen--basic cooler mash tuns, no fancy pumps or glycol systems, all easy to put together and tear down. He just knows every inch of his system, inside and out, and how to use that comparatively simple system to get incredible results.

I have always used a beverage cooler for a mash/lauter tun and another beverage cooler for a hot liquor back (I do mostly single and step infusion mashes).   I recently started to acquire stuff needed to build my next brewhouse.  I was thinking about going all stainless or doing the all-in-one thing, but I like my old process, so I purchased two 7-gallon Fermenter's Favorites beverage coolers from Northern Brewer (Northern Brewer is currently selling this cooler for $33.93 shipped to one's door).  I used two 7-gallon Rubbermaid beverage coolers in the second brewhouse that I built and came to appreciate the size because it is big enough for big 5-gallon beers and small enough that there is not ton head space like there is in 10-gallon beverage cooler (I used 5-gallon industrial Igloo coolers in my last brewhouse ,which was primarily a 3-gallon brewhouse).  I did go a little upscale on a kettle with a custom Spike+, but I only specified drain valve and electrical element TC ports.  I have no need for a thermometer on a kettle.  I have a thermapen for when I am heating strike and sparge liquor.  While I owned a March pump in my last brewhouse, I never used it.  I build my brewhouses to use gravity and to be easy to tear down and store out of the way. 

[Saccharomyces]

Joe Formanek won 2 Ninkasi awards with a ZapPap Mash lauter tun, and a ceramic coated steel canning kettle. He knew his process, paid attention to fermentation, etc. A PhD in Food Science didn't hurt.

My first lauter tun was a Zapap.  I used it mostly for partial-grain brewing.  I moved up to a 10-gallon Gott cooler when I went all-grain in the fall of 1993.  I still used a white fermentation bucket with spigot for while until I got smart and purchased another beverage cooler.  What was cool about the old Rubbermaid/Gott coolers is if one removed the valve, but left the valve gasket, one could insert a length of racking cane in a stopper (I #2.5 I believe) and insert the stopper in the valve from the inside with the small end of the stopper pointing out.  The pressure from the liquid would hold it is place.  A section of tubing could be connected to the end of the racking cane that was pointing out of the cooler and a hose clamp could be used to regulate flow.  The concept of using what was then a very expensive stainless steel ball valve assembly for a cooler-based mash tun was unheard of.

[Tfwebster]

These have been awesome suggestions. Thank you. It occurred to me as I read some of your responses that, though I'm working I ut of 5 gallon buckets, there remain elements of my process that 8 want to better understand (like gravity). Thanks again.

[denny]

If I can add something philosophical, remember to have fun.  For many years I got so hung up on the beer, and I finally realized I was stressing and not having fun.  Always remember, its a hobby and it's supposed to be fun.  It's only beer.

[ynotbrusum]

Along Denny’s comment, let yourself make a mistake and learn from it. 

For example, the current NEIPA trend involves oxygen ingress limiting in packaging.  Some brewers can’t finish a five gallon batch before O2 turns it brown - and mutes the hop freshness, so consider brewing smaller batches and therefore brewing more often.  This is a case where the style simply dictates a quick consumption timeframe for most homebrewers, or a meticulous approach to oxygen free packaging processes.

[chinaski]

I'll add sensory training to your list.  I joined a BJCP exam study group via my club and learned a ton by comparing tasting notes with others as we learned the styles and what make them tick.  I know that this may not be an option to you (especially in the present moment) but doing this, along with judging competitions helped my brewing tremendously, and it was fun.  I learned a ton about styles, off-flavors, and where my own blind spots are in those areas.

I also agree with the process points already made- knowing your own equipment, ways you like to use it, and its efficiency is the key to successfully brewing a recipe that you designed.

[goose]

I look at home brewing as individual processes combined. IOW you can advance in one process while simultaneously practicing a less advanced technique in another process.

**It’s only an advance in technology required not necessarily advance in terms of better beer.**

Milling: LHBS milled moves to personal mill

Heat: propane moves to electric

Steam control: open vessel moves to vent or condenser

Mash: single infusion moves to temp rest steps

Mash temp control: insulation moves to HERMS or RIMS

Moving liquid: gravity moves to pump(s)

Cooling: no chill moves to ice bath to recirculating chiller

Fermentation: no temp control moves to swamp cooler to control refrigeration to glycol

Packaging: moves from bottling to kegging


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Very good list.

I can add once kegging:

Push sanitizer out with CO2 to purge atmospheric O2

Learn to do closed transfers from fermenter to the keg.

Yup!