Kevin's Home-brewing

Tip #1:

"As a beginning homebrewer, the task at hand may seem very intimidating, but one of the best pieces of advise is this: follow the recipe directions exactly, but be especially careful of your cleaning and sanitizing methods. A wild yeast or bacterial infection will ruin a batch of beer and you will certainly be able to tell that in the aroma and taste! Common "infection" flavors include cidery, vinegary, band-aid, medicinal, solvent-like, and excessive fruitiness. In addition, infected beers will often be over-carbonated in the bottle, and may show long, white "stringy things" clinging to the inside of the bottle. So, carefully clean all equipment and sanitize thoroughly everything that will come into contact with your post-boil wort."
 

Tip #2:

"The last homebrew tip focused on the importance of following the directions provided by the homebrew kit manufacturer in making the beer, along with the mandatory cleaning and sanitizing that must accompany brewing. This next tip is just as critical to the production of good quality homebrew; pitching yeast into a well-aerated and cooled wort. After the 1 hour boil called for by most quality kits, the wort should be chilled as quickly as possible to 65-70F. This is best accomplished by the use of a wort chiller, a device that should bring the temperature down to the pitching range within 20-40 minutes. The longer the period between the conclusion of the boil and the pitching of the yeast, the greater is the chance that one's wort will become "infected" with a wild yeast strain or bacteria that will compete against the desired agent of fermentation (your yeast) and result in the production of off-flavors and potentially hazy beer. A good homebrew shop will carry a simple immersion-style chiller consisting of 25 feet or more of copper tubing; if the brewer is handy, they are not too difficult to make on your own. This type of chiller circulates cold tap water through the coil, thus conducting heat away from the wort and chilling to within several degrees of the tap water temperature, which should allow one to attain a proper pitching temperature within 30-40 minutes. Other, more expensive 'counterflow chillers' are available, which are even more efficient, some claiming to achieve pitching temperature within 15 minutes! Next tip: what exactly are you pitching?"

respectfully submitted, with love, from kevin.

Kevin Spicer, Brewer in the tank
Mike Rowe, Dirty Jobs on the right