So, I’m wondering if anyone else is like me. I’m finding that for beers I brew fairly regularly, I’m starting to skip a lot of measurements. For example. I know my 2L pitcher holds pretty much 3.3 lbs of malt. Can vary a bit depending on the malt but it’s pretty close. So, 3 scoops is pretty much 10 lbs. For a 5 gal batch of APA I’m just doing 3 scoops plus specialty malt. I’m not weighing the base malt. Likewise, I was obsessive about OG and FG for the first year or so but now I’m taking pre-boil OG (most of the time) and usually forgetting all about my post boil and FG. I leave my beer for a minimum of 2 weeks prior to kegging and I don’t bottle so bottle bombs aren’t as big a worry. Same for pH. For my APA recipe, I add 4 ml phosphoric acid and don’t worry about the pH meter because it’s always been the same and I end up doing the same thing each time. I even forgot to take mash temp last time (although I took the temp of the water in). I probably shouldn’t forget that one though.
For a new recipe, I still take as many readings as I can but for the mainstay brews, I’m starting to wing it a bit more. Anyone else have recipes that they just know?
You can get by with that and be relaxed about it. I am. Regardless if you run into a problem or the like you might want to tighten it up till it is solved.
RDWHAHB… if you’re wound too tight then its more like a job and less like fun or a hobby. If I were brewing to be a “Pro” then yeh I’d probably be more of a stickler but hey… I brew for myself and I’m my own worst critic. I’ve been told by a few people my brews are as good as X and Y in the stores but being honest I have a hard time “repeating” a brew exactly… but then I don’t worry about it too much either.
Every time I get a new 50 lb bag of grain I weigh a 2 cup measuring cup 5 times on my digital scale and average and write this on the side of the bag. Its scoops from there on out.
My mash time is 3 beers and a cigar.
I shoot for 5.5 gallons in the fermenter and will take a gravity reading and that’s what I got.
Keg in 4 weeks.
I try not to make the same beer twice. If I want repeatability I will buy it.
Edit: I weigh hops on a digital scale, adjust mash temps within ~2 degrees, ferment in a controlled enviroment within ~3 degrees
I take a fair number of measurements for every brew although it’s getting to the point where my system is dialed in so well that some of them are kind of redundant as I know what they’ll be before I take them. But sooner or later I’ll do something to upgrade or change what I’m doing and having the measurements will help me figure out the impact it’s having.
I’m pretty easy going on brew day. i do take pretty good notes i can look back on. however, I am also refining my process a little for the jump to all grain in the spring. I like trying something different just about every time, mostly because I read about a new hop I want to play with. if I like the beer, I give to my friends. if I’m not crazy about I keep it to myself. half the fun for me is just putting stuff together in the kettle and seeing what comes out of the bottle.
I weigh out my grain and measure my volumes fairly accurately. This enables me to accurately calculate my efficiency. I use beersmith and keep pretty good notes. I measure my pH and build my water up from Distilled. It’s my type “A” or “leftbrain” personality hard at work. ;D I use a triple beam scale to weigh my hops. Most importantly, I enjoy all of the aspects of homebrewing…well…except cleaning the mash tun and BK. Other than that I still RDWHAHB. ;)
I have a scoop that holds 2 pounds of malted barley, and about 2.2 pounds of wheat. That’s close enough for me. I do weigh my hops on a digital scale, but I add 10-20% more to account for their age. Again that’s close enough.
I’m a lot more careful with fermentation temps than I am with mash temp-154-156 is close enough for most of my ales, and 147-150 is good enough for the rest of my beers but fermentation temps are closely monitored.
Water volumes are approximate, I’ve brewed hundreds of batches with my equipment and recipes so I eyeball the strike volume and sparge until I either see 1.010 on the runoff or reach my pre boil approximate volume. Efficiency isn’t important to me as a homebrewer, if I went commercial obviously it would matter more.
I have gotten less particular about some things and more about others over time. These days I don’t stress about any deviance in OG from planned over half a degree Plato. If I am within a degree and a half at the beginning of boil I can get within my target range by making a slight boil adjustment. So while I do weigh grain on a postal scale (it’s easy and I have the scale) I would be fine with a volume based measurement.
Like Ron, I’m pretty meticulous (or OCD!) about taking reading, weighing and measuring, and taking notes. But that’s because I enjoy tracking those things. You certainly don’t have to. The AHA used to have a saying that went “It isn’t rocket science unless you want it to be!”.
I don’t usually get too involved in readings and stuff. I do try to measure weight of hops and grains pretty much right on. I take an OG reading before I pitch the yeast and one a day or two before I keg.
I like to start the brew day at about 7 am & drink coffee throughout most of the process.
This allows me to spend more quality family time, in the afternoon.
I’m pretty meticulous about measuring.
I also take a lot of notes on a custom spreadsheet I designed on Excel. Maybe it’s my German blood, but I’m sort of a perfectionist when it comes to brewing. That said, I love the hobby and don’t feel at all like it’s work. Brewday is something I look forward to all week!
OCD would be an improvement for me lol. I take readings on everything. Use a digital grams scale for my hops and my grain. It’s all down to a gnats back side for me but I’m just that way when it comes to cooking and brewing. Pre boil gravity Post boil gravity readings , before bottling gravity, mash temps and lots of notes. I like to know exactly what went down just in case I need to figure out what went wrong. Also that way if I am experimenting with a grain or hops combination and like the outcome I know exactly what I did and can reproduce it.
