I’ve been brewing for about 8 years, all-grain for about 4, and though my results are consistent and to my liking, I’ve always been curious on how others approach or conduct their brew day. if you have any experience or opinions on the following questions, please respond, any help would be much appreciated!
Hop bag during boil, or add hops straight to kettle?
Whirlfloc or Irish Moss? 15 min, 10 min, or 5 min?
Decant yeast starter or just pitch everything?
Whirlpool or just dump into primary fermenter?
Length of primary fermentation? Someone told me recently no less than 3 weeks.
I create a manual whirlpool (no pump), then siphon off of most of the trub. A little is beneficial.
Depends on the beer and the yeast used.
Yes, always.
Mostly Wyeast, because that’s the brand that my LHBS is contracted to carry. I get it consistently fresh that way. But White Labs is very high quality too.
Yes, in airtight containers in the garage, not the fridge.
I think anything that can boost the health and performance of the yeast is worth doing, especially at a cheap price. Stressed yeast can give off undesireable flavors and aromas. But I’ve pitched big healthy starters for a long time, so the results aren’t dramatic. I’ve forgotten before on occasion and made good beer. But I like the insurance.
Hop bag during boil, or add hops straight to kettle? In kettle, nekkid
Whirlfloc or Irish Moss? 15 min, 10 min, or 5 min? Whirlfloc (1/4 tab for 3-galon batch). It goes in at 10 minutes, unless I have a late hop addition at 5 or 15 minutes. I don’t make a separate addition just for finings and nutrient.
Decant yeast starter or just pitch everything? I only make starters for lagers, so I decant since the starter is quite large relative to the batch size.
Whirlpool or just dump into primary fermenter? Dump through a screen or a paint strainer bag over a strainer
Length of primary fermentation? Normal gravity ales for 2 weeks. Saison gets 3 weeks. High gravity ales get 4-6 weeks. Lagers are 3 weeks primary, about 3 days or so for a D-rest, crash & keg. Then they lager for as long as I can keep from drinking them
Use of yeast nutrient? Yes, but I can’t say for sure that I’ve noticed a difference when I started using it
White Labs or Wyeast? Fermentis. But honestly, it’s really dependant on what strain I want. Among liquid yeast, I prefer Wyeast. It’s a nice security blanket when you smack the pack and see it swell up. But I have no problems with White Labs either. That’s what my LHBS carries. I don’t shop there often, but I wouldn’t think twice about using WL.
Storing grain? In the refrigerator? In the original and/or ziploc bags in my basement. I’d never put it in the fridge - it’s way too humid in there.
As far as hops go, I prefer to add them straight to the kettle but if you use whole hops you might end up with some problems with clogging. When I used whole hops in past I had a screen on my ball valve on my kettle and as long as I didn’t have too many hops in the boil it worked great. Sometimes on highly hopped beers it would clog though. Once on a IIPA with exclusively whole hops it clogged so bad I had to scoop the batch out with a quart measuring cup and filter through a colander. Luckily I was using an IC and not a CFC so it was cool when scooping out.
Depends: if it’s not showing activity/krausen at the start of brew day, I’ll turn off the stir plate and decant without chilling; if there’s activity, I’ll leave the stir plate on and dump it all in.
Just dump through a strainer bag.
Usually no less than 3 weeks, more for bigger/slower beers. Partially a function of “longer is better” and partially laziness…
Yeast nutrient in starter and boil.
Both yeast wranglers are high quality; I go with the available yeast strain.
I get all my grain from my LHBS and they grind it; no storage at all (aside from a day or two on the kitchen counter awaiting brew day).
Irish moss at 10 or 15. It is not a meaningful difference. I just add it with whatever additions might be going in around that time.
Decant.
Dump.
Typically 14-21 days depending on ale/lager and gravity.
Typically yes with lagers and high gravity beers. I should use it all the time but I frequently forget.
I have access to both but I usually buy Wyeast. I like the smack packs.
Some refrigerated, some not. It’s pretty humid here during most of the year so the fridge can be a less humid location than the ambient environment in my house.
Pellets go straight into the kettle. I don’t use leaf hops much, but when I do, I bag them in leg stockings.
Whirlfloc at 10 minutes… When I add yeast nutrient
Always decant. Why would I want to make the beer that I worked hard to craft be cut with 10% crummy starter beer?
I don’t whirlpool but I will hopstand with 0 minute hop additions. I filter through a let stocking that is ziptied to the hose into a bucket. This catches 95% of a debris. Then I dump from bucket into a carboy. This is how I oxygenate the wort.
I leave my beers in the primary until they are done fermenting… However long that takes.
I use Wyeast yeast nutrient in my starters and brews… It’s cheap.
I use White Labs. It’s what is available around me. They also have more strains. I’ve used WYeast, but I have to get it through the mail, and I just don’t like doing that. I have no complaint with it. With White Labs, you can send in 10 labels and get a coupon for a free vial.
I only buy bulk grain unless it’s a specialty that I usually don’t use. I have industrial sized 5 gallon ziplock bags that will hold 30 lbs of grain. I store my base malts in these. I also have industrial 3 gallon ziplocks that I store my specialties in. I store these bags in large plastic storage bins in the basement. I buy about 200 lb of grain when I find sales probably semi-annually… I’ve had no problems with grain stored this way over a year.
In the kettle. I only use pellets, so no worries about clogging the pump.
Whirlfloc T according to the package instructions (15 min, 1 tablet per bbl per 5°P).
Decant, always.
10 min whirlpool, 20 min rest. I have a side port with an elbow on it that pulls right off the bottom of the kettle.
Fermentation, 4-6 days at average gravity. Usually 12-14 days in the fermenter. 3-4 day warm rest, 3-4 day cold crash.
Generic DAP/urea blend, 1 g in 6 gal of average-gravity wort.
Given the “same” strain, I would choose Wyeast for the built-in viability test.
In the original sack, folded over to get most of the air out. Store in a cool, dry place. I really have no idea how best to store grain in a place with humidity.
