Brew Dudes Homebrewing Blog

5 Tips To Level Up Your Beer

On March 1, 2023

We were asked by one of our followers to put together a post to discuss ways one could brew better beer. They liked the information that we were putting out there, but they wanted something specific. Since they were just starting their homebrewing hobby, they were hoping to get some advice on how to brew better. We gave it some thought and put together this list of five ways you can level up your beer brewing process. Check out our video where we talk about it in detail:

How to Improve your Homebrew

Here’s a run down of the tips we talked about in our video.

Cleaning and Sanitation

It is important to know that cleaning and sanitizing are two different things. Remember it is a two step process. Make sure you clean your equipment good as you can’t sanitize dirt. When in doubt, throw it out (especially tubing or plastic parts on the cold side)

Water

Learn about the water you are using to brew. Almost all tap water needs to be treated for chlorine so learn how to add a Campden tablet before brewing. Classical city profiles are garbage. The brewers of Burton on Trent are not using their tap water. Get to know your tap water from an analysis from Ward Labs and season with brewing salts to taste. Brew at least one recipe you know with RO, distilled or soft spring water. it might reveal a lot.

Yeast Management

You’ll make better beer with great yeast in mediocre wort than you will with mediocre yeast in great wort. Pay attention to what you are pitching – how much yeast and how health the yeast is will make a big difference. Recipe design takes a back seat to better beer if your yeast is no good.

Fermentation Plan

Make a yeast starter in advance, or buy it fresh. Time your yeast purchase with your brew day. Figure out where you are going to ferment and learn what the ambient temperatures are going to be. Tune the recipe/process towards that information (cooler styles, warmer styles). Invest in active temperature control when you are able. Be sure your schedule is clear when you anticipate the fermentation being done. Don’t let the beer sit too long on yeast cake.

Take Notes

We have said it before but it is important to take fastidious notes. Write down all the the items you want to know about your brewing process. Look at your notes when you finally drink the beer. We actually have a post that has homebrewing notetaking tips for you. Review your findings to continue the process to level up your beer.

Some Things That Not As Important

As a bonus, we included these things that you don’t have to worry about as much.

Recipes

Everyone wants that “killer recipe” but process trumps recipes. Most of the world’s best beer styles get their greatness from the process rather than a complex recipe. Pilsners, wheat beers, and sour beers are examples of beers with simple recipes but are excellent because of careful brewing practices.

Expensive Equipment

Buying lots of “fancy toys” is a fun part of the hobby but if you don’t pay attention to the 5 tips above, it’s not going to help you.

Following Others

Find your own process in the “brew house”. Create your own muscle memory. Your consistency will result in better beer.

So there you go – 5 tips to level up your beer and some things you don’t have to worry as much about. We hope they serve you well.

BREW ON!

Base Malt Comparison Between Maris Otter and American 2 Row

Maris Otter Vs. 2 Row – Base Malt Comparison

By John Krochune

On February 22, 2023

In Malts, Videos

We brew beers to compare hops. We brew beers to compare yeasts. Here we are – finally – brewing beers to compare base malts. Have you wondered what Maris Otter really brings to the table? Is there a big difference between American 2 Row malt and the famous English malt? Mike brews two beers where the only difference is the base malt. Watch this video and see this base malt comparison. Is Maris Otter no big deal as Mike states? You decide.

Details of the Beers

Mike brewed two beers. He used the same water in both. The hops were East Kent Goldings (EKG) and the yeast was SafLager W-34/70. Lastly, the beers were brewed on the same day so that their fermentation conditions were the same too. By keeping all the other variables in these beers the same and changing just the base malt, we created the best conditions to compare the malts.

Base Malt Comparison Findings

Right from the look of the beers, you can see the one brewed with Maris Otter was a bit darker. That makes sense since it have a higher Lovibond degree than the American 2 Row malt.

The American 2 Row beer has stronger hop aromas along with more lager yeast components. There are sulfur notes when you take a whiff of this beer.

The Maris Otter beer’s aroma is more malt forward. Even with the same hops amounts and yeast strain, the malt overpowers their contributions.

The body of the Maris Otter beer is fuller than the 2 Row beer. The English malt may be bringing dextrins to the beer.

In the flavor, I found the malty notes dominate in the Maris Otter beer as compared to the 2 Row one. The 2 Row beer expresses the hop character where the Maris Otter beer had less of that component.

Overall, with this base malt comparison, Mike felt the Maris Otter beer didn’t have as much of the cracker/biscuit flavors that he expected. His opinion of this comparison that there isn’t a huge difference between these two base malts. I found the differences to be slight but enough to note there are differences.

May this point of data serve you well.

BREW ON!

Nectaron Hops SMaSH Review and Tasting

By John Krochune

On February 15, 2023

In Hops, Videos

Back in 2021, a reader asked us to brew a SMaSH beer with Nectaron hops. “Absolutely!”, we replied. Sadly, this variety wasn’t available. We had to wait two years to get our hands on a packet of these pellets. When the 2022 harvest was made available on Yakima Valley Hops, I purchase a couple of packets – one to brew a SMaSH beer. Finally, we have fulfilled our goal. Watch this video to see what we thought of this New Zealand hop.

A Little Bit About Nectaron Hops

This variety is bred by New Zealand’s Plant & Food Research. This organization has had a hand in many of the NZ hops we have grown to love like Nelson Sauvin and Motueka. Nectaron hops are a sister of Waimea and carry the many of the same new world hop descriptors.

My SMaSH process is to brew a gallon batch with 2 pounds of malt, 2 US gallons of water, 1 ounce of hops, and US-05 yeast to ferment. Now, let’s how this beer tasted.

What Were Our Thoughts?

Off the nose, Mike picked up some melon aromas with some spice. After tasting the beer, Mike mentioned notes of green grape and lychee. I found the flavor has unripe peach flavors mixed with spicy ginger and zesty citrus.

The marketing descriptors have pineapple listed in them. We didn’t detect them. A thiol-supporting yeast strain may make those other tropical fruit notes pop in the beer. Mike likes the idea of brewing a Witbier with this hop along with the coriander and the orange peel.

Remember, we’re two dudes tasting our own beer. Take these ideas as a data point on the road to beer greatness. We like this hop a lot and think you should brew with them. Use them in your next hop forward beer.

BREW ON!

Altbier Brewed With K97 Ale Yeast

By John Krochune

On February 8, 2023

In Recipes, Videos, Yeast

Mike was in the mood for an Altbier. For where we are in the world, it’s the right season for this German ale style. The colder room temperatures we get in the winter are great for the fermentation. In this edition of the Brew Dudes blog, we review a version of this classic style that was brewed with a new-to-homebrewers dry yeast strain: SafAle K-97 German Ale Dry Yeast from Fermentis. Let’s learn about this one together, shall we?

Mike’s Altbier Recipe

First off, here’s what Mike brewed. His recipes are now in a 3 US Gallon format because he is using his BrewZilla and has a couple of kegs that suit this batch size. They allow him to do easy closed transfers too.

Boil size: 3.75 US gallons
Batch size: 3 US gallons

GRAINS

4.5 pounds (2.04 kg) of Pilsner Malt – 80% of the grain bill
0.5 pounds (227 g) of Aromatic Malt – 9% of the grain bill
0.5 pounds (227 g) of CARAMUNICH I at 35° L – 9% of the grain bill
2 ounces (57 g) of CARAFA SPECIAL Type 3 at 470° L – 2% of the grain bill

HOPS

2 ounces of Hersbrucker Hops at 2.2% AA – boiled for 60 minutes

WATER

Spring water with gypsum added to bring sulfate level to 120 PPM

YEAST

The star of the show: 1 packet of SafAle K-97 German Ale Dry Yeast

INSTRUCTIONS

Mashed at 145° F (63° C) for 40 minutes, ramping up to 155° F (68° C) for 10 minutes, and mashing out at 168° F (76 ° C) for another 10 minutes. Fermented at basement temperatures for 2 weeks. Kegged and force carbonated.

OUTCOMES

Original Gravity: 1.042
Final Gravity: 1.009
% ABV: 4.33%

Our Tremendous Tasting Notes

This beer hasn’t settled totally in the keg so it is a bit murky. Although the clarity needs work, the color is light brown with faint reddish highlights.

The malt aromas are strong. We’re not sure if we picked up any hop notes.

The flavor is dominated with a toasty, a slightly roasty character from the malts. Mike thinks the Aromatic malt is singing nicely in this beer. The malt notes are backed up by the spicy hop character from the Hersbrucker. Since this style calls for a IBU target of 50, the bitterness note should be strong in this beer. A stronger alpha acid percentage would have helped here.

Overall, high marks for how this dry yeast performed. With more time to condition in the keg, the flavor of this beer will be cleaner and more pillowy like that of a Kölsch.

Use this yeast the next time you brew an Alt!

BREW ON!

BrewZilla All-In-One All Grain Homebrewing Beer System

BrewZilla All-Grain Brewing System: Initial Review

By John Krochune

On February 1, 2023

In Equipment, Videos

Well, it’s true. These Brew Dudes have entered the 21st century of homebrewing. We each have a BrewZilla All-Grain Brewing System in our respective (brew) houses. After brewing on them for a while, we came together on this video to talk about our experiences. Here’s all the good and bad stuff we have encountered using this piece of electric homebrewing equipment.

No Longer Old School

I remember a comment we received when shooting a live video on YouTube that Mike and I were brewing “old school”. Yes, we batch sparge in orange coolers and boil on propane burners. With all the investment needed for that set-up, it is hard to change your homebrewing style. Also, it works!

Certainly, all-in-one, all-grain electric brewing systems have been around for years. Finally, we’ve caught up with the rest of the world. Mike purchased his BrewZilla 3.1.1 when it was on discount. I got mine from our friend Kee Doery from Kegland.

Over the past 3 months, Mike has been brewing all of his beers on his system. I had one brew session under my belt. Based on this experience we have a few things to express about brewing on this gear.

The BrewZilla Pros and Cons

Let’s list the great things first:

We appreciate the temperature control as it reduces the need to babysit the brewing process. Set the control for the mash temp you want, add the grain, mix it well in your mash water and come back in an hour.

Mike has seen a mash efficiency bump in his brews. On his recirculating mash setup with propane burners, he gets a sugar extraction of 70%. With this system, he sees his range between 85 and 87%

He also likes using the timer so he can set the water to heat at some point in the future. It has allowed him to prep earlier in the day and use him time during the brew session to brew.

I like that I didn’t have to babysit the boil. Since I was brewing a world renowned 1 gallon SMaSH beer, there was no fear of a boil over in this system that boil up to 8 US gallons.

Lastly, it is really easy to use. Press start and set your temp. You’re good to go.

For the not-so-great thing, we don’t think the 110 voltage isn’t strong enough to produce a vigorous rolling boil. Watching my unit get to temperature and see it mildly bubbling made me want to go back to my burner. Wrapping it the right neoprene jacket and keeping the lid halfway on top could help the boil become more powerful. Certainly, we will be brewing and experimenting on these systems this year and beyond.

Brew ON!