Ways you’ve changed as a brewer this year

I think for 2022 I have been influenced a lot by what the previous couple years of the pandemic had taught me. It made me shift to more homebrewing and less going out to drink. In another thread, I posted my year-to-date totals and it's over 75 gallons (so far) in 2022. I previously didn't brew as much. Do we drink more now? Not really. It's that we don't go out to bars and breweries nearly as much as we did pre-Covid. Even though the pandemic has slowed to a simmer this past year, we still don't go out as much. My wife is retired and I'm semi-retired with a PT solo practice. So we're home a lot and have some free time. We do our own happy hour many afternoons and enjoy some homebrew, cider, snack a bit. We often make up a charcuterie board and have that with some brews in lieu of a traditional dinner.

There are a few nearby breweries we like to patronize, but we don't visit as often. In summer, we try to go to one maybe once a week. In winter, it's more like once a month. We do try some new places from time to time, but that's been hit and miss. A craft beer used to be about $5-$6 just a few years ago. I'm seeing it $8-$9 now. Their beer better impress the shiat out of me, at that price. And if we both want to drink, there's the expense of Uber/Lyft. Eating out is getting expensive, too, so we have dialed that back. The pandemic taught us to experiment with cooking at home more.

As for my brewing process, I'm trying to improve the workflow, make it less work to move from one step to the next. I've made up printable checklists to help me quickly gather and set up equipment and be better organized each brew day. I still have to lift kettles and load fermenters in and out of a ferm chamber. Some day I won't be able to do that. When that time comes I might have to consider eBIAB with pumps to do the work, or an all-in-one system, or just do small batches on the stove. Online communities like this always give me good ideas on how to look at things differently.
 
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Pressure fermentation was a huge game changer for me, and fermenting in kegs.

I don't measure gravity anymore. It either hits the OG or it doesn't and it'll be beer either way. I drop the tilt in after chilling and go from there. Usually it's pretty close to OG/FG, so I don't worry about measuring as much.

One of my goals for 2022 was to join a homebrew club and start entering competitions and begin studying to be a judge. Well, I joined the club and a BJCP study group. And then I got a real job and had to stop going to both. Maybe I'll find a good balance to do both this year.

I'd like to improve the quality of my brews. I definitely need patience and to give them more time to condition. Now that I'm not as reliant on homebrew as my primary beer source I've been able to give my beers more time.

I've also got a wort pump and whirlpool arm coming from Santa, so I'm excited to get into mash recirculating, whirlpooling, and using my plate and immersion chillers more efficiently in 2023. Cheers!
 
Replicate my previous brews has been my goal last two years.
Brew some previous recipes and make them better.
Consistency is what I was aiming for getting the same flavour ect from the same recipe..
I think I nailed this and am very confident in the recipes I've dialed in to my profile as a result yay.

But that all means jack Shoit now lol.

Next year is gunna be going from my tried n tested back to the begginigns and working out new recipes how to malt and get Consist results at home.
And building a home malt house.

Also wrapping my head around Enzymes where to get them for cheap.

Also wrapping my head around GF all grain brewing in general.

Cool
 
Getting better at process and patience have helped lots. Still making mistakes but trying to learn from them. Pressure fermenting was new, and getting better at temp control. Just do it, as Nike says. Trying to stay true to styles with some creative variations now and then.
 
I'm slowly slowly starting to understand what I am doing ;)
I think the penny dropped when I decided to work more towards getting somewhere near the OG I want and focus less on the volume.
And I finally got a fermentation fridge working, so I got some more choice in beer types to brew
 
I've been shiftiing to more locally sorced ingrediants, trying more malts from here in Wisconsin(Briess) and liking the results. Still using imported Pilsner malt(currently Avangard). Seems like lately, I've been chasing styles that were around in the late 19th century, maybe digging for roots in a way. There's an old saying that "the Bohemians solve the problems of the world one beer at a time", possibly, I'm trying to out how to make the kind of beers that Joe would have made in the old Brewery or Alfred(his son, my Great Great Grandfather) was brewing on the farm into the late 1950s.

Other than that, I'm constantly fiddling with the brew system. Ordered a malt pipe for the digiboil, to try losing a vessel(and getting down to one kettle and one pump to scub malt out of). Of course, if the efficency takes too big a hit, I may go back to using 3 vessels.
 
Zero dumpers this year - assuming the Amarillo I have fermenting doesn't catch a cold - so it looks like I learned to clean properly. I learned about the beers that really please me as well and those traditional English styles are really where it's at for me. I guess I'm also learning to control the process so that it's predictable and repeatable.

Dispense too, I learned quite a bit about dispense and eel I have that nailed down now ( says the guy who is opening his bar on Christmas day with a cooler that shit itself yesterday :) ) There's no point in me brewing decent beer if the I can't get it into the glass looking good and at the correct temp etc.
 
I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, but paying more attention to mash pH has been a focus for me this year. I've also been playing around with different English yeasts in different ale recipes, trying to figure out which I like best for bitters, porters, etc.

Next year's goals are to build a proper stand for my setup (milk crates on top of bookcases just doesn't seem ideal) and to take advantage of the brew session feature on this site (I use it more building recipes, but I still just use a composition notebook for brew day stuff).

Cheers all!
 
Sunfire96 said:
Pressure fermentation was a huge game changer for me, and fermenting in kegs.
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I'm curious to hear why it was a game changer? You left us hanging like a poorly timed commercial break just when the show is getting interesting!
 
HighVoltageMan! said:
I'm curious to hear why it was a game changer? You left us hanging like a poorly timed commercial break just when the show is getting interesting!
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Haha sorry, didn't mean to leave a cliffhanger.

It helped a lot with fermentation temperature; I didn't need to obsess about going 2 or 3 degrees over optimal temp. Also carbing during fermentation meant the beer was ready faster, no need to force carb or set and forget.
 
Interesting question Josh...

I can't honestly say I changed one darn thing this year. My process is a bit stuck-in-the-mud (though I do like reading about all the bits and bobs you all use.) Keeping it simple and fun has always been my goal, and I'd call this year another success. :)
 
I've stopped trying to recreate the wheel and go with the norm as far as hardware, I also downsized my set up and started repeating very good recipes instead of exploring everything I haven't brewed to date, I also stopped going down the rabbit hole with science and started to relax, big game changer is the enjoyment of brewing instead of trying to master something
 
I learned that I really liked Maris Otter and White Labs yeast. Like Donorato, I learned to relax on brew day, and the beer is definitely getting better. With the brew bag, I started using S-05 and Cascade for consistency but did some experimenting with more European stuff this year.
I just bought a great burner and may be getting a small keg system in the new year. In 2023, I hope to be able to make a decent lager, make things a little safer, and continue to learn.
 
Zefram said:
I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, but paying more attention to mash pH has been a focus for me this year. I've also been playing around with different English yeasts in different ale recipes, trying to figure out which I like best for bitters, porters, etc.

Next year's goals are to build a proper stand for my setup (milk crates on top of bookcases just doesn't seem ideal) and to take advantage of the brew session feature on this site (I use it more building recipes, but I still just use a composition notebook for brew day stuff).

Cheers all!
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I loved my Oatmeal Porter with WLP004 (Guiness Strain) and my ESB with the normal, WLP002 (Fullers Strain).
 
Sandy Feet said:
I loved my Oatmeal Porter with WLP004 (Guiness Strain) and my ESB with the normal, WLP002 (Fullers Strain).
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I primarily stick to dry yeast nowadays, mostly for convenience. Usually S-04 because that's what my LHBS carries. I do like Windsor in my porter... it doesn't attenuate as much, leaving a little more body and sweetness. I've tried it with my best bitter recipe and it was tasty. I'm doing a best bitter brew today with leftover London Ale III that I'm curious to see how it turns out.
 
Zefram said:
I primarily stick to dry yeast nowadays, mostly for convenience. Usually S-04 because that's what my LHBS carries. I do like Windsor in my porter... it doesn't attenuate as much, leaving a little more body and sweetness. I've tried it with my best bitter recipe and it was tasty. I'm doing a best bitter brew today with leftover London Ale III that I'm curious to see how it turns out.
Click to expand...

With very few exceptions I've brewed with dry yeast in the past few years. Losing my LHBS in 2019 and the pandemic pushed me to online ordering and I'm just too leery to order liquid yeast through the mail. The state of the art in dry has gotten so much better recently.

US-05 for American ales, S-04 or Notty for British and Irish styles. I've also been having good results from dry strains for continental styles. W-34/70 or S-189 for lagers, K-97 for German ales, and Lallemand Abbaye for many Belgians. I wasn't pleased with SafAle "Abbaye" (BE-256 now) as it's not the same strain as the Lallemand. But most everything else has been a hit for me.
 
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