- Joined
- Jun 8, 2014
- Messages
- 22
- Reaction score
- 33
- Points
- 13
I've been lurking on Brewers Friend, on and off, for the last nine years, and I've learned a ton. I haven't said much because I didn't think I had much to contribute, but we're all on a journey to brew beer we enjoy, so here goes.
I've brewed for years, but I haven't really paid attention to how to make good beer. I relocated from the west side of Washington to the east side about four years ago and I have a lot of room to brew, but I put everything on hold until recently.
I bought a FermZilla, and then a BrewZilla, and I've been brewing consistently over the last month. As some have said in these forums, there's a learning curve for the BrewZilla, but I'm four brew days deep, and it's starting to make more sense. I'd love to hear other experiences, but I found the milled grain from MoreBeer wasn't fine enough to achieve high efficiency. Sooooo, I dusted off the grain mill and started milling to 0.35 and my efficiency went up 20% from one week to the next. The previous 3 OGs were 1.041, 1.040, and 1.042, and last week I achieved my target of 1.061.
The FermZilla has been a hit from day one. I like IPAs and I'm convinced I was aerating them whenever I transferred vessels. I'm now doing primary in the FermZilla and secondary/dry hopping in kegs. No chance of oxidation.
I sent my water to Ward Labs for analysis, so I'll be updating my water profile when I have the results, and I'm starting to learn about the impact ph has on mash.
Does anyone have any other suggestions for the next step to make better beer?
I've brewed for years, but I haven't really paid attention to how to make good beer. I relocated from the west side of Washington to the east side about four years ago and I have a lot of room to brew, but I put everything on hold until recently.
I bought a FermZilla, and then a BrewZilla, and I've been brewing consistently over the last month. As some have said in these forums, there's a learning curve for the BrewZilla, but I'm four brew days deep, and it's starting to make more sense. I'd love to hear other experiences, but I found the milled grain from MoreBeer wasn't fine enough to achieve high efficiency. Sooooo, I dusted off the grain mill and started milling to 0.35 and my efficiency went up 20% from one week to the next. The previous 3 OGs were 1.041, 1.040, and 1.042, and last week I achieved my target of 1.061.
The FermZilla has been a hit from day one. I like IPAs and I'm convinced I was aerating them whenever I transferred vessels. I'm now doing primary in the FermZilla and secondary/dry hopping in kegs. No chance of oxidation.
I sent my water to Ward Labs for analysis, so I'll be updating my water profile when I have the results, and I'm starting to learn about the impact ph has on mash.
Does anyone have any other suggestions for the next step to make better beer?