TRICKS & TIPS

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If you have had trouble in the past with long lag times between when you pitch the yeast and when you see active fermentation, you are not alone. Virtually every homebrewer has experienced this at least once. There are many things you can do to improve the odds that your fermentation will start quickly and finish clean when brewing beer at home. We have summarized the most important below:

Start with enough yeast to brew your beer right!
Yeast will not start to eat the sugars in the wort until there is a sufficient population of yeast cells. When yeast is first introduced into the wort is it starts to reproduce. During the reproduction stage, there is no visible activity in the fermenter. If a higher number of yeast cells are pitched into the wort, the reproduction stage will be shorter and fermentation will start sooner. So how do you start will a high yeast cell count?

o When using dehydrated yeast to brew beer: Make sure to rehydrate the yeast in a small amount of sterile water before adding to the beer. To make sure the water is sterile, boil it for at least 10 minutes, and then cool it down to 70 degrees F. Please note, that the water should be the same temperature as the fermentation temperature of the beer you are brewing. Use at least 10 grams of dehydrated yeast per 5 gallons. A yeast starter can be made with dry yeast.

o If you are using liquid yeast: “Ready-to-pitch yeast” in a tube from White Labs is ready to use. However, be careful that the yeast is the same temperature as the wort, or the temperature shock will cause some of the yeast cells to die. If using Wyeast in a "smack-pack" we suggest you choose the XL (125 ml.) size. It is almost 3 1/2 times more yeast than the smaller 50 ml. size. Make sure you pop the inner pouch in advance of brew day; For each month beyond one month, pop the package an additional day in advance of brewing, up to 4 days. Thus, if your packet is two months old, pop the yeast two days before brewing; if it is six months old, pop the yeast 4 days before brewing. With yeast older than 6 months, a yeast starter is highly recommended.

Always Feed Your Yeast!
Yeast needs sufficient oxygen and other nutrients to build cell walls during the reproductive stage to make great homebrewed beer. To achieve a fast start, the wort must be aerated thoroughly. Accomplish this by vigorous shaking of the wort, using an aeration device such as a Siphon Spray Wort Aerator, or aerating with oxygen and a carbonation stone. A combination of these methods is also effective. Because malt has most of the nutrients needed by yeast, the addition of nutrients is usually not necessary, but a few Tablespoons of yeast nutrient powder added to the wort does not hurt.

Keep the Right Temperature!
Temperature is very important when growing healthy yeast for beer. Most important is the temperature when pitching the yeast. First and foremost, try to avoid a big difference in the temperature of the wort and the temperature of the yeast (or starter) when adding the yeast to the fermenter.

A temperature difference of more than 10 degrees F can shock the yeast and cause too many of the yeast cells to die. Try to maintain the correct temperature range for the beer style during the entire fermentation. Your beer will finish when expected and you will see the best results and the best tasting beer.

Adding Fruit To Your Beer
Adding fruit to your beer is easy. The main consideration is how to kill unwanted organisms in the fresh fruit without overcooking the fruit or adding unwanted chemicals. The easiest way to do this is by pasteurizing. Berries (all types), apples, plums, apricots, cherries, grapes, and kiwi fruit are all great fruits to use when brewing your beer.

o To add fruit in the primary fermenter: You will add the fruit to the brew pot after the boil is complete and before the wort has been chilled. Here's how: Wash and pit the fruit. Then, mash it with a potato masher or use a food processor. When your beer has reached the end of the boil, turn the heat off and wait until the wort has cooled to about 200 degrees F. Once it has cooled, add the fruit pulp and replace the lid on the brew pot. It is important that the fruit is not boiled- this will release the pectin in the fruit which could cause haze problems in the finished beer. Allow the wort to stand for a full twenty minutes. If adding a large amount of fruit you may want to check the temperature: if it falls below 160 degrees F you will need to carefully add heat. If you do this, watch the pot carefully to make sure the heat is not raised above 180 degrees F. Use a sanitized spoon to stir the mixture- this will help to distribute the heat more evenly. After 20 minutes proceed with chilling the wort as you usually do. To get the most out of the fruit it is a good idea to leave the pulp in the beer during the primary fermentation, and then rack the beer off the fruit into a secondary fermenter after the primary fermentation.

o Want stronger fruit flavor in your beer? To add fruit to the secondary fermenter If you add fruit in the second stage of the fermentation, the fruit flavors are usually more pronounced. To do this, prepare the fruit as described above. If you do not want to transfer the beer after the secondary fermenter, you may want to strain the pulp after you mash it. You may also want to add a small amount of water if the juices from the fruit are not sufficient to make a consistency that is easily stirred. On a low flame, carefully raise the temperature of the fruit pulp to 180 degrees F, stirring frequently. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes. Cool it down and add the pulp to your secondary fermenter. Allow the beer or mead to ferment for an additional 1 to two weeks.

Another option is to add the fruit without pasteurization. This can be done successfully in the secondary fermenter if the beer is relatively high in alcohol (over 5% by volume), and if you take great care in cleaning the fruit and all utensils use in pulping it. This method can introduce wild yeast or unwanted bacteria to the beer, especially if the skins of the fruits are added with the pulp. As a further precaution, Campden tablets (sodium or potassium metabisulfite) can be used, but these add sulfites to the beer or mead.

Reducing Carbs and Calories in Homebrew
By now you have probably heard all about the latest low carb diets. If the level of carbohydrates in your homebrew is a concern to you, there are a few things you can do to reduce the carbs. It helps to understand where the carbs come from in the first place.

Carbs (and calories) come from sugar and starch (basically the brewing malt), and your average homebrew has plenty of both, resulting in an average of about 10- 15 carbs per 12 oz. serving. Although most of the carbs in the unfermented wort are converted to alcohol and CO2 by the yeast, enough remain behind to make beer off limits to those on a strict low carb diet.

Certain specialty grains contribute to higher carbs in beer, especially caramel, crystal malts, and Munich malts. Essentially, grains that contribute a full body and sweetness contain a higher level of complex carbohydrates that are unfermented by yeast, thus leaving more carbs in the beer.

Fortunately, grains with a very dark roast such as chocolate and roasted barley have been roasted so long that the carbohydrates have been broken down in the roasting process. For this reason a very dark beer such as Guinness clocks in at about 10 carbs per serving while Sierra Nevada Pale Ale actually contains about 12 carbs.

Knowing this, it is possible to brew a beer with low carbs that still has some flavor. The trick is to achieve a low starting and finishing gravity, and then, if you really want to cut out the carbs, utilize a carb-destroying enzyme such as beano (available in most drugstores) in the secondary fermenter.

Beano tablets added to the secondary fermenter will reduce the carbs in the finished beer by about half. Beano is actually the enzyme alpha-galactosidase, and it works by breaking up complex carbs that yeast cannot normally ferment in beer. Note that these complex carbs are the source of the flavor and mouth feel you may be used to in your home brew, so you may want to start by brewing a beer with less carbs and then try the extra step of adding beano to a smaller portion of a batch- say 1 gallon- to be sure that you find the results drinkable. Using Beano to cut carbs will make the beer taste thinner. If you brew a beer you do not like, of course it might not contribute carbs to your diet at all- if you end up dumping it down the drain!

If you are very partial to a higher alcohol content you can bump up alcohol by adding ingredients that are highly fermentable, such as refined sugar, fruit, or honey. If you are an all-grain or partial mash brewer you can also use fermentable adjuncts such as barley or rye flakes. All grain brewers can utilize mash techniques to reduce carbs by maximizing the ability of the wort to ferment. Adding a 15 to 20 minute rest at 140 degrees F and also mashing at a slightly lower temperature (148- 150 degrees F) will help to produce a more fermentable wort. One more thing a brewer can do to ensure lower carbs is to use a yeast strain with a higher attenuation and to make sure the yeast has a healthy start with vigorous aeration and by making a yeast starter so that a large amount of yeast is initially pitched.

A Few Cleaning Tips For a Better Brew
Every successful homebrewer and professional brewer will tell you that keeping it clean is the key to success. Why is this so important? First, beer is more prone to infection than other alcoholic beverages because it has lower alcohol content and higher sugar content. Second, lots of microbes really like beer and its main ingredient, barley malt. Third, as brewer you probably already know how messy brewing can be!

For the most effective cleaning routine, it is helpful to think of cleaning and sanitizing as a 2 stage process. A good cleaning will remove surface deposits and most bacteria. Then, after rinsing the cleaning solution residue away, a final sanitizing step (we recommend Iodophor or Star-San) will reduce microbes to a microscopic population. Thus, your yeast will have virtually no competition when it is introduced into your yummy wort.

Want to get your carboy really clean? Nothing beats a good soak in the best cleaner we have tried, 5-Star PBW. This cleaner is low environmental impact, but expensive, so to avoid making a 5 gallon solution, make a 1- 1 1/2 gallon lukewarm solution (too much heat can break a carboy) and pour it into the carboy. On an old towel or blanket, lay the carboy on its side. The water level should be just below the mouth of the carboy (you may need to adjust this). Soak for 10- 20 minutes, then rotate the carboy, soak again, etc. Once all surfaces have had a good soak, use a carboy brush to scrub all surfaces. Because of the long soak, a gentle scrub is fine, just make sure every surface meets the brush at least once. Now rinse and admire your handiwork! Apply a long soak in PBW to other equipment that could use a deep cleaning, and you are ready for a lot of good home brewing!

Hate the sound of metal scraping glass? It happens every time you use a bottle or carboy brush. On top of the annoying sound, every time you scrape the lip of a bottle or carboy, you can create a scratch that can harbor bacteria. Here is a simple but effective solution: Cut a length of 1/4" inner diameter tubing to fit the unprotected wire handle of the brush. Thick walled tubing works best, the kind used for keg systems, because it holds its shape best.

Now for the tricky part! Use a utility knife to cut through one side of the tubing lengthwise (if a cross-section of the tubing is an “O”, then once you cut the tubing, it becomes a “C”) . Once this is done, force the tubing over the wire handle. Tada! You now have a better brush!