Getting the most out of your beer

Getting the most out of your beer,

Sometimes your friends liking your beer is good enough, but sometimes you want more, sometimes you want to make something worldly and breathtaking. For those days here are some steps you can take to get the most out of your beer.

1.) Liquid yeast (healthier, and more style specific flavor)

2.) Make a starter for any beer above 1.050 gravity.
Starters are easy to do and will significantly increase the number of healthy viable happy yeast you have, which will decrease off flavors,
finish fermenting faster, and get you an overall better tasting beer.

3.) Be crazy about sanitation practices, if your positive you have over sanitized then you have done things right. (no infections)

4.) Be careful about oxydation....watch your splashing when transferring and close transfer if possible, or transfer with c02

5.) Always do a secondary. Transferring your beer to a secondary will clear out your beer, making it look more presentable along with removing excess yeast and reducing your chances of autolyses to near 0.

6.) Don't transfer too soon. Always give your beer at least 2 weeks in primary, just because your airlock has stopped bubbling does not mean that the yeast are finished, give the yeast some time to scrub clean your beer and eat some of the off flavors that they produce. ( I.E. diacytel, acetyladehyde)

7.) Make sure to aerate your pre-fermented wort very well. Get yourself a oxygen tank and a diffusion stone give your yeast the oxygen it deserves, it will help the yeast in there reproduction cycle, and aid in giving you overall healthier more active yeast.

8.) Mind your temps! Maintain the ideal temperature for each yeast and style of beer you are trying to create. healthier happier yeast = better beer

9.) Write down everything. Taking really good notes on everything you do will help you narrow down problems, repeat successes and give you a better understanding of what does what. Pen and paper are the brewers best friend.

10.) Proper aging and carbonation. Make sure you have given your finished beer enough time for all the flavors to meld together as well and make sure you have enough carbonation or not too much for the style of beer you are creating. ( I.E. High for Belgians, lower for Milds, and the only beer you should be drinking before in a month is a berlinerwiess...maybe)