We Got Us A First Timer!

With the all-inclusive home brewing systems and kits you can purchase these days, many of us have gotten the itch to brew our own batches. What many people don’t realize is how complicated the process really is. Many professional home brewing kits and recipe starters make the process seem easy, but in fact it takes a lot of practice. You are going to make mistakes along the way, but not to worry; trial and error is the best way to learn to brew! Nothing hammers this point home like 40 bottles of sour, undrinkable beer!

Fear not home brewer! Synergy Brewing Systems is here to help with a few pointers that should have you brewing beer you can be proud of!

1.   Always, always, always ensure you have completely cleaned out your beer bottles. There is nothing worse than mold flakes floating around in your newest batch. In fact, on brew day, let’s double check that all of our brewing equipment is cleaned and sanitized.

2.   No matter how simple a recipe is, always read the instructions before you begin. You don’t want to find out you can’t steep your oats because you’re missing a steeping bag after you’ve already started your barley.

3.   If this is your first time, don’t start with an overly strong or unusual recipe. Yes, brewing a beer with complex flavor profiles and high alcohol content is fun, but for your first batch you should really be learning the ropes, not re-inventing the wheel. Plus, having 40 bottles of drinkable beer will go a long way in motivating you to brew again and again.

4.   Don’t use unfiltered, chlorinated water from the tap. If your water comes from the municipal water supply, odds are that it contains chlorine or chloramines. If this is your only water source, try filtering it through a charcoal filter or you can treat your water with metabisulfite. There’s a reason Jack Daniels makes their whiskey in a dry county in the middle of nowhere Tennessee, for the water!

5.   Make sure you are aerating the wort adequately. For chilled wort to absorb the ideal amount of oxygen, it takes several minutes of vigorous shaking. This allows the yeast to complete a healthy grow phase. So shake it up!

If after these 5 home brewing pointers you still managed to brew an unsatisfactory batch, don’t worry, we’ve got a fix for that.

You can repurpose the bad batch into slug traps. It’s quite simple really:

1.   Find a plastic cup you won’t mind getting dirty and slimed. Solo cups work great.

2.   Bury your cup near the garden, with the mouth of the cup level with the soil/ground around it.

3.   If you have a large garden and an even larger slug problem, think about burying 2-3 cups.

4.   Fill your cup(s) about 80% full of your bad batch. Slugs and snails are attracted to the yeast and the carbohydrates so they won’t even notice the sour smell emanating from the cup.

5.   Remove the critters from your traps daily and refill as needed.

Check back again soon for more great home brewing tips and of course the best home brewing systems in the world.

Synergy Brewing Systems, where the best beer is the beer you brew