"TIP OF THE DAY" a thread to educate by our mistakes

[PCBrewer]

Invest a few bob in a good thermometer - mash temperature, pitching temperature and fermentation temperature are the main difference between good beer and shit beer.

Any recommendations for a 'good thermometer'?
I have a couple of cheap ones thata re doing the job, but I don't know how reliable they are

[Hop Bomb]

http://www.extech.com/instruments/product.asp?catid=67&prodid=396

[Simon_]

Any recommendations for a 'good thermometer'?

CDN DTQ450X - Review

[nigel_c]

Until you can do it in your sleep , lay off the beers till after the brewday. 

[Bubbles]

Invest a few bob in a good thermometer - mash temperature, pitching temperature and fermentation temperature are the main difference between good beer and shit beer.

Any recommendations for a 'good thermometer'?
I have a couple of cheap ones thata re doing the job, but I don't know how reliable they are

I would recommend the Thermapen:
http://www.amazon.com/ThermoWorks-Super-Fast-Professional-Thermocouple-Thermometer/dp/B008JG4S78

Not cheap, by any stretch, but they're accurate and reliable. I got mine off Nisbets.ie, but they don't seem to stock them anymore. I'm sure you'd be able to find an alternative Irish supplier with a quick google.

[Oh Crap]

Always close the valves or tap of the vessel you are filling, i'm still doing it

+1,

From personal experience, I can combine this one with "Don't drink while brewing..".

+1
This is obviously a common occurance

[molc]

Don't buy any shiny toys until you have proper fermentation temp control. You can pretty much do everything wrong and still make ok beer when you let the yeasties do their thing.

[Shanna]

1. Don't use boiling hot water with plastic bottling wands as they melt really easily.
2. Add oats hulls or similar hulls to buffer the grist when using a large % of rye (> 20%) or wheat malt ( > 30%). Both these malts tend to disintegrate when crushed as they have little or no useful husk. The addition of the hulls will help prevent a stuck sparge.
3. When using a large HLT for boiling water, stir your water before using it to ensure that the water temperature is consistent. Befor doing this I would get wildly different temperatures reported by the dial thermometer built in to my HLT and the temperature readings I took at the top of the HLT and also in the water temperature that ended up in the mash tun.
4. If you get scorching on your element when doing high gravity beers, clean your elements afterwards with some kind of cleaner and a brush. Accumulated burnt on wort will carbonised further over time, this will overheat your elements and contribute to your electricity supply tripping out. It can however lend a certain "je ne sais quoi" to Scotch ales If you get really bad burnt on wort use the back of a knife to scrape it off the elements.
5. Buy some paint strainer bags and boil them for around 10 minutes or so before each use of them to contain pellet or leaf hops for dry hopping. It makes removing the hops a breeze afterwards.
6. When using a connical flask for making up wort for a starter pay attention when mixing DME with water as its easy to create a glue like substance that will burn in a heart beat.

Shanna

[DEMPSEY]

Invest in heat resistant gloves.

[imark]

6. When using a connical flask for making up wort for a starter pay attention when mixing DME with water as its easy to create a glue like substance that will burn in a heart beat

I mix the dme with boiling water before adding to the flask.

[pob]

Don't buy any shiny toys until you have proper fermentation temp control. You can pretty much do everything wrong and still make ok beer when you let the yeasties do their thing.

+1

This is the absolutely the first item you need to invest in. It will turn kits from average to good beer (& stunning when you get to AG)

Secondly, buy yourself some StarSan, makes life a lot easier.

[pob]

4. If you get scorching on your element when doing high gravity beers, clean your elements afterwards with some kind of cleaner and a brush. Accumulated burnt on wort will carbonised further over time, this will overheat your elements and contribute to your electricity supply tripping out. It can however lend a certain "je ne sais quoi" to Scotch ales If you get really bad burnt on wort use the back of a knife to scrape it off the elements.

Tip from a fellow GCBrewer, rub half a lemon on the elements to clean. The citric acid helps dissolve the burnt wort. Overnight soak with Oxi (or similar) for really bad stuff.

[armedcor]

4. If you get scorching on your element when doing high gravity beers, clean your elements afterwards with some kind of cleaner and a brush. Accumulated burnt on wort will carbonised further over time, this will overheat your elements and contribute to your electricity supply tripping out. It can however lend a certain "je ne sais quoi" to Scotch ales If you get really bad burnt on wort use the back of a knife to scrape it off the elements.

Tip from a fellow GCBrewer, rub half a lemon on the elements to clean. The citric acid helps dissolve the burnt wort. Overnight soak with Oxi (or similar) for really bad stuff.

Citric does wonders for elements. You can buy tubs of it for crazy cheap in pharmacies.

[Shanna]

4. If you get scorching on your element when doing high gravity beers, clean your elements afterwards with some kind of cleaner and a brush. Accumulated burnt on wort will carbonised further over time, this will overheat your elements and contribute to your electricity supply tripping out. It can however lend a certain "je ne sais quoi" to Scotch ales If you get really bad burnt on wort use the back of a knife to scrape it off the elements.

Tip from a fellow GCBrewer, rub half a lemon on the elements to clean. The citric acid helps dissolve the burnt wort. Overnight soak with Oxi (or similar) for really bad stuff.

Citric does wonders for elements. You can buy tubs of it for crazy cheap in pharmacies.

In my experience it does not work on burnt on carbonised wort on an heating element, believe me I have tried it, vwp & also oxy (note not at the same time )

Shanna

[The Mottly Brew]

When using glass bottles fill 2 pet bottles so you know when your beer is carbonated.