As with any undertaking, the success of a brew day largely comes down to preparation. Better to plan ahead.
Two weeks ahead
Choose a recipe. With experience you’ll create your own; to start, work from an existing recipe in a style you like. There are plenty on specialist sites and in dedicated publications.
The shopping list. Once the recipe is chosen, get the ingredients. Check your stock and order any missing quantities ahead of time from specialist suppliers.
The day before
- Set up the brewing space and a work surface, especially if you don’t have a dedicated spot.
- Lay out the ingredients and the cleaning products, within easy reach.
- Inspect the equipment. A quick rinse with clear water is enough if it was clean; for organic deposits, a clean with Chemipro Acid is recommended.
- Arrange the equipment with the next day’s sequence of steps in mind.
- Prepare and check your measuring instruments: hydrometer, refractometer, thermometer.
- Check the heating system. If you’ll be using a gas burner, keep a spare canister on hand.
- To save time, weigh and crush the malts ahead, then store the grist in an airtight container somewhere cool.
- Prepare the total amount of water, measured precisely. If your water is high in chlorine or bicarbonates, heating it to 80 °C drives off the chlorine and precipitates the bicarbonates.
- Print out the list of steps so you forget nothing.
On brew day
Time management. Start early in the morning: brewing takes time, and so does the cleaning afterwards.
Logbook. Note the quantities, volumes, times and temperatures throughout the process. This data is precious for refining your recipes and building a database of real value.
Cleanliness. Cleaning has to become a reflex! Bacteria and wild yeasts are just waiting for a chance to ruin your work. Wipe up any mess immediately — flour traces, wort splashes — and systematically sanitise (with Star San, for instance) any equipment that comes into contact with the cooled wort.
