TOP 10 ITEMS That Make Brewing SO MUCH EASIER

In this video, I want to share with you my TOP 10 game changing random things that have made my brew day so much easier. None of these are particularly expensive but they all help me have a successful and easier brewing experience!
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ITEMS DISCUSSED IN THIS VIDEO:
FERMCAP: amzn.to/3vcnmYo
BEER NUTRIENT: amzn.to/3YMnuev
ANVIL SCALE: amzn.to/3YKBPYO
CLARITYFERM: amzn.to/3WgUAS5
GELATIN: amzn.to/3jifi5v
BIOFINE: amzn.to/3POCiFi
SEEDLING HEAT MAT: amzn.to/3BQQcRx
PH PEN: amzn.to/3WlQ9pe
LACTIC ACID: amzn.to/3hLQbrq
IN-LINE WORT THERMOMETER: amzn.to/3VjiRFR
3 WAY BALL VALVE: amzn.to/3VjVP1M
CANNED STARTER WORT: amzn.to/3BVQ831
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MY WIRELESS MIC: amzn.to/482SsTg
MY VOICEOVER MIC: amzn.to/3PpvXlt
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0:00 Intro and welcome
1:10 Item 1
2:25 Item 2
3:20 Item 3
4:14 Item 4
5:18 Item 5
6:53 Item 6
7:56 Item 7
9:08 Item 8
10:33 Item 9
12:01 Item 10
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Full disclosure, most of the links on this page are affiliate links. This means if you buy through them I make a small percentage from the sale at no additional cost to you. All money earned through the channel goes back into the videos and brews you see on my channel. As always, don't just take my word for it, do your research before you decide to buy.
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Music provided by Epidemic Sound: share.epidemicsound.com/0go1wp
#easy #homebrew #gear #beer #brewing #homebrewing #clawhammersupply #graintoglass #BIAB #allgrain

[@henrik747]

One thing that made my brewing life easier is my Fermzilla All Rounder. A pressurized fermentation vessel makes it so much easier to do almost oxygen free transfers to the keg. Oh, and kegs! I did three brews with bottles and carbonation sugar, then I said to myself, it's kegs or this hobby goes!

[@GezBeerReviews]

I hear ya, kegging all the way !

[@GentleGiantFan]

I third that. One 5 gallon can vs 48-50 bottles? No brainer.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Nice! Fermzilla is cheap enough to be on this list, but kegging is certainly a bit more of an investment!

[@timothywilliams2021]

You can also serve right out of the fermzilla instead of transferring to a keg. I've done that a few times and never had any issues. Use a floating dip tube. Put spunding valve on other post to bleed off excess pressure. As it ferments it builds pressure and carbonates itself. Then dispense with built up pressure.

[@gerardnatale2387]

I finally got some quick disconnects for my system and just brewed with them a couple of days ago. They made my brew day so much easier! No more spills on the floor and squirts on my clothes! They are now a top ten item for me. Happy New Year Steve!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Quick disconnects are so awesome! Happy new year!

[@rickfoss1136]

Great video. I just started home brewing myself, found your page to be a lot of help. I brewed my first beer last weekend and im using a small crockpot without the actual pot in it to keep my fermenter warm. Has worked like a charm!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Thats fantastic! Welcome to the hobby!

[@Dayman.]

Great tips. I considered getting some canned wort about 12 months ago but living on an island in the middle of the Atlantic means shipping this stuff can get pretty expensive and my LHBS doesn't carry them. What I ended up doing, which is very easy, is to prep 5 yeast starters at a time in mason jars. I simply add 100g of DME and some yeast nutrients to jars with about 400mL of water, shake them until everything is disolved. I then loosely fit the lid on the jars and place them in a water bath in my oven and heat until the water has reached about 70-80°C and keep it there for about 30 mins. I then let them cool down, screw the lid down and store for when I need them. When I need to make a starter I just pull out a jar, dump it in my erlenmeyer flask, add water and yeast.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Very cool idea, thanks for sharing!

[@JimFosterVO]

In Experimental Homebrewing, Denny Conn gives a method for making one's own canned wort for yeast starters. It does require pressure canning, and mason jars, but it has the advantage of being a scaleable and reusable process. One might think it the perfect thing to work on in a dry month. :)

[@JimFosterVO]

EDIT: I referenced the wrong book. The process is shown in Simplified Homebrewing, another book by Drew Beecham and Denny Conn.

[@SomeTechGuy666]

I've pressure canned wort. It worked well. I think it helps the stability to put hops in it. No need to boil after the sparge. Just put it straight in to the pressure cooker for an hour.

[@paulpizz4306]

After sparging but before adding hops, I fill a couple of mason jars with the wort, cap with a new lid, and just leave them at the bottom of the boil for 20+ minutes. Pull them out, and viola, sterilized canned wort for your next batch. Just takes a little bit of forward planning.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

This is a really cool thread! Lots of interesting ideas and it's great to see homebrewers ingenuity!

[@diehardoioioi]

Martin Keen from Homebrew Challenge has a video where he shows you how to do this method. Seems fairly simple.

[@januszkszczotek8587]

Here's the list of things that changed my brewing the most (no particular order): - Doing water treatment by demineralising water and adding appropriate salts for a specific water profiles - Using Tri-Clamp connections throughout my whole setup - A no-compromise pump (Riptide) - A no-compromise malt mill (Mattmill Master)

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Nice!! Thanks for sharing!

[@ElementaryBrewingCo]

Great list! I’ll have to check out those 3 way valves for sure!!! I also gotta say I don’t know what I’d do with out my Inkbird as well, pretty cheap and very useful!! Cheers and Happy New Year!!!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

They're awesome! Inkbird is love, inkbird is life

[@rafaelpestano7436]

Nice list! My top 3 game changers are the Erlenmeyer, a stir plate and a fermentation fridge. Those really changed my beers but I also use a lot from your list 😜. Cheers!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Nice! Thank you for sharing!

[@haywardstewart2825]

I suggested the stir plate and flask before I read your comment. Your right about the game changer effect. I can monitor the volume of yeast to make sure it’s reached it’s full potential before you get to the last step just to wonder if I’m spilling a dud. I have never had a failure. All my yeast takes off within thirty minutes. I made my own stir plate for very cheap.

[@algoreExpert]

I've never done a Dry January before, I do a dry Midnight to 6PM every day of the week though, cheers 🍺

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Hahaha you know what I'll count that

[@PartyTimeBrewing]

I may have to look into that fermcap stuff. As well as 3 way valves. Lots of great ideas here! Cheers!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Cheers!

[@TheBruSho]

That 3 way valve is a really awesome idea! Looking forward to more tips and tricks this month

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

More to come!

[@craigcousineauprovidencepa3840]

Hell yes on the seed mat. Great hack for diacetyl rests.

[@timothywilliams2021]

I use a 60w ceramic reptile heater with an inkbird controller in a chest freezer/ fermentation chamber. Super cheap and easy. It screws into a regular light socket and radiates heat. Works great. Zero issues for a couple year's now. Started with 2 found just using 1 is fine. Cost me about $25 to build. Free freezer Old light socket and cord Controller is about $15 Around $10 for 2 ceramic heaters

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Very cool idea!

[@timothywilliams2021]

Reptile under heating pads are also cheap and waterproof.

[@me6628]

-Tilt Hydrometer -Uline wire cart -Brewhardware Spincycle -Brewhardware high flow diptube for edge pickup -Jaded hydra with a submersible pump Where did you get the inline site glass for your silicone tubing? And thank you for the tip to remove the bazooka screen from my Clawhammer. This has really helped.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Nice! Thanks for adding! I got my sight glass from brewhardware.com

[@EVE_Sairun]

Happy new year! Great video, thanks! (Item 5) For heating you could also use glass fish tank sink heater, it is 15-20$ tops and has a built-in thermal controller, and can handle quite big volumes of wort/beer. They are safe enough but have a wire which limits application when fermenting under pressure. (Item 10) For yeast starter a good way is to use a couple of cans of alco-free beers, just test beforehand and check which ones work, and ignore ones that have sulphur preservative in them. No hassle, they contain some sugars, hops and CO2 and are pasteurized, just what your yeast loves. Good luck \0/

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Nice! Thanks for sharing!

[@TroubleBrewing]

Great recommendations, I dont have fermcap yet but I have herd from multiple people that its a great cheep buy! Ill check it out.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

It's amazing. And one bottle will last you a year!

[@jonathanwilliams1974]

Getting an RO/DI filter is amazing as well. Saves you from needing to buy water or go to a Glacier Water dispenser. Getting a unitank with glycol chiller was also amazing. It makes managing every aspect of cold side easy...some aspects are impossible without a unitank. My next step is going single vessel EBIB. Tired of washing multiple vessels, refilling propane, and fly sparging.

[@bandanabush7334]

I use a heat mat like the one mentioned here, usually wrapped around a corny keg and plugged into a Inkbird to ferment Kviek or Belgian strains!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

They help a lot!

[@sevillana001]

Great information!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ilblance7755]

Great video

[@dfitzger]

Also check your local home brew shop for Propper starter cans, typically much cheaper there too! Thanks for all the quality content! Just an idea for a video, as someone that has recently been getting into pressure fermentation, it would be great to see a list of beers that do really well with pressure ferments and ones you should avoid. Cheers!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

True!

[@GentleGiantFan]

One of my recent purchases has been the Inkbird 1HT-1P thermometer. It's like their version of the Thermoworks instant read thermos but it's backlit, rechargeable (USB cable incl), and is magnetic. It's also a whole lot cheaper too. I got mine at Amazon for about $24.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

That's really interesting, thanks for sharing!

[@JeffTheHokie]

For Pre-made starter wort, if I don't have DME around I just use Goya Malta. It's an unfermented malt beverage in 12 oz bottles (any supermarket) for a little over a dollar a bottle. Purists may cringe at the amount of added sugar, but it gets the job done. $7.50 a can for starter wort plus the cost of a new batch of liquid yeast for each batch? Those costs can really add up. You've just added 1/3 to 1/4 to your ingredient costs on just the yeast alone. I put a couple spoonfuls of saved trub into a sanitized mason jar with either a bottle of malta or a cup of homemade (boiled and cooled) dme wort. Set that out for a day or two with a loose lid. If it's fizzing in a day or two I know the saved yeast was good, and I get almost no lag. If it isn't, then I found out without ruining a batch, and I add fresh yeast.

[@djn3kkid]

a bucket blaster or similar device. Ive now gotten 3, one for PBW, one for water, and one for Starsan. And my local kitchen-store had some 17litre SS pans on sale, so i got 3 of them as well.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Very nice, thanks for sharing!

[@Identace445]

Yes!!! Use canned wort!!! I've been using that same brand for the last 2 years!! I hardly ever hear home Brewers mention it. But it's a total game changer!! Bring your old yeast back to life!!!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

It's useful stuff!!

[@Alex-ir9nx]

Those large plant pot movers with wheels helps me move all sorts of heavy brewing gear, great for moving full fermenters as an example

[@drp2007]

I find an infrared thermometer gun to be very useful, particularly when I am fermenting outside my ferm chamber. About $20-ish

[@lutti7238]

my top Items: - Brewbag - Bottling wand - hop sock - PH Meter - iSpindel - Duo Tight Connects

[@duanewolfe2321]

I use 10 gallon thermos water jugs with a ball valve for the mash tun. I use a large biab fabric strainer inside my tun. No vorlaufing...no stuck sparges. Just sparge on top of grain and pull out and drain on top of a metal grate at the mouth of the tun. Clean up is a snap😀

[@mcwhitie]

I use ONE drop of Fermcap in a 5 gallon batch. Never had a boil-over, never needed a blow-off tube. It's super effective.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Wow, I've been using 2 drops per gallon, but that's just what it says on the bottle

[@russneis11]

I just do first wort hop addition prevents boil over and makes a more smoother bitterness

[@Atxjrdguy]

Happy New Year Steve! I know I watched it but now can’t find the video where you set up your 3 way ball valves and how they work. I too have a plate chiller and would love to whirlpool and not have to move crud around like I do today. Cheers!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/kIDXZqOlpNlppsU here you go!

[@jonshutt7666]

Nice mug! Retired 120A here. Essayons!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Cheers Chief!

[@JBernhard72]

Use FermCap in your yeast starter, when boiling.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Good idea!

[@JamesChurchill3]

Coffee and sparkling water? I'm assuming you may have over indulged over the holidays! A set of accurate scales is an absolute must I think. I've got some I use for heavier duty kitchen use and coffee prep which go to 0.1g and a set of drug scales for measuring out brewing salts and hops which go to 0.01g increments, very useful to have around.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Dry January!

[@TheFloaterjoe]

My riptide pump is the workhorse of my brewery

[@markbarber7839]

Thanks for the video. I'm a fan of S cap. It just takes 1 boil over. Plate chillers are a pain as they plug with late hop additions and are hard to clear. Maybe counterflow chillers are better?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

It's a great little product. I have yet to try a Counterflow chiller but I really am looking at getting one!

[@MatBarbe]

@@TheApartmentBrewer Aren't plate chiller counterflow chiller?! I guess you mean the "concentric tubing counterflow... I would think they're just less of pain to clean. I went from a plate chilller to a immersion chiller. OMG I loved how it simplified the brewday. I save myself so many spills! And what what can I say about not having to clean that plate chiller!!! With the right chiller you can cool a 5 gallons batch under 10 min.

[@digitalFig]

Thanks for the vid! You mentioned that for cider, you would not use beer yeast nutrient. Well, unthinkingly I've been doing just that, heh. Can you elaborate as to why you shouldn't, and what instead would be a good nutrient for cider yeast? A quick search for "cider yeast nutrient" only really yields the beer additives I'm familiar with.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

For ciders and seltzers you should be using fermaid O and fermaid K.

[@miked.9364]

We have very different ideas on what is 'a couple drops'

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Hah I suppose. Instructions are to use 2 drops per gallon

[@lafamillecarrington]

I bottle my beers, and found that it was difficult to see how full the bottle was through the brown glass. I have made a simple holder for the bottle with a light behind the neck. Now the bottles get filled to the same level and don't get knocked over.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

That's very creative!

[@ninkasihomebrewer8226]

Happy New Year

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Happy new year!

[@fleshboundtobone]

R.e. the canned starter I do find it interesting that you say 'using canned wort for my yeast starters is the easiest thing ever' - I don't disagree but in a way you could also say 'buying canned beer makes the homebrewing process the easiest thing ever' too 🤣It's funny the things we'll spend hours on for no saving vs the things we'll spend $$$ to save time.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Haha I suppose it is the way you look at it

[@ferrisr]

Making starter wort is boring and there are very few variables in it. Brewing beer is the end goal, and where you get to make your recipe and process decisions. Makes sense to me to save the mindless time-waste that making and chilling a yeast starter is and put that energy into brewing itself.

[@awf118]

Do you have a video detailing your three way valve set up?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5WtmYqtg7CGg5o here you go!

[@awf118]

@@TheApartmentBrewer My Man!

[@spencercameron2980]

Take a towel, wrap it around the lid of the kettle, secure side with a bungee cord and place a big pot or something upside down to press on the top of your towel, soak towel in starsan, allow beer to chill naturally. No chill baby 😎

[@jmsnystrom]

Spray bottle. What I need is a cleaner and a place to put my spent grain.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Yes! Very good add!

[@andrewlonero8003]

I don't agree that lactic is more powerful than phosphoric for mash additions; Phosphoric acid should give you more acid normality than lactic by far. Maybe if your using really weak H3PO4 solution??? I've never used lactic acid, but I occasionally use 85% H3PO4 or more commonly I use sulfuric acid. But i know for sure that lactic acid is weaker than phosphoric... Otherwise, great video!

[@GoneFollows]

The TILT is the greatest brewing tool I have ever purchased

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

It seems great but it's still a lot of money!

[@MatBarbe]

@@TheApartmentBrewer Kegland Pills is quite cheaper and I would think does the same. I like it anyway.

[@one2manyhobbies956]

Not an item but a mindset. Prep the night before. All equipment clean and ready, fermenter clean, rinsed and sanitized/packed with sanitizer, grain measured and crushed. It takes maybe a half hour to do this but keeps you from running around crazy trying to "start" the brewday. Brewday should be simply measuring water and heating it with mineral additions.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Prepping the night before saves a ton of time!

[@jimbo4375]

Not overcomplicating things goes a long way to making brewing easier, that's my approach

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Excellent advice!

[@haywardstewart2825]

You missed an important piece of equipment. I use a stir plate to fantastic results.

[@Dorklestheclown]

Is your watch a seamaster?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Nope, I wish!

[@PetraKann]

Lactic acid is actually a weaker acid than phosphoric acid. What do you mean by Lactic Acid being more powerful than Phosphoric Acid? Are you saying that Lactic acid is normally supplied at higher concentrations than Phosphoric acid so you need to use less to lower the mash pH?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I mean that you need less of it to correct mash pH, yes

[@crabmansteve6844]

I have a milligram scale from an entirely different hobby that I use for brewing. 👀 The life that scale has lived. If it could talk I'd be in jail. Lmfao

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Lol we'll just have to assume.

[@Hacky2447]

I bought that older scale from Anvil when they first released it, and was really upset when i saw the same thing on amazon without their name on it for 11 dollars. It broke after a few months of use. stay away from that small scale IMO.

[@markrose53]

8 is not a couple

[@bigjimmitchell]

Re: Ferm Cap... Did you mean Silica... you said silicone... I think its silica but I could be wrong.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

One or the other, but not sure

[@IanRomanick]

This video would have been improved if you were looking at the camera instead if looking at the teleprompter the whole time. A lot of people find it very uncomfortable to have someone talking to them but looking past them.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

...I don't have a teleprompter

[@MagicMatt504]

It's killing me seeing you drop that much Fermcap-S into your wort! DO NOT USE FERMCAP-S unless you filter your beer! It is a product made for commercial breweries and is meant to be filtered out, because if not it surpasses the FDA levels for silicone in a consumable product (10ppm). If you use just 5 drops in a 5 gallon batch, you're already at ~26ppm, or 2.5x over the limit. If you use the upper dosage range of 2 drops per gallon (10 drops total), you're at >50ppm! Instead, use Fermcap-AT or their new product Fermcap Eco. Those are both made specifically for not having to filter the beer afterwards.

[@michiel9251]

yeah, i like to put more chemicals in my beer. got more tips?

[@qlddrones]

Did you know that when you read from the autocue, your eyes glaze over? Or maybe it's just the dry January?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I don't have an autocue

[@qlddrones]

@@TheApartmentBrewer That's weird because I can see it reflected in your pupils when you're talking.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

That would be my camera screen

[@qlddrones]

@@TheApartmentBrewer Ah OK, my apologies then. Maybe it's where you focus your eyes while speaking that conveys that impression. It's just a bit off-putting. Not meaning to pick on you, just provide some constructive criticism.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

@@qlddrones no worries. I've always been looking into the camera lens with the flip out screen so I can see it. And my camera is a good 10 feet away from me, maybe it's the lighting

[@cogeek797]

How can you show and be ok with showing such outlandish Amazon prices? Almost 20 dollars for Wyeast Nutrient. Our LHBS sells it for $4.95! Number 11 on the top ten items to make homebrewing easier is obviously a brick and mortar homebrew store. Places like Amazon and other online retailers are trying to make that a relic of the past though 😡

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

So...go back and look at the screen cap at 2:31. That was $18 for a pack of 5. Making the whole thing almost $2 more affordable. Secondly, these are listed so people know what they are, and because I inevitably get asked for links. Never did I tell you to buy this on Amazon over your LHBS. So please chill a little.

[@cogeek797]

@@TheApartmentBrewer holy cow. Did not see that. I do apologize!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

@@cogeek797 all good!

[@riskyb250]

Propper is the most over priced thing in the world. Just boil some DME.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Fair it is still kind of expensive if you use it all the time, but it is a great convenience!

[@ferrisr]

I just buy a case of Fast Pitch from NB during their 20% off sales throughout the year. 50-60 bucks for 24 cans comes out to under $2.50 per 1L starter. $2 to save a 30+ minutes of messing around boiling and chilling the DME is worth it to me. IMO, the only way using DME is worth it is if you already have a pressure canner and jars and make starter wort in bulk.

[@MatBarbe]

@@TheApartmentBrewer Brewing light-ish beer, once I did sparge my grains and the boil on it's way/going I rinse my used grain with 4-5 extra liters of water. I'll typically get at least the 1.035-1.040 sg. I boil it and put it in a couple mason jar. Ready to get a starter going at any time. Done during brew day, it doesn't feel like much extra work. I really ate dealing with DME... This is cheap and "easy". Parti-gyle material for starter I guess.

[@rumpelflutsch9327]

This video makes me a little sad. I ask myself, when did my favorite homebrew channel start to turn into a home-shopping channel? Yes I know, everyone tries to get money back, they spend on equipment etc. But I feel like this has gotten out of hand: sponsor for ingredients - check, sponsor for brewing hardware - check, youtube memberships - check, patreon - check, merchandise - check, sponsored links - check, amazon shopping list - check. Maybe I just miss the old days of “best bang for your buck” dunkelweizen or experimental imperial stout adjuncts. Maybe I have a wrong idea how much an engineer/national guard captain earns in the U.S. Maybe there is a little apartment brewer on his way. Maybe it is just the natural evolution of a youtube channel. Maybe I am just getting old. Still like this channel very much and wish you all the best.

[@fleshboundtobone]

God forbid someone who loves homebrewing and teaching others about it for free attempts to cover their costs in so doing.. I don't think this channel is overly commercial at all.

[@MikeP350]

@fleshboundtobone I agree 100%. He keeps his sponsor plugs very minimal. Unlike other channels, where the first 3-4 mins is nothing but cringe worthy advertising on every single video.

[@rfox2014]

Grow up, this was helpful

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Dude...I have been doing this for at least 2 years. If you don't want to support the channel, then don't, it's not like it's a requirement.