Top 15 Homebrewing Hacks for brewers (2021 Edition)

[@DointheMost]

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[@m00nf0lk2]

This one was really informative. I really like the idea of stealing samples along the way through a brew's life, then tasting them after. That is a great idea.

[@DointheMost]

I’ve got to give MMM some credit for that one, it came out of our brainstorming for how to improve Mead Swap tastings going forward.

[@redbeardthepink4809]

Chopsticks are also really handy for cooking. I bought a super cheap bag of bamboo chopsticks, and the applications of those little things are nearly endless. I absolutely love them.

[@PSYCHOPATHiO]

Love your analogies lol @ 12:25

[@Aldrahill]

These videos keep me going until my first honey harvest in a couple months for the next batches.

[@DointheMost]

What kind of honey?

[@Aldrahill]

@@DointheMost whatever they gather from! This time of year, it’ll be oilseed rape! (Rapeseed oil) Plenty of rape fields nearby :D later in the summer it’ll be blackberry

[@TigerPat_9180]

Liked your Videos , keep em Coming . 🐯🤠

[@ErickandDerrick]

+1 to the carb drops! It'll totally ruin your day when you bottle all those hydromels, then realize you forgot to add the priming sugar! I would also consider all the homebrewing Discord Servers a brewhack in their own right! Instant advice from a handful of people is only a few clicks away!

[@joshkerr6452]

New to the channel but not to brewing. I'm not sure if you mentioned it in your other videos but I like to use a long turkey baster to take samples or hydrometer readings. Also, the carboy cleaner that attaches to a drill has saved me hours of cleaning time.

[@JoeSteffy1932]

As newbie brewer, I really appreciate these videos. 👍🙂🍻

[@josechavez5467]

I think one of the first videos I saw of yours a while ago, you were pouring someone into a carboy; you were using a funnel but you had a chop stick along side the funnel so the funnel would not cause a seal so that the funnel would be at a slight angle, I have used a chop stick ever since!!!! it helps not seal and cause that bubbling thing. was such a silly fix but works great specially when you’re doing stuff by yourself👍🏼 ty bud have followed you ever since

[@DointheMost]

Glad that’s worked for you! I have not needed to do that since I got my big brewing funnel that rests just above the neck of the carboy. But a great trick!

[@burton710]

carb drops are great! I keg most of my beers but always bottle a handful to save and its just so much easier to just drop one in and go

[@robertjoyce5629]

I recently switched to buckets for my primary. Brilliant! But one thing you forgot, GET RID OF THE SIPHON. Put a spigot on your fermentor bucket, and you can check your taste, acid, gravity, without exposing your brew to oxygen! Especially if you use a CO2 capture blow off setup. :) Cheers

[@harryhall4001]

There is a bit of an issue with this though: When you remove liquid from a container you have to replace it with air otherwise you would create a parial vacum. This means you are in fact introducing air into the bucket by using a tap - otherwise it wouldn't work.

[@robertjoyce5629]

Hey Harry! thanks for the reply. :) Did you see at the end of my comment, I added the thing about using a CO2 capture blow off. What you do is have two airtight vessels at the end of the blow off tube. The tube goes into one of them, then that one is connected to the next vessel by another tube, this one goes into the liquid. Then when you draw atmosphere back into the fermenter, you're actually pulling the CO2 that your have already created, back into the fermenter. :) Cheers!@@harryhall4001

[@Skulltap]

I have a brew book. Its a small spiral bound notebook that I put all my brew notes with tasting notes for each time I do anything to it. This lets me keep all the notes together all the time so I don't have to track a bunch of papers. Have you seen those little big mouth bubblers? They are big enough for 1 gallon batches with fruit or really anything that will have a lot drop out in and still get 1 gallon out of it. Plus they are glass, so you don't have to worry about any flavors from a previous brew making it into the current one (had that happen with peppermint) Milk crates aren't made like they used to be either :(

[@DointheMost]

I’ve seen those big mouth bubblers a few times - seems like a good middle ground between demijohns and buckets.

[@torirevilla812]

I like the taster idea to see how the brew has progressed. One hack I have that I've not seen out there for the big 5 gallon carboys is to use a plant caddy to roll them from one place to another.

[@DointheMost]

That’s actually brilliant! Nice.

[@kratomseeker5258]

i really loves that apple summer cider man it was awesome each bottle got better and better it didnt last long haha. thanks.

[@Brandon-jw5cv]

Carbonation drops are sooo useful. Time is at a premium for me, and more than worth the few extra dollars.

[@DointheMost]

With the amount of kegging I do, it’s definitely worth the time saving for me to use them when bottle conditioning! I’d always much rather keg, though.

[@bigdaddytreevo4120]

Carbonation drops all day. I like to bottle straight from my primary fermenter. No bottling bucket = less potential for introducing oxygen or wild yeasts/bacteria.

[@Brandon-jw5cv]

@@bigdaddytreevo4120 likewise!

[@elricthebald870]

Two tips from my side: For a fermenter on a budget ask your local snackbar for buckets and lids. Most get their mayo/ketchup in large 10 litre buckets. Just drill a hole and place your grommet and airlock. (Avoid frying grease buckets. The remnants of the anti-leak foil will prevent a proper airtight seal.) For at least the one or two days keep your carboy in a bucket/tub. In case you do have a blowout it will save you a shit load of work cleaning up.

[@DointheMost]

Your second tip is particularly useful! This has saved my wood floors a few times.

[@stevenphillips1702]

Don’t think it was mentioned in this video but your unflavored floss hack works great with steeping bags in secondary carboys! Tie a long string on and no more worry about them falling in!

[@DointheMost]

Yes - love that one. Viewer/mod/admin/do-it-all silentrob told me about that. It’s so common sense but I never thought of it!

[@blu3l3vithan86]

NEW TO THE CHANNEL AND BREWING...IS THAT THE BREW SHOP IN OKC??

[@aaronwolfenbarger2122]

Good stuff as always BC!

[@DointheMost]

Thanks for watching!

[@bradcraddick3074]

Mind doing a video on what your digital notes look like? Currently I'm using Excel

[@yetisuncle666]

are you from atoka? i used to live there a long time ago.

[@SSmith-en5wq]

Milk crates 💯👍🏼 I’ve lost two glass carboys. Blueberry bomb Session mead on the carpet sucked!! 🤓

[@darkwater234]

Saving progress speaks to me as a gamer. 😄

[@Thomas-cc1lj]

Thank you! I've been wondering how you get your hydrometer out of your carboys as you regularly video dropping them in but never taking them out.

[@DointheMost]

Usually I can give them a little boop and they spring back up where I can catch them.

[@PeterSFam]

Sorry if this was covered in other videos but keep your carboys/buckets while actively fermenting on washing machine/water heater drain pans. In case something cracks/leaks/overflows it contains the mess nicely.

[@wuyiwolf2660]

Sugar cubes work FAR better then those hard drops....had very inconsistant results with those

[@treyb387]

How many grams of yeast would one need to ferment a 1 gallon batch of mead? I was thinking about using Lalvin, which is 5 grams, but you've convinced me to try Kviek yeast which comes in 11 gram packs. So would I be using a quarter of the pack per gallon? (roughly 2.5 grams)? I was going to do two batches of mead, but I think I'm going to do four...I'll just need to buy four more carboys to have them handy to rack them to, since that will mean all four of my carboys will be being used for four batches.

[@zzing]

Carbonation drops have one drawback: it isn’t always clear how much carbonation they provide. Bamboo has one drawback: due to demand many hectares of land have been cleared to plant them.

[@rubducksu9245]

I will say this about adding zest. I love me my mint tea. While it's super nice all on it's own, if I have dried orange zest I always add it. I get no orange flavor, but the while drink just rounds out and tastes that much better

[@DointheMost]

Seriously, it’s magic. I’m a real zest believer these days.

[@tannerwhite1041]

Great video!

[@DointheMost]

Thank you!

[@hanginwithhodge]

Gotta get me some milk crates! :-)

[@ozoneswiftak]

Why do you have Anthony's yeast in you back drop. Lol. I just bought some of that for my salad/ popcorn stuff. Humm. And I smoked some weed, so now it seems really strange. Lol. Problem have some honey around also. Lol

[@MuncieFamily]

Question, can you store beer or mead in a keg at room temp, or does it need to be refrigerated? If you can, would you carbonate it then store, or wait to carbonate until your putting in fridge?

[@craighunter3273]

Brilliant

[@Subbedhunter]

....CHOPSTICKS. So simple yet so powerful lol

[@DointheMost]

h a c k s

[@christopherevans5331]

Lol....I brewed a Cherry mead as my first brew and hung the notes on it and ended up with a cherry puree covered note paper. 7 brews in and am figuring it.

[@DointheMost]

Might put it in a zipper bag, then! Haha

[@NathanLogsdon-uj3yr]

Great video, I like the 1.4 gallon little bigmouth bubbler with a spigot. I use muslin bags for my fruit and add a glass weight inside the bag to weigh it down in the brew. Then just pull the bag before secondary. My brews come out a lot cleaner and you get the perfect amount for a 1 gallon carboy.

[@CogginsBrian]

What do you think about using sanitize marbles to deal with unexpected headspace problems?

[@xjesusxchristx]

In 25 years of brewing(used to brew with dad, starting at 15), I've NEVER had a carboy shatter... What the hell were you doing to trigger that? Only thing that comes to mind that can cause that, is adding hot/cold liquids too quickly(or mixing extremes inside). Sudden changes in temperature is what usually causes that.

[@TigerPat_9180]

They were cheap after market products . Didn't have the right Temper to em . 🐯🤠

[@xjesusxchristx]

@@TigerPat_9180 That... Would still require sudden temperature changes, so I already had that covered.

[@einar285]

Can i add spice or flavors to the samples/ testers? Im all new on brewing

[@mcnam003]

why does the current temp of your brew matter when it comes to bottle conditioning? ive always wondered.

[@DointheMost]

Yeast typically are more aggressive at a higher temp, so they would consume the sugars faster. CO2 absorbs into suspension better at colder temps. So keeping it cold after the sugars are consumed can help it "condition" faster.

[@Grandpa_RLP]

In one of your other Tips and Tricks videos you said get rid of the bubbler but then in the other two tTips and Tricks videos in plain sight you are using bubblers. Why is that? Thanks for videos.

[@supermeadboy]

Do you ever had trouble with a bung popping out of a 1 gallon Carboy? I ended up tying mine down but wonder if there’s a trick to getting them to stay without that.

[@chaseb6728]

If you have a handle on the demijohn, a hair tie is the perfect way of keeping a bung in. I haven't found a better way than manually keeping it in.

[@supermeadboy]

@@chaseb6728 sounds better than tying with string every time! I’ll give that a shot.

[@DointheMost]

Alternatively I use a big twist tie - like the ones that come wrapped around leafy lettuce.

[@jugulator3767]

I just dry the bung and the inside of the neck of the carboy and that works great.

[@TigerPat_9180]

@@DointheMost I use twist 🪢 ties on Brew Bags in 6.5 gallon Fermentation Buckets 🪣. I made the Bags from , Picnic 🧺 Table , Plate & Food Cover's . Fine Nylon Mesh Fabric . Works Great . 🐯🤠

[@campbellwilson2414]

Help!!! How do I join the discord?

[@rappers5719]

Don't use the drops. Dextrose. Measure and mix prior to bottling.

[@opaxz2375]

lmaooo you say 2021 edition as if physics change yearly with the new updates and patches hahaha.

[@julietardos5044]

What do you use sumac for?

[@DointheMost]

I’m working on a sumac mead recipe :)

[@julietardos5044]

@@DointheMost That is so interesting. Do you ever use it in food? Za'atar?

[@DointheMost]

@@julietardos5044 a few different things - we’ve been cooking through the book Sioux Chef.

[@julietardos5044]

@@DointheMost Sounds like fun!

[@TigerPat_9180]

I've heard of Poison Sumac, must not be the same thing . 🐯🤠

[@HisVirusness]

12:35 😂😂😂

[@paulb36utube]

Way too many ads. Good tips.

[@DointheMost]

Thanks for watching

[@ChadzBeerReviews]

Tips are okay, but TRICKS!?!!?

[@marmictanghus]

Cheap dishwasher powder is as good as PBW (powdered brewery wash) for home brewing.

[@JordanBridgman]

Chopsticks are only an easy way to retrieve dropped objects if you can actually use them 😭 They tried to teach me on some orange chicken but I just gave up and stabbed the chicken chunkies with the chopsticks

[@DointheMost]

Practice makes (close to) perfect!

[@kjdevault]

Get some kids chop sticks. Finger slots and connected and springy to stay together. Literally just makes them an extension of your fingers!

[@MDwellandsepticguy]

the carb drops are a waste of time.

[@DointheMost]

Thanks for watching

[@jugulator3767]

LOL

[@davepeterschmidt5818]

Good ideas - except the brew bucket. I know a lot of people do it, but plastic leaches nasty chems into food. Alcohol probably just makes that problem worse. I will never brew in plastic.

[@DointheMost]

If you’re having that problem, you’re not using the correct type of plastic.

[@davep3002]

@@DointheMost Negative. It's all plastics, even the BPA free ones. There are other related compounds to BPA that are still in the BPA free plastic. Personally I won't make a brew in plastic of any kind. I try my best to keep all plastic away from my food, but that's nearly impossible these days. I know people have been brewing in plastic, but my bet is they are taking in chemicals when they do that.

[@CountDrunkula]

@@davep3002 I even boil in plastic before brewing in plastic. I think the alcohol is going to get me first.

[@lakeside477]

Carb drops are a perfect way to contaminate your beer, rookie stuff - co2 fillers from keg- Don’t teach people how to do the wrong things

[@pallettime]

Mate this is the worst home brew tips I've ever seen

[@lakeside477]

Never transfer , you’re teaching people how to do the wrong things check out genius Brewing

[@memyself898]

WTF are you talking about?

[@skepticfucker280]

Get some hollow stainless steel chopsticks from the Koren grocery store......

[@RobGraham048]

i don't mind bottle conditioning but what I do is 1oz of sugar to each gallon of brew for your carbonization. And to measure it without creating a bottle bomb I use one plastic water bottle filled with the brew. When it gets hard, the carbonization is done, or should be halted at that time.

[@fabulousdick]

The neck beard is not a good look bro.