I am new to all grain and have read a lot of posts and articles on water adjustment. It seems that the majority like to use Bru’n Water. I also found John Palmers ‘Palmers Brewing Water Adjustment App’. I have been testing them both out and Bru’n water seem very comprehensive but Palmers seems to have the same info and is more user friendly in my opinion. Does anyone have any pros and cons on either??
Cheers!
I’ve never used the app but this walkthrough really helped me with Brunwater and I have had no issues since:
http://accidentalis.com/archives/275I’ve used most of them and found Bru’nwater to give me the best results by far. Keep in mind, though, that water adjustment is the last 5% of making great beer. There are a lot of other things to concentrate on first. I made award winning beers for over 10 years before I did anything more with water than add a tsp. of gypsum to IPA. Paying attention to water has incrementally increased the quality of my beer, but if I hadn’t mastered the basics first, the water wouldn’t matter.
Denny, what is your top 5 things to concentrate on and perfect to become a better brewer?
1.) Fermentation temp control
2.) (almost equal with #1) pitching the correct amount of healthy yeast
3.) cleaning and sanitation
4.) ingredient quality
5.) having fun!
I’ve got to be honest, my order from your list has been 3, 5, 4, 2, 1. I need to start paying more attention to temps, have a hard time with that. I try to pick a room in the house with best temp range and variations depending on time of year. I have been mostly using dry yeast (hydrated), just a pack per 5 gallons.
I agree with the order for Denny’s list, but its not like you can just focus on the first item and ignore the others until everything above it is done. Using old cheesy hops or getting an infection is going to result in terrible beer regardless of how well you maintained fermentation temps.
That said, if your beer is good and you want it to be great, get your fermentation temperatures and yeast pitching under control.
