It's easy to get excited and bust out the brews. So we wanted to go over 6 homebrewing mistakes to avoid for your next brew day. This is perfect for new brewers and a great refresher for seasoned brewers.

1. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Sanitation

New brewers often end up battling with unruly yeast and rampant bacteria. The reason could be because the excitement and anticipation of the finished product are so high, that often thorough sanitation and cleanliness gets put on the backburner. So in order to avoid a disastrous end product, sanitize effectively.

2. Don’t Overcomplicate the Brewing Process  

There is a ton of brewing information out there. You can spend all day reading different articles or checking in on different blog posts and finding out all kinds of information. Our instructions and brewing processes are set up precisely for brewing with Mr. Beer. Make sure to always follow the directions on the website and your brew day will be awesome!

3. Try Not to Use Alternate Forms of Filtering the Beer

Brewers might consider using coffee filters or cheese cloths to filter the beer. Unfortunately, those methods will only produce an aerated beer and cause spoilage. Always give the beer ample time to settle in the fermenter, and do not disturb the fermenter during the bottling process. The best way to clear your beer is to cold crash before bottling and try propping up the front of your fermenter so the trub settles to the back.

4. Never Open the Beer During Fermentation (unless instructed to)

New brewers will usually want to check to make sure the fermentation process is working by opening the fermenter, and often too early. When the fermenter is opened before full fermentation, you will run the risk of rogue organisms that can, and will, sour the beer. Some of our instructions do call for dry hopping or late additions to your beer. Make sure that everything that you are using is clean and only leave the lid off the fermenter for the few seconds when you're adding your extra ingredients to your beer.

5. Do Not Rush the Process

There is nothing worse than the frustration of waiting weeks to bottle your beer, only to find the taste is painfully awful. Your first thought to yourself might be "where did I go wrong?" Often, if you know you've followed every step instructed in the guidelines and the beer is still unpalatable, you more than likely did not let it ferment long enough. Always follow the suggested brewing time. Also, remember that off-flavors will clean up with conditioning. So if you try your beer and something does not taste right, let the remaining bottles sit out at room temperature for another week or two and then try one again. Repeat this process until you find the perfect taste.  

6. Make Sure to Maintain the Proper Temperature

When the directions ask you to fill your LBK with cold water, take heed. Filling with room temperature water will mean that your wort's temperatures stay high, and likely much too high for pitching your yeast. Be aware that the temperature range each refill and recipe has is for the wort temperature, and not the temperature of the room or space your fermenter is in. While the room may feel nice and cool, your wort could be staying hot, especially considering the heat created by fermentation.

Be sure you've got it right with one of our stick-on thermometers. It is those above-range temperatures that can cause cidery off-flavors in your beer.