Ask A Minnesota Expert: Tips For Brewing Your Own Beer
"If a batch turns out bad," says Indeed Brewer Jon Eager, "just give it to your friends and tell them it's totally awesome." Multitalented Jon Eager is an avid home brewer and a relentless networker among home brewers and craft beer professionals. He has been honing these unique skills professionally for the last three years and at Indeed since April. Now, he will share these insights with our readers.
Jon Eager
Brewer
Indeed Brewing Company and Taproom
711 NE 15th Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55413
(612) 843-5090
www.indeedbrewing.com
Here are brewer's tips from a brewery named by City Pages as "top of the Minnesota brewing pack," two years in a row. The fabulously popular and rapidly growing Indeed Brewing Company knows how to brew beer. Try these tips from an Indeed Brewer and start creating great beer at home.
Go All Grain
"Go all grain right away," says Eager. "The difference in quality and control compared to extract brewing is monumental. While extract brewing is faster, easier and has its place while learning the basics, it will very rarely produce 'great beer,' which is what we are talking about here, right? Right. Do not dilly-dally, just dive in. There are lots of nice people at Northern Brewer (where I used to work, 'sup guys!) that are happy to help you with this."
Be A Clean Freak
Jon implores that you "clean and sanitize everything, every time! Clean gear equals clean beer. On a similar note, clean as you go. There is nothing worse than getting done with a long brew day only to face a huge mess. There is lots of time to wait around during your brew day. So, instead of slamming beers, challenge yourself to see how efficient you can be as a brewer (well... keep slamming beers, just multitask while you do). If you ever go pro, running an efficient brew day is a huge skill set. We are always doing at least three things at a time."
Know Your Mash Temp
"Understand how the relationship between mash temperatures and yeast health can affect your finished beer," is Eager's third tip. "Many home brewers believe that the lower your mash temp, the dryer your beer will be. This is true, but at the expense of the beer's body. This is a pretty big oversight, even in our growing craft beer scene here in Minnesota. You can have pretty high mash temps, as high as 155 degrees Fahrenheit, and still achieve a low finishing gravity if you are pitching the right amount of yeast. Doing yeast starters or harvesting healthy yeast from a previous batch is key here. It gives you a nice chewy but dry beer. I highly recommend reading 'Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation' by Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff. Just power through chapter two, it's a hard one."
Take Notes
Jon says to "take lots of notes, and only change one process or ingredient at a time. This was a huge reason the quality of my home brew became very high (back when I had time to brew at home, and yes, I miss it). If you improve your process, you will improve your beer. Be consistent in all your notes and measurements. This is another important skill set if you ever go pro."
Read Up
"Get your hands on every brewing book you can," says Eager. "Read, read, read! When I decided I wanted to pursue brewing as a career, I gave up my social life. All I did was brew and read. I don't think I took an actual day off during that first year. I was obsessed with obtaining as much knowledge as possible (I still am) in order to become a better brewer."
Robin Johnson was born in Annandale, Minn. and graduated from Richfield High School and then the University of Minnesota where he studied Political Science, Business and Industrial Relations. A writer for Examiner.com, he also consults with a variety of organizations and individuals helping them develop and grow. His work can be found at Examiner.com.
