Things Learned as a Professional I Wish I Knew as a Homebrewer
Before he landed the role of head brewer at Auburn, California’s Moonraker Brewing Co., Zack Frasher was an avid homebrewer who worked part time at The Brewmeister homebrew shop and Mraz Brewing Company. He also counted on experience as an intern at Knee Deep Brewing Co. (Auburn, California). Here are a few things he wishes he fully understood in his homebrewing days that his experience as a professional brewer has pulled into tight focus.
Balancing Multiple Yeast Strains
As a homebrewer, it is easy to buy a fresh pitch of yeast for $7 or so, make a starter, and pitch with any yeast strain desired. Since a pitch is so cheap, and there are no production demands, most of the time homebrewers are not re-harvesting or re-pitching yeast. There is no real juggling of yeast management. On the professional level, we run anywhere from ten to twenty generations of yeast based on health and viability. This can get very complicated with a production schedule when several beer styles are in rotation with multiple yeast strains. Planning a projected fermentation schedule is necessary for saving on the cost of yeast. It doesn’t make sense financially to buy a fresh pitch every time.
Dissolved Oxygen and Packaging
Homebrewing usually consists of packaging in Cornelius kegs or bottle conditioning. Most of the time homebrew is consumed very quickly and/ or by friends and relatives. With homebrew, you always have control of whether you serve your beer. If it oxidizes in 6 weeks, you can dump it down the drain. On the professional scale, consumers may not consume your beer the same way. We package in kegs and 16-ounce cans. I see some of our 16-ounce cans getting traded across states and not getting an Untappd check-in until 6–12 months from packaging date (not recommended). Most homebrew would never pass quality assurance under these conditions. On the professional scale, we go through several standard operating procedures to ensure beers are getting packed at very low oxygen levels. We use a dissolved oxygen (DO) meter during our canning runs to ensure shelf stability.
Hops Usage, Cost, and Diminished Returns
Homebrewing with hops is fairly inexpensive. If you want to throw a few more ounces in the dry hop for a better aroma, it isn’t going to break the bank account. On the professional level, contracts and spot purchase can be expensive. If you had a homebrew recipe with a 16-ounce dry hop in a 5-gallon batch, it is going to show financially when you scale up to a commercial batch. If your homebrew recipe had Nelson or Galaxy, good luck finding those hops for a good price or securing a contract. Make sure you build flagship recipes around hops that are readily available. We have seen diminished returns on anything over a 4.4-pound-per-bbl dry hop. Anything over that we find excessive with no hops flavor/aroma difference.