naturally by adding priming sugar before bottling. This promotes longevity and complexity in flavor. Dark and Dry: Shield your beer from light exposure. Store bottles in a dark place and keep them dry to prevent label damage and rust. Airtight Seal: Ensure a proper seal on bottles or kegs to prevent oxidation. Use quality caps and seals to maintain carbonation. Limited Oxygen: When transferring or bottling, minimize oxygen exposure. Use a siphon or CO2 to reduce contact. Aging: Some styles benefit from aging. Experiment with aging periods, but monitor regularly to prevent spoilage. Hygiene: Sanitize equipment thoroughly to prevent contamination. Rotation: Consume your homebrew within a reasonable timeframe to enjoy its freshness. Experiment: Explore various techniques and ingredients to find what best suits your taste and
preservation needs. By following these tips, you can savor your homebrewed beer long after it’s crafted.” Diego Masiero from Beer Awards Platform How can I ensure that my brewing setup is ergonomically designed to minimize strain and potential injury during extended brewing sessions? “The beauty in brewing is that a lot of it is hurry up and wait, however, this doesn’t mean there is no risk in carrying things around. Water and heat are two major hazards leading to lifting strain and the risk of scalding. In an ideal situation, you should only really be dealing with filling up vessels, not necessarily moving them around. Having a fixed frame with a 3-vessel setup installed on top of it is ideal as the vessels are fixed in place on a metal frame. It’s a more expensive approach, but it’s both safe and consistent. With 3 vessels, you are dealing with a hot liquor tank, a mash tun, and a kettle. Burners pre-installed underneath with starters will reduce the risk of burn, and the hot liquor tank can be filled with cold water from a food-safe hose. The height of the frame with the vessels on top should be low enough that you can observe the insides from the top without having to lean on or lean over. Since you will need to add grain into the mash tun and likely stir, you want to make sure you don’t have to lift your grain too high and can comfortably mix the mash and the hot water. The use of pumps with proper plumbing will also keep you from either having to lift a vessel to empty into another or deal with a gravity system that may require one of the vessels to be positioned too high.” Chris Heier from Half Hitch Brewing Company What are the common issues in the brewing process and how can I address them? “There are many issues that could occur during the brewing process. Over the years, the brew team at Daft has experienced many issues as we familiarized ourselves with the limitations of our brewhouse. For example, the dreaded ‘stuck mash’. A stuck mash occurs when the grains in the mash tun (the tank that extracts sugars from crushed grains) do not allow liquid to pass. Instead of acting as a filter to remove solid particles, they act as a blockage that prevents liquid from draining from the tank. Adding
110 SPOTLIGHT MAGAZINE ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 24 ISSUE 3
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