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The MOST Overcomplicated Brewing Advice Beginner's Don't Need

City Steading Fermenstation

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Are you overcomplicating your homebrew? 🤔

On this episode of the Fermenstation Podcast, we break down the most complicated brewing advice we could find online—and whether any of it actually matters.

From pure oxygen systems and stainless conicals… to pH obsession, nutrient schedules, and MUST-follow rules… we’re separating what’s actually necessary from what’s just making brewing harder than it needs to be.

Spoiler:
👉 Great brewing is about mastering the fundamentals—not chasing complexity.

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💬 Tell us in the comments:
What’s the most overrated brewing advice YOU’ve heard?
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20 Comments

@raffastage 6 months ago

And I'd like to add "you have to start with at least 20 liters brews". Thanks for leading me into the 5liters joyful brewing!

@Notsoslimshady6565 6 months ago (edited)

i think the biggest problem within the hobby, as with many hobbies, is that a lot of people in it just take it too seriously and think that they are the next craft brew to hit it big. people just don't know how to have fun with a hobby anymore

@mahimahi42 6 months ago

One of my favorite aspects of getting into this hobby the last few months with my brother is genuinely how simple it is. As with many hobbies, you can go all out from the get go, but as y'all state there's so little that's "required" that you may as well go as uncomplicated as possible to build those fundamentals.

Though looking back, an auto-siphon was definitely a "required" purchase for me in particular, a manual siphon made so much more of a mess :)

@teddybear5150 6 months ago

The most frustrating thing about being a home brewer...... is the waiting !!!! After a day, I want my mead to hurry up and finish so I can drink it. Also, just finding the right ingredients to brew with. Then I remember I seen a CSB has a video I really wanted to try.
Problem solved ! 😂

@MoonbearIrv 6 months ago

My brew partner (who went on to be a head brewer at a major brewery here in MI) used to say “they used to make this sh*t in clay pots” sometimes, all the extra work isn’t necessary haha

@kenpeuterbaugh8257 6 months ago

Well I haven't ran into much of these simply because y'all are my primary source of information

@mymultiextruder9804 1 day ago

I think my ADHD really benefits me here. I can't get enough of the learning, documenting, planning and options. But when it comes to putting things down for a long while, I have that perfected, LOL!! The hardest part for me was stirring every day. Once I pressed and racked, I love just letting it sit. Maybe my only hobby where leaving it alone is considered progress!! My first batch ever was in my teens - a pumpkin stuffed with brown sugar and raisins hanging in a pillow case in my closet. So this is very high tech compared to THAT!!

@kaikai2612 6 months ago

i recently started my second batch of mead, bought a variety of apples pressed myself local honey 1.100 gravity it’s going great it’s nearly dry in about 10 days , i used goferm and nutrients, my first batch i started with basically no knowledge at 1.130 with no goferm no nutrient no fruit , took a while to start i got some nutrients had to repitch yeast and it finished dry at 17%, it’s surprisingly good i even gave a bottle to my parents and they loved it and i think your guys videos saved the batch, love the vids

@seasonal_clorox_bleach8308 6 months ago

Looking back, I find myself "overcomplicating" brewing not because I actually think it will make it better, but because I want to do active work on the brew. For me, this hobby is a bit like gardening, and the process is just as important as the final product.

@johnb7430 6 months ago

I follow the KISS method:

Keep I Simple (because I'm) Stupid

I figure if a single cell organism without a brain can do it... there's no need to overthink it.

Sanitize, measure ingredients, measure gravity, add yeast... wait, then enjoy. Boom done!

@1st67mustang390 4 months ago

I've had my own rants to you all....funny enough you all admitted some of the things I said.

I have zero issues with this video and is one of my favorite so far...my first batch of wine was 1999....you grow the more you ferment. This is my favorite video of yours by far....except you keep saying is a brew..its not..its ferment...ok...lol..my only continual rant.

Happy brewing....er... fermenting.

@grizzly6871 6 months ago

yeast really love to be left alone. Granted i like to shake it really well periodically just to help get the gas to rise.

@merinsan 6 months ago

I never check ph, but it can be important.
When I did a pineapple wine, fermentation just didn't start. I doubled the batch by adding water (and sugar), and it took off, and produced a pretty good wine in the end.

@itcouldbeanyone 6 months ago

This is my new hobby and it brings me great joy when I get to sample my creations. 😂❤ Thanks for your content, it's sure helped me out.

@paulbyers806 6 months ago

The only thing you have to have is fun. Thanks for all you share.

@DP-vh4wb 6 months ago

I can see Brian lose his mind if someone says hydrometer for all those questions at the end 😂

@StillGroundz 6 months ago

Either way when you start browsing what to buy for the first time it is daunting, almost every store sells a starter kit…and once you know the process you think “well this is not nearly enough for the things i had in mind” and you go back to the brew shop, the clerk sees you packing stuff, and is already smiling from across the counter. because like every hobby, You can’t have enough stuff! it is part of the fun. 😂❤

@TheVeiledSeer69 6 months ago

I hear what you’re saying, as a starter I found it interesting, to take a lot of readings and variables, to learn what all ingredients and actions did. Also, if you intend to replicate, it is nice to have some background in the proces, so you can steer things effectively, when readings go off for instance. Just winging it, might work for some, but if you’re looking for something specific that you can master and replicate, I found it comforting to have done more readings in the beginning .. After a while you start to see that all actions you make/take, also have influence.. You guys obviously speak out of a bigger experience, and I get that! And you’re right, some of the “must haves” you mentioned, are way too excessive, for starters, but even some are unnecessary when you’re already some time on it. Some things are convenient, but you probably will not use them like every day, so one can ask if they cover the flag they say it does!!
All in all great informative video, love the insights!!

@davewojtylko5348 6 months ago

As beekeepers, my wife and I know what it takes for the bees to create honey and for us to harvest it. I struggled early on with any assertion that I MUST introduce anything unnatural into my brew, whether it be a nutrient, a stabilizer, or a clarifying agent.

Your methods align perfectly with our desire to show respect for our bees' labor to produce the honey, and ours to harvest it, and to also not pollute our bodies with anything but the alcohol we're creating.