Simple Homebrewing with Denny and Drew – BeerSmith Podcast #195

by Brad Smith on July 24, 2019 · 1 comment

This week Denny Conn and Drew Beechum join me to discuss their new book Simple Homebrewing. The book is focused on making home brewing simple and fun again.

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Topics in This Week’s Episode (46:29)

  • Today on the show I welcome back Drew Beechum and Denny Conn.  Drew is author of The Everything Homebrew Book, The Homebrewer’s Journal and The Everything Hard Cider book.  Denny is a nationally ranked beer judge, and author of Craft Beer for the Homebrewer. They wrote Experimental Brewing together and today they join me to discuss their new book Simple Homebrewing. [NOTE: All links are Amazon affiliate links].
  • We start with a short discussion of what Denny and Drew have been up to recently.
  • Denny explains the genesis behind the book “Simple Homebrewing” and also describes what simple means when it comes to homebrewing.
  • Drew provides some advice for simple extract brewing and talks about how extract brewers can improve their beer and save time.
  • Drew and Denny provide some simplificiation tips for all grain brewers including the importance of planning ahead to save time during brew day.
  • Denny talks about both small batch brewing and Brew-in-a-bag (BIAB) which can be big time savers and also allow you to make experimental batches that may not require 10 gallons (40 liters) of beer.
  • Drew discusses how technology can be a double edged sword with the potential to both save time and make the brew day more complex.
  • Drew introduces the concept of simplifying flavors by including only the ingredients needed to achieve the flavors you want.
  • Denny talks about recipe design, and how it can also be simplified by taking the right approach.
  • Denny takes on a simplified approach to water and advocates a two-stage approach where you adjust the water profile first and then address the mash pH separately.
  • We discuss briefly ingredients, as well as managing yeast and fermentation, and Drew finishes with a discussion on sour beers.
  • Both guests provide their closing thoughts.

Sponsors

Thanks to Denny Conn and Drew Beechum for appearing on the show and also to you for listening!
iTunes Announcements: I launched a new video channel for the BeerSmith podcast on iTunes, so subscribe now! At the moment it will only feature the new widescreen episodes (#75 and up). Older episodes are available on my revamped Youtube channel. Also all of my audio episodes are on iTunes now – so grab the older episodes if you missed any.

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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

sbrewing company November 18, 2023 at 6:07 am

Inspirational insights from Denny and Drew! Simplifying homebrewing, their knowledge shines through. A must-listen for any brewer in search of to raise their craft. Thanks for sharing this treasured expertise

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