Brewing Water – Hard or Soft?
Tweet Brewing water plays a very important role in the flavor of your homebrewed beer. Knowing the character of your […]
brewing
Malt Extract Beer Brewing
Brewing with malt extract (liquid or dry) is the starting point for every new brewer. This week we take a look at how to optimize your beer by understanding malt extract and the brewing process.
Yeast Washing: Reusing your Yeast
Washing yeast to reuse it in another batch of beer is a great technique to have in your home brewing arsenal. Yeast washing is a simple process used to separate the live yeast from the underlying trub (hops and spent grains) left at the bottom of your fermenter when making beer.
An Interview with Dan Listermann (of Phil’s fame)
This week we feature a short interview with Dan Listermann of Listermann Manufacturing. You may not instantly recognize Dan’s name, but most home brewers have seen Listermann’s line of products including his innovative “Phil’s” line including Phil’s Phalse Bottom, Phil’s Lauter Tun and Phil’s Sparger.
Brown Ale Recipes: Brewing Styles
Brown ale is a distinctively English style that has also become popular with microbreweries in the United States. Today we’ll look at the origins of this classic style, how to brew Brown Ale at home and also a sampling of Brown Ale recipes.
5 Ways to Improve your All Grain Beer Efficiency
All grain brewers can be obsessive about the efficiency of their brewing system. This week we will look at 5 methods you can use to improve your overall brewhouse efficiency to get the most out of your all grain brewing session.
Beer Yeast, Fermentation, and Home Brewing
Today we look at home brewing beer yeast, fermentation, and how it affects the flavor and character of finished beer. Yeast is one of the most important ingredients in home brewing, but also one of the least understood.
Converting All Grain Recipes to Malt Extract
Convert your all grain beer recipes to extract (or back). This week we examine how to convert an all grain home brewing recipe into one that uses extract including the delicate process of balancing color and bitterness in the final beer.
Home Brewing Social Sites: Beer and Web 2.0
A look at four web 2.0 social sites for home brewers. These sites help you cut through the mass of web clutter and get fresh home brewing content on a regular basis. By participating in these sites, you can also help other brewers focus on better brewing news, stories and articles.
Dry Hopping: Enhanced Hops Aroma
Dry hopping is a great way to enhance the hoppy aroma of your home brewed beer. Real hopheads will tell you that in addition to boil and late hop additions, dry hopping is a preferred technique for preserving a burst of delicate hop aroma for IPAs and other hoppy beers.
Bottling Beer: 10 Tips for Home Brewers
Ten beer bottling tips for your next batch of home brewed beer. Bottling can be a time consuming and messy process. This week we look at some ideas to make your bottling session less painful and more productive.
Brewing Hops: 10 Tips for Surviving the Hops Shortage
Ten hop-saving tips for surviving the ongoing hop crisis. With brewing hops in short supply, everyone is looking for ways to use less hops. This week’s article includes a collection of home brewing tips to conserve and preserve your precious hops supply and save you money in the process.
Calculating Hop Bitterness: How much Hops to Use?
A look at beer bitterness for home brewers, estimating International Bitterness Units (IBUs) and balancing your beer recipe. How much beer hops is enough? With the hop crisis in full swing, it is important to understand the quantity of hops you need to properly balance your home brewed beer…
Brewing Hops Storage: Preserving Precious Hops
Today we’re going to look at the best way to store and preserve your beer brewing hops and also some of the effects of hop aging. With hop prices pushing $5 US per ounce and the hops crisis likely to get worse before it gets better, caring for your precious hops supply is more important than ever…
Growing Hops in the Garden: How to Grow Beer Hops
With the ongoing hop crisis, brewers are turning to growing hops for beer in the garden. Learn how to grow your own hops at home from rhizomes to create your own perennial hop supply. Part 1 of our 5 part series on the hop crisis.
Making a Yeast Starter for your Home Brew Beer
Making a yeast starter for your homebrew beer will improve the quality and reduce the chance of infection. This week we cover how much yeast to use and how to create a yeast starter…
The First Wort Hop: Beer Brewing Techniques
Brewing beer with first wort hops (FWH) is a method I have used extensively for beer brewing over the last few years to improve the character of many recipes. First wort hopping produces complex bitterness and aroma that is both smooth and pleasing to the pallet…
“Designing Great Beers” by Ray Daniels – A Book Review
I recently revisited Ray Daniels’ classic work “Designing Great Beers”, a book written in 1996 and published by the Brewers Association. Though I originally read this book several years ago, I enjoyed it even more the second time. For those of you who don’t know the book, it is advertised as “The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles”…
