Bottoms Up
Our beloved porter has seen it all. It went from the rough-hewn, smoky seminal macrobrew in early 18th-century England, to the first truly international beer in the 19th century, to near extinction in...
View ArticleFruitful Brewing
With homebrewing comes the epiphany that nearly anything can be included in a beer recipe, and the familiarity with fruit beers over the past 20 years has made those a favorite among us. But, blending...
View ArticleFruitful Fermentation
Raspberry Wheat (extract, 5 gallons) OG 1.055, 20 IBU Steep 1.0 lb Carapils® malt, then add: 5.0 lb wheat malt extract Bring to a boil and add 1.0 oz Mt. Hood hop, AA 5.0% Boil for one hour, add 0.5 oz...
View ArticleBrewing With Sugar
Those first few months of craft beer epiphany are heady indeed, filled with moment after moment of wide-eyed revelation. These palate-popping new brews had little in common with the mainstream stuff...
View ArticleOro Diablo – Strong Golden Ale
All-grain, 5 gallons, OG 1.075-1.080, 40 IBU Mash 13# Pilsner malt at 151º F for 1 hour Hop schedule: 2.0 oz East Kent Goldings, 60 minutes 1.0 oz Styrian Goldings, 20 minutes 1.5 oz Saaz, 5 minutes...
View ArticleOlde Stranger – Old Ale
Extract, 5 gallons, OG 1.070, 30 IBU Steep 4.0 oz chocolate malt, 8.0 oz 120º L crystal, and 1.0 lb 40º L crystal for 20 minutes, then add: 6 lb amber malt extract and 1.5 lb turbinado, demarara,...
View ArticleGeorge’s Best – American Sweet Stout
Partial mash, 5 gallons, OG 1.065, 30 IBU Mash 4 lb American 2-row malt, 16.0 oz roasted barley, 8.0 oz chocolate malt, 8.0 oz 80º L crystal malt for 1 hour at 153º F Collect wort and add 3 lb amber...
View ArticleSingle-Malt Brewing
To the novice, brewing can seem a bit daunting, but, as is the case with any hobby, that initial hesitation is replaced by confidence via experience. That same experience makes the task of brewing...
View ArticleBrews from Base Malts
Pilsner Malt (1.5 to 2.0°L ): Pilsner, Helles, Dortmunder, Helles Bock, American Golden Ale, Belgian Strong Golden Ale, Kölsch. American Ale, Belgian Pale, English Pale Ale and Mild Ale Malt (2.0 to...
View ArticleSMaSH Recipes
SMaSH Vienna Bier OG 1.050, 36 IBU, 5 gallons 10# German Vienna (Wiener) malt Mash at 150F for one hour Select a German noble hop and add 8 Alpha Acid Units (36 IBU) to the kettle, boil for 60 minutes...
View ArticleA Primer on Lagerbier
I am an unabashed lager lover. My first beer epiphany came from a glass of Hacker-Pschorr Dunkel in the mid-1970s. A few years later, homebrewing brought the giddy realization that I could brew my own....
View ArticleBelgian Witbier
No brewing culture mirrors that of the homebrewing community quite like that of Belgium. The romantic perception is that Belgian brews are closer to their agrarian and monastic roots. Romantic and...
View ArticleExtracting Greatness
Hobbyists thrive on rapport, with like minds sharing knowledge, triumph and struggle, reminiscing about wide-eyed beginnings and visions of the great frontier ahead. Homebrewing engenders much...
View ArticleGiving Thanks
Fall always offers a chance to kickstart that homebrewing motor. We can take advantage of the cooler fermentation temperatures and move from heat-slaying brews to something more rich and substantial to...
View ArticleBockanalia
I have always had a particular fondness for the emphatic malt character, smoothness and underlying elegance of noble hops in ordinary German biers. I was especially enamored with bocks and that pure...
View ArticlePower to the People
In a funny sort of way, homebrewing has come full circle. Thirty-four years ago, our country’s 39th President, Jimmy Carter, signed H.R. 1337 which effectively legalized homebrewing nationwide. And...
View ArticleGreat Grains: Mash or Steep?
Friends often ask me to review their brewing recipes and strategies. With all-grain brewers, this usually amounts to minor tweaking of ingredients and proportions. For extract-steep and partial-mash...
View ArticleRhenish Hybrids
The distinction between top- and bottom-fermented beers is familiar to all homebrewers, but the term “hybrid” is often met with curiosity. And while many of our styles were forged by the clash of...
View ArticleRhenish Hybrids
The distinction between top- and bottom-fermented beers is familiar to all homebrewers, but the term “hybrid” is often met with curiosity. And while many of our styles were forged by the clash of...
View ArticleUntangling Hops
A relative latecomer to brewing, hops have come to define beer to many. To some, they are an obsession; to others, the perfect counterpunch or complement. Seldom, though, are they an afterthought. For...
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