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Articles    Tagged: Brewing Techniques

Sahti - A Remnant of Finland’s Rustic Past
By Ilkka Sysilä (Brewing Techniques)

Article Updated by Ilkka Sysilä (Brewing Techniques)     Though modern brewers have taken some liberties with modern brewing materials, this anachronistic style is still being brewed by sahti masters as it was 400 years ago: in wooden vessels with a...

American Wheat Beers
By Roger Bergen (Brewing Techniques)

By Roger Bergen (Brewing Techniques)     Summertime is prime time for wheat beers, which have traditionally been associated with Weissbier of Berlin and Hefeweizen of Bavaria. American wheat beers, however, are finding a place of distinction on the...

Thinking about Beer Recipe Formulation
By Darryl Richman (Brewing Techniques)

By Darryl Richman (Brewing Techniques)     Trials, errors, and creative thinking led to an award-winning dopplebock.      Brewing the doppelbock that led the bock category at the 1990 American Homebrewers...

Hung Fermentations, Water Analysis Tables, and Eggs in Beer
By David Miller (Brewing Techniques)

Q and A with David Miller (Brewing Techniques)     The BrewingTechniques troubleshooter helps one brewer solve a case of fermentations that just didn’t want to get going, answers another perplexed brewer’s questions about his local utility’s water...

Reinheitsgebot and the Fifth Ingredient
By Martin Schiller and Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

By Martin Schiller and Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)     Invisible predators of sweet wort, bacteria are the brewer’s nemesis. Some survive the boil and compete with yeast in the fermentor, imparting offensive aromas and off-flavors. The key to winning the war...

Belgian Malts: Some Practical Observations
By George J. Fix (Brewing Techniques)

By George J. Fix (Brewing Techniques)     Belgian malts offer qualities and performance profiles that differ markedly from their North American and British counterparts. This report on the results from experimental test brews based on Belgian malts reveals their...

Factors Affecting Hop Production, Hop Quality, and Brewer Preference
By Alfred Haunold and Gail B Nickerson (Brewing Techniques)

By Alfred Haunold and Gail B. Nickerson (Brewing Techniques)     Declining yields of traditional noble aroma hops and the demands of modern production methods are leading hop producers to seek new varieties that retain the qualities of these popular hops while...

Blending and the Art of Salvage
By Chris Studach (Brewing Techniques)

By Chris Studach (Brewing Techniques)     What to do with that unfortunate mistake of a recipe? Design another beer that is out of balance in an opposite and complementary way.      It invariably happens, even to the best of us....

Oktoberfest Alternatives
By Roger Bergen (Brewing Techniques)

By Roger Bergen (Brewing Techniques)     As summer turns to fall, many brewers start to plan their Oktoberfest brewing. This installment of “Brewing in Styles” looks at the materials and techniques used for brewing traditional and modern Märzen beers...

Cultured Dregs, Challenging Infections, and Home-Kilning Malt
By David Miller (Brewing Techniques)

Q and A with David Miller (Brewing Techniques)     Cultured Dregs, Challenging Infections, and Home-Kilning Malt    One brewer’s efforts at fermenting with cultured Oberdorfer Weizen yeast yielded a beer that tasted nothing like the original....

Simple Laboratory Methods for Microbrewers
By Frank Commanday (Brewing Techniques)

By Frank Commanday (Brewing Techniques)     Quick Results for Quality Assurance The time normally associated with microbiological testing causes many brewers to view such work as tedious drudgery. A couple of relatively easy methods can make light work and...

The Low-Down on Copper Pennies, Exposing Beer to Air, and more.
By Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)

Q and A with The Troubleshooter Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)     Racking and Wort Aeration   Question: Two questions: First, my brewing buddies and I disagree about racking. They rack several times during fermentation to clarify their...

Diacetyl: Formation, Reduction, and Control
By George J. Fix (Brewing Techniques)

By George J. Fix (Brewing Techniques)     Diacetyl — the compound responsible for buttery or butterscotch flavors that sometimes arise in beer — can be controlled if you understand the mechanisms that contribute to its production. This...

Porters: Then and Now
By Roger Bergen (Brewing Techniques)

By Roger Bergen     Porter is a notoriously obscure and enigmatic style. Its current revival in Britain and America invites us to shed some light on its 19th and 20th century origins with the aid of period sources.     ...

Turning an Old Refrigerator Into A Fermentation Chamber
By Kieran O'Connor (Brewing Techniques)

By Kieran O'Connor (Brewing Techniques)     Accurate control of fermentation temperature is closer at hand than you might think.      You happen to be at your in-laws, nosing around their basement for some...

Great Commercial Beer from Malt Extract
By Donald R. Outterson (Brewing Techniques)

By Donald R. Outterson   Extract brewing, the stepchild of the brewing family, can produce top-quality brewpub and microbrewery beers. The key is understanding the properties of malt extracts and working with them.    ...

A Stout Companion
By Ron Bergen (Brewing Techniques)

By Ron Bergen     The art of brewing this most extreme beer style is revealed by both old brewing texts and a discussion of the many worldwide variations on a dark and bitter theme.        In the...

Rice as an Adjunct, Hot-Side aeration, Sparge-Water pH and more
By Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)

Q and A with The Troubleshooter Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)     Rice as an Adjunct   Question: I did three brews using cooked rice added to my standard all-malt “house” pilsner. I cooked 3 lb of rice in a 4-gal pot with...

Hot Trub: Formation and Removal
By By Ron Barchet (Brewing Techniques)

By Rob Barchet     Hot trub, the protein precipitate formed during the boil, can impede fermentation and produce undesirable qualities in the finished beer. Simple, effective methods allow professional and home brewers to remove this unwanted by-product. ...

Brewers' Wish List for Brewery Equipment
By Rosannah Hayden (Brewing Techniques)

By Rosannah Hayden     The holiday season typically finds home brewers and microbrewers preparing their favorite seasonal specialty beers and, as winter waxes on, reflecting on the past year’s brewing successes and failures. Brewers’ wish lists for...

California Steaming
By Roger Bergen (Brewing Techniques)

By Roger Bergen       The uniquely American hybrid that launched the microbrewery revolution has always been poorly understood. Made by using a lager yeast … at ale temperatures … in odd fermentors … it must be from San Francisco! ...

The Bushwick Pilsners: A Look at Hoppier Days
By Ben Jankowski (Brewing Techniques)

By Ben Jankowski (Brewing Techniques)         Though few remember it today, the Bushwick section of Brooklyn was one of America’s leading brewing centers through the 1950s and into the 1970s. Its pilsners were unique for more reasons than just...

Parti-Gyle Brewing
By Randy Mosher (Brewing Techniques)

By Randy Mosher (Brewing Techniques)       An ancient practice born of technological limitations offers vast possibilities for variety and flexibility in modern home and commercial brewing. A reminder that a lack of resources can often lead to...

IPA - The Origin of India Pale Ale, Part II
By Thom Tomlinson (Brewing Techniques)

By Thom Tomlinson (Brewing Techniques)   The previous installment, IPA and Empire, reviewed the invention of India Pale Ale and its early development as a style. In this issue, we discuss the resurgence of interest in traditional India Pale Ales, both in the United States and...

IPA - The Origin of India Pale Ales, Part I
By Thom Tomlinson (Brewing Techniques)

By Thom Tomlinson (Brewing Techniques)     In this first of two articles on India Pale Ale, Thom Tomlinson presents the history of the style’s invention and early development in 18th century Britain. In the next issue, Tomlinson reviews the evolution of...

Simple Detection of Wild Yeast and Yeast Stability
By Rodney L. Morris (Brewing Techniques)

By Rodney L. Morris (Brewing Techniques)     Giant yeast colony analysis is a sensitive method for differentiating various brewing yeast strains and can be used to identify those that are genetically unstable and have a tendency to mutate. Mutations in the...

Yeast Culturing Practices for Small-Scale Brewers
By Karl King (Brewing Techniques)

By Karl King (Brewing Techniques)   High-quality yeast cultures and culturing kits are available, but how do you use them? Here’s an overview of one successful method for culturing and maintaining your very own yeast bank at home, highlighting many of the components...

Explorations in Pre-Prohibition American Lagers
By George J. Fix (Brewing Techniques)

By George J. Fix (Brewing Techniques)       This article is a sampling of recipes from the Pre-Prohibition era. It's relevant today as the Pre-Prohibition Style is now officially recognized as a BJCP Historical Beer style. Much of the...

Brewing Lambic at Home
By Jim Liddil and Martin Lodahl (Brewing Techniques)

By Jim Liddil and Martin Lodahl (Brewing Techniques)     Practical Strategies for Brewing Lambic at Home Part I —Wort Preparation Lambic represents an irresistible challenge to many beer aficionados’ most deeply ingrained beliefs about brewing....

Direct Injection of Steam for Mash Temperature Control
By Kelly E. Jones (Brewing Techniques)

by Kelly E. Jones (Brewing Techniques)     A simple, inexpensive, easily fabricated steam heat system can provide precise temperature control for mashing.     I first learned about using steam for mash temperature control from...

Brewing in Styles: Witbier - Belgian White
By Martin Lodahl (Brewing Techniques)

The Belgian Wit style offers a richly complex beer that is appealing in any season. by Martin Lodahl (Brewing Techniques)  HOT STUFF As the North American beer consumer has grown in sophistication, it is only natural that the Belgian styles have become hot items. The...

Closed-System Home Brewing
By Bennett Dawson (Brewing Techniques)

by Bennett Dawson (Brewing Techniques)      A problem with airborne contaminants led to the development of this completely closed system, in which wort and beer never contact nonsanitized environments, even ambient air.     When...

Brewing in Styles: Old, Strong, and Stock Ales
By Martin Lodahl & Roger Bergen (Brewing Techniques)

by Martin Lodahl & Roger Bergen (Brewing Techniques)     As autumn approaches, a brewer’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of strong, fruity, and flavorful ales.      Truly Big, Truly Old   A century ago,...

A Practical Guide to Yeast Management
By by Fal Allen (Brewing Techniques)

by  Fal Allen (Brewing Techniques)     As a small-scale brewer, you probably have other things than expensive lab equipment at the top of your expenditure list. You would probably rather buy another clean-in-place (CIP) pump or an additional fermentor....

Brewing in Styles: Belgian Trappists & the Abbey Ale
By Martin Lodahl & Roger Bergen (Brewing Techniques)

by Martin Lodahl & Roger Bergen (Brewing Techniques) Behind Abbey Walls     One of the first beers to really astound me was Chimay “rouge,” now usually seen in the United States as Chimay Première. It was at a formal beer tasting,...

Home Brewing an Ancient Beer
By Ed Hitchcock (Brewing Techniques)

Kitchen Anthropology Intrigued by Anchor Brewing’s reproduction of an ancient beer according to the Sumarian Hymn to Ninkasi, one home brewer set out to reproduce his own interpretation of an even earlier beer. by Ed Hitchcock (Brewing Techniques) As both a paleontologist and...

Archaeological Parameters for the Beginnings of Beer
By THOMAS W. KAVANAGH, PH.D. (Brewing Techniques)

The origin of Beer and Brewing  Although of great interest to the brewing community, the question of the origin of beer and brewing has received sporadic attention from academic investigators. Home brewer, anthropologist, and museum curator Thomas Kavanagh outlines and evaluates...

A Turn-of-the Century British Account of Selected 19th Century Belgian Brewing Methods
By Randy Mosher (Brewing Techniques)

Current interest in low-gravity beers brings new relevance to some of the unorthodox practices of 19th century Belgian brewing. By Randy Mosher (Brewing Techniques) I recently ran across a couple of papers in some old copies of the Journal of the Institute of Brewing, the venerable...

Wild Yeast Detection and Remediation
By Fal Allen (Brewing Techniques)

by Fal Allen (Brewing Techniques)     The basic principles behind the detection of infections by considering unwelcome wild yeasts   Like bacteria, wild yeast can infect your beer and cause off flavors. Wild yeast can be defined as any yeast not...

Cask Conditioning Ales at Home
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques) You Don’t Have to be British to Produce Great Real Ale.     This article covers some of the concepts and techniques involved in brewing, conditioning, and serving cask-conditioned ales, also known as real ales. Although...

Tips on Tasting Beer
By Scott Bickham (Brewing Techniques)

Tips on Tasting Originally Published by Scott Bickham in Brewing Techniques (Volume 5, Number 6) Here are some points to keep in mind if you are getting set to do any kind of serious beer tasting. Baby your taste buds. Palate preparation is all too often neglected in beer...

Simple Ways To Beating Homebrew Haze
By Don Put (Brewing Techniques)

By Don Put (Brewing Techniques)     Simple Low-Tech Methods for Beating Homebrew Haze   In an ideal world, our home-brewed beer should remain clear, develop a nice, stable head, and have a consistent flavor profile. In the real world, it takes a few...

Unique Ways to Dispense Your Homebrew
By Brewing Techniques

by Pat Babcock     Homebrew Dispense Round-Up With a little effort, you can dispense your kegged beer in professional style. Seven handy home brewers share their ingenious systems for dispensing beer at home.   A Dorm Fridge and Cabinet as a Jockey...

High Gravity Brewing
By Victor Buckwold (Brewing Techniques)

By Victor E. Buckwold (Brewing Techniques)     Brewing beer with a high ABV can be intimidating. This article aims to offer up some easy-to-follow guidlines and procedures that can be utilized while brewing high gravity beer to reduce some of the intimidation. ...

Grow Hops in Your Backyard
By Stephanie Montell (Brewing Techniques)

By Stephanie Montell   From Planting to Harvest and the Hazards in Between   Growing hops at home is easy if you know the tricks of the trade. But you better hurry - as spring turns to summer the prime time for establishing new starts is quickly passing....

Setting Up A Homebrew Laboratory
By Louis K. Bonham (Brewing Techniques)

By Louis K. Bonham     How to Set up a Small Brewing Laboratory This article inaugurates a new column dedicated to the experimental spirit of specialty brewing. Overseen by the self-described mad scientist of brewing himself, Louis Bonham, The Experimental Brewer...

Dissolved Oxygen: How Much Is In Your Wort?
By Dennis Davison (Brewing Techniques)

By Dennis Davison (Brewing Techniques)     Most brewers recognize the importance of infusing wort with good quantities of dissolved oxygen, but how much dissolved oxygen does your method actually achieve? A prominent home brewer reviews the various...

Building And Using Coolers As Mash Tuns
By John Palmer (Brewing Techniques)

By John Palmer (Brewing Techniques)     A “Cooler” Way to Ease into All-Grain Brewing   The transition from extract to all-grain brewing doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s how you can convert a common picnic cooler into an...

The Magic of Munich Malt
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)     Munich malts hold a special place in the brewer’s repertoire of raw materials. Offering both color and flavor benefits typically associated with specialty malts plus diastatic power for starch conversion, this malt can...

Determining the Sugar Contribution of Fruit in Beer
By Gary Spedding (Brewing Techniques)

By Gary Spedding (Brewing Techniques Magazine)   Your fruit adds more than just flavor to your beer.   I recently learned a valuable lesson about brewing with fruit. I found that the original gravity of a cherry wheat beer I had made was much higher than I had...

Hop Oils - Flavors & Aromas
By Glenn Tinseth (Brewing Techniques)

By Glenn Tinseth (Brewing Techniques)     The Essential Oil of Hops: Aroma and Flavor in Hops and Beer   The quest for elusive hop character in beer has led researchers and brewers to break fertile ground in the discovery and control of the...

Hop Storage
By Mark Garetz (Brewing Techniques)

By Mark Garetz (Brewing Techniques)     How to Get — and Keep — Your Hops’ Optimum Value   Most brewers are familiar with the fragile nature of hops — they loose their bittering qualities over time, and their essential oils...

Fermenting the Worts of Summertime Brews
By Robert McIlvaine, Jr. - Brewing Techniques

It’s hot this time of year — too hot for healthy fermentation. But summer’s heat also increases the thirst, inspiring brewers throughout the ages to find easy, sometimes ingenious solutions to the need for summertime cooling of worts. This review spans the range of low to...

Preventing Corrosion In The Brewery
By John Palmer (Brewing Techniques)

By John J. Palmer (Brewing Techniques) Corrosion in the Brewery: How to Get the Upper Hand     Behind the heft of your brewery’s structure and the shine of the equipment lurks a menace that can ruin your beer and your financial investment. Understanding...

Using Adjuncts in Beer
By Delano DuGarm (Brewing Techniques)

By Delano DuGarm (Brewing Techniques)     Outcast Ingredients Take Their Place in Quality Beers   Grain adjuncts share a bad reputation among specialty brewers, most of whom associate adjuncts with the sweet, under-hopped, light lagers produced by major...

Focus On Beer Flavor
By Scott Bickham (Brewing Techniques)

by Scott Bickham - (Brewing Techniques)   The Four Basic Tastes     The first stop on the Beer Flavor Wheel takes us to the four basic tastes: bitter, salty, sweet, and sour. We will identify their sources, provide commercial examples, and offer tips on...

Removing & Preventing Beer Stone Buildup
By Steve Parkes (Brewing Techniques)

By Steve Parkes (Brewing Techniques)     Tackling a Classic Brewers’ Nemesis   Beerstone is an aggravating problem in a brewery because it is a stubborn blend of organic and inorganic compounds. Most brewers agree that the best practice is to avoid...

Discover the Joys of Kegging
By Kirk R. Fleming (Brewing Techniques)

by Kirk R. Fleming (Brewing Techniques)     Discover the Joys of Kegging - Set up a Simple Home Draft System   The benefits of convenience and control far outweigh the cost of setting up a home draft system. This article shows how easy it can be to...

Controlling Beer Oxidation
By George J. Fix (Brewing Techniques)

By George J. Fix (Brewing Techniques)     Control Beer Oxidation from Kettle to Bottle   The effects of the introduction of oxygen to wort or beer on flavor stability have been widely debated over the years, and the subject has been the target of much...

How to Master Hop Character
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)     Exploring Hop Flavors and Aromas for More Targeted Recipe Formulation   Each hop variety has its own trademark flavor and aroma. A simple set of experiments can open the door to personal mastery of each...

A Guide to Brewing Water Treatment
By Marc Sedam (Brewing Techniques)

By Marc Sedam (Brewing Techniques)     Brewing Water Profiles Water is a deceptively understated and underrated force in the making of any beer. Hugely variable throughout the world, it is abundant with minerals and organic compounds that have the ability to...

Sources and Impact of Sulfites in Beer
By Scott Bickham (Brewing Techniques)

By Scott Bickham (Brewing Techniques)     Sulfur compounds are at the root of off-flavors as diverse as skunk, rubber, and vegetables, but they can also serve as antioxidants. This column focuses on the sources and control of sulfur flavors in beer.  ...

Souping up Your Home Brewing Setup
By George De Piro (Brewing Techniques)

by George De Piro (Brewing Techniques)   In the last issue we showed you how simple it can be to assemble an all-grain brewery. Just in time to add to your Christmas wish list, this article discusses the reasons why you might want to upgrade your equipment and some of the...

Constructing a Backyard Half-Barrel Brewery
By Paul Zocco (Brewing Techniques)

by Paul Zocco (Brewing Techniques)     Any brewer who’s outgrown his or her conventional 5-gallon brewery knows how easily the heart inclines toward a mightier, more efficient setup. Enter the half-barrel brewery: All the best in dedicated home brewing and...

Opening Your Own Brewpub
By Mark Diebolt (Brewing Techniques)

By Mark Diebolt (Brewing Techniques)     Owning a brewery is every homebrewer's dream. Turning that dream into a profitable reality takes serious planning. A Brewpub Feasibility Study Is the First Step to Liquid Gold.     So, you're...

The Biochemistry of Yeast - Aerobic Fermentation
By Tracy Aquilla (Brewing Techniques)

By Tracy Aquilla (Brewing Techniques)     Debunking the Myth of Yeast Respiration and Putting Oxygen in Its Proper Place   Through it flies in the face of popular wisdom, yeast does not go through a respiration phase in the early stages of fermentation....

Analyzing Malt Flavor
By Scott Bickham (Brewing Techniques)

By Scott Bickham (Brewing Techniques)     Most people can accurately describe a beer as “malty,” but beer analysts often go a step further to identify a beer as worty, husky, or having grassy notes. The differences can be subtle and not necessarily...

Removing Chloramines From Water - Chloramines Removal
By A.J. deLange (Brewing Techniques)

By A.J. deLange (Brewing Techniques)     As chloramination replaces chlorination of drinking water in a growing member of water districts, brewers who feel it’s a problem can no longer rely on standing boiling, or aeration to remove it. Campden tablets offer...

Mastering Hop Character
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

by Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)     Exploring Hop Flavors and Aromas for More Targeted Recipe Formulation   Each hop variety has its own trademark flavor and aroma. A simple set of experiments can open the door to personal mastery of each...

Kettle Reactions - The Science of The Boil
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)     Stepping up to Advanced Techniques   The chemical and physical processes — known collectively as kettle reactions — that are at work in boiling wort are important contributors to beer quality. A basic...

Cream Ale - An American Classic
By Ben Jankowski (Brewing Techniques)

By Ben Jankowski (Brewing Techniques)     Cream Ale — An American Classic Is it a lager? Is it an ale? Its pedigree may not be pure, but cream ale has satisfied American drinkers for nearly a century.     Not many beer...

Using Steeping Grains Effectively
By John Palmer (Brewing Techniques)

By John Palmer     A Beginner’s Guide to Using Grain in Extract Recipes   The benefits of specialty malts — enhanced flavor, intriguing colors, and overall complexity — are available to extract brewers through a simple procedure added...

Proper Beer Handling: From Fermentor to Glass
By Mikoli Weaver (Brewing Techniques)

From Fermentor to Glass: Handling, Dispensing, and Serving Beer Originally Published in Brewing Techniques Volume 7, Issue 2 by Mikoli Weaver What happens to your beer between the fermentor and the glass can make or break your reputation as a brewer. Bottling brewers have their own...

Brewing With Herbs and Spices
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)     Spice up Your Brewing with Ancient Ingredients   Adherents to the Reinheitsgebot rules about barley, hops, yeast, and water as the only permissible ingredients in beer could take some lessons from more ancient...

Brewing Strong Beer
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)     Some Tricks to Successfully Brewing Strong Beers   Brewing ales and lagers with a high alcohol content can be difficult for the uninitiated. Dealing with the complexities inherent to these beers calls for rethinking...

Preparing Yeast Starters for Healthy Fermentations
By George De Piro (Brewing Techniques)

By George De Piro (Brewing Techniques)   Give Your Yeast a Boost     Yeast abuse is the most common cause of mediocre homebrew. Many off-flavors and fermentation problems are the result of improper yeast handling. Learning the techniques of yeast...

Berliner Weisse - From Past to Present
By Florean Kuplent (Brewing Techniques)

by Florian Kuplent Berliner Weiβbier     Once brewed in over 700 Berlin breweries, the beer that Napoleon called “the Champagne of the North” is sadly now on the endangered species list     Berliner Weisse, a light, sour...

Barley Wine - The Revival of the Tradition of Big Beers
By Fal Allen and Dick Cantwell (Brewing Techniques)

by Fal Allen and Dick Cantwell (Brewing Techniques)       The brewer’s answer to brandy or pinot noir, barleywine is a strong (8–14%), malt-rich ale aged to complexity and oftentimes sipped with the same respect awarded to rare wines. Brewing a...

Conditioning: Fermentation's Grand Finale
By John Palmer (Brewing Techniques)

By John Palmer (Brewing Techniques)     Primary fermentation takes center stage in the drama of transforming wort into fine beer. Unfortunately, when brewers shut down the show before the beer conditions, they miss out on the big finish.    ...

Preparing for the BJCP Certification Exam
By Scott Bickham (Brewing Techniques)

North America’s only recognized judge certification program provides a structure for mastering the essentials of beer judging and an exam that recognizes accomplishment in expert beer evaluation. Master the Essentials of Beer Evaluation- How to Prepare for and Pass the Beer Judge...

The Frugal Brewer’s Guide to an Advanced Home Brewery
By Randy Mosher (Brewing Techniques)

by Randy Mosher (Brewing Techniques)     You too can piece together your own automated 15-gallon brewery from junkyard parts and scrap metal.     For more than five years now, I’ve been working toward my goal of constructing a fully...

American Porters
By Ben Jankowski (Brewing Techniques)

by Ben Jankowski (Brewing Techniques)   American Porters- Marching to Revolutionary Drummers     From their earliest days in colonial experience, American porters have evolved separately from their British ancestor and today stand in a class...

Techniques and Technologies for Clarifying Homebrew
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques) When Beer Must Be Clear     Clear beer is primarily achieved by removing yeast and minimizing the production of haze-producing compounds during the brew session. When these preventive measures can’t do the job, filtration...

Mashing Made Easy
By Jack Schmidling (Brewing Techniques)

Mashing Made Easy The easy mashing system makes light work of all-grain brewing. by Jack Schmidling   Mashing and sparging in picnic coolers and plastic buckets of one form or another have become so universal that the method discussed in this article might seem like...

A Primer on Stainless Steel Welding
By Jeff Donaghue (Brewing Techniques)

by Jeff Donaghue (Brewing Techniques) A Primer on Welding Stainless Steel     I am not a welder, nor am I a metallurgist or a machinist. Unlike 65% of the home brewers I know, I am neither an engineer nor a computer geek. I can change the oil and filter on my...

Welding and Brazing Stainless Steel
By John Palmer (Brewing Techniques)

By John Palmer     There are a variety of options for brewers looking to weld stainless steels. This articles offers some in-depth details about the welding and brazing options for breweries both large and small.    ...

How to Lauter for the Highest Extract Efficiency
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)     In this installment of “Stepping Up,” we investigate the process of lautering and review some of the common situations that can cause lautering problems. Lautering is a fairly simple process, but also a very...

Kettle Reactions
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)     An Introduction to Better Beer   Wort boiling and knowledgeable handling of hot wort are important to the production of high-quality beer. The physical and chemical processes at work during the boil are...

Brewing Lager Beer
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)     Part I: An Overview of the Lager Beer Brewing Process Patience is required to master the complex process of lagering, but U.S. home brewers are embracing the technology to brew lagers every bit as clean and delicate as those...

Brewing With Smoked Malts
By Martin Lodahl and Tim Dawson (Brewing Techniques)

By Martin Lodahl and Tim Dawson (Brewing Techniques)     Smoky Beer Smoky flavors in beer, once a by-product of malting technology, live on in specialty products brewed using both traditional and modern methods.     Smoke billows...

Hop Utilization
By Dave Miller (in Brewing Techniques)

By Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)     Question: Hops and IBUs: In figuring your IBUs, does batch size make a difference (say 10-gaI versus 10-bbl)? The formula I use is from the Zymurgy hops special issue: IBU = (%U x %A x Wgr) / VL x (1 GA) x 1000 where U...

Keg Carbonation
By Dave Miller (in Brewing Techniques)

By Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)     Keg Carbonation Q: I have a 5-gal Cornelius keg that I use for my homebrew. However, I have never been completely satisfied that I’ve achieved the correct amount of carbonation. Usually the brew is a little flat....

Stainless Steel 101
By Micah Millspaw (Brewing Techniques)

By Micah Millspaw The Care and Feeding of Stainless Steel     The unique properties of stainless steel make it a material of choice among knowledgeable brewers. This primer on stainless steel reviews its composition and properties, discusses methods of cleaning...

Methods of Sanitization and Sterilization
By Maribeth Raines (Brewing Techniques)

By Maribeth Raines (Brewing Techniques)       Boiling in water and soaking in chlorine bleach may be insufficient safeguards against infectious bacteria and fungi. Some simple laboratory methods are easily adapted for use by small-scale brewers.  ...

Brewing With Rye
By Rosannah Hayden (in Brewing Techniques

By Rosannah Hayden       An ancient grain is making a new name for itself in the small-scale brewing scene.     Necessity is not always the mother of invention. This is especially true in the world of brewing, where the spirit of...

Water Treatment
By Karl King (Brewing Techniques)

By Karl Kin (Brewing Techniques)     Water Treatment: Philosophy, Approach, and Calculations   The chemical calculations for water treatment can be intimidating to those who are not professional chemists. A spreadsheet and a simple approach demystify the...

Modifying Sanke Kegs For Use as Brewing Kettles
By Martin P. Manning (Brewing Techniques)

by Martin P. Manning (Brewing Techniques)     Modifying Half-Barrel Kegs for Use as Brewing Vessels A well-modified half-barrel keg should be easy to make, easy to use and care for, and avoid the common pitfalls encountered in many designs. This article presents...

Mashing With a Protein Rest
By Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)

Question: I have two questions for which I can’t get good answers from local homebrew supply stores. I am a new full-mash brewer. I have been using highly modified two-row pale malt with 10% adjuncts. When mashing on cooler days, I find it hard to keep a steady mash temperature in my...

Step Mashing Q+A with Dave Miller
By Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)

  Question: I am confused. I am a beginning all-grain home brewer and have learned a lot from friends at a local homebrew shop. One thing they all agree on is that single-infusion mashing is the way to go. Most of the books I have, particularly yours and Papazian’s, use...

Beer Color Demystified
By Ray Daniels (Brewing Techniques)

by Ray Daniels (Brewing Techniques) The articles featured in this section are sourced from Brewing Techniques Magazine. The content has been added without editing for authenticity and integrity. Part I: How to Measure Beer Color in the Home and Microbrewery    ...

Sanitizing Counterflow Wort Chillers
By Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)

By Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)      Click here to browse our top-selling counterflow wort chillers!   Question: Some time back you discussed the proper care and cleaning of counterflow wort chillers. I followed your recommended procedure...

Brewing With Fruit
By Randy Mosher and Martin Lodahl (Brewing Techniques)

by Randy Mosher and Martin Lodahl (Brewing Techniques)     When adding fruit to a beer, the brewer must make sure the beer will work with the character of the fruit. In home brewing competitions, judges like to be able to detect “a beer in there...

Understanding pH of Beer and Mash pH
By Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)

By Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques) Checking pH of Beer         Have any feedback on this article? We want to hear from you! Click here, to contact us with any feedback. Did you enjoy reading this article?...

Lambic: Belgium's Unique Treasure
By Martin Lodahl (Brewing Techniques)

by Martin Lodahl (Brewing Techniques)       Lambic: Belgium’s Unique Treasure   But is it really beer?” The first taste of a lambic is almost always a surprise — sometimes even shocking — especially to those whose concept...

The Life of a Yeast Cell
By Dan Put (Brewing Techniques)

By Dan Put (Brewing Techniques) The Secret Reproductive Life of Yeast     To better understand the importance of wort aeration, let’s look at what happens to yeast in the early stages of fermentation.     Aerobic stage: Lag phase....

Water Hardness
By Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)

by Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)     Question: After seeing references in various beer publications and books on water analysis, I decided to contact my local officials and get a copy of the breakdown for our local water supply. The contents of the report indicate...

Dextrin Malt - Carapils and Maltodextrin
By Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)

By Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)     Dextrin Malt Q: Is it correct to assume that all extract from dextrin malt is in the form of dextrins and therefore not fermentable? If dextrin malt is mashed with other malt, will the enzymes in the other malt convert the...

Mashing 101 For The First Time All-Grain Brewer
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)     Mashing Basics for the First-Time All-Grain Home Brewer   There is no reason for mashing to be a difficult, scary task. First-time all-grain brewers can easily produce outstanding beers, provided they master a few...

Why not dry hop at pitching time?
By Al Korzonas (in Brewing Techniques)

  Three reasons. First, if you use the blowoff method, either the hops will clog the blowoff tube or the kraeusen will pump hops out of the fermentor and into the blowoff vessel, which will give your blowoff a nice hop nose but which won’t do your beer any good. Second,...

One Beer, Two Batches!
By Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)

High-Gravity Brewing Q: Is it advisable to brew a strong 5-gallon wort, divide it into two batches and add an equal amount of water to each batch, to get two new 5-gallon batches, each containing half of the original wort? For example, could I brew 5 gallons of 1.080 wort, divide it into...

A Survey of Brewing Software
By Andrew Perron (Brewing Techniques)

Updated 06/10/21 The article below originally appeared in Brewing Techniques Magazine, so some of the information may be outdated. Our current favorite brewing software to use is BeerSmith. A lot of us also have recently started using BrewFather as well. Check out our useful Free...

Fatty Flavors and Diacetyl
By by Scott Bickham (Brewing Techniques)

by Scott Bickham (Brewing Techniques) Fatty Flavors and Diacetyl - Should Your Beer Be Fat-Free?     The flavors attributed to diacetyl and fatty acids are encouraged in some styles and may be undetectable to trained tasters even when in excess. Yet...

No-Sparge Brewing
By Louis K. Bonhamb (Brewing Techniques)

by Louis K. Bonhamb (Brewing Techniques)     No-Sparge Brewing - An Old Technique Revisited   Will skipping the sparge step create beers with superior flavor? A home brewer’s experiment sets out to determine whether objective differences...

Snob or Connoisseur? It’s a Matter of Taste
By Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques

Snob or Connoisseur? It’s a Matter of Taste by Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 6, No.4) Learning to appreciate beer is not a “booring” experience. One day as I was tending the towering hop vines in my backyard, a neighbor stopped by to ask me a...

Inside Orval - Sancity Meets Modern Times in an Evolving World Classic
By Christian Thomas DeBenedetti (Brewing Techniques)

Inside Orval - Sancity Meets Modern Times in an Evolving World Classic by Christian Thomas DeBenedetti  (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 6, No.3) Orval’s renowned ale is the product of an authentic Trappist monastery deeply imbued with grace and antiquity. Yet as...

New Zealand Hops - The Fruits of a Pure Ecology
By Ben Jankowski (Brewing Techniques)

New Zealand Hops - The Fruits of a Pure Ecology by Ben Jankowski (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 6, No.3) Sheltered from the diseases common to Northern Hemisphere hopyards, the fields of New Zealand support a carefully nurtured family of hops raised on a “clean,...

Simple Lab Tests to Ensure Top-Quality Beer
By Louis K. Bonham (Brewing Techniques)

by Louis K. Bonham (Brewing Techniques)     Easy quality control tests let you identify the source of off-flavors and screen for bacterial infection at very little cost. They’re so easy, there’s no reason every brewer can’t do them.  ...

A Toast to the Universality of Beer
By Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques)

A Toast to the Universality of Beer by Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 6, No.3) In the language of beer, native speakers aren’t the only ones with something to say. St. Patrick’s Day, for those of us living outside Ireland, is always a great time to haul out the...

Tools for Recipe Conversion
By Brian Dixon (Brewing Techniques)

by Brian Dixon (Brewing Techniques) All-Grain to Extract, Extract to All-Grain     With a few simple conversion tools, you can brew any recipe you encounter, whether extract or all-grain.     At one time or another every brewer faces...

An Investigation into the Purity of Noble Hop Lineage
By Andrew Walsh (Brewing Techniques)

The Mark of Nobility An Investigation into the Purity of Noble Hop Lineage by Andrew Walsh (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 6, No.2) Precise methods of hop analysis have made it possible for experts to take a fresh, hard look at the lineage of today’s noble varieties. Their...

Brooklyn Brewery - Reviving a Rich New York Brewing History
By Alan Talman (Brewing Techniques)

Brooklyn Brewery - Reviving a Rich New York Brewing History by Alan Talman (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 6, No.2) Brewing in the high-rent environment of the Big Apple was all but dead when Brooklyn Brewery set up shop. Now this 20,500 bbl/year experiment in historical nostalgia...

Staving off the Staling Compounds
By Scott Bickham ​ (Brewing Techniques)

Staving off the Staling Compounds by Scott Bickham ​ (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 6, No.2) No beer lives forever. Like chemical clockwork, staling compounds begin winding your beers down toward an unsavory end from the moment you call your work done. This installment studies their...

Home Brewers Must Keep Their Hobby Alive
By Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques)

Home Brewers Must Keep Their Hobby Alive by Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 6, No.2) As the craft beer movement mushrooms, are its home brewing roots in danger of shrinking? Not long ago, I attended a meeting of my old homebrew club. In years past, these gatherings had always...

RIMS versus Decoction
By Louis Bonham and Andy Thomas (Brewing Techniques)

by Louis Bonham and Andy Thomas (Brewing Techniques)     The Great Texas Mash-Off Two brewers put their favorite mashing techniques to the test in a friendly showdown between new-fangled technology and Old World tradition.    ...

Decoction - A Review of a Traditional Technique
By Spencer W. Thomas (Brewing Techniques)

by Spencer W. Thomas (Brewing Techniques)     An authentic decoction mash may well have no replacement, hut these experiments show that using a pressure cooker can give excellent results with far less work.     Decoction brewing is...

Wheat Beer Recipe Myths
By Todd Steele (Brewing Techniques)

by Todd Steele (Brewing Techniques)     Shredding Wheat Beer Myths   With the abundance of specialty wheat malts and the availability of natural lautering aids, brewing with 100% wheat grists is not only possible, it is easy, and it is opening...

Fear of Phenols
By Steve Alexander (Brewing Techniques)

by Steve Alexander (Brewing Techniques)       A Guide to Coping with Brewing’s Most Contrary Chemicals   The dreaded precursors to chill haze and contributors of off-flavors and astringency, common phenols also play many beneficial...

An Introduction to Sensory Analysis
By Scott Bickham (Brewing Techniques)

by Scott Bickham (Brewing Techniques)     Focus on Flavor   This first installment of “Focus on Flavor” introduces the complex world of beer flavor and how brewing methods create and influence it — for good or for ill. In each...

Brewing in Styles: Mild Ale
By David Sutula (Brewing Techniques)

by David Sutula (Brewing Techniques)  Mild Ale — Back from the Brink of Extinction?     Mild ale endures as one of the most elusive styles of beer in the world. Ubiquitous in the history of British brewing yet rarely present in the...

A Special Collection of Perennial Questions and Their Practical Answers
By Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques)

Troubleshooting wisdom from Dave Miller by Dave Miller (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 5, No.6)  Water— the main ingredient Q Is there anything wrong with using RO water? A Using a reverse-osmosis filter to remove all minerals from your brewing water...

Belgian’s Magical Beers and People Revive One Man’s Love of Brewing
By Hubert Smith (Brewing Techniques)

Redemption of a Beer Lover by Hubert Smith (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 5, No.5)  The small bar has just opened on a Sunday afternoon and only three of us are in it: the dark-haired woman of about 30 who poured our beer, my wife, and me. We all stare out the front windows at a...

Instructions for How to Use a Hydrometer
By Jim Martella and Paul Gatza (Brewing Techniques)

by Jim Martella and Paul Gatza (Brewing Techniques)  How to Get the Most out of Your Measuring Instruments     Whether you’re a professional brewer with a snazzy brewhouse or a home brewer with a rag-tag system, you depend greatly on temperature...

Beer from the Wood
By Jason Dunson-Todd (Brewing Techniques)

by Jason Dunson-Todd (Brewing Techniques) From Ancient Past to Present, Oak Remains a Perennial Source of Special Character     The use of wood, particularly oak, was commonplace in brewing until the 20th century. Though wood is still widely used for the...

Step Mash for Customized Worts Part II
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

The Starch-Busting Amylases By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 5, No.4) This installment of Home Brewery Advancement completes a two-part exploration of step mashing. Part I described the low-temperature enzymes (glucanases and proteolytic enzymes) and their role in...

A Question of Style
By Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques)

The Search for Ales beyond the Pale By Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 5, No.4) Style guidelines define the playing field of creativity. Brewers, like all artists, must recognize that innovation is meaningless outside of the bounds of tradition. As he passed me the...

The History and Brewing Methods of Pilsner Urquell
By Peter A. Ensminger (Brewing Techniques

By Peter A. Ensminger (Brewing Techniques)     Divining the Source of the World’s Most Imitated Beer   It sometimes happens that history and fortune intersect at precisely the right time and place. Pilsner Urquell emerged from a small Bohemian...

Step Mash for Customized Worts Part I
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

Using Enzymes to Break down Glucans and Proteins By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 5, No.3) Enzymes are the catalysts that convert malt proteins, starches, and carbohydrates into fermentable wort. Step mashing offers the brewer tremendous flexibility in creating worts...

Questioning Order in the Court of Beer Judging
By Edward W.Wolfe and Carol Liguori Wolfe (Brewing Techniques)

A Study on the Effect of Presentation Order in Beer Competitions By Edward W.Wolfe and Carol Liguori Wolfe (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 5, No.2) Anyone who’s entered a homebrew or microbrew competition wonders about the many variables that can affect beer scores. Two brewers...

A Simple, Practical Method for Long-Term Storage of Yeast
By Michael D. Graham (Brewing Techniques)

by Michael D. Graham (Brewing Techniques) Long-Term Storage of Yeast     The long-term storage of yeast outside of a well-equipped laboratory is usually thought to be too difficult to manage on your own, but with a bit of preparation and a few basic...

The Dirt on Brewery Cleaning
By Greg Foss (Brewing Techniques)

by Greg Foss (Brewing Techniques)     A Review of Procedures and Chemicals   Understanding the processes and chemicals involved in the all-important work of cleaning and sanitizing your brewery can help make your routine more efficient and...

How to Get Two Beers from the Effort of One
By John Palmer (Brewing Techniques)

Tricks for the Busy Brewer by John Palmer (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 5, No.2) A simple method enables any home brewer to make two beers as distinct as pale ale and Doppelbock in one brewing session. Like many of us with interests and responsibilities outside of our...

Designing Beers Like the Pros
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

Key Concepts in Recipe Formulation by Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 5, No.2) Recipe formulation is a creative exercise that puts all of your skills to the test while opening new avenues of freedom. Whether you brew with extract or all-grain, there’s nothing like...

A New Look at Brewing and Ecology
By Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques)

St. Francis Meets St. Louis by Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 5, No.2) A progressive business venture seeks to make “waste-free” brewing a reality. A painting hanging in the The Frick Collection in New York City stopped me in my tracks the first...

Understanding Beer as Business
By Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques)

by Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques)   The Clash of Commerce and Culture     The demands of commerce and the traditions of culture raise fundamental questions about our attitudes toward this enigmatic elixir.     Most of us who...

Bread: A Natural Companion to the Brewer’s Art
By Dr. Adam Rich (Brewing Techniques)

There can be more than great beer at the end of a day’s play with agriculture’s primal elements. by Dr. Adam Rich (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 4, No.6) Brewers can make bread like only brewers can — unique in their use of grains, liquids, and yeasts. Specialty...

North American 2 Row vs 6 Row Malting Barley
By Paul Schwarz and Richard Horsley (Brewing Techniques)

by Paul Schwarz and Richard Horsley (Brewing Techniques)     Ever since its introduction to North America in the 17th century, barley has taken on a life of its own.   Both two-row and six-row North American malted barley are rather different from...

Hops in America
By Gerard W. Ch. Lemmens (Brewing Techniques

A 20-Year Overview by Ing. Gerard W. Ch. Lemmens (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 4, No.6) A review of hop varieties currently grown in the United States shows a competitive, diverse, and growing U.S. hops industry. Because of extensive favorable growing conditions, the United...

Preparing for Brew Day
By John Palmer (Brewing Techniques)

by John Palmer (Brewing Techniques)   Tips for Preparing and Organizing Your Brewing Sessions     Pulling together all the details that go into a brew session can seem a daunting task to the novice brewer. Here are some tips on how to make brew...

A Business Traveler’s Guide to Home Brewing
By Jeff Stephens (Brewing Techniques)

A busy travel schedule is no reason to leave brewing behind.  by Jeff Stephens (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 4, No.5) With a little planning and careful consideration of your options, you can continue to turn out high-quality batches while on the road. While packing for a...

Brewing In Styles...American IPA
By David Brockington & Martin Lodahl (Brewing Techniques)

The Evolution and Contemporary Brewing of American IPA by David Brockington & Martin Lodahl (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 4, No.5) Never a shy style, India pale ale has elbowed its way into the consciousness of North American beer enthusiasts while evolving into a unique...

The Visible Brewery
By Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques)

Overexposed and Overrated? by Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 4, No.5) Despite the popularity of “brewers under glass” among brewpub owners and designers, the trend of putting the inner workings of a brewery in front of the consumers table is due for...

How to Gain Maximum Control over Wort Chilling Operations
By A.J. deLange (Brewing Techniques)

by A.J. deLange (Brewing Techniques) Approaches to Measuring Counterflow Chiller Performance and Getting Predictable Results     Simple equations and graphs can help you accurately estimate chill times and water consumption in counterflow chiller operations....

Priming Bottled Beer for Consistency and Reproducibility
By Dave Draper and Mark Hibberd (Brewing Techniques)

The Prime Directive by Dave Draper and Mark Hibberd (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 4, No.4) Carbonation level is one of the most readily identifiable features of any beer. A simple method enables home brewers to bottle with the same control over carbonation as those who keg. Put a...

West Coast Amber - Father Of The Red IPA?
By Mikoli Weaver (Brewing Techniques)

In Support of West Coast Amber by Mikoli Weaver (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 4, No.3) Both reason and experience support the codification of West Coast Amber as a distinct style. Staff Commentary by Vito Delucchi This article was written in June...

When Fermentation Rears Its Dirty Head
By Al Korzonas (Brewing Techniques)

Testing the Positions for and against Removing Kräusen during Fermentation by Al Korzonas (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 4, No.3) One inquisitive brewer designed an experiment to determine the effect of removing or not removing the dirty head during the early stages of...

The Warm Lager Method
By Mickie Willis (Brewing Techniques)

by Dr. Mickie Willis (Brewing Techniques) How to Brew Lager Beer at Room Temperature     With the help of insights gained from acoustical theory, one brewer discovered a simple method of brewing crisp, clean lagers at room temperature.  ...

Techniques and Technologies for Minimizing Air in Bottled Beers
By Phil Markowski (Brewing Techniques)

by Phil Markowski (Brewing Techniques)   To Air Is Human   Oxygen in the headspace of a bottled beer can alter its flavor and compromise its shelf life. Whether you are in a position to buy a new bottling line with all the bells and whistles or must make due with...

How Common Judging Errors Creep into Organized Beer Evaluations
By Edward W. Wolfe (Brewing Techniques)

Even experienced beer judges make mistakes. by Edward W. Wolfe (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 4, No.2) I consider myself lucky to have a profession that helps me develop my skills as a beer judge. I’m not a microbiologist, and I don’t work in the food industry. I create...

Homemade Grain Milling Systems
By Rob Brown (Brewing Techniques)

By Rob Brown (Brewing Techniques)   Roller Mill Roundup   A good crush is a critical first step toward optimum extraction and efficient lautering in all-grain brewing. Do-it-yourselfers can build their own mills for home use, with excellent results.  ...

Learn More about … Wine?
By Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques)

There’s no reason why appreciation of the taste and craftsmanship of a good beer can’t extend to fine wine. By Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 4, No.1) If you’re like me, you toasted the New Year not with beer, but with champagne. For some die-hard home...

Advanced Mashing Techniques
By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)

By Jim Busch (Brewing Techniques)     Mashing 102 — Advanced Material   In a way, mashing is the natural progression of malting. Both act to take a raw ingredient (barley or malt) and through enzymatic processes reduce the material into sugars that...

A Visit to the Court of Germany’s Kölschbier
By Forrest Williams and Martin Lodahl (Brewing Techniques)

The Queen of Köln— A Visit to the Court of Germany’s Kölschbier by Forrest Williams One style alone is served in the Köln region of Germany’s western edge — a gentle reminder that a beer can rule with a light touch. “You can’t...

Tips On Purchasing And Caring For Kegs
By Jason Parker (Brewing Techniques)

by Jason Parker (Brewing Techniques)     Don’t take your kegs for granted — here are some tips on purchasing and caring for the all-important vessels being used to transport and serve your precious beer.   Perhaps you’re a brewpub...

Easy Calibration of Floating Glass Hydrometers
By Brain Dixon (Brewing Techniques)

by Brain Dixon (Brewing Techniques)     Even if you don’t have access to high-end instrumentation, you can use standard solutions to calibrate your hydrometer and make your specific gravity readings more accurate.     If...

Flavors from Esters and Alcohols
By Scott Bickham (Brewing Techniques)

by Scott Bickham (Brewing Techniques)     The relative levels of esters and alcohols are critical to a beer’s balance. Though sometimes difficult for brewers to control, the formation of these compounds can be affected by close monitoring of fermentation...

An All-Electric Half-Barrel Brewery
By Terry Trentman (Brewing Techniques)

by Terry Trentman (Brewing Techniques)     Electric water heater elements can provide abundant power for brewing when propane or natural gas isn’t an option.     Ten years ago, I was living in Utah and becoming desperate to find a real...

Brewing Success in Long Island’s Wine Country
By Alan Talman (Brewing Techniques)

Brewing Success in Long Island’s Wine Country by Alan Talman (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 7, No.2) Supported by savvy restaurateurs, a brewer creates unusual beers that are making beer lovers out of wine drinkers in Long Island’s tony Hamptons. In New York City,...

The HBD Palexperiment - Lab Analysis (Part II)
By Louis K. Bonham (Brewing Techniques)

The HBD Palexperiment - Lab Analysis (Part II) by Louis K. Bonham (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 7, No.2) Louis Bonham concludes his two-part series analyzing the HBD Palexperiment beers. This time: final gravity, pH, CO2 and headspace air, and alcohol content. In the previous...

The Reinheitsgebot - One Country’s Interpretation of Quality Beer
By Stephen R. Holle and Manfred Schaumberger (Brewing Techniques)

by Stephen R. Holle and Manfred Schaumberger (Brewing Techniques) The Reinheitsgebot - One Country’s Interpretation of Quality Beer     This 500-year-old edict still governs brewing in Germany, and brewers everywhere feel its influence. The...

Home Brewing Handicaps
By Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques)

Home Brewing Handicaps by Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 7, No.2) Are you putting limits on your own brewing? Examine your processes and see if you can’t perform a little physical therapy on your beer. This year, “Christmas break” had a little more...

Building a Compact Three-Tier Brewery
By Jeffrey Pugh (Brewing Techniques)

By Jeffrey Pugh (Brewing Techniques)     This home brewery has a small footprint, gives you a great deal of control over mash temperature, and makes brewing convenient.     I have been a home brewer since 1992 and enjoy combining my technical...

Count on Your HEMACYTOMETER For Consistent Pitching Rates
By David Sohigian (Brewing Techniques)

by David Sohigian (Brewing Techniques)       Variations in pitching rate can drastically alter your beer’s character. Assessing cell counts and viability on a regular basis takes just a few minutes out of your day and will pay off in consistent...

The HBD Palexperiment Results - Lab Analysis (Part I)
By Louis K. Bonham (Brewing Techniques)

The HBD Palexperiment Results - Lab Analysis (Part I) by Louis K. Bonham (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 7, No.1) Last year’s unprecedented HBD Palexperiment resulted in a large volume of data that will undoubtedly contribute significantly to the existing body of brewing...

An Encounter with the Spirit World - Some Insights from the Kentucky Bourbon Festival
By by Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques)

An Encounter with the Spirit World - Some Insights from the Kentucky Bourbon Festival by Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 7, No.1) A museum display about Prohibition invites comparison with today’s anti-alcohol crusade. This fall, I engaged in my own Whiskey...

Shepherd Neame - Three Centuries of Tradition
By Robert S.Wallace (Brewing Techniques)

Shepherd Neame - Three Centuries of Tradition by Robert S.Wallace (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 6, No.6) This year, Britain’s oldest continuously operating, brewery celebrates its tercentenary, establishing a milestone in British brewing history. When a brewer thinks of Kent in...

Protecting Your Brewery’s Intellectual Property
By Scott Garrison (Brewing Techniques)

by Scott Garrison (Brewing Techniques)     You have insurance on your car and on your brewery equipment — why not on the fruits of your labor? If you create recipes, invent gadgets, or come up with a great name for your beer or brewery, protecting your rights...

Is the Beer You Drink in “Tap” Shape?
By Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques)

By Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques)     Producers, sellers, and consumers alike must work to maintain great beer.     One of the great myths of our consumer society is that good packaging in itself guarantees a good product. Although the...

The Troubled Renaissance of British Craft Brewing
By Peter Haydon (Brewing Techniques)

By Peter Haydon (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 6, No.5)     An observer of the UK microbrewing scene explains microbrewers’ battle to place their beers before the British public.     Whenever I try to explain the British brewing industry, I...

Reflections of a U.S. Beer Judge at the GBBF
By John R. Calen (Brewing Techniques)

By John R. Calen (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 6, No.5) A New York Yankee in CAMRA’s Court A UK-trained beer judge from the United States recalls last year’s Great British Beer Festival as being both more formal and more sociable than beer competitions on this side of the...

Some Thoughts on Basic Brewing
By Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques)

By Alan Moen (Brewing Techniques - Vol. 6, No.5)     The quest for quality and consistency begins with bière ordinaire.     A home brewer friend of mine once told me a story about a restaurateur from Louisiana and his method of...

The Great HBD Palexperiment
By John Varady (Brewing Techniques)

By John Varady (Brewing Techniques)   Home Brewers in Pursuit of Recipe Replication     More than 45 home brewers from coast to coast, introduced to each other through the internet, devised a homebrew version of the 1997 Oregon Pale Ale Experiment to...
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