September 2020
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Orval: A Study on Tradition, Innovation, & Craftsmanship
There are not many breweries on this planet that evoke more reverence than Brasserie d’Orval. The Trappist brewery in the south of Belgium, just a few scant miles from the French border,
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Fundamentals of Stainless Steel Conicals
Conical fermenters provide a lot of options for homebrewers that other fermentation vessels don’t. Explore the various uses, benefits, and best practices of stainless conicals from the man who helped popularize them in the homebrew market two decades ago.
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Adjusting Flavor Using Brewing Salts
The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) training material outlines a sensory training process for brewers and clubs using ingredients found around the home or the brewery. As Education Chair for the Aurora
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Celebrating Milestones
The year was 1995. Toy Story, Apollo 13, and Batman Forever dominated the big screen. Hootie and the Blowfish, TLC, and Better Than Ezra were climbing the Billboard charts. The OJ Simpson
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A Taste of the Season
Brewing with fruit can add amazing depth, flavor, and aroma to your beer, but fruits also present significant challenges. Selecting the correct fruit, understanding its fermented flavor profile, the practical considerations of
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Who Inspired the Wizard to Brew?
Each issue we pose a fun question to our staff, contributing writers, and review board members that appears on page 6. This issue, our own Mr. Wizard had such an interesting response that we gave him a full page to explain.
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Cash Is King: Mastering your cash flow statements
Cash is king in the small-scale brewing world. Learn from accounting wiz Audra Gaiziunas about the major differences between a brewery’s cash flow statement and their income statement. It could make or break a nanobrewery.
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Yeast Nutrition: Feed your yeast to ensure success
Yeast nutrients may not always be needed. Learn what they are made from, when you should add them, and why, in certain situations, they are highly recommended.
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Malted “Others”: Adjuncts that are no longer raw
There is a big world of malted grains outside of barley. Explore some of those options and some best practices when stepping outside of craft brewing’s “comfort zone.”
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Roggenbier: A rye twist on a dunkelweizen
Rye malt is a necessity to make a roggenbier. While that may be obvious, the techniques required to optimize your efforts (and time) to brew one are not. Gordon Strong takes us on a journey to explore this rye twist on a dunkelweizen.
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Oxidation Rates, Creating the Haze, and Pressure Fermenting in a Conical
Learn how quickly beer can oxidize after packaging. Also a homebrewer has a question about getting hazy and another about making the most of their new conical.
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Highland Brewing Company
The Replicator travels to Asheville, North Carolina to visit the first modern craft brewery that opened in the city and whose founder recently won the coveted Brewers Association Recognition Award. He explores their tasty Oatmeal Porter.
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The Ester Family
Esters drive a lot of the fruit aromas in beer. Learn the factors that go into their production and how to control them in your beer.
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The Hop Dropper
Dry hopping is being practiced excessively these days. Quite a few IPAs are double and triple hopped. But for a long time only pale ales and IPAs were treated on cold side
