Time’s running out to get expert feedback on your homemade ciders and meads in the world’s largest competition for home winemakers (run by BYO’s sister magazine). Entry deadline is March 13. Click here for competition info!
The latest USDA hop took the brewing world by storm after its 2025 release. We look closer at Vera, what makes it unique, and why brewers love it. Plus, get help designing homebrew lables, how to reduce food waste by homebrewing, Munich’s other beer festival, Belgian IPA, shortening brew days, and more!
Vera hops made a big splash following their 2025 release, earning praise from brewers, enthusiasm from consumers, and even a dedicated category at the Great American Beer Festival. Learn what makes this new public variety so special with tips and recipes.
Label design plays a huge role in the appeal of commercial beers, and it can make your homebrews just as enticing. A graphic designer shares tips for designing your own labels at home — and having fun while doing it.
Food waste is a major problem — one that homebrewers can help address through their craft. From fallen fruit to stale baked goods and excess herbs and vegetables from gardens, creativity in brewing can turn would-be waste into inspired new beers.
Lesser known than Oktoberfest, Munich’s spring beer festival Starkbierfest (Strong Beer Festival) is every bit as fun. We take you inside the festival and share advice from some of Munich’s great brewers on creating a doppelbock fit for Starkbierfest.
The Wizard shares how to calculate the addition amounts when priming with flavorful sugars. Plus, should ALDC be used in all beers as a precaution against diacetyl? Can aerating dry yeast be harmful? And what factors may cause fermentations to stop short of expected final gravities?
Belgian IPA is not a well-defined style. In fact, it’s rare to see a commercial example labeled as such (even when marketing heads want to slap “IPA” on almost anything with a hop presence). So what exactly is a Belgian IPA? It’s like a tripel brewed with a heavy hand of hops, but it also has a drinkability similar to other IPA subcategories.
One of the knocks on the homebrewing hobby is the time commitment required to brew a batch of beer. But brew days don’t have to take all day — here are ways to cut time without sacrificing quality.
Think that your beer’s final flavor is set once it is kegged? Think again, as a Master Cicerone explains how the pour can influence flavor in many directions.
Marty Nachel — beer author and Founder of the American Craft Beer Hall of Fame — has been homebrewing for four decades. Marty takes a trip down memory lane and shares just how far the hobby has come over that time.
Bossie is classified as a “Wisconsin Ale” brewed by Wandering Monsters in Cincinnati, Ohio, as a tribute to a classic craft beer that is difficult to fit into a single style description
A group of American homebrewers recently had the opportunity to judge beers made by 20 South African homebrewers using South African hops, with the winning recipe to be brewed on a commercial scale.
Gold medal winner at the 2025 GABF in the Vera Hop category. While only 5% ABV, you’d never know by drinking it. Packed with hop flavor and aroma and full on the palate this session IPA punches well above its weight.
This West Coast Pilsner was the winner of the silver medal at the 2025 GABF in the Vera-themed beers category.
Adding rye bread to this base brown ale creates a soft, bread-like malt flavor and enhances the brown ale’s caramel and chocolate notes by creating a full-bodied mouthfeel and an interesting toasted finish.
This is a standard dry saison/farmhouse style with a mild peppery fruit character. The apples will provide a light, crisp tartness and a mild apple skin aroma. Perfect for summer.
A dark doppelbock that relies on Munich malt and a touch of Special II.
A doppelbock fit to be served at Munich’s Starkbierfest (Big Beer Fest).
Bossie is classified as a “Wisconsin Ale” brewed by Wandering Monsters in Cincinnati, Ohio, as a tribute to a classic craft beer that is difficult to fit into a single style description
This Belgian IPA example combines ideas from Gordon Strong’s favorite tripel and double IPA recipes.
The winning beer chosen by American homebrewers for the best homebrew made by South African brewers using South African hops.
The Wizard shares how to calculate the addition amounts when priming with flavorful sugars.
Should ALDC be used in all beers as a precaution against diacetyl?
What factors may cause fermentations to stop short of expected final gravities?
