Mr. Wizard
Building a population from yeast slants
I think I am following your plan and will rephrase so that what follows is clear. You want to buy a single liquid pack, “borrow” a bit to prepare 7–8 slants, and
What is candi sugar?
Candy sugar (or “candi” sugar as it is commonly spelled) has a long history in Belgium because of the busy trading port of Antwerp. Until the 19th century, Europe did not produce
What does “cold crashing” mean?
Cold crashing is a topic that seems to have become hot lately with more and more mentions in social media groups about this catchy brewing term. Like many trending homebrewing topics, cold
Protein rests when brewing with wheat
This is a great question, Richard. The short answer is no, you do not need to do a protein rest when brewing with more than 25% wheat. However, many brewers want to
Freeze-drying yeast
Freeze-drying, or lyophilization, has been used for drying bacteria and yeast for nearly 100 years. The process begins by freezing, followed by subjecting the sample to a vacuum. The low pressure results
Simplifying homebrewing
This is a fun question that probably has more than a few people questioning my wisdom over the use of glass carboys. Just to be clear, I keep mine in a crate
Explaining Hop Utilization
The term “boil efficiency” typically refers to “hop utilization” and relates hop alpha acids added to wort to iso-alpha acids in beer. I will use the standard term “hop utilization” in this
Why do some batches exhibit hop creep?
Let me start this answer off with a brief review of hop creep. This term refers to dry hopped fermentations that slowly ferment to a lower final gravity than they would without
An alternative way to judge beers in competition
Takeaways from the Japan Brewers Cup — Yokohama, Japan, February 9, 2024 Earlier this year, I had the great opportunity to travel to Japan to visit some breweries, give a presentation to a
Scavenging Oxygen
Oxygen is a problem for beer at all stages of the process following the early stages of fermentation because many of the flavor-active compounds created by yeast are changed, i.e., chemically oxidized,
Control Mash Temperature with a Propane Heating System
I think I have a solution to your quest that will work well without costing much money. All you need for this project is your propane burner, a pot, an immersion wort
Predicting Mash pH
Being able to predict mash pH based on brewing water composition and grist bill is something of great practical use to brewers. Clearly not all beer styles brewed in Munich, for example,
