Mr. Wizard
High Gravity Fermentation
This is one of the questions that makes me scratch my head, and for more reasons than one. My first response actually has nothing at all to do with the question. And
Water Filtration
The answer to this question depends on what type of water filtration that you are planning to use. Carbon filtration is the most common type of home water filtration. Carbon filters contain
Seeking a Crisp Finish
Ah, in search of that wonderful crisp finish. I too prefer beers that do not linger on the palate and have a certain zip to them, and I have spent a fair
Storing Grains
This is a good question, Ray. The most important thing to prevent when storing malt is an increase in the moisture content. When malt is kilned, the moisture content is normally reduced to
Chili Pepper Beer
Nicolò, I first must say grazie! I think this is the first question I have answered from an Italian homebrewer and am excited to know that you are reading BYO in Varese.
Diluting High Gravity Beer
I must confess, this is one homebrewing practice I have never come across. What you are describing is, however, practiced by almost every large commercial brewery in the world and is called
Wort Temperature During Fermentation
An active fermentation does create an appreciable amount of heat energy. In small fermenters where the ambient air temperature is used for cooling, there is always an increase in fermentation temperature as
Oxidation While Cold Crashing
I think the most difficult thing about trying to troubleshoot brewing problems in my column is not being able to taste the beers that I am being asked about. I sometimes flash
Bottle Bombs
Bottle bombs are really scary because glass shrapnel can cause severe injuries. The first question that always comes to my mind when hearing about this problem is “how old is your glass?”
Blueberry Additions and Fruit Haze
I think the problem with this beer is that you placed your blueberries into a blender. By doing this you broke down insoluble compounds in the blueberry skins into millions of tiny
Mash Stirring
This is a pretty weighty topic because stirring the mash does a few things to the mash. To avoid a geeky treatise I will cover this from a treetop level. So why
Food-grade CO2
This is an interesting question that has a less than satisfactory answer. When brewers discuss carbon dioxide purity the elephants in the room often include oxygen, oil and sulfur compounds. While all
