Mr. Wizard
Yeast Starter Temperature
The Wiz warms up talking about lager yeast starters and clarifies a question about chill haze.
Mash Efficiency, Mash Mixing
The Wiz discusses the merits of mash mixers and offers some tips for fine-tuning your sparge.
High Gravity Brewing
The Wiz aims high to help a reader trying to make high alcohol beers.
Better Boils
The Wiz gets on a roll discussing rolling boils and sets the record straight on mash pH.
Blending Carbonated & Non-Carbonated Beer
The Wiz gives a sweet answer to a question on blending with a sour beer as well as some insight about mashing malts.
White Spots On Top of My Brew
I am not completely sure about the nature of these little floaters. I think, however, that it is possibly either yeast, as you suggest, or protein clumps. Some yeast strains have a tendency to
Predicting yeast flavors with temperature fluctuation
The batch size for most homebrewers has been around 5 gallons (19 L) for a very long time, and keeping this volume of fermenting beer cool is not difficult. Recently, however, many
What is hopbursting?
I must admit Matt that this is a method I have not heard of, until doing a little research to help me with an answer. The cool thing about homebrewing is that
Hitting final gravities
This is a difficult question to address because there are some important facts that are missing, such as wort original gravity (OG), grist bill, mashing method, yeast strain and fermentation temperature. But
What are some tips for making gluten-free beer?
Celiac Disease is an immune reaction to certain gluten proteins found in wheat, barley, rye and oats. This means that when a brewery brews a beverage specifically for this group of people
Adding water to carboys after racking
Headspace can cause oxidation, especially in secondary fermenters. Anything that is done to eliminate air helps minimize oxidation. And adding de-aerated water can reduce the odds of oxidation, but the process deserves
“No chill” brewing
My first thought is that this method is certainly not new. Rapid chilling is a very recent development in the history of brewing. Prior to the advent of the plate heat exchanger,
