Mr. Wizard
Training Your Palate – Beer Sensory
MEMBERS ONLYI have used kits and commercially available beers for flavor training, and they both have pros and cons. I like to use color as an example when explaining the challenges involved in
Quick Carb Method To Avoid Overcarbing Keg
MEMBERS ONLYIn my brewing opinion, the only redeeming quality of the old crank and shake method of beer carbonation is that it may properly “carbonate” beer to a desired level when correctly executed.
Yeast Slurry Comes Into Focus
MEMBERS ONLYThe term “yeast slurry” is used by brewers to describe the pasty mixture of yeast and a liquid, usually beer. I will return to yeast slurries in a moment, but want to
Benefits of Counter-Pressure Bottle Filling
MEMBERS ONLYThe amount of carbonation lost during filling is heavily influenced by the carbonation level of the beer being filled. Highly carbonated beers lose more carbonation when bottled compared to beers with lower
Storability of Counter-Pressure Filled Bottles
MEMBERS ONLYThis is the question that every brewer who bottles their beer wants answered, and the answer depends on your bottling techniques. When carbonated beer is bottled, the shelf-life clock starts ticking. With
Counter-Pressure Bottling Tips
MEMBERS ONLYIf there are problems, what I would check first is the length of the fill tube. One of the most important rules of bottle filling is to gently fill the bottle. There
Counter-Pressure Bottle Filling
MEMBERS ONLYA counter-pressure bottle filler is designed to deliver a carbonated product into a bottle without excessive foaming. The basic idea behind these devices is to first pressurize the beer bottle to the
Conditioning Kegged Beer
MEMBERS ONLYBottle- and keg-conditioned ales must go through several key steps before they can be refrigerated and enjoyed. The first step is to estimate the volume of beer and to add an appropriate
Removing Yeast Before Kegging
FREEOne of the best ways for homebrewers to clarify beer is to simply move the carboy to a refrigerator and hold it cold (38 °F/3.3 °C is ideal, but anything colder than
Cold Conditioning a Keg
MEMBERS ONLYI prefer to cold condition after carbonation, because you can remove yeast by racking the beer from keg to keg without worrying about having enough yeast in the beer at bottling time
Nitro Beer
MEMBERS ONLYThe process of adding nitrogen to beer is referred to as nitrogenation. This is somewhat of a misnomer since nitrogenated beers also contain carbon dioxide and the gas blend used for the
Fix Over-Carbonated Kegs
MEMBERS ONLYI prefer to package beer in kegs for several reasons. Besides being convenient, perhaps the best thing about a keg is that it’s very easy to change the carbonation level in a