Mr. Wizard
Fresh hopped beers
Fresh, unkilned hops can certainly be used in beer and there is no right or wrong way to use them. I think fresh or “green” hops are best for late-hopping because of
Can I mash in an oven?
The oven-mash method can be effective. A very slow increase from 100° to 150° F will give all mash enzymes an opportunity to convert the starches in malted barley into fermentable sugars.
Forgot to add hops during my boil
There is not much great news to report on this unfortunate oversight. Hops need to be boiled to convert the insoluble alpha-acids into the soluble iso-alpha-acids. Unless the alpha-acids are “isomerized” during
“Cara” malts?
Caramel, cara or crystal malts are synonymous terms describing a large family of malts that are made by changing the kilning process. All malts are kiln-dried to arrest germination. To make caramel
Improving all-grain yields
Before you head to a psychic to have your charts done or make any deals you might later regret, here are a few things you should consider. Low yields can be tracked
Overcarbonated kegs
I 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
What’s the usefulness of beer foam?
really like beer foam — in fact, I’m kind of obsessive when it comes to beer foam. Any argument about foam is positive in my book, so you shouldn’t feel like an
Using leftover wort to prime next beer
Priming with wort is very tricky, because wort is not completely fermentable and its fermentability varies from batch to batch. Breweries that bottle-condition with wort determine the fermentability of each lot before
Accounting for evaporation loss during an aggressive boil?
Recipes printed in BYO give the “original gravity” of the wort. This number refers to the specific gravity of the wort prior to fermentation-in other words, after the boil. Wort gravity increases
Can you step up yeast too much prior to pitching?
Although you had a giant mess on your hands with your excited fermentation, you may have added a normal amount of yeast. In my experience, small yeast packets do not contain enough
How can you prevent a vacuum from forming in an airlock during fermentation?
What happened to your fermenter was due to the relation between gas temperature, volume and pressure. A sealed container will exhibit a decrease in gas pressure if the container is cooled and
Can I use water with ozone in it to sanitize equipment?
When ozone is bubbled through water, the water is said to be “ozonated.” Ozone is a potent oxidizing compound due to its instability and it breaks down according to the following chemistry:
