Mr. Wizard
Minimizing diacetyl in lagers
The first thing that comes to mind when contemplating diacetyl problems is yeast strain. I have not personally used Wyeast 2007 Pilsen Lager Yeast, but after reading its description and learning that
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
How can I get better hop utilization?
Upping IBUs I have been planning on making an extract oatmeal stout, but after entering all my ingredients into a recipe calculator I am concerned with my hop utilization. I boil my
Storing kegs warm
Bottle- 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
Choosing Specialty Malts
The Wiz gives his two cents on malt madness and helps a brewer whose ales have been beyond the pale.
Welding terms
I have answered some stainless steel questions in the past and at the time Mr. Wizard was still cloaked by the wispy clouds of anonymity. Now that I have been unveiled I
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
Effects of Wildfire Smoke On Hops
I know that wine grapes grown near eucalyptus trees can pick up enough eucalyptus oil to impart the aroma to wine. So it is does seem possible in theory that hops grown
Why do some grains need to be malted?
Grains are malted so that starch contained in the grain endosperm can be released into solution during mashing. The changes that happen during malting are collectively termed modification. And the thing that
Digging into the Hazy IPA
It is easy for us “old-school brewers” to joke about the cloudy-IPA style, and dismissively suggest to just do the opposite of what is required to make clear beer. Although there is
When to worry about diacetyl
The real question at issue is not whether diacetyl is only associated with lagers, but rather if it is only unacceptable in lagers. Diacetyl is naturally found in all beers during fermentation
Infusion vs. Step Mashing
Infusion mashing is a traditional method using an unheated mash tun, resulting in a single temperature mash. In reality, the temperature drops slightly over the mash rest and increases during sparging. Step
