Mr. Wizard
Reduce the amount of phenolics in a beer?
You are correct that a yeast strain is the most common cause of phenolic aromas in beer. The classic clovey, phenolic producing yeasts are those used for German-style hefeweizens. These yeasts convert
How do commercial breweries lager so quickly?
Commercial brewers determine the length of their lagering period by defining what they want to accomplish during lagering. Most of the changes that occur during lagering do not require two months or
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
Storing wort after mashing
Some brewers use a technique called flotation to separate cold trub (the solid matter) formed during wort cooling from the wort. The old method of flotation occurs before yeast is pitched and
Extract Addition times
This question really shows me how homebrewers have changed since the early days of the legal homebrewing movement in the United States. The early pioneer homebrewers in the mid to late 70s
Can iodophor be used as a no-rinse sanitizer?
Iodophor is a very effective sanitizer and, unlike bleach, can safely be used as a no-rinse sanitizer without adversely affecting the flavor of your beer. The recommended concentration of iodophor is 25
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:
Pantyhose hop holder
Pantyhose are truly a multi-function item! Dryer filters, hair nets, and hop bags can all be made from leftover pantyhose. Since you have this endless supply of recycled pantyhose, maybe you should
Tannins during a decoction
This is a very good question that inevitably arises when knowledgeable all-grain brewers begin thinking about doing a decoction mash. The conventional rule is to mash-out at around 170 ºF (77 ºC)
Mr Wizard’s Top Homebrewing Tips
Wow, nothing like an open-ended question! I do have a single thought about brewing that influences my general approach, and that is to keep brewing processes as simple as possible unless there
Quick Carb Method To Avoid Overcarbing Keg
In 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
The 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
