Mr. Wizard
Can homebrewers use twist-off bottles for their beer?
For starters, when it comes to bottle conditioned beers, there is very little difference between methods used at home and those used by commercial brewers. If a brewery like Sierra Nevada can
Can botulism spores grow in concentrated extract?
Before answering this question about malt extract storage I want to remind our readers that there are no safety issues concerning the storage of wort that has been properly canned in
Irish Red Ales vs Oktoberfest
I wish I could travel to a different place in time when beer styles were truly tied to geographical regions, a time before globalization of brewing techniques and brewing ingredients. Based on
More Mash Space
Sizing brewing vessels is part of my job with the Paul Mueller Company. When I am sizing mash mixers for brewing applications where the mash is conducted in a stirred and heated
Boil Timing
In a very general sense the time required to bring wort to a boil can cause problems when the time is too long. Holding hot wort for extended time periods leads to
Aerating With Oxygen
Before jumping into the mechanics of oxygenation, I want to touch on oxygenation versus aeration. Yeast require oxygen to grow since oxygen is a component of healthy cellular membranes. When brewing fermentations
Over-Carbonating My Bottles
I think your problem is too much sugar added for bottle conditioning. But before I jump into this topic, I want to focus on the state of beer when it is opened.
Bottle Bombs
Bottle bombs are really scary because glass shrapnel can cause severe injuries. The first question that always comes to my mind when hearing about this problem is “how old is your glass?”
Mystery Fermentation
True mysteries are rarely encountered in a brewery when the facts related to a particular problem are at hand. The problem lies in obtaining the facts and this is particularly true when
Transferring to Secondary Fermentation
Fortunately for homebrewers there are convenient ways to move beer around without ruining your homebrewed suds with the ill effects associated with oxygen. As you mention in your question, one handy method
Starches in the Mash
This is really a great question and one that brewers started contemplating shortly after RIMS (recirculating infusion mashing systems) brewing became popular. The two main goals of malt milling are particle size
Going Pro
Mr. Wizard on the business side of going pro.
