Date: April 1999
Hop Utilization
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThis question brings up three key points: water pH and its affect on brewing methods used to adjust pH and adjusting bitterness. The first point regarding water pH pops up every so often, and I usually let it pass. It is important to distinguish among water pH, mash pH, and wort pH. Water pH is
Preventing Three Big Wine Stinks
Digital and Plus Members OnlyPreventing Three Big Stinks You emerge from the cellar beaming, proudly cradling one of your prized bottles in the crook of your arm. You bring it to the table, pop the cork, splash out the first precious drops into the awaiting glasses of your dinner guests. And a sinister stink redolent of swamp water permeates
Brewing Weiss: Tips from the Pros
Digital and Plus Members OnlyA Winner’s View of Weiss Brewer: Ryan Ashley Brewery: Mickey Finn’s, Libertyville, Ill. Years of experience: 10 years homebrewing, five years professional House Beers: Main Street Wheat Ale, Abana Amber Ale, Five-Springs Oatmeal Stout, and Raspberry American Wheat All the time Ryan Ashley spent learning to brew weiss beers as a homebrewer paid off
Belgian Golden
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThere is no official “Belgian golden” category. Rather, it is “Belgian pale,” but this beer should not be confused with a regular pale ale of any sort. In fact if it were to be compared with anything, it would be Orval, the deep golden Trappist beer that contains the yeast recommend for fermenting ours or
Understanding Polyphenols
Digital and Plus Members OnlyUnderstanding Polyphenols Polyphenols present a classic dilemma for the brewer. On one hand, they taste bad. These bitter, astringent compounds— tannin is probably the best-known form of polyphenol — can ruin the flavor of beer. On the other hand, they readily bind with proteins and, under the right circumstances, make them drop out of solution.
The Elements of Brewing Water
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBarley, hops, and yeast get all the attention, but water is the main ingredient in beer. The ions in your water supply directly affect the flavor of your beer — for good and ill. The presence of calcium sulfate (CaSO4) or calcium carbonate (CaCO3) can give beer a slightly astringent or bitter flavor. Calcium (Ca+2)
Muscle into Kegging
Digital and Plus Members OnlyHomebrewing is a fun hobby. However, when pressed on the subject many homebrewers would say the least fun aspect of this pastime is the process of cleaning, sanitizing, and filling bottles. With the average batch of homebrew requiring more than two cases of 12-ounce bottles, it’s not surprising that it is at this stage in
United We Brew: Cool Homebrew Clubs
Digital and Plus Members OnlyAll over the world, homebrewers gather to brew, drink, chat, learn and have some fun in that simple vehicle of camaraderie, the club.
Simple, Delicious Stock Ales
Digital and Plus Members OnlyI remember the moment I caught it. I had just emptied the contents of a packet of dried yeast into the fermenter and was sealing the lid firmly around the white, five-gallon bucket. It invaded my mind like a lone bacterium in a sea of agar medium. I was infected with the homebrew bug. That