July-August 2014 Archives

Mr. Wizard

Fading Hop Character

I think the most difficult thing about trying to troubleshoot brewing problems in my column is not being able to taste the beers that I am being asked about. I sometimes flash

Mr. Wizard

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?”

Recipe

Wicked Weed Brewing Co.’s Reticent Saison clone

Wicked Weed may be best known for its sour and hop-forward beers, but they also brew a wide variety of saisons. Reticent has a complex malt bill to build lots of character underneath the yeast-driven aroma.

Article

Homebrewing in Nicaragua

How can a person justify spending a dollar for a can of beer they don’t even like? I can’t. And here starts my search for brewing on a budget in a

Article

Fruit Beer Brewing Techniques

I drank my first fruit beer around 1980. It was a Belgian kriek (that is cherry flavored), which I came across in South Africa. The fruit flavor was somewhat muted, but the

Article

Put Taps on your Truck

There’s nothing quite like pulling into your campsite and pouring a nice cold draft homebrew before you’ve even pitched your tent. It certainly helps foster domestic tranquility and makes you the envy

Article

SMaSH Brewing: Single Malt & Single Hop

Most homebrewers begin their brewing hobby using beer kits designed by other brewers. These kits give a brewer a chance to get his or her feet wet, try some new beer styles

Article

2014 Homebrew Label Contest Winners

Homebrew labels came from every region of the United States. They came from all over Canada. And they even came from far away lands including Argentina, Norway, and Poland. Some were made

Article

Brewing Sahti: An Ancient Finnish Farmhouse Beer

Sahti is an ancient Finnish farmhouse beer that is still brewed much the same way as it was hundreds of years ago. Assured written evidence about sahti goes back only to the

Article

Specialty IPAs

by the numbers OG, FG, SRM, IBU, ABV will vary. The BJCP is currently considering three strength categories: Session:3.0–5.0 ABV Standard:5.0–7.5% ABV Double:7.5–9.5% ABV When I started brewing, there was only one

Article

Rehydrating Dry Yeast, Bottle Bombs & Fading Hops: Mr. Wizard

Q Being new to homebrewing, I am reading as many books and magazines as I can, reviewing sites like byo.com and poring over the message boards. The rehydrate/don’t rehydrate dried yeast debate

Article

Pushing Style Limits: Tips from Pros

The craft beer industry is constantly evolving. brewers are always on the lookout for new, unique ingredients, ways to pump up IBUs and ABVs, and peering beyond tradition for other stylistic boundaries

Article

Wicked Weed Brewing Company’s Reticent Saison: Replicator

Dear Replicator, My brewing partner went on a beer trek to Asheville, North Carolina, and brought me back a growler of Reticent Saison from Wicked Weed Brewing. it was great, plus

Recipe

Sucro-licious Belgian

Sugar selection can completely change the impression of a Belgian beer. Some dubbels are little more than Belgian blondes with dark candi syrup instead of pure sucrose. This recipe from Michael Tonsmeire leaves it up to the brewer to decide which sugar-type to determine the final beer’s character.

Recipe

dark specialty stout in a stemmed tulip glass

Recipe

Dessert Stout

This is the perfect not-too-roasty stout to try out all of your favorite dessert flavor combinations: coconut, coffee, chocolate, jammy fruit, hazelnuts etc.

Project