Date: June 1999
Mash tempereratures
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThere is more to mash temperature than finished beer flavor. Mash temperature has an effect on wort viscosity and ease of lautering, it affects the gelatinization of starch (“melting” of the bonds that make starch a crystalline structure), influences wort fermentability, and has an effect on proteins. There are more factors that can be thrown
Hot Side Aeration Debate
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBefore I jump head first into this colorful debate about hot-side aeration (HSA), I would like to explain where some of the comments in BYO mail and in some of the BYO articles stem. Most of the comments regarding this whole debate have come from commercial brewers who write for BYO. To paraphrase, they have
Blending for Better Wines
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThe ancient Greeks used to mix their wine with herbs, spices, and pine-tree resin. In medieval England it was considered an honor to be given both the wine and the water pitchers so you could mix your drink according to your own tastes. In modern-day France, winemakers at world-famous chateaux such as Margaux and La
American and English Brown Ale
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBrown ales, sometimes known as nut brown because of their color, originated in England and exist as a very strong style today. Brown ale is broken into two categories, Northern brown (sometimes known as strong brown) and Southern brown. There is also a lower-gravity style of English brown ale known as mild ale, which
Keeping Your Yeast Healthy
Digital and Plus Members OnlyAs a professional brewer I am often asked for homebrewing advice or to sample and critique homebrewers’ wares. Most often I am quite impressed with the talents of our local homebrewers and find the quality of their beers comparable to commercial examples. Every once in a while I taste one that has gone awry, and
More Incredibly Practical Brewing Tips
Digital and Plus Members OnlyFavorite tips featuring BYO readers’ innovative ideas on making homebrewing easier and better. Speed up your bottle cleaning with an electric drill, wort chilling with a car radiator and more!
Grain Expectations
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBrewers always seem to get a bright gleam in their eyes when designing a new beer recipe. Poring over available specialty malts and beer profiles, brewers drool with anticipation at the thought of filling a room with the sweet malt aroma from the mash, filling glass after glass of wort during the sparge to check