Date: May-June 2018
Concentrate to Ice Cider
Who says you need fresh apples to make ice cider? With a few adjustments, you can make this dessert-style cider from frozen apple juice concentrate (of course, you can add fresh juice too, if you like).
10 Keys to Nano Success
Ever considered making your homebrewing hobby a career? Starting a nanobrewery is a popular trend that markets to a hyper-local niche. Before making the leap, consider these 10 keys to success.
Cologne Kölsch
The word Kölsch has several connotations in the German language. If used as a noun, it refers to the distinct Cologne dialect and accent. As an adjective, it means “anything from Cologne.” Thus, it is a local joke that Kölsch is the only language that you can also drink!
Take Me to Your Liter
One of the things that makes drinking beer in Germany unique from North America is that depending where in the country you are, the beer style you find will be different. Take a beer-style tour of Germany to discover some of the most notable German beer styles (plus recipes) and the regions they come from.
Düsseldorf Altbier
The grain bill of the classic copper-colored altbier — which is internationally also known as a German Brown Ale — is almost Munich-like, but with a slightly less “caramelly” character than a Märzen, and less dark than a dunkel. It differs from a Munich brew, however, in its much more pronounced hoppiness. This creates a wonderful blend of malt-and-hop aromas in the finish, which is often described as bitter-sweet. The uniqueness of this beer — an ale after all — comes from the clean fermentation of a relatively cold-tolerant, top-fermenting specialty yeast.
German Pils
This beer is hearty but very drinkable. It is hop-spicy upfront, with a solid mouthfeel and a crisp finish. Many German breweries nowadays make a Pils with much less hop character and a lower gravity than specified here, but this recipe is closer to the original guidelines for making this beer as it might have been brewed in the 19th century.
Thuringian Schwarzbier
De-husked roasted malts like Carafa® III are an ideal solution to darken the color of schwarzbiers as they don’t have any sharp acrid notes as highly kilned malts do. This makes a surprisingly smooth dark lager.
Munich Helles
The bittering hop selected here is the Mittelfrüh-like, daughter of Hallertau Gold, Tradition with a nominal average alpha acid rating of 5.5%. It has gentle fruity notes. However, any other German noble hops would work as well. The flavor and aroma hops are, fittingly, Mittelfrüh.
Munich Dunkel
Authentic dunkels rely on Munich malts to provide color, without the roastiness or burnt flavors often associated with darker beers.
7 Great Group Projects
Being a part of a homebrew club allows homebrewers to participate in projects that would be difficult by oneself. We searched out seven of our favorite club projects and asked the clubs behind them to share the details.
Raw Ale
A whole other type of beer exists in northern Europe known as “raw ale.” It is not so much a style, but rather a technique. The major feature that sets raw ale apart is that it is never boiled. Learn the history, stories, and techniques behind raw ale.
Paavo Pruul’s koduõlu (western Estonian farmhouse ale)
A raw ale (no-boil) Estonian farmhouse beer.
