Date: October 2012
Pistachio Pale Ale
Digital and Plus Members OnlyWhat’s better than drinking beer and eating pistachios? Smashing them together (of course) and making citrusy pale ale using Palisade hops with a smoky pistachio kick.
Sunflower Seed Dark Hefeweizen
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThis recipe takes advantage of the head retention power of wheat to blend in some flavors of toasted sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds are very oily, so toasting the seeds to get a large amount of the oils removed is essential.
Pecan Doppelbock
Digital and Plus Members OnlyI chose a doppelbock because of its rich, full-bodied, caramel malty flavor, blanketed light hop aroma with a light ruby-hazed color. This style with the pecan addition just screams Thanksgiving to me.
Smoked Pumpkin Seed Saison
Digital and Plus Members OnlyPumpkin spice ales and lagers are the most common styles of this gourd-like brew, but the saison style has some peppery spice undertones I thought might balance well.
Your First Homebrew Competition
Digital and Plus Members OnlyCompetitions can be a fun way to learn more about brewing better homebrews — and maybe earn some bragging rights as well. If you are interested in seeing how your homebrews stack up in competition, be sure that you and your beer are as ready as possible to compete before you send in your first
Sumpin’ Like Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ (Wheat IPA)
Digital and Plus Members OnlyIf you enjoy the Lagunitas Brewing Co.’s A Little Sumpin Sumpin, then you should enjoy this homebrewed version. Smooth malt background with the help of wheat and Victory® malt and a huge hop profile.
Smooth Rye’d
Digital and Plus Members OnlyAs the name implies, this is a smooth version of a rye IPA. It has the characteristic “snap” from rye and rye malt, but this is not as pronounced as in some rye beers. If you’d prefer a more “in your face” version, try adding a pound (0.45 kg) of rye malt to your mash.
Bombay After Dark
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBombay After Dark (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) OG = 1.070 FG = 1.018 IBU = 49 SRM = 27 ABV = 7.1% Ingredients11.5 lbs. (5.2 kg) 2-row pale malt 1 lb. (0.45 kg) dried rice extract (15 min.) 12 oz. (0.34 kg) flaked barley 8 oz. (0.23 kg) chocolate malt 8 oz. (0.23 kg) caramel
Tragen Babbel (Belgian IPA)
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBelgian IPAs can be a challenge, balancing the Belgian yeast character with the hop character. You don’t want one to overpower the other. This recipe helps toe that line.
Abita Brewing Company: Andygator Doppelbock clone
FREEThis original high-gravity brew is made with Pilsner hops, German lager yeast, and German Perle hops and features a slightly sweet flavor and dry aroma.
Build a Mash Temperature Controller
Digital and Plus Members OnlyI spent a lot of time controlling temperatures on the cold side of the brewing process in my early homebrew days, including temperature control during grain, hop and yeast storage, yeast propagation and maturation, fermentation, homebrew aging and serving. Adding controls to these areas definitely made a huge impact on the quality of my brew,
Preventing Diacetyl
Digital and Plus Members OnlyVicinal diketones (VDKs) are the products of normal beer fermentation within a brewery. The two VDKs that are of primary concern to brewers are 2,3-butanedione (diacetyl) and 2,3-pentanedione. Diacetyl in a finished beer creates a slickness on the palate at low concentrations, and has a characteristic flavor that is described as buttery or butterscotch at