Date: October 2014
Filtering for Beginners
Digital and Plus Members OnlyMany homebrewers bypass the step of filtering their homebrew and instead use fining agents and cold crashing (storing the beer after fermentation has completed in a cold place for a week or longer to allow the yeast to drop out of suspension and the beer to clear naturally). Cold crashing works well for most beer
Odell Brewing Company: Peach IPA clone
Digital and Plus Members OnlyOdell Brewing Company, in Fort Collins, Colorado brews the majority of its beers on a 50-barrel system, however brewers still put to use a 5-barrel pilot system at the brewery every week. This recipe (not to be confused with their seasonal imperial peach IPA Tree Shaker) was one of those pilot batches made available at the tasting room.
Captain Lawrence Brewing Company: Pumpkin Ale clone
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThis beer is brewed with pureed pumpkins that are added directly to the mash, while pumpkin pie spices are added to the end of the boil. The finished amber ale is malty and smooth.
Build a Mixing Valve for Consistent Water Temperature
Digital and Plus Members OnlyEvery time I travel I try to visit the local breweries and, if I can, do a brewery tour of each of the establishments. After touring a few breweries I found that every one does things a little bit differently in their procedures, but when it comes to the equipment there are definitely some standard
Brewing with Dark Grains
Digital and Plus Members OnlyDark grains are an important ingredient in brewing many styles of beer. Grains that can be considered to be the “classic dark grains” include chocolate barley, black patent barley and unmalted, roasted barley. If one is so minded, it is also probably OK to include in the category of dark grains some of the very
Understanding Specific Gravity vs. Plato
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThe simple hydrometer can tell us the gravity of our wort, and therefore the amount of extract we have recovered from our ingredients, and can even be used to tell us what extract we can expect from different malts. The hydrometer can also tell us how much extract the yeast has used during fermentation, and
2 Beers from 1 Batch: Partigyle, Split Boils & Split Fermentations
Digital and Plus Members OnlyI learned early on in this hobby that I needed to find a way to homebrew more beer without taking time away from other areas of life. I adopted a technique that has allowed me to double my output while keeping my brew schedule light. Basically, take the work of making one beer and turn
Pilot Brewing Lessons & Recipes
FREEIn order to think big, you need to start small. That is the prevalent thinking for many of today’s commercial brewers who frequently utilize pilot systems as the brewhouse starting point. Pilot
Big Batch Brewing Techniques
Digital and Plus Members OnlyIf you find yourself in need of more homebrew it is time to start brewing bigger batches. If you’re ready to “go Big,” Here is how to go beyond the basic homebrew batch size. Brewing big batches of beer is a lot of fun and can be a great way to expand your homebrewing horizons.
Small Batch Brewing Techniques
Digital and Plus Members OnlyI’ve always homebrewed on the “small” side. I don’t mean in terms of gravity (although that’s usually true, too), but rather in terms of volume. Five gallons (19 L) is considered to be the standard batch size for the hobby, but for a variety of reasons (heat source, equipment, storage space) it had never been
Big Club Brew
Digital and Plus Members OnlyEvery February, the PA Alers Homebrew Club based in Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna Valley, holds its annual Big Brew. This is our club’s marquee event — a gathering to brew a single recipe and celebrate the fellowship of homebrewing. We’ve held the Big Brew for a dozen years, which predates our club’s existence. In that time, we
Homebrewer’s Library: BYO Writers Pick Favorite Books
Digital and Plus Members OnlyNew beer books show up in the Brew Your Own mailbox every week, but not every book is an instant classic. We asked some of BYO’s longtime columnists — Ashton Lewis (“Mr. Wizard”), Marc Martin (“The Replicator”), Jamil Zainasheff (“Style Profile”), Terry Foster (“Techniques”), Chris Bible (“Advanced Brewing”) — what titles they reach for in