October 2019
Article
Souring with Lactobacillus: Tips from the Pros
Soured beer can be produced in the same amount of time as non-soured styles with the help of Lactobacillus. Generally, this is done using the kettle-souring method for styles like Gose and
Article
American Bock
American bock, you say? Surely, bock is a purely German style . . . right? Yes, indeed it is, however there was once a style called American bock, which is going to
Article
The Decoction Mash
Decoction mashing has both a mystic and feared quality to it. Purists imagine achieving perfection in the ultimate Bavarian or Bohemian lager. The more pragmatic of us fear the time-intensive triple decoction
Article
Ice, Ice Cider
I had my first encounter with ice cider in a seminar at the 2014 Homebrew Con and made my first batch that fall. At the time, there wasn’t much information about it in
Recipe
Ice Cider
Ice Cider (2 gallons/8 L)OG = 1.144 FG = 1.061ABV = 10.9% Ingredients10 gallons (38 L) fresh-pressed, unpasteurized apple cider 7.5 grams Go-Ferm6 grams Fermaid O6 grams Lalvin 71B yeastSulfite Step by StepPour
Article
The Lacto Lounge
Kettle souring has become very popular because of the time savings and lower risk of contaminating the brewery compared to other souring techniques. However, the process comes with its own cons too. This DIY “kettle” souring keg solves for those problems.
Recipe
Berlin Smoothie
Berlin Smoothie (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.032 FG = 1.005IBU = 0 SRM = 3 ABV = 4% This take on Berliner weisse forgoes any hop additions and incorporates two fruits
Recipe
Raspberry Gose
Raspberry Gose (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.046 FG = 1.009IBU = 0 SRM = 3 ABV = 4.7% The OG is prior to souring. The FG and ABV include the impact
Recipe
Mango Habanero Cherry Bomb Sauce
Mango Habanero Cherry Bomb Sauce (Approximately 60 fluid oz. (1.75 L) finished hot sauce) Though not a beer recipe, this hot sauce made with Lactobacillus-fermented hot peppers is another use I have
Recipe
Danny’s Red Rum Ruos
Danny’s RedRum Ruos (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.046 FG = 1.011IBU = 5 SRM = 13 ABV = 4.6% The deep red-garnet color from kettle soured this beer came to existence
Article
Build This Brewstand
I’ve often praised homebrewing as one of the few great hobbies that combines the technical specificity of science and the spontaneous creativity of art. As a structural engineer having personally experienced the
Recipe
X Marks the Bock
X Marks the Bock (5 gallons/19 L, extract only)OG = 1.060 FG = 1.012IBU = 35 SRM = 9 ABV = 6.3% When formulating an extract version of the all-grain recipe Old
Recipe
Old Timer’s Bock
Old Timer’s Bock (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.060 FG = 1.010IBU = 35 SRM = 13 ABV = 6.6% This recipe is our attempt of brewing an American bock similar to
Article
The Perfect Crush
What’s the ideal gap setting homebrewers should use for their grain mill? Well, it depends on a lot of factors. Learn why brewers are advised to “mind the gap” instead of “set it and forget it.”
Article
Life’s a Symphony: Sweet rewards found in Cologne
A work trip through the beer-loving countries of Germany, Austria, and Slovenia brought a newfound love of beer for one classical musician. As a result he found the love for homebrewing . . . but a series of medical issues left him without the ability to brew. Thanks to some ingenuity and new equipment, he’s back!
Article
Forced Carbing: Don’t take this ingredient for granted
Carbon dioxide can sometimes be the least of homebrewers’ worries, but maybe it shouldn’t be that way. Dive in deep to learn many factors that can affect carbonation levels in your beer, how it can vary from place-to-place and beer-to-beer, and why you may want to filter your CO2.
Recipe
Denny’s Bourbon Vanilla Imperial Porter
Denny wanted to make a beer to give to friends for Christmas. Normally that would be a barrel-aged something or other, but time was short and he didn’t have a barrel anyway! So he thought about what a Bourbon barrel might bring to a porter. And voila!
Article
Recipe Design: Our six philosophies to beer construction
When it comes time to build a recipe for your next brew, how do you approach the design process? Learn about Denny and Drew’s six philosophies to recipe design so you can hone in on what you may be doing right and what you may be doing wrong in this key process.
Recipe
Gordon Strong’s Cream Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.052 FG = 1.010IBU = 14 SRM = 3 ABV = 5.6% Ingredients3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg) German Pilsner malt3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg) US 2-row malt2 lbs. (907
Article
Cream Ale: An American original
Who created it and why is it called a cream ale? Alright, these are the two questions Gordon doesn’t have an answer for — but for everything else related to cream ale, he’s got a great story to tell of one of the iconic American styles of beer.
Mr. Wizard
Sparge Water Temperature
The short answer to this question is no, sparging at 169 °F (76 °C) does not achieve the same thing as mashing out at the same temperature. The reason for this is
Mr. Wizard
Dry Hop Timing
I have dry hopped during fermentation with yeast, blown yeast towards the end of fermentation and dry hopped, have racked beer from one fermenter to another before dry hopping, and have dry
Mr. Wizard
Tuning In to Water Profiles
I have never written extensively about brewing water profiles and cannot knowingly comment about why this topic is usually addressed by reviewing the water profiles of historically important brewing centers. But I
Article
Tuning In to Water Profiles, Dry Hop Timing and Sparge Water
QMost water calculators I have used are based on water profiles of the cities where different beer styles are brewed. Wouldn’t it be a better way to show the water profiles of
Recipe
Two Roads Brewing Company’s Route of All Evil clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) OG = 1.072 FG = 1.012 IBU = 30 SRM = 37 ABV = 7.9% Ingredients11 lbs. (5 kg) 2-row pale ale malt0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) dark Munich
Article
Two Roads Brewing Co.
Creepy clowns are now found outside of Derry, Maine . . . the Replicator unleashes the Route of All Evil from Two Roads Brewing Co. There is no putting this one back in its box.
Article
Proper Cleaning and Sanitation
Be sure you understand some of the basics to keeping your equipment properly cleaned and sanitized.
Recipe
Kölsch One and Two
I really do like the technique of first wort hopping, I feel that in such a delicately balanced beer, the hop flavor just seems more integrated without being overbearing.
