Topic: All Grain Brewing
Sorting the Facts: A deep dive into mash pH
FREETen years ago, it was a rare homebrewer that cared what their mash pH was. Nowadays it seems like it’s a topic that everyone is talking about. If this intrigues you, check out this deep dive into pH meters and the nuances of mash pH.
Small-Batch Brewing
MEMBERS ONLYFive-gallon (19-L) batches have long been the standard for homebrewers, but there are some real advantages to brewing smaller all-grain batches. Whether as your primary system or to use as a “pilot” system, brewing batches of a gallon (3.8 L) or so requires little space and encourages experimentation with minimal risk.
Measuring Mash pH
FREEQuestions about pH and its relationship to brewing are very deep. So deep in fact, that the pH scale was developed and introduced to the world in 1909 by Søren Peter Lauritz
Batch Sparge Temperature
MEMBERS ONLYI remember when I first began homebrewing back in 1986 and almost immediately wanted to start brewing all-grain. At that time the information related to homebrewing was a little more difficult to find and my quest for information quickly landed me in the stacks of McKeldin Library on the University of Maryland campus in College
Points Off? Defining gravity and why it matters
MEMBERS ONLYHomebrewers have been known to fret over their brewhouse efficiency numbers. Make sure you know the differences, the variables involved, and how to troubleshoot.
Adjusting Flavor Using Brewing Salts
MEMBERS ONLYThe Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) training material outlines a sensory training process for brewers and clubs using ingredients found around the home or the brewery. As Education Chair for the Aurora City Brew Club in Aurora, Colorado, I’ve expanded this test to include other flavors and particularly, solutions of brewing salts. In the past,
Curing Sparging Woes
MEMBERS ONLYThe likely culprit to this problem, assuming that you have been using the same basic recipe over the last 7–8 years, is beta-glucan from the flaked oats. I am betting on this ingredient because the problem you describe is typical for how high-molecular weight beta-glucan gums associated with certain grains, most notably unmalted oats, rye,
The Details of Step-Mashing
MEMBERS ONLYLet’s start out with two quick answers to your questions. Heating time is definitely an important part of the mash and it most certainly should be counted. In fact, control over the heating rate is often overlooked as a tool in the brewer’s arsenal of methods to wrangle the enzymatic changes that occur during mashing.
The Decoction Mash
MEMBERS ONLYDecoction 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 with its grueling brew day and extended mess. Like most things, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Decoction mashing is not done
Build This Brewstand
MEMBERS ONLYI’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 allure of homebrewing, I’ve also noticed the specific draw that brewing often has on the technical-minded individual. After all, modern brewing is an
The Perfect Crush
FREEMy summer crush began in the warmest months of 2017, shortly after quitting my corporate job to work full-time for MoreBeer! I know, most love stories don’t start with a change of
The Little Things: What Separates the Best from the Rest
MEMBERS ONLYWhat’s your secret?” It’s a question we get asked all the time and even more often since winning the National Homebrew Competition’s Ninkasi Award in 2017. But even before that, when we were consistently medaling at our local homebrew competitions in Texas, people would insist there must be some secret knowledge or ingredient we possess