Topic: All Grain Brewing
Adding Extract to Make Big Beers
I love this idea for a number of reasons. The first reason is that many malt extracts seem to be less fermentable than the preference of my palate. If you open a
Mash pH Importance
Mash pH is extremely important. Enzyme activity is a function of pH and all enzymes are only active in a relatively narrow range around their optimum pH. In the case of mashing,
Batch Sparging Temperatures
This question is a bit more about semantics than any real issues with sparge temperature, in my view of things. Bear with me while I explain how commercial brewers normally mash out
Mash Hopping
Thanks for the good question, Keith. I have always thought that the notion of adding hops early in the process, either as mash additions or pre-boil additions to the kettle, in an
Reiterated Mashing
During an episode of the Brew Strong podcast, the topic was raised about brewing really high-gravity beers where mash tun space was limited. This is actually a very common question: What is
Expanding Your All-Grain Equipment for Bigger Batches
The last ten years have been a period of intense rapid growth and change in the homebrewing community and industry. The average homebrewer now has more brewing knowledge, equipment, and high quality
Step-by-Step All-Grain Brewing
Like many homebrewers, my first batch of beer was made with a basic extract kit, complete with instructions and all the ingredients necessary for my brew of choice. I enjoyed the whole
Lautering 101
If you’re an extract brewer thinking about going all-grain, one of the most important steps to understand, after mashing, is lautering. Lautering is the process by which the brewer separates the
Starches in the Mash: Mr. Wizard
Q Do starches quickly become solubilized or do they remain trapped in the grist when the strike water is added? This question is regarding how a recirculating system behaves and whether there
Brew In A Bag Mash Efficiency
New and experienced all-grain brewers moving to Brew-In-A-Bag (BIAB) techniques often have concerns about how it will affect their mash. BIAB traditionally uses a full volume mash, which means the ratio of
Brew In A Bag Best Practices
You’ve heard by now that Brew-In-A-Bag (BIAB) is an easy way to start all-grain brewing — and it’s true! But that doesn’t mean, however, that it doesn’t require some attention to detail.
Steeping & Soaking Grains
Steeping is the soaking of specialty malts, grains, and spices in water to extract flavors and aromas that we want to incorporate into our beer. It is, in essence, the making of
