Articles
Topic: Brewing Tips
Learning From Mistakes
A skill that separates great brewers from good ones is the ability to learn from mistakes and adapt their processes to minimize repeating those mistakes in the future.
Beating Summer’s Heat
Brewing outdoors in the summer can be uncomfortable and in some cases, even dangerous. We lay out tips for making it through summer’s heat with full fermenters.
Homebrewery Design
John Blichmann offers advice for setting up a homebrewery area that includes thought for practical brewing, storage, and maneuverability.
The Cool New Style: Cold IPA
Cold IPA is the latest IPA sub-style sweeping the nation (and beyond). It features a grain bill that includes adjuncts to dry out the finish and is often fermented warm with a lager yeast, making cold IPA the perfect style to showcase hops. A couple of pros, including the brewer who invented the style, share their advice and clone recipes.
Catharina Sour
Catharina sour — the fruited sour beer style that originated in Brazil — has continued to evolve and catch the attention of brewers across the world since hitting the international national stage just a few years ago. Learn to brew your own Catharina sour in time for summer with standard kettle-souring techniques and a whole lot of fresh fruit.
Traditional German Sours
Go into a brewery or craft beer bar with a decent tap list and there’s a pretty good chance you’ll find a fruited Berliner weisse or Gose. The styles have been revived over the past decade or so, however they are almost always brewed using the quick kettle-souring technique. To make a more complex version you need to revert to traditional techniques including mixed-fermentation, extended aging, no-boil, and bottle conditioning. Michael Tonsmeire shares how to bring these techniques to your homebrewed versions.
Kellerbier
Kellerbier is the beer of choice throughout much of Germany’s Franconia region. Yet, it is difficult to define kellerbier as there are hundreds of examples that may be pale or quite dark, and taste equally unique. Learn about the history of these young, unfiltered lagers from a brewer who spent a decade at the source, plus tips on brewing your own at home.
Thinking Brew-In-A-Bag: Helpful tips for this style of brewing
The popularity of brew-in-a-bag type brewing systems has exploded over the last five years. Denny and Drew look at some factors to make the most of your brew day when using this style of system.
Germany’s Beers of Autumn
Fall in Germany means Märzen and festbier! Learn about the history and differences of these styles, plus get tips straight from some of the greatest brewers on how they create their examples.
Recovering from Brew Day Mishaps
Even experienced homebrewers occasionally forget a step, take their eye off of things, or miscalculate additions. Let’s explore what can be done to get your brew day back on track when this happens.
One Style, Many Strengths
From session to imperial strength beers, the alcohol content plays a significant role in a beer’s character. But creating balanced beers at different strengths cannot always be accomplished by simply scaling ingredients up or down. Get a better understanding of the intricacies of brewing beers at different strengths.
Love What You Do: Stop worrying and enjoy the brew
Most homebrewers know the Charlie Papazian saying, “Relax, don’t worry, have a homebrew.” But many of us don’t necessarily follow that dogma. Denny and Drew want to change that.
