Articles
Topic: Brewing Tips
Seasonal Pumpkin Alternatives: Tips from Pros
Breweries across the country turn to pumpkins for their fall seasonals. However, a few brewers are treading their own paths and finding seasonal alternatives such as sweet potatoes, yams, and squash. Here
Fruit Beer Brewing Techniques
I drank my first fruit beer around 1980. It was a Belgian kriek (that is cherry flavored), which I came across in South Africa. The fruit flavor was somewhat muted, but the
Blending Sour Beers with the Solera Method
Rather than blending to taste at bottling, a solera relies on mixing beers of multiple ages together during aging. When a portion is removed for packaging, the volume is replaced with younger beer. The younger beer can be unfermented, fermented, or even soured. In this way, the solera slowly evolves.
Making Your Own Flavored Syrups for Berliner Weisse
Berliner weisse is a style of beer that is frequently sweetened in the glass with a dash of flavored syrup, which is known as “with a shot,” or “mit Schuss” in German.
Brewing Consistently
“Play it again Sam” This quote is often used, but actually was never said in the film Casablanca (look it up if you don’t believe me). I have used it here because
Preventing Diacetyl
Vicinal diketones (VDKs) are the products of normal beer fermentation within a brewery. The two VDKs that are of primary concern to brewers are 2,3-butanedione (diacetyl) and 2,3-pentanedione. Diacetyl in a finished
Brewing Hoppy American-Style Beers
During the past 20 years or so, there has been an obvious upward trend in modern American brewing culture when it comes to the creation and consumption of hoppy beers. Hoppy American-style
Blending Homebrews
There is nothing new about blending beers, wines or spirits — humankind has been doing it for centuries. It is often done at the bar, notably with cocktails, wines made from different
Brewing With Honey
Honey has been used in brewing for thousands of years. As far back as 700 BC, honey was used by at least one Iron Age tribe in a mixed beverage that might
Brewing with Honey: Tips from Pros
Mead may get all the press when it comes to fermenting beverages with honey, but there are many craft beers with a taste of honey out there. In this issue, two honey-friendly
Celebrating Sierra Nevada: Brewing Tips & Clone Recipes
About twelve years ago, I first met Sierra Nevada Brewing Company Founder Ken Grossman at the Northern California Homebrew Festival in Napa, California. Ken was the keynote speaker. His talk began with
Brewing Strong Ales
If you ask 10 different brewers to define “strong ale,” you will likely get 11 different answers. Brewers around the world have always made bigger, stronger ales for special occasions, for blending
