Topic: Ingredients
SMaSH Brewing: Tips from the Pros
Digital and Plus Members OnlyWhile SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) beers are relatively simple by nature, that doesn’t mean they can’t taste great. Two brewers with SMaSH beers in their regular rotation share pointers for crafting a great SMaSH brew and the benefits of doing so.
Evaluating Brewing Ingredients
Digital and Plus Members OnlyA brewer must understand the impact each ingredient will have on the final beer in order to master recipe development. Get tips on how to properly evaluate each ingredient. With practice, everyone can master these skills and start brewing better beers.
The Many Forms of Hops
FREEThe world of hopping beers has been revolutionized in recent years. Make sure you are informed on the latest and greatest ways to get the most from the various hop products that are available in the marketplace these days.
Brewing Wheat Beers: Tips from the Pros
Digital and Plus Members OnlyTwo pros with gold medals to their names for wheat beers share advice on how to get the most from wheat and avoid the common pitfalls associated with the huskless grain.
Brewing with Wheat
Digital and Plus Members OnlyWheat has long been used by brewers across the world to contribute unique flavors compared to barley, as well as adding a softness and to improve head formation and retention. Learn more about how to use this sometimes-tricky ingredient and the styles that rely heavily on it.
SMaSH Brewing
Plus Members OnlySMaSH stands for Single Malt and Single Hop recipe design. SMaSH takes the idea of simplicity in brewing to its logical extreme — by limiting the brewer to one malt, one hop variety, and one yeast strain. It’s a great technique for brewers looking to simplify their beer, and move beyond the kitchen sink syndrome.
Oak Alternatives
Plus Members OnlyAging your homebrew in an oak barrel can add more dimensions to your beer by imparting complex wood characteristics such as vanilla, cloves, coconut, or caramel, but barrels are not ideal for everyone. You may not want to invest the money in buying a barrel, and there are also issues of space and additional time
Crafting Flavorful Hard Seltzers
Digital and Plus Members OnlyPhoto courtesy of Charles A. Parker/Images Plus Thanks for the fun question, Skip! Now that seltzers have been around for a couple of years, brewers have figured out that the best way to make clean bases is to pitch a mixture of nutrient and yeast into whatever sugar substrate is chosen, oxygenate at much higher
Using Hop Extracts
Plus Members OnlyHops contain hundreds of components including alpha and beta acids, hydrocarbons, thiols, tannins, enzymes, terpenes, and glycosides. The exact compounds and amounts differ depending on variety and growing conditions. Even with ideal storage (cold and low-oxygen), the ratios shift over time. Some processors isolate and concentrate specific hop compounds so that each can be added
Sugar Syrups
FREEWhile they can be time consuming, making them isn’t hard. Get the scoop on using and making your own sugar syrups for your brews.
Brewing with Lactose: Tips from the Pros
Digital and Plus Members OnlyMilk stout isn’t the only style brewed with lactose these days. Get tips on how, and why, you may use it in other styles.
Spiced Beer
FREEWintertime for homebrewers can often mean high-ABV beers and spiced ales. Get some pointers on adding a little spice to your next brew.