Topic: Mr Wizard
Equipping a kegerator with gas on the outside
There is something about homebrewing that seems to result in debates about the home. The most frequent seems to involve brewers commandeering the kitchen and leaving it a wreck. This,
Beers dispensed with nitrogen
Wizard relies: Although I have been known to do my fair share of trash talking, I tend to avoid jabbing with groups that are vigorous in their support of brewing tradition.
Bottling from a keg
Kary, let me begin by stating for you and other readers that I absolutely despise oxidized beer. When I was a student at UC-Davis (located down the hill from Placerville), one of
High OG Measurements
The easy thing to do here is to stick to lower gravity beers and you won’t have to address this problem. But if you are like most homebrewers and craft brewers who
Steeping oats and flaked barley
I assume when you use the term “serious brewing references” you mean texts that are full of chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology and engineering principles. These serious references are totally devoid of recipes and
Choosing bittering hops
In my experience, variety does matter whether you are substituting hops in a recipe primarily for bittering or for aroma. The compounds in hops that contribute bitterness to beer are the alpha
Understanding Pitching Rates
Wizard responds: I went to the Wyeast Web site to do a little bit of recon before answering this question. I found the site very informative and did see much of the
Brewing with maple syrup
Wizard responds: I assume that the maple syrup aroma faded some during fermentation and that is the reason why you wish to add more maple syrup to the beer at the
Cause of my diacetyl
At first glance I suspect that the yeast strains you like may be the culprit. Most of the strains are described as highly flocculent on the Wyeast Web site and these
Why homebrew?
This question, albeit one of the campier questions I have received, left me scratching my head for an answer for several days. I can only answer by combining my personal feelings with
Steam sanitation
Heat, especially moist heat, is an excellent way to sanitize and even sterilize brewing equipment. If you partially fill your keg with water, bring it to a boil and restrict the flow
Health and Homebrew
I am sure there are many opinions about how to answer your question. You could add all sorts of additives to a beer to make some sort of beer/protein booster drink, but
