Writer: Ashton Lewis
Yeast Slants, Candi Sugar, & Cold Crashing
The Wizard answers questions about creating yeast slants and building up a population of yeast from them. He also defines and offers advice around candi sugar and cold crashing.
Building a population from yeast slants
I think I am following your plan and will rephrase so that what follows is clear. You want to buy a single liquid pack, “borrow” a bit to prepare 7–8 slants, and
What is candi sugar?
Candy sugar (or “candi” sugar as it is commonly spelled) has a long history in Belgium because of the busy trading port of Antwerp. Until the 19th century, Europe did not produce
What does “cold crashing” mean?
Cold crashing is a topic that seems to have become hot lately with more and more mentions in social media groups about this catchy brewing term. Like many trending homebrewing topics, cold
Protein rests when brewing with wheat
This is a great question, Richard. The short answer is no, you do not need to do a protein rest when brewing with more than 25% wheat. However, many brewers want to
Freeze-drying yeast
Freeze-drying, or lyophilization, has been used for drying bacteria and yeast for nearly 100 years. The process begins by freezing, followed by subjecting the sample to a vacuum. The low pressure results
Simplifying homebrewing
This is a fun question that probably has more than a few people questioning my wisdom over the use of glass carboys. Just to be clear, I keep mine in a crate
Protein Rests, Freeze-Drying Yeast, & Simplifying Homebrewing
Is a protein rest necessary when brewing with a high percentage of wheat? The answer depends on the goals of the brewer, so understanding what this rest does, and doesn’t do, is important. The Wizard also discusses freeze-drying yeast and ways to make the homebrewing hobby simpler.
Explaining Hop Utilization
The term “boil efficiency” typically refers to “hop utilization” and relates hop alpha acids added to wort to iso-alpha acids in beer. I will use the standard term “hop utilization” in this
Why do some batches exhibit hop creep?
Let me start this answer off with a brief review of hop creep. This term refers to dry hopped fermentations that slowly ferment to a lower final gravity than they would without
An alternative way to judge beers in competition
Takeaways from the Japan Brewers Cup — Yokohama, Japan, February 9, 2024 Earlier this year, I had the great opportunity to travel to Japan to visit some breweries, give a presentation to a
Hop Creep, Hop Utilization, and a Different Approach to Beer Judging
Hop creep isn’t new, so why are we hearing so much more about it in recent years? Brewing scientists now believe it has to do with a push from brewers for hops to be kilned at lower temperatures to preserve aromatics. The Wizard also gets geeky about hop utilization and shares a different approach to beer competitions.
