Writer: BYO Staff
Wine Myths Debunked
Digital and Plus Members Only
Wine Equipment Basics: Buckets and Beyond
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThere’s a saying in the wine industry (and perhaps, less congenially, in the brewing industry as well) that “wine just makes itself.” Thousands of years ago, when wine was “discovered,” this was certainly true. All a nomadic hunter and gatherer had to do was to stay in one place long enough for his pit of
Brewing with Fruit: Tips from the Pros
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBrewer: Brook Belli Brewery: Oaken Barrel Brewing Co. Years of experience: Pro for four years and homebrewer for four years Education: Civil Engineering Degree at Virginia Tech, Siebel Institute Degree House Beers: Meridian Street Lager, Big Red, Leroy Brown, Razz Wheat, Snake, Snakepit Porter What happens when your brewery grows faster than planned, when you
Mastering the Step Mash: Tips from the Pros
Digital and Plus Members Only
Evaluating Beer Flavor: Tips from the Pros
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBrewer: David Berg Brewery: Water Tower Brewing Co., Eden Prairie, Minn. Years of experience: 1.5 Education: American Brewers Guild House Beers: Eden Mill Gold, Pappy’s Brown Porter, Old Tower Amber, Flying Horse Pale Ale, Pergatory Creek Stout Each of your senses affects the others, so the order in which you evaluate beer is important. Use a concave
Making Brown Malt
Digital and Plus Members OnlyYes, you can make your own brown malt by roasting pale malt in the oven. You can also make chocolate malt and black patent malt by the same process. The difficulty in roasting your own malt is control, but it can be done if you are attentive and have a method to quickly cool the
American Pilsner
Digital and Plus Members OnlyIf barley be wanting to make into malt, We must be content and think it no fault, For we can make liquor to sweeten our lips, Of pumpkins, and parsnips, and walnut-tree chips. — American Poet, 1630 from Drinking in America by Mark E. Lender and James Martin (Simon & Schuster) The beer that came
Control Beer Color: Tips from the Pros
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBrewer: Keith Wayne Brewery: Tahoe Mountain Brewing Co., Stateline, Nev. Years of experience: 41/2 years Education: BS in fermentation science and completion of Master Brewer’s Program, University of California, Davis; Member of Institute of Brewing, London House Beers: Sand Harbor Honey Blond, Freel Peak Wheat, Cave Rock Pale Ale, Snowflower Red, Mt. Tallac Oatmeal Stout
How long will my beer stay fresh in a keg?
FREEDear Mr. Wizard: I am thinking of kicking the bottle habit and kegging my beer instead. My biggest concern is storage temperature and how long my beer will stay good in a
What’s the best way to check the temperature of a mash?
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThe best way to check mash temperature is with a calibrated-dial or alcohol-filled thermometer. The easiest way to calibrate a thermometer is by filling a glass with ice cubes and then filling the glass with water. In a few minutes the water temperature will drop to 32° F. If the thermometer is a dial-type, it most likely has an adjustment screw or the
Fruit Beer: Tips from the Pros
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBrewer: Peter Bouckaert Brewery: New Belgium Brewing Co., Ft. Collins, Colo. Years of experience: Nine Education: Degree in biochemistry in brewery and fermentation technology from CTL in Ghent, Belgium House Beers: Fat Tire (amber ale), Sunshine Wheat, Old Cherry Ale, Abbey (Belgian double abbey style), Trippel (Belgian triple abbey style); special releases include Frambozen, Saison, Abbey Grand
Doppelbock
Digital and Plus Members OnlyDoppelbock traces its history to a monastic brewery founded in 1634 in the Bavarian town of Munich. To sustain them during periods of religious fasting such as Lent and Advent, the Pauline monks drank a dark, sweet beer called Sankt Vater Bier or Holy Father Beer. If eating and drinking nothing but doppelbock for four