Writer: BYO Staff
Preventing Yeast Off-flavors: Tips from the Pros
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBrewer: Russ Seideman Brewery: Seidemann Brewing Co. Years of experience: seven months Education: BS in chemical engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison; MBA in management, Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School, Evanston, Ill. House Beers: Rio Salado Munich Export and Rio Salado Amber Altbier In general the more common off-flavors associated with yeast are phenolic and some
Munich Dark Lager
Digital and Plus Members OnlyAt one time probably all the beers of Munich were dark lagers. Prior to modern malting technology, maltsters kilned their malt by allowing the hot fumes from burning wood or coal to pass directly through the bed of grain. The maltster had little control over the degree of roasting the malt received. Consequently the malt
Wort Cooling: Tips from the Pros
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBrewer: Ed Falkenstein Brewery: Palmetto Brewing Co., Charleston, S.C. Years of experience: Four Education: B.S. in chemistry, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pa.; M.S. in chemical engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Md. House Beers: Palmetto Amber, Pale Ale, Porter The way we cool wort is consistent with our efforts to recycle everything. Most breweries, ours included,
Clean-In-Place System for Kegs
Digital and Plus Members OnlyHomebrewers who have graduated to kegs generally agree that kegs stand head and shoulders above bottles in convenience and ease of cleaning. But even cleaning kegs can be a pain in the neck. The traditional way uses a lot of water and cleaning agents, because you have to fill the keg nearly to the top
Roggenbier
Digital and Plus Members OnlyRye, the most distinctive of grains, conjures up strong reactions. Some beer enthusiasts prefer their rye bread with pastrami and a dollop of mustard while others prefer it on someone else’s plate. One could expect no less from a personality-packed dark, pungent grain that grows where other grains simply whither. Rye can be equally stubborn
Effective Lautering: Tips from the Pros
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBrewer: Mikoli Weaver Education: BS in food and science bio-chemistry from Universtiy of Washington; degree from Instituto di Cucina e Science, Tuscany To effectively lauter you need to effectively mash. Make sure you don’t disturb the mash process. I have a combination mash/lauter tun, so my grain just sits in the same bed. Then I
Oud Bruin
Digital and Plus Members OnlyAt one time “sour brown ale” probably described most of what was being served in the local tavern. Beers were brown because the malting of barley was as yet an inexact science, temperature controls were shaky at best, and really “pale” malts were undreamed of. No sparkly, clear pilsners here. Beers were sour because fermentation
Brewing a Pale Beer with Extract: Tips from the Pros
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBrewer: Don Gortemiller Brewery: Pacific Coast Brewing Co., Oakland, Calif. Years of experience: Nine Education: BS in physiology from University of California, Berkeley House Beers: Gray Whale (pale ale), Blue Whale (strong, hoppy amber ale), a rotating dark, usually Imperial Stout As a rule of thumb, when you want to make a pale beer from
Chocolate Porter #47
Digital and Plus Members Only"I’m a big porter and stout fan, and I think that I finally found the perfect porter recipe. It has a real full chocolate flavor and is quite creamy smooth."
– Jeff Atkins
Springfield, Ill.
Rauchbier
Digital and Plus Members OnlyI have had some memorable experiences with beer, and some of the best have been with my wife, Elizabeth: drinking bitter and playing gin rummy at Spinnaker’s (she cheats!); smuggling bottles of Ballard Bitter onto the inter-island ferry in the San Juans; and simply watching her expression when she takes the first taste of my
Specialty Grains: Tips from the Pros
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBrewer: Tim Schwartz Brewery: Bitter End Brewing, Austin, Texas Years of Experience: Two Education: Five years homebrewing House Beers: EZ Wheat, Bitter End Bitter, Aberdeen Amber, Austin Pale Ale, Hammerhead Porter, and Sledgehammer Stout The first consideration when using specialty grains is figuring out what type of beer you want. We know what our brewhouse
Mild Ale
Digital and Plus Members OnlyLow Alcohol Meets Full Flavor