Writer: Forrest Whitesides
Build a Draft Jockey Box
Digital and Plus Members OnlyYou have your kegerator set up and running smoothly; your friends love to drop by and drink your homebrew on tap. But now you (and they) want to bring your finely crafted brew out and about to parties, picnics, and other social gatherings. You could build a portable kegerator, but there is a cheaper and simpler alternative that also opens up the possibility of serving multiple kegs on the go: a jockey box.
Nitro Kegerator
Digital and Plus Members OnlySo you’ve got a kegerator, and you’re loving life now that you don’t have to bottle every batch of homebrew anymore. You also are the envy of family and friends because you serve finely crafted beer on draft in the comfort of your own home. But something is still missing: the ability to serve stouts,
Build a Kegerator
Digital and Plus Members OnlyIn this project, I’ll outline how to build a basic, two-tap kegerator. It’s not a cheap project, but the benefits are tremendous and well worth the money. Before you can get started buying all of the needed hardware, you need to decide if your kegerator is going to be housed in a refrigerator or chest
Carboy Spray Wand
Digital and Plus Members OnlyProbably every homebrewer’s least favorite part of the hobby is the sometimes staggering amount of cleaning that is required to produce a sanitary, contaminant-free batch of beer. And one of the most stubborn things to clean can often be that thick, nasty-looking ring of dried kräusen gunk that is almost always present after a healthy
Portable Draft System
Digital and Plus Members OnlyAdding a kegging system to your homebrew setup is often a welcome addition (and relief) to brewers. You can save time that would normally be spent bottling, precisely control and adjust carbonation levels, and you do not need to wait on the natural carbonation process. The problem arises when you want to take your finely
Build a Cooler Mash Tun
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThe heart and soul of any all-grain homebrewing system is the combination mash/lauter tun. “Mashing” is the hot water steeping process that results in sweet fermentable wort, while “lautering” is the process of separating the wort from the spent grains.) A third critical step in the process is sparging (technically a part of the
Rethinking Gluten-Free Homebrewing
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThe widening awareness of Celiac disease over the last several years has given rise to a huge new segment of food and beverages nationwide: Gluten-free. From cookies, pasta, bread and jams, to brewed libations, gluten-free is big business. And while there is a relative bevy of fermented beverages available to gluten-free beer connoisseurs on the
Sans Glutonne Saison
Digital and Plus Members OnlyLooking for a gluten-free saison recipe, this one balances hop profile with the spicy yeast character from french saison yeast strain.
Build a Mash Paddle
Digital and Plus Members OnlyIf you are an all-grain brewer, or if you do larger partial-mash batches, a mash paddle (or some equivalent) is a critical piece of brewing equipment to ensure that any “dough balls” (dry spots in the mash) are busted apart, that the mash temp is evenly distributed throughout the mash tun, and to generally just
Build a Recirculating Wort Chiller
Digital and Plus Members OnlyGiven that there are so many places in the world where fresh, potable water is a scarcity, I think the least we can do as enthusiasts of a water-intensive hobby is minimize water usage while brewing. One obvious place to start looking for water usage inefficiencies is the wort chilling process. This project, which turns
Build a Spice Infuser
Digital and Plus Members OnlyQuite a few seasonal beer styles or other specialty recipes call for the addition of various spices, herbs and other flavoring adjuncts that may not be part of your normal brewing regimen. Some recipes advise to add these spices during the boil, some during primary or secondary fermentation, and some may specify additions during multiple
Build a Budget Big Fermenter
Digital and Plus Members OnlyYou can reuse yeast multiple times, go in on a group purchase with other local brewers for hops or grain, or even consider lowering the target starting gravity on your recipes. With a little modification work and about $25, you can have a high-volume fermenter for increased batch sizes, reduced time requirements and even lower