Writer: Gordon Strong
Eis, Eis, Baby
Due to legal and practical constraints, eisbock is one of the few beer styles that is more geared for homebrewers than pros. The secret is freeze concentration, transforming the beer from one style into another.
Gordon Strong’s Eisbock
The secret of eisbock is the freeze concentration, transforming the beer from one style into another.
Old Ale
Old ale is a style that is difficult to define given how many variations there are. Gordon Strong does his best to offer some guidelines around what it is and how to brew an old ale worthy of aging.
Gordon Strong’s Old Ale
This old ale recipe can be drank young, but may be best if cellared for 6+ months.
Gordon Strong’s Braggot
A braggot with an English barleywine base beer with about half the fermentables coming from wildflower honey.
Braggot
Braggot is a unique beverage that is part mead and part beer. Different from honey beer as a larger percent of its fermentables come from honey, yet braggots can be made with a base beer style in mind. Learn more about what braggot is and three different approaches to making one.
Gordon Strong’s German Pilsner
This German Pilsner recipe can be used as a template for any hoppy Pilsner. Replace bittering hops with a first wort hop addition of a flavor hop, move flavor and aroma hops to the whirlpool or dry hopping, and alter the variety of hops to match the target profile for the style.
Gordon Strong’s British Brown Ale
The base malt is a mix of Maris Otter and Golden Promise. Torrified wheat provides some of the character flavor and a little body. Mid-range crystal malts provide some caramel flavors, and the light dose of chocolate malt gives enough of the nutty flavor without tasting overtly chocolate-like.
Pilsners of the World
The Pilsner beer style began in the Czech city of Pilsen, but has been adopted and adjusted to consumer tastes worldwide since its origin. Get to know the modern Pilsners of the world, what makes them different, and how you can make each at home.
British Brown Ale
British brown ale is open to a wide range of interpretations, however one constant is that the style is all about drinkability and balance. Learn more about its history, which at a time nearly went extinct, and how to brew your own version.
Gordon Strong’s Sweet Stout
This example is more like the Mackeson’s I remember — closer to 5% than 6. I also keep the IBUs down, around 25, since I don’t want the bitterness to stand out against the sweetness.
Rethinking Beer Faults
Gordon Strong has judged at literally hundreds of homebrew competitions. In that time, he’s sampled every beer fault known to man. He takes us through the rising trend of faults tied to newer brewing methods, how to detect them, their causes, and, most importantly, how to avoid them in future batches.
