Writer: Michael Tonsmeire
New Pumpkin Beer Styles
The leaves will soon be changing, the air is getting crisp, and pub brewers everywhere cringe as they clean pumpkin goo from their mash tuns for the eighth time already! Thirty years
Brewing Hoppy Fruit Beers
I arrived home to find a re-taped cardboard box with a Florida return address. I used to occasionally trade beer so I could sample breweries that didn’t distribute to the Mid-Atlantic. I
Candi Sugars & Syrups
Malt contributes most of the Maillard reaction products in beer, but in this column we take a look at the other ingredients affected by the Maillard reaction. Plus: Make your own Belgian candi syrup.
Evaluating Hop Oil Content
There are no “Cascade” or “Saaz” aroma molecules, rather the relative proportions of hop oils drive their aroma contributions. The same four oils constitute 60-90% of the essential oils in every hop variety.
Experimenting with Cider
As every devoted homebrewer knows, hard cider can be boring to make. You need only two ingredients for cider — apples and yeast — and starting a batch requires just five minutes
Foraging for Wild Brewing Ingredients
There was a long time when nature was humanity’s supermarket, pharmacy, and even homebrewing store. When our ancestors wanted a beer they first had to gather and process grain to provide sugar,
Blending Sour Beers with the Solera Method
Rather than blending to taste at bottling, a solera relies on mixing beers of multiple ages together during aging. When a portion is removed for packaging, the volume is replaced with younger beer. The younger beer can be unfermented, fermented, or even soured. In this way, the solera slowly evolves.
Dark Lagers: The New Possibility
There are few countries where a lager is not the best selling beer. Despite this, ales were the foundation for both American homebrewing and craft brewing. For many brewers the decision to
Fermented Foods: Making Sauerkraut, Yogurt, Sourdough & Malt Vinegar at Home
“Brew” something else in your kitchen besides beer. Learn how to make your own sauerkraut, malt vinegar, sourdough bread, and yogurt.
Running Wild Fermentations at Home
“I remember several years ago Jean Van Roy at Cantillon telling me, ‘You can spontaneously ferment in the United States, but, keep in mind that it probably won’t be the same way
Hoppy Sour Beers
We explore three techniques for adding hops to some of your favorite sour styles. Plus: 3 hoppy sour beer recipes.
Understanding pH
Learn how, and when, to adjust your pH.
