Writer: Stephen Stanley
Recovering from Brew Day Mishaps
Digital and Plus Members OnlyEven experienced homebrewers occasionally forget a step, take their eye off of things, or miscalculate additions. Let’s explore what can be done to get your brew day back on track when this happens.
Continual Improvements
FREEAfter a recipe is first conceptualized and then brewed is when the toughest work begins in perfecting that recipe. It (usually) doesn’t go from good to great on a second brew, but instead requires small tweaks from batch-to-batch. By changing one facet of a recipe each time it is brewed, that change can be analyzed, criticized, and lead to continual improvements.
Mamacita’s Dark Kölsch
FREEMamacita’s Dark Kölsch (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.050 FG = 1.014IBU = 27 SRM = 21 ABV = 4.7% An homage to St. Arnold Brewing’s Santo, which was in the brewery’s
Counting Calories & Carbs
Digital and Plus Members OnlyAll beer has calories and empty carbs, but they don’t all have the same amount. Learn how to calculate the amount of calories and carbs in the beers you brew at home, as well as some tips for the health-conscious folks about how to brew beers with less.
Piwo Grodziskie
Digital and Plus Members OnlyPiwo Grodziskie (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) OG = 1.037 FG = 1.007 IBU = 30 SRM = 4 ABV = 3.9% Ingredients7 lbs. (3.2 kg) oak-smoked wheat malt0.6 lb. (0.27 kg) German pale ale malt14 oz. (0.4 kg) rice hulls5.6 AAU Saaz hops (60 min.) (1.6 oz./45 g at 3.5% alpha acids)7 AAU Saaz hops (0 min.)
Brewing Priorities for Beginners
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBeer is easy to make. People brewed beer for thousands of years without the benefit of computers, digital wireless hydrometers, or PID controllers — or, for that matter, even basic thermometers and hydrometers. Because we do not have direct control over the biological processes that make beer, we rely on production procedures to make wort
Beginner’s Luck Pale Ale
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBeginner’s Luck Pale Ale (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.054 FG = 1.012IBU = 32 SRM = 10 ABV = 5.5% Ingredients10 lbs. (4.5 kg) pale 2-row malt1 lb. (0.45 kg) crystal malt (60 °L)6 oz. (170 g) acidulated malt (optional)7.5 AAU Magnum hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 15% alpha acids)7.5 AAU Centennial hops
Adjusting Flavor Using Brewing Salts
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThe Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) training material outlines a sensory training process for brewers and clubs using ingredients found around the home or the brewery. As Education Chair for the Aurora City Brew Club in Aurora, Colorado, I’ve expanded this test to include other flavors and particularly, solutions of brewing salts. In the past,