Writer: Terry Foster
Brewing During Prohibition
A book published by and for a group of New England homebrewers in 1932 sheds light on the challenges homebrewers faced to brew beer during Prohibition. While the production of beer was illegal in the U.S. at the time, many breweries stayed in business by making malt extract, which creative homebrewers used to make beer. We go back in time to share how they did it.
The Beer That Drinks Like a Wine
Fresh off his latest book Brewing Barley Wines: Origins, History, and Making Them at Home Today, Terry Foster shares the keys and five different approaches to brewing a great barleywine at home.
KISS Barleywine
This barleywine gets all of its fermentable sugars from malt extract. It’s easier and much less time-consuming than brewing all-grain barleywine.
All Together Ale
This is the classic method for brewing barleywines — of an extended three-hour boil to reach the extremely high-gravity wort that will go into the fermenter. Note that the final beer will reduce from 6 gallons (23 L) at the start of the boil to 3.3 gallons (12.5 L) going into the fermenter (and around 3 gallons/11 L to be packaged).
American Beer, as it Was
Recently rediscovered brewing journals from a large Connecticut brewery dating back more than a century can teach us a lot about how beer was produced. Get an inside look at the journals and some of the popular recipes of the pre-Prohibition time.
Home Pale Lager (1915)
Home Brewing Co.’s Assistant Brew Master Alphonse Gosch gives no information as to whether this beer was lagered at low temperature. He does say the beer was racked to casks after eleven days, which suggests it was not further processed.
Home Pale Ale (1913)
Home Pale Ale (1913) (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG =1.049 FG = 1.009 IBU = 24 SRM = 3 ABV = 5.2% There is very little difference between the historic Home Brewing Co.’s Pale
Home Golden Age Ale (1910)
Home Golden Age Ale (1910) (5 gallons/19 L, all grain)OG = 1.082 FG = 1.015IBU = 80 SRM = 5 ABV = 8.8% This is by far the Home Brewing Co.’s biggest
Home ULIA Porter (1904)
This was a one-off brew that may look to have been a little harsh due to the quite high proportion of black malt and the low level of pale malt, but it proved to be a very nice brown porter when I reproduced it. My research has not turned up the meaning of “ULIA.”
Brewing with Wheat
Wheat has long been used by brewers across the world to contribute unique flavors compared to barley, as well as adding a softness and to improve head formation and retention. Learn more about how to use this sometimes-tricky ingredient and the styles that rely heavily on it.
What’s Up Wheatwine
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.093 FG = 1.025 IBU = 64 SRM = 16 ABV = 9% Ingredients10 lbs. (4.5 kg) white wheat malt 4 lbs. (1.8 kg) North American 2-row pale malt 2
American Wheat
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG =1.048 FG = 1.010IBU = 15 SRM = 4 ABV = 5% Ingredients7 lbs. (3.2 kg) North American 2-row pale malt3 lbs. (1.4 kg) white wheat malt0.5 lb.
