Spirits and liquors are all created using a millennium-old process called distillation. While many of the ingredients and processes vary dramatically, they all rely on this ancient process. Good distillation is part art, part science. It takes an artisan's keen and developed senses to properly "cut" the product during this process. However, it is equally important that there be some serious attention to detail. Ingredient ratios, temperatures, and time are all variables that must be exact in order for the product to turn out right. In this post we'll go through the basic steps a distiller must … [Read more...]
FastWasher Bottle Washing System Review
Everyone likes a party, but no one wants to clean. Easily the best part about homewbrewing is drinking the fruits (and grains) of your labor. But cleaning and sanitizing your home brewery equipment... THAT'S another story. Bottle cleaning is tedious and a time commitment, but necessary if you're brewing enough to save and share. But there's a new product you need to hear about called the FastWasher Bottle Washing System from the team at FastBrewing have just released the this new product and we're a big fan. We'll get to that in a second, first, here's a great way to clean your … [Read more...]
You’ll Never Believe What The Fastest Growing Alcoholic Beverage Is
It may come as a surprise to all of us craft-beer loving homebrewers (or not) but right now across the country, mead is actually leading the growth of new alcoholic beverages. Mead happens to be the oldest fermented beverage on the planet. It predates everything, yes, even beer, with cave drawings of early man enjoying it. And it's has been consumed by people of all cultures around the world, across time, from ancient Greece and Egypt, through India, and Africa. Most people who've tried mead have done so at a Renaissance festival. It is mentioned extensively in the tale "Beowulf" … [Read more...]
Wet Hops Vs. Dry Hops: Is It Worth The Effort?
Every homebrewer has used dry hops, those little pellets of aroma and flavor that have such a huge impact on your final product. You may even have a favorite hop variety, one that offers just the right flavor profile to tickle your particular taste buds. Most of us, however, have never used hops in their ‘raw,’ fresh form, also known as "wet hops." That’s because hops must be used or dried fairly quickly after being harvested. For the dedicated homebrewer, using wet hops is totally worth the extra effort. They provide a fresher, cleaner flavor and aroma that can’t be duplicated with dry … [Read more...]
The Story Of America Is The Story Of Beer
"If you want to talk about the history of immigration in America, or urbanization or the expansion of transportation networks, really any subject that you want to explore, you can talk about it through beer," says Theresa McCulla, the first brewing historian at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. This episode and the full article was published here on NPR. Fascinating! … [Read more...]
Does Beer Hops Really Protect Against Liver Disease?
Here's some exciting new science that helps us hoppy-beer lovers justify our passions with healthy rationale. According to a new study that found that hops protect against the build up of hepatic fat, a good ol' pale ale may improve our chances of keeping a healthy liver. This may help to explain why folks who drink spirits tend to be more likely to develop liver disease than those who normally stick to the ambers. It suggests that beers with more hops are probably the healthiest. (Hop hop hooray! Sorry bout that. could.not.resist.) The buildup of fat in the liver is one of the … [Read more...]