One of the first challenges every homebrewer faces is cooling hot wort. Most of us (and probably some you now) are going through the pain of cooling your wort in an ice bath in the sink. That is where I started. I had sticker shock when I saw the price of chillers. My first chiller was made with copper tubing from HomeDepot. It was kind of wonky, but it worked. I eventually settled on a plate chiller. I currently use a Shirron Plate Chiller. I have used it so much that ink from the label wore off several years ago. The plate chiller is great. I have my process down and have never had the … [Read more...]
Belgian Pale Ale Split Between Two Yeasts
Sometimes limitations are good. Originally, I wanted to bring you the next in an on-going installment comparing saison yeasts. But sometimes the homebrew gods have other plans… I didn’t find what I wanted, but the yeasts I found inspired, what I think is a better idea. Today I am going to introduce many of you to the humble Belgian Pale Ale. It not a style that is easy to find in the US. It is not as distinctive as saison. … [Read more...]
How to Ditch Your Gas Brewery for Electric (without electrocuting yourself)
Are you are a master electrician? Do you understand all of the ins and outs of capacitors, potentiometers, and ground wires? Most importantly, are your skills so good that you’d be willing to touch a stainless steel kettle filled with 10-gallons of hot wort after wiring it up? No? Me either. This article is for the electrically challenged, like us. There is a lot of information out there for building all electric systems. But this article is for the mere mortals among us that want the advantages of electric brewing without electrocuting ourselves or burning down our homes. I … [Read more...]
Evolution of a Recipe: From a Mediocre Pale Ale to 8 Delicious Variations
Brewing used to seem like magic to me. It was a mix of expertise and alchemy that seemed unattainable. I assumed that my first all-grain recipe, pulled off the internet, was created by someone with special knowledge. As I looked at the grain bill with over 9 different types of grain, I marveled at the contribution of each grain to the finished beer. I know now that the recipe I grabbed was a jumbled hodgepodge created by a beginner. Before I became a brewer, I spent nearly 10-years working in restaurants. I got my first job when I was 13. Prepping seafood, washing dishes, and bussing … [Read more...]
A Tale of Two Saisons: What to Do When Disaster Strikes
Complacency and hubris are your enemies as a homebrewer. I'm aware of their danger, but they got me anyway. This is the story of a cool idea I was cooking up for you guys. How it went wrong. And how I recovered. I love Saisons. It is my favorite style by far. It was one of the first styles I brewed that I was proud to serve. Although it is getting easier to find, it is still hard to find on a commercial basis. I brew it frequently because I like to have it on hand all of the time. Over the years, I have run through many different saison yeast strains. The WLP Saison III is my favorite. … [Read more...]
Tips for Brewing Big Beers with BIAB
These statements about Brew in a Bag (BIAB) sound familiar? “Are you doing BIAB to learn about all-grain brewing?” “BIAB is a good stepping stone to real brewing” “You can’t get good efficiency BIAB, you can't brew big beers” I have heard all the misconceptions about BIAB floating around. Most of the ‘information’ came from genuinely well-intentioned brewers, while some of it from patronizing ones. Let me assure you that any beer you can make with a three-tiered rig you can also make with your BIAB setup. You can overcome any of the differences with some small process … [Read more...]
Review of Popular BIAB Bags
Thinking of skipping this post because you’re not a BIAB brewer? Wrong move. Because I’m about to tell you why every all-grain brewer -- even 3 vessel brewers -- should own a BIAB bag. … [Read more...]