An Added Insurance: Yeast starters are one of the biggest insurances a homebrewer can do to help their beer. The homebrew experts tend to say that a wort that is over 1.070 starting gravity, a starter is best to include with their brew day. Starters should be made at least 24 hours prior to pitching the yeast. I have never been too big on making starters for every batch of beer I brew. I am usually brewing beers with starting gravities of 1.070 and lower. On the rare occasion that I am brewing up a Russian Imperial Stout or Belgian Quad, I have taken the extra insurance of … [Read more...]
Seasonal Brewing – Oktoberfest Recipe
We live our lives by the seasons. For instance, the end of the football season means baseball’s Spring Training is right around the corner. Well, for some people, like Raiders fans, it starts sooner -- maybe around Halloween. But there’s always the next sports season to look forward to. Tour the Baseball Hall of Fame and Brewery Ommegang! It’s the same with brewing. Since it takes time for your beer to ferment and bottle condition, it’s good to do some advance planning. You might want to beef up the bullpen, as it were, or start looking at some interesting young prospects in the form of … [Read more...]
Why Barley Brewing Is Better for the Environment
Brews or beers are made from a variety of grains, so each has a different taste and different properties. Corn produces a smooth, sweet beer. Oats add creaminess and fullness to beers. Rice adds snappiness to a beer’s flavor, while rye adds spiciness and complexity to a brew. Wheat creates a smooth, full-bodied brew. However, barley is the most common grain used in brews. Barley is popular as a brewing grain because of its flavor, nutritional properties and benefits to the environment. What is Barley? Barley is a grain that is in the grass family. Barley has many uses as livestock feed, … [Read more...]
The Loral Hoped IPA Yanny
Loral variety is a hop coming out of Hops Brewing Company (HBC), a joint venture between John I. Hass and Select Botanicals Group. Considering the popularity of HBC’s Mosaic and Citra hops, this hop is in some pretty stellar company. With thirteen years spent experimenting with this hop, Loral finally made its way into consumer’s hand May of 2016. From Experimental Hop to the Big Times Initially known as HBC 291, this hop has become known in the beer world as Loral Hops. The aroma profile of this hop has some great floral, peppery, and even herbal notes to it, reminiscent of German noble … [Read more...]
Hop-head vs. Malt-head
Let’s talk Style. No, not beer styles - fashion. We’ll get to the beer later. Have you ever seen someone who still wore those clown-width neckties from the 70s? Or that guy who still rocked the MC Hammer harem pants? Or skinny jeans? Have you ever been that guy? Don’t answer that last question. The point is, fashions come and go. This is as true for beer as it is for clothing. IPAs have been a trend in the American Craft Beer scene for a few years now. It seems every microbrewery and brewpub has a beer they playfully label as “Toxic” or “Mega-Bitter.” And, of course, we’ve … [Read more...]
The Metamorphosis – A Four-Hour Boil
In recent months there has been a lot of talk in the homebrewing community about how homebrewers can reduce their brew times all the while still creating a delicious beer. Simple Homebrew Denny Conn and Drew Beechum over at Experimental Brewers have an entire book dedicated to this subject matter. Simple Homebrew, coming out this Spring, is a book about “cutting through the clutter” as Drew mentions. Denny adds, “our basic message is to cut out anything that doesn’t make for a better beer or more fun.” One point Denny and Drew want to make here is “that simple doesn’t mean it’s just for … [Read more...]
The Spruce Tip Experience
It is said that Spruce Tips impart various flavors associated with the needle buds that are found on spruce trees. Spruce tips impart a great combination of citrus, pine, resinous, floral, and even cola-like flavor. The history of using spruce tips takes us back to indigenous North American people. Jacques Cartier and his explorers used spruce tips while exploring what is now Quebec in 1535 as Derek Ebberts writes in his book, To Brew or Not to Brew: A Brief History of Beer in Canada. The use for these spruce tips was to ward off scurvy. Spruce tips typically are harvested in the spring. … [Read more...]
Small Batches = Big Results
Here’s a riddle: When does smaller mean bigger? Answer: When it’s your homebrew pipeline. A lot of novice homebrewers start with small batches and that makes a lot of sense. You don’t want to invest money, time, and space on a hobby that might not work out (and let’s face it, for someone new to brewing, it seems like a cross between rocket science and black magic). And there are companies that specialize in kits and equipment for new small-batch brewers. That’s how I got my start, along with thousands of others. But if the fever really gets hold of you, the tendency is to go big - … [Read more...]
Reiterated Mashing: Brewing High Gravity Beers
After I brewed my Oktoberfest, my mind started wondering to big beers. You know, those beers that look forward to after shoveling the snow in December or January. Those beers that warm your bones as you sip it next to the fire. After brewing a Belgian Stout a few days prior, I felt the need to brew up a nice Imperial Porter. Somehow with all the crazy attention Barrel Aged Stouts and Pastry Stouts receive these days, Imperial Porters have pretty much gone to the waste side. This was my effort, however minimal and innocuous, to bring more attention to this wonderful beer style. One of the … [Read more...]