Homebrewing Tips Category on HomeBrewAcademy

Not too long ago, Billy B. wrote an article about the types of brewers personalities there are. He made the comment that while we may find one personality fits us more than others, we all have a little bit of all of these personalities in us as … [Read more...] about Break the Mold – Experiment!

A handful of us homebrewing bloggers on HomebrewTalk got together and decided to do a group review of brewing software programs a la The Session. Devon over at Hollis Brewing Company is spearheading the effort and has links to all of the review … [Read more...] about Homebrew Software Collaborative Review

I can remember when I first got into brewing, my brew days would be an almost spur of the moment ordeal. It would start with a phone call: Me: “Hey! I’m thinking about brewing. Interested?” Friend: “Sure! When you thinking about doing … [Read more...] about How do you plan your brewdays? Poll

Last month, the two Billys brewed up winter warmers for the Group Brew. It's time to see how these cold weather concoctions turned out. Check out that post for the original recipes, and here are our tasting notes. Billy Ellison's Hot Apple … [Read more...] about November Group Brew Tasting

One thing that bothers me about home brewing is the wasted water.  With all the cleaning, rinsing and chilling, there is a lot of wasted water. In the past few months I have really tried capture … [Read more...] about Build a Recirculating Wort Chiller

Admit it, you’ve either heard about it, or dreamt about owning one. Whether it’s a RIMS or a HERMS system, brewing automation is the grand achievement that we’re all gunning for. Whether it’s the Brew Magic System you are salivating over or the … [Read more...] about Eagerly Waiting for The Tower of Power

For me, winter is a love-hate relationship. When I moved to the Midwest, I was allured by the possibility of snow. The first year or so, I was showered with white puffy awesomeness. Lately though, the meaner side of the midwest has shown … [Read more...] about Winter Warmer – November Group Brew

I've bought homebrew supplies from about 6 different brick and mortar stores, and some are definitely better than others. None of them are what I would consider "bad." They're homebrew stores after all, so you have to do something really … [Read more...] about 5 Characteristics of a Great Homebrew Store

Over the past few years, I've been doing something that has improved my beer with nothing other than patience. For each batch of homebrew I make,  I hang on to about 5 bottles in order to see how they develop over time. In doing so I've had … [Read more...] about The 5 Bottle Rule

Given my love affair with all things English beers, it is not surprising that one of my favorite methods for serving beer is the venerable cask. That being said, translating cask ale to the homebrewing scene is no simple task. The most tricky … [Read more...] about Make Cask Ale at Home with Polypins

The evolution of a homebrewer is an interesting road to follow. I can still remember my first "brewpot", the handful of grains, the DME. It was a happy day finishing up that first beer and being satisfied with the 5 gallons of liquid sitting in … [Read more...] about Journey to the RIMS: Part 1

Stuck fermentation. These 2 works strike fear into the heart of any homebrewer, and most of us that have been brewing for a while have had it happen. Your beer is bubbling along just fine and then all of a sudden it comes to a crashing halt … [Read more...] about How I Froze My Beer and Brought It Back to Life

Have you ever realized about half way into your brew day that you missed a step? How about when you get all your ingredients out and you find out you forgot to buy something? Well, I have done both and it can pretty much ruin your brew day, and … [Read more...] about Homebrewing Checklist

First Wort Hopping (FWH) is a hop addition to your boil kettle before you begin your sparge or lauter. At that point you sparge your mash tun with the runoff mixing with the hops that you added. It is as easy as that! The better question becomes, why … [Read more...] about First Wort Hopping

Typically seen in commercial brewing as Rye Pale Ales (Founder's Red Rye Ale or Terrapin Rye Pale Ale), rye is a versatile ingredient that can add an additional level of complexity to almost any style. Rye may be my second favorite ingredient to … [Read more...] about Tips for Brewing with Rye