Brewer's Friend

Archive for January, 2010

Yeast Washing 101

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

Yeast washing is a simple, yet useful procedure that will allow you to harvest, store, and re-use yeast from your own yeast bank for pennies per brew session. Please review how to make a starter and why a stir plate to help you best re-activate your yeast after cold ...

Malt Conditioning

Saturday, January 16th, 2010

I find that the longer I brew, the more involved I become in the process and the mechanics of every detail. Learning new techniques and testing them on your own is part of the joy of having a hobby as vast as home brewing. Some new processes or ...

StirStarter Equipment Review

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

An essential tool in the home brewer's kit is a stir plate. Using a stir plate with a yeast starter boosts yeast cell counts dramatically*. This leads to healthier fermentation, and thus better beer! I recall using a stir plate in chemistry lab. In that case it ...