Archive for the ‘Brewing’ Category
Saturday, November 12th, 2011
For the first time in many years I experienced a bad batch of home brewed beer last month. I am sharing this with the community so you can avoid my mistake. It is embarrassing! Being out the time and money for the batch and having an empty keg sucks. However, I ...
Posted in Brewing, Yeast Cultures | 7 Comments »
Wednesday, October 5th, 2011
Upgrading to electric brewing makes home brewing a real pleasure. This article covers the details, including a 30 amp GFI'd outlet, drilling holes, and ordering ~$280-500 worth of parts. Dave Knott at HighGravityBrew spent years perfecting electric brewing equipment for his own use. He sells everything you need online and ...
Posted in Brewing | 3 Comments »
Saturday, July 23rd, 2011
In the interests of simplifying the brewing process I no longer aerate with an oxygen tank and stone! This saves the trouble of sanitizing the tube and stone each brew day. There is no worry of running out of oxygen, or keeping a second tank on hand. ...
Posted in Brewing | 6 Comments »
Thursday, June 16th, 2011
The Brewer's Friend ABV Calculator was just updated to include not one, but now two formulas for calculating ABV. There are two popular formulas out there for calculating ABV. You can pick the one you prefer for use in your brewing notes. If you don't like math, or don't ...
Posted in Brewing | No Comments »
Saturday, April 9th, 2011
Racking beer is made easy if your primary fermenter has a spigot. Note that this piece of equipment is essentially a bottling bucket with a good lid. They are cheap and easy to use with only a few drawbacks.
Racking beer is not required, but it can add clarity in the ...
Posted in Brewing, Equipment | 1 Comment »
Saturday, March 26th, 2011
From my recent experience making wine, I was reminded of the importance of completely filling up the secondary fermenter to the top. A sure way to get a spoiled batch of wine is to leave a lot of head space in the carboy after racking.
In beer oxidation can ...
Posted in Brewing | 4 Comments »
Saturday, November 20th, 2010
For centuries the seal of choice on spirits and wines was melted wax. Lately special release craft beers are being sold with a wax seal. Home brewers can wax seal bottled beer without too much trouble. All it takes is melting the wax, dipping the top of the bottle, ...
Posted in Brewing | 5 Comments »
Saturday, June 12th, 2010
How to hit your target wort volume spot on.
There are several factors that go into how much water is lost during the brewing process from mash to fermentor.
1) Grain Absorption: Figure 1/2 quart per pound of grain. This comes out to ~1 pint (0.125 gallons) / pound of grain. Some ...
Posted in Brewing | 10 Comments »
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 ...
Posted in Brewing | 2 Comments »
Saturday, December 19th, 2009
Beer head formation and retention can tell you more about your brewing process than you could have imagined, as you will soon see. Shortfalls in your brewing practices can be robbing you of that long lasting head that you are seeking on your favorite pint.
So, what makes ...
Posted in Brewing | 3 Comments »