Brewer's Friend Home Brewing Software

On the relationship between Plato and specific gravity

Wednesday, October 31st, 2012

One of the most important measurements in brewing is the "sugar" content of wort and, later, beer. Sugar is in parenthesis because what is dissolved in wort is more than just sugar. It's various sugars, proteins, lipids, minerals and trace elements. The professional brewing world refers to this collection of ...

Posted in Brewing | 3 Comments »

15 Minute Boil Tested

Saturday, August 25th, 2012

Earlier this year, a fellow named Brian reached out to us for a collaboration project. He's a very cool guy, an award winning brewer, and happens to be the owner of The Brew Mentor, a home brew store in Mentor, Ohio. Brian had an idea that makes brewing easier for ...

Posted in Brewing | No Comments »

Summer Brewing Update

Sunday, June 17th, 2012

The first day of summer is right around the corner.  It is time for summer beers to be brewed and enjoyed. Usually this means choosing delicate aromatic hops, fruity yeasts, and shooting for a drier finish. Liquid refreshment here we come! We played around with five different batches, each overlapping the ...

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First Brew Adventure

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

Post by Brewer Aaron: Brewing my first batch of beer today --a hefewiezen with citra hops-- only solidified the wisdom that failure is good, especially the right kind. In this case, my first brewing experience was fraught with failures, but ones that we were set up to recover from gracefully and ...

Posted in Brewing | 2 Comments »

Myths About Electric Brewing Dispelled

Saturday, April 14th, 2012

Personally, it has been eight batches since the upgrade to electric. The electric brewery is just awesome. There have been zero leaks on my weld-less fittings and no problems with operation.   Going into the upgrade, there were a few myths I was concerned about. Let me tell you the facts:   You can ...

Posted in Brewing | 7 Comments »

How long does it take to brew a batch of beer?

Saturday, March 10th, 2012

Brewing beer can take as little as two and a half hours for a simple extract batch and up to six hours for a complex all grain recipe. It is not a good idea to rush anything in brewing. Cutting back the boil time is not feasible because that time ...

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Infected Batch Forensics

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 | 9 Comments »

Electric Brewing Upgrade

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 »

Aeration Practices Simplified

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 | 10 Comments »

Alcohol By Volume Calculator Updated

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 | 9 Comments »