The Cold (and Boring) Side of Brewing
We’re always excited about a new recipe we want to try, our next brew day, or a new piece of equipment to brew with. Unfortunately, that same enthusiasm rarely carries over to fermentation, and that’s where the magic happens. Great brewers will tell you: “Good beers are all about fermentation”, “Fermentation, Fermentation, Fermentation”, etc, but despite the importance, it seems to be the least romanticized part of brewing. So I decided to write a post about how I care for my yeast, and what happens after the flame goes off. FYI, a lot of this might be repetitive for some brewers, but I’ve had a number of requests for this topic.
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How to Wax Dip Bottles
I’ve had a number of requests asking how I wax dipped my 120 Minute Clone bottles, but I haven’t made a batch worth aging for some time. Thankfully, my recent American Stout turned out fantastic, so I decided to set aside a six pack for a little while. I figured this was a good opportunity to do a step by step walk through on how I wax dipped the bottles.
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Bulk Hop Extract
Finally! I found a vendor (Yakima Valley Hops) that was willing to sell me a can of generic CO2 extracted hop extract. I already had some cheap syringes from eBay, so I purchased a 150g AA tin, and away we went.
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Brew System/Equipment Update
I had planned on writing a post detailing my Electric HERMS once it was complete, but we moved houses shortly after it was. Since I needed to change the system to accommodate the new house, I figured I would wait until I had everything settled before I bothered. I’ve brewed a few batches on the system in it’s current state, and I’m pretty confident I won’t be making any changes in the near-term. So here’s a breakdown of what I’m using now.
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Super-charge your Oxiclean
PBW is awesome. Unfortunetly, it’s also expensive. Many homebrewers (myself included) turn to Oxiclean as a suitable alternative. It’s main ingredients are pretty similar to PBW — sodium carbonate (washing soda), and sodium percabonate (the oxidizing agent). The problem is: Oxiclean simply doesn’t work as well as PBW. It doesn’t remove caked on crap as well as PBW does, it doesn’t rinse away as easily, and if you have hard water, it can leave hard water scale on your equipment. So where’s the missing link?
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The best money I’ve spent on homebrewing
…or the list of things I would still buy “if I had to do it all over again”
Home Brewing Starter kit
This is without a doubt the one thing every person wanting to start home brewing should buy. It seems like a no-brainer, but people ask me all the time if the kits are ‘worth it’. The basic home brewing starter kit will come with just about everything needed to brew a batch of beer, and you’ll continue to use everything in the kit, for years to come. Carboys look cool, but they aren’t necessary (hell, I still use buckets). The capper, hydrometer, and bottling wand are all super handy. And most importantly, buying a home brew kit will start you down the road of home brewing; best money I’ve spent on this hobby.
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2012 Hop Harvest + Storage Tricks
For those that aren’t aware, the hop harvest is here. Over the next month to month and a half, the hop farmers will be harvesting their 2012 crop. Now is the time to buy your hops for the year. I know it can be difficult to predict what you’re going to want or need for the next twelve months, but you’ll get good prices and the freshest hops right now.
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How to Brew Better IPAs
There are a lot of amazing commercial and home brewed IPAs these days. Unfortunately, there are plenty that miss the mark, by a lot. I see recipes posted on the web and forums that make me shake my head in disbelief. I realized though, there’s a lot that goes into making a good IPA, and it’s not as easy as simply throwing 400lbs of hops at the kettle to paraphrase a commercial brewer. So let’s go over some of the more important steps to brewing a good IPA, and how to fix some of the common mistakes I see.
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Cold Conditioning
Today’s post is a quick one. I was digging through some old photos, and found a few pictures of a blonde ale I brewed last year.
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It’s not Mr. Beer! This shit’s legit…
I’m proud to call myself a home brewer, but I often get an odd look from people when I tell them so. Their response is usually : “Oh….you home brew beer. Like…… in one of those Mr. Beer things?” My answer is always a balancing act between being too direct, or not direct enough. The direct version being: “No, it’s nothing like Mr. Beer. It’s just like (insert local craft brewery).” But where does the stigma from home brew come from, and how can we avoid it? Let’s talk about methods to legitimize your beer others eyes, and make them excited to try it.
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