New Brewing Hop Products with Max Shafer – BeerSmith Podcast #322 30 Mar 3:44 PM (8 days ago)

This week Max Shafer joins me from Roadhouse Brewing to discuss a large number of new hop products including hop extracts, luplin powders, Cryo Hops, Incognito, Salvo as well as hop aroma oil products like Subzero Hop Kief and Abstrax extracts.

Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play

Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (41:12)

This week I welcome back Max Shafer from Roadhouse Brewing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Max was previously a brewer at Grand Teton brewing. Max sits on the Hop Research Council, is the Idaho ambassador to the Hop Quality Group, and associate member of the American Malting Barley Association. Max is a graduate of the Siebel Institute and has over 10 years as a professional brewer.
We start with a brief overview of some of the new offerings at Roadhouse brewing.
Max starts with a discussion on CO2 hop bittering extract which is a thick syrup primarily used in the boil, and also the oldest of the hop extract products. We talk about the advantages of hop extracts for bittering and also how to use them.
We also talk about isomerized hop extracts which are bittering extracts that can be added directly to the finished beer.
Next we move on to Luplin powder which is concentrated portions of the luplin gland but eliminates a lot of the vegetal material from the hop code. It is sold under a variety of names including Cryo Hops and primarily used in the whirlpool and in dry hopping.
Max talks about an explosion in new hop aroma oil products starting with those targeting the whirlpool like Dynaboost, Incognito and Salvo.
We discuss his experiences with these whirlpool products in some of his craft beers.
Max introduces a final category of products that are aroma oil focused but can be added directly to the finished beer. The first is Subzero Hop Kief which is designed for dry hopping and use in the bright tank.
We talk about three different lines of Abstrax products including their Omni, Skyfarm (fruit) series, and Quantum series and how each takes an entirely different approach to extracting and presenting aroma oils in a finished beer.
Max tells us where to find Roadhouse beer as well as where the taproom is located.
He gives us his closing thoughts.

Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsor Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine for sponsoring this episode. I encourage you to subscribe to their great magazine!
Also check out BeerSmith, BeerSmith Web, BeerSmith Mobile software and the DVDs John Palmer and I filmed – How to Brew with Malt Extract and How to Brew All Grain are available now. You can subscribe to the BeerSmith newsletter for free to get some great articles on home brewing.

iTunes Announcements: I launched a new video channel for the BeerSmith podcast on iTunes, so subscribe now! At the moment it will only feature the new widescreen episodes (#75 and up). Older episodes are available on my revamped Youtube channel. Also all of my audio episodes are on iTunes now – so grab the older episodes if you missed any.

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

You can listen to all of my podcast episodes streaming live around the clock on our BeerSmith Radio online radio station! You can also subscribe to the audio or video using the iTunes links below, or the feed address

Audio feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/content/feed/podcast)
Video feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/tv/category/podcast/feed/ )
Audio podcast on Google Play here

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (or link at the top of the page) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Spontaneous Fermentation for Beer Brewing 25 Mar 2:48 PM (13 days ago)

This week I take a look at spontaneous fermentation for home brewers and what you might expect from using wild yeast with your beer.

What is Spontaneous Fermentation?

Spontaneous fermentation is basically using wild yeast (and often some bacteria) from the local environment to ferment your beer instead of cultivated yeast. Depending on your locale and fermentation area this can be wildly unpredictable versus using packaged brewing yeast, but it can also produce interesting beers.

Historically, many if not all beers were spontaneously fermented, and many Belgian styles still use this technique for making beers like lambics. Yeast was not isolated as a separate organism until roughly 1866 by Louis Pasteur who also developed the technique of pasteurization. Prior to his work, it was believed that fermentation was caused by decomposition. The process of isolating individual strains of yeast for brewing, therefore, is less than 150 years old.

Spontaneous fermentation relies on while yeast strains which typically produce some sour off flavors. In addition it is not uncommon for some ambient bacteria, notably lactobacillus and pediococcus, to be introduced. As a result, most spontaneous fermentations will have a sour note to them.

How to Spontaneously Ferment your Beer

There are a few ways to spontaneously ferment beer. First you want to start with some type of ale recipe, since it is difficult to reliably ferment lagers with wild yeast at lager temperatures. A variety of styles can be used though most of the wild ales I’ve had are lighter in character varying from a traditional English Ale to modern US styles like IPAs. Sour styles also work well as you will almost always have some sour flavor in a wild beer.

The brewing process, whether extract or all grain, is identical to brewing any other beer to create your wort. The only real difference comes when it is time to pitch your yeast. Here you have two options: you can either leave the fermenter open and rely on wild yeast in the area around your fermenter, or you can attempt to capture yeast from a particular location. With either method, it is not uncommon to ferment with an open fermenter, but with the second method you can use a closed fermenter.

The first method of leaving your fermenter open and just relying on the wild yeast around the fermenter is quite simple and most often used, but it does limit the wild yeast to those immediately around your brew area, which can work against you because, for example, the grains you mill and mash have a lot of bacteria on the husks, so your brew area can actually have quite a bit more souring bacteria then other locations.

The second method, which requires some pre-planning, can actually let you target areas outside your immediate brewhouse. To use this method I recommend creating a typical yeast starter, but without the yeast. Boil and prepare a few quarts of wort much as you would when creating a yeast starter, but don’t pitch any yeast. Next put the cooled wort in an open container and then take it to where you want to collect the wild yeast. This could be your back deck, yard, forest or other area of interest. Leave it there for a few hours to naturally collect some wild yeast and then return it to your house and let it ferment out. If you want to only collect yeast from one location, consider closing it with an airlock after you’ve completed your collection.

Let this starter ferment out for a few days, and then use your starter to inoculate the full batch of beer on brew day much as you would with a traditional yeast starter made from a single yeast strain. I like this method a bit better as it lets me collect a more interesting variety of wild yeast from outdoor locations instead of limiting myself to just what happens to be around the room I brew in.

Fermenting and finishing your wild yeast beer is not much different than a traditional beer, except that you might want to allow additional time for a complete fermentation before bottling. As spontaneous fermentations often include a mix of wild yeast and bacteria, the bacteria can continue to break down sugars and sour the beer well after the primary fermentation is done, so I like to add at least a few extra weeks to age the beer and assure fermentation is complete.

As I mentioned, you will often get a mix of both traditional beer flavors as well as wild and sour flavors from a spontaneous fermentation. Once you’ve made your first wild batch, you can often adjust the beer recipe balance on the next batch to better complement these wild flavors. Some brewers even cultivate samples of wild yeast from their “good” wild batches to use in future beers.

Spontaneous fermentation is a fun technique to try if you are looking for some variety in your beer. I hope you enjoyed this week’s article on wild yeast fermentation. Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

Barrel Aged Stouts with Skip Schwartz – BeerSmith Podcast #321 20 Mar 9:51 AM (18 days ago)

Skip Schwartz is my guest this week to talk about barrel aged stouts, flavored barrel aged beers, blending aged beers and more.

Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play

Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (41:12)

This week I welcome back Skip Schwartz, the head brewer at Weldwerks Brewing in Greeley Colorado. Skip joins us to discuss barrel aged brewing techniques including recent innovations in barrel aged stouts as well as his flavored stouts.
We briefly discuss some of the new things going on at Weldwerks.
Skip shares a few tips on how they formulate and brew their barrel aged stouts including the use of adjuncts and coffee.
We talk about blending barrel aged beers and how they carefully select barrels to blend for a final beer.
Skip discusses his collaboration with Old Elk distilltery on a barrel aged oatmeal stout.
We talk about how they use recent bourbon barrels but only age the beer for 8 months vice 20 for many other beers.
Skip discusses his many forays into flavored stouts starting with their Coconut Medianoche which involves brewing with some 2000 lbs of coconut.
We talk about the challenges from the coconut oil as well as how to achieve flavor balance with strong flavorings.
I ask skip about his flavored beers including Oreo, Marshmallow and Vanilla Bubble Wrap beer.
We discuss his Ambarama double barrel beer including what Ambarama wood is and what double barrel beer means.
Finally we talk about the Bamm Bamm Noche Noche made with real fruity pebbles in a slightly sour beer.
Skip shares where you can find many of Weldwerks excellent beers.
Skip shares his closing thoughts.

Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsor Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine for sponsoring this episode. I encourage you to subscribe to their great magazine!
Also check out BeerSmith, BeerSmith Web, BeerSmith Mobile software and the DVDs John Palmer and I filmed – How to Brew with Malt Extract and How to Brew All Grain are available now. You can subscribe to the BeerSmith newsletter for free to get some great articles on home brewing.

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

Audio feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/content/feed/podcast)
Video feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/tv/category/podcast/feed/ )
Audio podcast on Google Play here

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (or link at the top of the page) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

When to Use Different Mashing Techniques in Beer Brewing 14 Mar 10:55 AM (24 days ago)

This week I take a look at when you should apply different mash techniques to achieve a particular style or effect in your finished beer.

Mash Temperatures and Body

The first technique we will look at is simply adjusting your mash temperature to achieve a particular effect. For a typical mash we can take advantage of the fact that alpha and beta enzymes act in different temperature ranges (as explained here) to adjust the perceived body of our beer.

Choosing a higher temperature for our mash, around 156-158 F (69-70 C) will result more unfermentable starches, lower attenuation and a full bodied beer. Choosing a low temperature around 140-149 F (60-65 C) will produce more fermentables, higher attenuation and a lighter bodied beer. A mid range mash around 153 F (67 C) will give a medium bodied beer.

The only question is which is most appropriate to the style of beer you are brewing? A Stout, Robust Porter or even many English and Scottish ales benefit from a full bodied mash that gives them a complex finish. However many Continental styles, particularly lagers, should use a lighter bodied mash to promote full fermentation and a clean finish. American styles vary widely but some IPAs might be better with a clean dry light body finish, while others like Hazy and Fruity IPAs could benefit from additional body and complexity.

There is also another type of mash called a Lager style mash, which is a two step mash hitting both the low end of the range at 145 F (63 C) and another step at 159 F (70 C). This mash promotes a full conversion of sugars by activating both alpha and beta enzymes, and results in an even drier, lower body than a typical light body mash. It is most often associated with Continental lagers like many German styles, and Pilsners as it gives a slightly malty but very clean finish to the beer.

Mash pH and Body

Controlling mash pH is very important for all grain brewers as it enhances the flavor, brightness and long term stability of the beer. Ideally you want to adjust the pH at the beginning of the mash to get it somewhere in the 5.2-5.6 range. I’ve written extensively on how to manage your mash pH with small acid adjustments, and there are features built into BeerSmith to help you adjust your mash pH. I’ve also written an excellent article on how to best time your mash acid additions.

While often overlooked, you can also vary the pH of your mash to enhance or reduce the body of your beer. While you always want to adjust your mash pH to remain in the 5.2-5.6 range, a higher mash pH near the 5.6 range will affect enzyme activity resulting in a fuller body beer. Conversely a low mash pH in the 5.2 range will lighten the body of your beer.

So in addition to temperature you can make small adjustments to your mash pH using something like lactic acid to further enhance the body of your beer.

Steeping or Sparging Dark Grains

Another great technique to use with darker beers is to remove many of your dark grains from the extended mash and instead add them at the very end of the mash or during your sparge. Dark grains contain harsh tannins and acids that can create a burnt coffee or other harsh flavors if mashed for an extended period. I liken the effect to percolating your coffee for way too long in a traditional percolator.

Since roasted grains contribute relatively few fermentables to the mash, you can bypass the mash entirely with these grains. The original method used here was to make a separate tea with the dark grains, but most home brewers have figured out that a simpler method is to just add the dark grains for 10 minutes end of the mash if using a BIAB technique, or simply sprinkle them over the mash tun right before sparging if using a traditional sparge step.

I covered this technique more extensively here as well as how to do this in BeerSmith in this article. The main advantage of using this technique is that it reduces the harshness from the dark malts so it is appropriate in many dark beer styles like brown ales, milder Porters, Bock, and sweeter Stout styles where you want a dark roasted flavor without the hard edgy tannic finish. However, in something like a Dry Irish Stout or Robust Porter this technique is less appropriate as both of those rely on strong roast grains for their flavor profile.

Mash Hopping

Though an old technique, mash hopping has enjoyed a small resurgence not for developing bitterness in a beer but for providing some gains in the long term stability of the beer, and also to enhance thiols to develop fruity tropical flavors in IPAs. Recent research has shown that adding some hops to the mash can help to lower the presence of certain metals like iron in beer that can hurt its long term stability. This would primarily be a benefit for beers that you intend to store for an extended period or for beers that are commercially packaged and may remain on the shelf for a long time.

Research by others including Yakima valley has found that adding hops can aid in developing free thiols in the beer which when combined with certain boil, whirlpool and dry hops can aid in developing tropical fruity flavors in styles like Hazy or New England IPAs. If you want to learn more about mash hops for either method you can read my article here which has additional links to reference materials.

I hope you enjoyed this weeks summary on various mash techniques and how to use them. Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

Using Sensory Kits to Understand Off Flavors in Beer 5 Mar 9:14 AM (last month)

This week I take a look at using sensory kits to enhance your ability to judge beers. These kits, while somewhat expensive, can be a great way for small groups and clubs to help people understand off flavors in beer.

Why Every Brewer Should Judge Beers

I’ve written extensively over the years and hosted podcasts on why the ability to judge beers is a critical skill for any brewer. Basically if you can’t accurately judge both the off flavors and imbalances in your beer, it becomes impossible to correct and improve a recipe. Specifically you need to be able to isolate the 17 or so major off flavors which I’ve detailed here. In addition to off flavors, there are also imbalances in beer such as improper malt-hop balance, clarity, color, etc… all of which factor into brewing the best beer you properly can.

Because judging is such a critical skill, I urge all brewers to work on the skill whenever you sample a new beer, whether commercial or home brewed and compare notes with fellow brewers and judges so you can build a solid understanding of off flavors and imbalances. Formally participating in judging and becoming a beer judge under the BJCP beer judge program is another great way to develop this skill.

Sensory Kits To Aid Judges

Beer sensory kits are basically small vials of flavoring you can add to a neutral beer that accentuate particular off flavors. The BJCP, Siebel Institute and other organizations use them in training people to find key off flavors. I’ve used them for years with classes as part of my Designing Beer seminars at the BYO Boot Camps. I typically present an hour on off-flavors and then give the class a half dozen or more unlabeled samples of beer tainted with these off flavors, and then challenge the students to match each one from a list of flavors on the screen. It is rare, but we have had some students score 100% on the exercise.

The only downside with sensory kits is their expense. Typically a kit sells for $75-200 and is single use, so they really don’t make sense for an individual brewer. They are great for small groups, homebrew clubs and classes. With a liter of each off flavor beer you can easily handle a group of 15-20 people.

Sensory kits are easy to use. Purchase commercial beer with a very neutral profile like Bud or Michelob light and mix each of the sensory vials with a liter of beer. Then pour the mix out into sample cups for the group to taste.

The Siebel institute is the major producer of beer sensory kits, and they offer a variety of different kits including a basic kit, sour sensory kit, specialty sensory kit, and craft sensory kit. Their Comprehensive kit is the most complete covering some 25 off flavors with separate vials, each making 1 liter each. This would probably be the best kit to purchase for an in-depth tasting exercise, though I would still divide the tasting into rounds of 5 or 6 flavors each as it is too difficult for new judges to try to distinguish between 25 separate samples at once. My second choice would be the Craft kit which covers 12 common flavors including the majority of the major off flavors.

The basic kit covers 6 major off flavors: Acetaldeyde, Sour/buttery, DMS, Diacetyl, Isoamyl Acetate and Papery and is a good starting point for small groups. The sour kit covers off flavors common for sour beers including: Acetic Acid, Butry acid (baby vomit), Diacetyl, Lactic Acid, Barnyard and Cadaverine. Each of these kits has multiple vials of each flavor, each making 1 liter. Siebel offers other kits as well and you can see the full listing on their website. Siebel institute kits are also available through third party sellers like Morebeer.

The BJCP also offers a kit for beer judging though the kit is made by Siebel. it covers all of the common off flavors and can often be purchased though the BJCP at a reduced price versus some of the other kits.

A British company called FlavorActiv also has sensory kits. Their Professional Beer Sensory Starter Kit covers 20 different flavor standards, and is comparable to the Siebel specialty kit overall. I also found a UK company Aroxa that offers a Beer Uno kit covering 10 different beer off-flavors.

No matter which kit you choose, pick a very neutral flavored beer to use as a base and mix the kits per the instructions, typically with 1 liter of beer per sample. A one liter sample should provide enough beer for 20 people. I recommend organizing the tasting into groups of 5-6 off flavors each and listing the off flavors on the screen. Then label the samples with letters or numbers and allow each person to independently match the number or letter against the off flavor they are tasting.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s article on flavor sensory kits for beer. Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itune and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

New England IPA and Hazy IPA Brewing Secrets 28 Feb 12:34 PM (last month)

This week I take a closer look at brewing the vaunted New England IPA (NEIPA), also called Hazy IPA and what makes it so different from other IPAs.

What Makes Hazy IPAs Different

Some 20+ years ago the Craft Beer world exploded into IPAs and the West Coast IPA and its variants became very popular, now making up more than 50% of the beer brewed in most US craft breweries. Around 2003, John Kimmich at The Alchemist started brewing Heady Topper as an occasional offering at their Waterbury and later Stowe plants. He had moved to Burlington in 1994 to learn from legendary brewer Greg Noonan. By 2013, The Alchemist was overwhelmed by demand and moved to a larger location near Stowe, VT. (Ref: Wikipedia) Most credit The Alchemist and Heady Topper as being the first New England IPA, also now called Hazy IPA.

Hazy or New England IPA breaks the mold for IPAs in many ways. First, the obvious haze often from oats or wheat in the grist is quite a change from the traditional clear IPA. Second, these beers feature a tropical fruity finish, often from the combination of yeast and selected hop varieties. In addition the hazy IPA is often made with little to no bittering hops, and instead use moderate whirlpool and heavy dry hop additions. In fact they are often not as bitter as traditional IPAs, though they still pack a strong hoppy aroma from substantial dry hop levels. Finally they use a softer, rounder water profile which de-accentuates the hops giving a slightly smoother body and drinkable finish than a traditional American IPA.

Looking at the 2021 BJCP Style Guide for Hazy IPA (Category 21C), Hazy is described as “An American IPA with intense fruit flavors and aromas, a soft body, smooth mouthfeel, and often opaque with substantial haze.” It has a original gravity of 1.060-1.085, ABV of 6-9%, moderate bitterness for an IPA of 25-60 IBUs and light color between 3-7 SRM.

Brewing the Hazy IPA

Don’t let the round soft finish and haze fool you, brewing a great hazy IPA does take some skill. It actually incorporates some of the more recent knowledge accumulated in the last 10 years about water profiles, mashing, hop science and more. Its not necessarily technically a difficult beer to brew, but you do need to be careful about the selection of ingredients and techniques when making one.

Starting with the grist bill, the base malts are often a combination of pilsner and pale malt. Some recipes I’ve seen split these 50-50, while others use exclusively pale malt. A combination of wheat and malted or rolled oats, typically making up 10-15% of the grist provides a lot of the haze needed. Oats and white wheat probably work best here, but unmalted wheat is also a good choice as it tends to drive up protein levels and ferments poorly contributing to cloudiness. Carapils/Dextrine malt to add some body and mouthfeel is also often used as an adjunct, and I’ve seen people add lactose though I don’t really think the additional sweetness is needed.

The water profile is critical for a good hazy IPA. For normal IPAs we often drive up the sulfite to chloride ratio in our water to enhance the bitterness. For a hazy IPA we actually do the opposite – we drive up the chloride level to lower the perception of bitterness and provide a softer, rounder finish to the beer. Calcium Chloride is often used as an additive to raise the Chloride levels significantly if we start with a relatively neutral water profile.

Mash strategies differ slightly here, but I believe the majority of brewers shoot for a medium body mash profile with the conversion step in the middle of the temperature range (approximately 152 F/67 C). There are others who prefer a slightly elevated mash temperature in the full body range to enhance body and lower fermentability and that would probably be my approach to this style. The full body mash (156 F/69 C) will give you slighlty lower attenuation and aid a bit in developing the desired haze. For this style you also need to consider mash pH as there is very little acidity in the grains, so you will likely need to adjust your mash water to get it into the 5.2-5.5 range.

For yeast selection, I recommend you stick with a yeast designed for the Hazy/NEIPA style. Because this style is unique, and the fruity and hazy character can be enhanced by the yeast, using an in-style yeast for this particular beer is a good approach.

Hop selection and hopping techniques are very important for your hazy IPA. First let’s discuss hop technique. Some NEIPAs are made with no bittering or boil additions. They get their hoppy flavor completely from whirlpool or very high levels of dry hopping. A few commercial examples actually use no boil or whirlpool hops at all but instead use multiple dry hop additions.

If you are not an experienced hazy IPA brewer, I recommend using a small boil hop addition to get some bitterness, and then adding a significant dry hop addition. More advanced brewers can consider going with whirlpool additions for bitterness, and then again a sizeable dry hop addition. You can calculate the bitterness for either whirlpool or boil hops easily using BeerSmith.

As I mentioned dry hops are critically important for hazy IPAs. Huge dry hop rates are used in many hazy IPAs, often in multiple additions. Also you can use a dry hops during active fermentation to enhance biotransformations during the latter parts of fermentation. Hops high in thiols, geraniol and linalool used in this way can enhance the tropical fruit flavors of the beer. Recent research also indicates the optimal dry hopping time is roughly 24-72 hours. So a reasonable dry hop schedule, assuming you are using high thiol hops, would be to add one dose of dry hops shortly after peak fermentation lasting for perhaps 48 hours. Then add a second dose of dry hops after fermentation has completed again lasting about 48 hours. I will also note that hop rates here are high with many commercial brewers using 1oz or more of dry hops per gallon (4 liters)!

Hop variety selection is critical for a hazy IPA. In order to get the fruity tropical finish so many drinkers appreciate, you need to use copious quantities of fruity, tropical hops for your whirlpool and dry hop additions. Hops high in thiols, which are primarily the US, Australian and New Zealand varieties are required. You also would like to select hops high in linalool and geraniol hop oils for use in the dry hop as these contribute a lot of the tropical fruit finish and are also open to biotransformation by the yeast. Not surprisingly this points us to some of the most desireable hops like Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin, Mouteuka, Simcoe, Citra and others.

Some brewers will slightly underpitch their yeast and also ferment at the higher end of the temperature range. Underpitching puts some stress on the yeast, which can result in more character and mild off flavors in the finished beer. Fermenting slightly warm can enhance fruity ester production and also contribute some additional character to the beer.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s article on Hazy IPAs. Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

Cold IPA with John Palmer – BeerSmith Podcast #320 27 Feb 7:56 AM (last month)

John Palmer joins me this week to discuss the Cold IPA style, its history and how to brew one at home.

Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play

Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (40:43)

This week I welcome back John Palmer. John is the author of the top selling book How to Brew as well as Water and Brewing Classic Styles (full disclosure: Amazon affiliate links used for books).
We briefly discuss John’s upcoming book on Stovetop brewing and some of his activities the last year.
John introduces the Cold IPA brewing style which is an interesting cross between Cream Ale and the West Coast IPA.
We talk about the roots of Cold IPA which starts with the American Adjunct Lager. John also talks a bit about his efforts editing Greg Casey’s 5 volume set on American IPA.
A variation of American Adjunct Lager is Cream Ale and Cold IPA is more closely related to Cream Ale, but it uses modern hops and hopping techniques.
We move to the details of brewing a Cold IPA, starting with the grain bill which typically includes 20% or more rice or corn adjuncts.
John explains the hop schedules used which are closely related to West Coast IPAs including the use of popular Pacific Northwest and Australian/New Zealand hops generously used in the boil, whirlpool and dry hopping.
We talk about the yeast used as well as fermentation temperatures that combine to give the proper finish and balance to the beer.
John discusses fermentation and finishing a Cold IPA.
We talk about the taste of a Cold IPA as well as major breweries who brew this style.
John gives his thoughts on the continuing IPA evolution as well as changes happening in the Craft Beer market.
John shares his closing thoughts.

Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsor Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine for sponsoring this episode. I encourage you to subscribe to their great magazine!
Also check out BeerSmith, BeerSmith Web, BeerSmith Mobile software and the DVDs John Palmer and I filmed – How to Brew with Malt Extract and How to Brew All Grain are available now. You can subscribe to the BeerSmith newsletter for free to get some great articles on home brewing.

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

Audio feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/content/feed/podcast)
Video feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/tv/category/podcast/feed/ )
Audio podcast on Google Play here

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (or link at the top of the page) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Yeast Flocculation and Beer Brewing 21 Feb 11:59 AM (last month)

This week I take a look at the yeast flocculation, what it means and how it affects your finished beer.

What is Yeast Flocculation?

Flocculation is technically the tendency of yeast cells to clump and aggregate together as fermentation winds down and eventually falling out of the beer to form a sediment at the bottom of your fermenter. As the yeast flocculates out it increases clarity in the beer and also makes things like filtration easier.

The chemistry and mechanics of flocculation is actually quite complex. Flocculent cells actually have tiny hairs or spines on the cell walls that are visible with an electron microscope. The cells themselves have a small negative surface charge, so they tend to repel each other. Flocculent cell walls, however, overcome this surface charge and will actually stick together. Over time many cells can form clumps which are called “flocs” that eventually fall out of solution. Some yeast types can even be non-flocculent, and their yeast walls will appear smooth so they do not join together to form flocs.

If you want to read more about the current theory about how yeast cells flocculate, start with the section on the Lectin Hypothesis on this Wyeast article. For most brewers, it is sufficient to know that some yeast strains flocculate much better than others, though a variety of factors including yeast health, nutrients, temperature, alcohol percentage, pH, and other environmental considerations can impact how well yeast cells flocculate. I will highlight a few of these environmental factors below, but as a starting point we will focus on the yeast strain itself.

Yeast Strain Flocculation Values

If you’ve read my article on How to Read a Yeast Data sheet, you probably already know that yeast labs list flocculation broadly as “High”, “Medium” and “Low” though there are also some yeast strains like Wyeast German Ale 1007 that are non-flocculent. At a broad level yeasts that are highly flocculent will clump together into flocs, and fall out of the beer the fastest, while low flocculent and non-flocculent yeasts can remain in suspension for an extended period of time, and may need assistance either from fining additives or cold crashing your beer to achieve good clarity.

Choosing a yeast to match the style of beer you are brewing is important. For example low flocculation yeasts may actually be desirable in something like a Hazy IPA or Bavarian Hefeweizen where suspended yeast is actually part of the style. Highly flocculent yeasts may work best when production schedules are tight, clarity is needed and may aid in filtering your beer.

As with anything, flocculation is a tradeoff. A yeast that flocculates too rapidly may actually result in an incomplete fermentation and low attenuation or off flavors like acetaldehyde or diacytl. You can offset this by recirculating the yeast back into suspension. However highly flocculent yeasts can be good for cask ales or rapid production where you want the yeast to fall out quickly.

Conversely low flocculation yeast can create clarity issues in a finished beer, and also be a problem in situations where refermentation can occur for example through hop creep or when shelf stability is poor in an unfiltered beer.

Environmental Factors Affecting Flocculation

While the Wyeast article linked above has more detail on the brewing environment, I want to highlight just a few of the key environmental factors which can affect how well your yeast flocculates at the end of brewing:

Yeast Health and Oxygenation: If your yeast cells are old, damaged, strained, underpitched or not properly aerated, it can result in an early and incomplete flocculation. Be sure to pitch enough healthy yeast and aerate your wort before pitching.
Temperature: During fermentation, you should stick to the recommended range for your strain as it is yeast strain dependent, but strains generally perform best within the recommended temperature range. Reducing temperature or cold crashing after fermentation is complete will generally aid in both flocculation and sedimentation.
Alcohol and pH Levels: Both the pH and alcohol levels will also affect flocculation though the exact effects are yeast strain dependent. However, trying to brew a beer that is close to the alcohol tolerance for a given yeast strain will put stress on the yeast, resulting in poorer flocculation.
Pitch Rates: Higher pitch rates generally increase the rate of flocculation, and a good pitch rate is important for overall yeast health.

Flocculation is not the most important factor when selecting a yeast strain, but it is one consideration to take into account if you are targeting a particular style or trying to shorten your brewing timeline. I hope you enjoyed this week’s article on yeast flocculation. Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

When to Use Different Hopping Techniques in Beer 15 Feb 7:59 AM (last month)

This week I take a look at the major hop techniques, and provide a perspective on which hop techniques are best used in different situations.

Hop Addition Techniques

While there are subtle variants of each particular technique, there are four major hop additions you can use when brewing beer.

Boil Hops: This is the oldest and most popular hop technique. Hops in the boil is the primary method used to add bitterness to your beer to balance out sweetness from the malt, though boil hops serve a wide variety of secondary function including acting as an anti-bacterial preservative and aiding in head retention. Variations here mainly include using multiple additions as well as the timing of these additions, though shorter boil additions have recently been decreased in favor of whirlpool or dry hop additions.
Whirlpool Hopping: Adding hops shortly after the boil has completed but while the wort is still hot has become a very popular technique. Because most delicate hop aroma oils are very volatile, they are lost in the boil. However at temperatures slightly below boiling they will not boil off. In addition the higher temperature aids in getting the relatively insoluble hop oils into the hot wort. Also whirlpool hopping does add some bitterness which you can calculate in BeerSmith.
Dry Hopping: This is another very old technique. Early on brewers realized that adding hops to fermented wort imparted a hoppy fresh aroma and flavor to the beer. In this case, we are preserving the subtle aromatic hop oils by infusing them at low temperature over a longer time period. Recent studies have found somewhere around 24 to 72 hours of contact time gives you maximum impact with minimal off flavors. Dry hopping does impart a perception of bitterness to the beer though it is not directly from isomerized alpha acids, but rather from aromatic oils and other compounds in the hops that we perceive as bitter. In the last few years brewers have moved to dry hopping at the tail end of active fermentation to enhance fruity flavors for certain IPAs, as well as cold dry hopping as variations.
Mash Hopping: Mash hopping is also a relatively old technique. I was a longtime critic of mash hopping as it is an inefficient way to add both bitterness and also adds virtually no aroma. However, recent research indicates that mash hopping can enhance the long term stability of some beers by reducing the amount of free metals in the finished beer. Also some brewers have experimented with mash hopping to enhance thiols for fruity IPAs with some success. I summarize some of the recent results here if you are interested in mash hopping.

When To Use Each Technique

One of the key steps in beer recipe design is deciding which techniques apply to the particular style of beer or effect you are trying to create in a finished beer. So let us take a look at each technique in terms of when it makes the most sense:

Boil Hops Application: The main purpose of a boil hop addition is to isomerize alpha acids, which transforms those acids into the primary bittering compound in a beer. So boil hops are applicable in just about every beer style, as they lay down the foundation of bitterness needed to offset the sweetness of the malt. In fact only a small number of beers are made without boil hops. For most beers I recommend a single long boil addition for bittering as this is the most efficient use of your hops, though you can of course use a hop blend if you want to get a mix of hop flavors. A hop addition around 60 minutes will give you the best balance of maximum bitterness without off flavors for efficient hop use.
Whirlpool Hopping: Whirlpool hopping is used in beer styles where you want to enhance the fresh hoppy aroma in the finished beer by infusing aromatic hop oils. This includes popular styles like Pale Ales, IPAs, Hazy IPAs and basically any hoppy beer though it can be used even with moderately hoppy ales like milds and English Pale Ale. This technique is most often used in combination with dry hopping depending on the aroma you are trying to achieve as different aromatic hop oils have differing levels of survivability for whirlpool and dry hopping. See this interesting article on hop survivability which details which varieties do best, along with this one on aromatic oils to understand which hop oils correspond to which aromas.
Dry Hopping: Dry hopping is another method to infuse aromatic oils into the finished beer. It was traditionally done for many English styles like Milds, Bitters, and Pale Ales, but is now used on a wide variety of beer styles. It is also heavily used in Hazy and New England IPA styles where often huge doses of dry hops are applied for a unique aromatic finish. As mentioned at the bottom of the whirlpool section above, certain hop oils and varieties survive better in the finished beer when using dry hopping. Timing and length of dry hopping varies, though a contact time of 24-72 hours is considered best. For timing, many fruity flavored IPAs and Hazy IPAs will use dry hop additions near the end of the active fermention which can biotransform free thiols and oils like geraniol giving a tropical finish. However, most dry hop additions are done after fermentation has concluded, and some IPAs are double or even triple dry hopped with multiple infusions. I don’t recommend dry hopping a single addition for a long time as it can lead to lawnmower off flavors. Also you need to be aware of dry hop creep which can occur in beers with very high dry hop rates.
Mash Hopping: As my article on mash hopping mentions, mash hopping might be appropriate if you have a commercial beer or homebrew you may store on the shelf for an extended period as it can aid in shelf stability. Also some brewers have had good results combining mash hopping with other thiol boosting techniques like dry hopping during fermentation, thiol boosting yeasts and thiol additives to generate fruity flavors in a finished beer. Outside of that, most beer styles do not need a mash hop addition.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s article on hop techniques! Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itune and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

Beer, Mead and Cider with Michael Fairbrother – BeerSmith Podcast #319 11 Feb 2:25 PM (last month)

Michael Fairbrother joins me this week to discuss the business of beer, mead, cider and opening a restaurant.

Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play

Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (43:38)

This week I welcome back Michael Fairbrother. Michael is the founder and head mead maker at Moonlight Meadery and also launched the Over the Moon Farmstead a few years back making cider and craft beer. Michael has won numerous Mazer cup awards for his meads.
We discuss how Michael started home brewing and then rapidly expanded into mead making which turned out to be his passion.
Michael expanded his mead distribution nationwide as well as to Australia and Canada. We discuss some of the challenges with large distribution chains.
He shares some of the things he learned expanding rapidly and distributing through wholesalers.
Michael tells us about his decision to open the Over the Moon Farmstead as a destination location.
We talk about his craft brewery and some of the styles he is focused on now, as well as his brewmaster.
Chris shares his experience launching a restaurant and how it has evolved over time.
We talk about the breadth of experiences he has had spanning mead, cider, beer and a restaurant.
Michael shares his thoughts on the craft beer markets which is facing its own challenges.
We discuss his website, location and Michael shares his closing thoughts.

Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsor Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine for sponsoring this episode. I encourage you to subscribe to their great magazine!
Also check out BeerSmith, BeerSmith Web, BeerSmith Mobile software and the DVDs John Palmer and I filmed – How to Brew with Malt Extract and How to Brew All Grain are available now. You can subscribe to the BeerSmith newsletter for free to get some great articles on home brewing.

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

Audio feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/content/feed/podcast)
Video feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/tv/category/podcast/feed/ )
Audio podcast on Google Play here

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (or link at the top of the page) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Using Multiple Equipment Profiles in BeerSmith 8 Feb 12:42 PM (last month)

This week I take a look at the practice of using multiple equipment profiles for your brewing equipment in BeerSmith.

Why you might want multiple profiles?

While BeerSmith brewing software comes with many preloaded equipment profiles and you can access profiles for most commercial systems using the add-on feature, there are actually a bunch of situations where you might want to create multiple equipment profiles to cover your personal equipment setups or even multiple profiles for the same setup.

To access add-on equipment profiles, go to Profiles->Equipment view and click on the Equip Add-on button (Manage Preloaded button for the web version) and select the equipment add-on you want downloaded. Most of the major homebrew and some professional equipment profiles are available here.

Common Cases Where Muiltiple Equipment Profiles are Needed

First, lets cover a common case where you might want to have multiple profiles: professional brewing. Many pro and even home brewers maintain a smaller pilot system to test out new recipes on a small scale and then scale them up to brew on their larger full scale system. They download or create a profile for their pilot system and create a second profile for their larger system and then simply use the scale recipe command to scale up to the larger system. There are some additional considerations which come into play for commercial size systems that you can read about here, but those can be included in your profile.

Next lets consider another common case where you brew different size batches on the same equipment. For example I might have a 10 gallon (38 liter) brewing system that I also can brew smaller 5 gallon (19 liter) batches on. Since the volumes, losses, boil off and efficiency would be quite different in these two cases, I would want to create one equipment profile with the parameters for a 5 gallon batch and another profile with parameters for the 10 gallon batch. That way I could scale between them as needed depending on the size of batch I’m working with.

Another, often overlooked case where a second equipment profile might be useful is for high gravity beer brewing. Since the physics of mashing and sparging drive lower efficiency as the gravity of the beer goes up, I use a different equipment profile for very high gravity beers. Very high gravity beers might also involve extract additions, extended boils and other methods to concentrate the wort which again drive different volumes, boil times and losses that warrant a new equipment profile. So if you enjoy high gravity beers you might want one or more equipment profiles tailored to brewing those beers.

Obviously if you brew different types of beverages with similar equipment you would want separate profiles. A good example might be a system where you sometimes brew all grain, but also make extract batches with the same kettle. Switching from one to the other is going to change your volumes, losses and other parameters. Other examples include switching over to mead, wine or cider using your existing boilers or fermenters.

A final example where you might want an additional equipment profile is if you are using specialized brewing techniques for a particular beer. If these techniques drive a significant change in volumes, losses, efficiency or water additions then you should reflect that in your equipment profile. So, for example, if I’m doing an extremely long boil for a barrel aged stout, or adding massive quantities of whirlpool or dry hops to an IPA those are going to change the post-boil or final volumes of the beer as well as losses incurred. Another example might be concentrating beer by freezing it to create an Eisbock. In these cases I might create a new equipment profile, or if it is just a one-off I might just modify the copy of the equipment profile in the recipe to reflect those changes.

I should note that in BeerSmith each recipe has a complete copy of its profiles and ingredients “as brewed” so it is not automatically updated. To modify your permanent equipment profile you should modify the copy in the Profiles->Equipment table. Also since the profile in a given recipe is a copy made when you created that recipe, you should reselect the equipment profile if you’ve made any changes since you last brewed an older recipe. Finally if you modify a profile in a recipe, that is a separate copy so it won’t be automatically saved back to the Profiles->Equipment table. So if you make meaningful modifications within a recipe you should give the profile a new name in that recipe and then use the small save button next to the equipment name in the recipe to save the profile back to your Profiles->Equipment table.

Finally if you want to learn more about the specifics of how to create, customize or edit a profile to match a particular set of equipment I refer you back to my Equipment Super Post which has links to every type of equipment as well as tips on dialing in your profile.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s article on using multiple equipment profiles in BeerSmith. Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itune and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

International Bitterness Units (IBUs) and Beer Recipe Design 30 Jan 7:38 AM (2 months ago)

This week I cover the formal definition of an International Bitterness Unit (IBU) widely used in beer recipe design, but also present some of its weaknesses.

IBUS in Beer Defined

The International Bitterness Unit (IBU) is very widely used in beer recipe design, as it gives a good overall measure of how bitter the finished beer. The modern method for measuring IBUs attempts to measure the milligrams per liter of iso-alpha acids, so a 20 IBU beer would have 20 mg of isomerized alpha acids per liter of beer. The The European Brewery Convention also introduced the European Bitterness Unit (EBU) scale, which numerically should be identical to the IBU scale, but in practice can differ very slightly in measurement with EBUs running a bit less than IBUs in many cases.

It is important to understand that IBUs measure only the five major alpha acids, and that these are all isomerized (the molecular structure rearranged) in the boil and provide the bulk of the bitterness. Hops contain some 500 flavor compounds, so obviously IBUs don’t tell the entire story in terms of perceived bitterness.

The most common method for accurately measuring IBUs in a sample of beer is spectrophotometry. Since the isomerized alpha acids are hydrophobic, they are drawn out of solution and then measured in a spectrophotometer by shining light through them at 275 nm, which gives a good measurement of the concentration of these bitter compounds. (Ref: Wikipedia). There are alternate methods for measurement as well such as the IAA method.

IBUs in Practical Beer Recipe Design

While the above methods provide a clear definition and method for measuring IBUs, in practice IBUs are actually quite a bit different from the measured and perceived bitterness in the finished beer. In reality, relatively few home and small craft brewers have their own laboratory with precise IBU measuring equipment. So instead we’ve adopted the practice of estimating the IBUs using one of several equations with the aid of software like BeerSmith to design our beers. The main equations used are Tinseth, Rager, and Garetz, though Tinseth is by far the most common used for all grain brewing.

A surprising fact I stumbled upon several years ago is that the equations in use today for beer recipe all estimate the IBU level pre-fermentation. Since IBUs are always reduced in both fermentation and aging, its fairly safe to assume that the IBUs used for designing your recipe can be higher than what you would find if you sent your finished beer to a lab for measurement. However, the “estimated” IBUs are so widely used in beer recipe design that they are often posted on the signs at your local pub. I also found that most beer style guides like the BJCP style guide reflect the estimated IBUs rather than the measured IBUs. So to a large degree, the estimated IBUs are more important than the actual measured IBUs. If you want to learn more you can read my article on this phenomena here.

When designing beers to target a given IBU, there are several factors that come into play. The first is the malt-hop balance which can be estimated using the bitterness ratio. The bitterness ratio is simply the ratio of estimated bitterness in IBUs divided by the original gravity points (take the original gravity, subtract the leading 1.0 and multiply by 1000, so a 1.046 gravity would be 46 gravity points). Generally the more malty the beer, the more bitterness you will need to balance the sweetness from the malt.

Another consideration is the color of the finished beer. Dark beers like stouts require more bitterness to balance the strong flavor from the dark malts. So an Irish Stout might not seem all that bitter even at 40+ IBUs while a light lager would be quite bitter at that same hop level. Water also comes into play as different water profiles can affect the perception of bitterness. This can be estimated using the sulfite to chloride ratio which is simply a ratio of the sulfite to chloride ions in parts per million in your water profile.

And of course the style of the beer is critically important in your recipe design. As mentioned above, the style guides all make use of estimated IBUs, so you want to design your beer to be roughly “in style” for the particular beer style you are brewing. An IPA is going to have a lot more bitterness than a American Adjunct lager, and your Irish stout is going to target a higher IBU level than your English mild. Fortunately most brewing software like BeerSmith have the style guides built in so its easy to compare the estimated IBUs against the chosen beer style guide as you create your recipe.

Some Practical Limitations of IBUs

While estimated IBUs are widely used in recipe design, the reality is that if you send your beer sample to a lab, it probably won’t measure out at the same bitterness level. Additional factors come into play that are not included in the IBU estimates. For example, different alpha acids actually isomerize at different rates, so a cohumulone heavy hop would be perceived as more bitter than one with low cohumulones. Also some bitterness is lost both in fermentation and aging, so the measured IBU level will likely decline over time.

In addition, since IBUs only measure isomerized alpha acids, they really say nothing about the hundreds of other flavor compounds in hops that can affect the perception of bitterness. Chief among these are the aromatic oils in hops that are infused during whirlpool and dry hopping. While whirlpool hopping does isomerize some additional alpha acids, dry hopping does not. Yet the aromatic oils have a significant impact on the perceived bitterness of the beer, with some commercial examples made using whirlpool and dry hopping alone.

Despite these limitations, IBUs are still a great tool to use in recipe design especially since the estimated IBUs calculate by software are closely related to those in the style guides. So the estimated IBUs are still an amazing tool to get in the ballpark on bitterness when you design a new beer. However being aware of the limitations of IBUs and how whirlpool and dry hops impact perceived bitterness.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s article on IBUs. Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

Simplified Homebrewing with John Blichmann – BeerSmith Podcast #318 27 Jan 8:21 AM (2 months ago)

John Blichmann joins me this week to discuss simplified brewing and how to combat the decline in homebrewing.

Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play

Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (56:09)

This week I welcome John Blichmann. John is founder and retired President of Blichmann Engineering, a provider of premium home and professional brewing equipment. John has helped hundreds of brewers start Craft breweries.
John and I discuss his retirement from Bilchmann Engineering and its transition to a new owner.
John starts with some of the changes we’re seeing both in homebrewing and the Craft beer markets.
We talk about the recent signs of increased interest in homebrewing and some of the factors driving it including cost, knowledge and availability of ingredients.
We talk about a “Back to Basics” approach to home brewing including the use of simplified equipment and processes.
John explains how equipment has changed, but also how brewers are moving to smaller and simpler methods including all-in-one, extract and stovetop batches.
We discuss economics and how it can actually be cheaper to brew beer than buy it now.
Time pressure has driven many brewers to simplify and John provides a few time saving tips.
We discuss styles, and how the IPA craze may be waning and we are seeing a return to brewing many traditional English and European styles.
John provides a few tips for simplified fermentation and packaging.
We discuss how homebrewing is evolving to meet people’s busy lifestyles rather than emulating complex professional systems.
We talk about how we are entering a different era in homebrewing, and how in many ways it is the golden era of brewing in terms of equipment, ingredients and knowledge.
John gives his closing thoughts.

Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsor Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine for sponsoring this episode. I encourage you to subscribe to their great magazine!
Also check out BeerSmith, BeerSmith Web, BeerSmith Mobile software and the DVDs John Palmer and I filmed – How to Brew with Malt Extract and How to Brew All Grain are available now. You can subscribe to the BeerSmith newsletter for free to get some great articles on home brewing.

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

Audio feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/content/feed/podcast)
Video feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/tv/category/podcast/feed/ )
Audio podcast on Google Play here

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (or link at the top of the page) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Understanding Hop Sensory Data 24 Jan 9:37 AM (2 months ago)

This week I take a close look at hop sensory data which these days is often published on a “spider chart” by the major hop suppliers. Armed with this knowledge you can do a better job selecting hops for your beer.

Hop Sensory Data

Some time ago, I published an article on how hop sensory analysis is done and how you can easily do it at home or with a small group of people. I do recommend reading this article as it not only covers how you can analyze the hops you have on hand but also how to use this as a quick check of the freshness of your hops before brewing.

Fortunately most of the major hop producers now publish hop sensory data for each of their major varieties, often in the form of a spider chart like the one shown to the right from Hopsteiner describing the major aroma/flavors. This data is typically generated by a judging panel doing a dry rub of the fresh hops.

While there is some variation in the number of sensory aroma/flavors listed, most producers use at least six and sometimes as many as 12 axis on their charts. Here are the major aromas as well as the oils associated with them:

Floral: A variety of flowery aromas including things like rose, lavender, lilac, lily, geraniums, jasmine and various blossoms. These aromas are associated with the oils gerainiol, citronellol, and gerainiol acetate.
Fruity: Fruity flavors are sometimes listed as fruity, or on other listings may be broken out into subcategories like Stone Fruits, Tropical/Sweet Fruits, and Berries/Currants. Tropical fruits include passion fruit, pineapple, kiwi, mango, guava and dried fruits. Stone/sweet fruits include things like banana, watermelon, melon, honeydew, peach, apricot, cherry, plum, apples, pears, gooseberry, white wine, grape and dried fruits. Berries and currants include blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, cranberry, mulberry and red and black currants.
Herbal: Herbal flavors include flavors we associated with common spices including basil, parsley, dill, rosemanry, thyme, tea, tarragon, marjoram, oregano and other common household spices.
Spicy: Flavors include things we associate with hot spices including pepper, chili, curry, licorace, cloves, coriander, cinnamon, juniper, anise, nutmeg and ginger.
Citrus: Flavors we associate with citrus fruits including things like orange, grapefruit, lime, lemon, tangerine and bergamot.
Resin/Piney: Aromas that are like a pine tree, pine pitch or wood-pine often associated with higher myrcene levels.
Vegetal: Vegatal encompasses aromas like onions, garlic, leeks, fresh cut grass, radish and celery.
Sweet/Sugar Like: Sweeter aromas you associate with sugar and caramel

As I mentioned, some hop growers will break their sensory profile into additional categories. For example it is common to break the fruity character into several subcategories. Similarly some break out the grassy aroma as a separate category from vegetal.

Reading the Spider Chart (Radar Chart)

Hop suppliers typically publish a spider chart (also called a radar chart) to graphically display their sensory data similar to the one above from Hopsteiner. Most of these charts list each aroma on a scale from zero to 5, with zero being none of the aroma present and 5 being a very intense aroma.

Looking at the one above for the Centennial variety, we can see that the hop has a very intense citrus finish to it. It also has a moderate level of resin, and a low to medium level of spice and sugar aromas. So this hop would be appropriate if you are attempting to create an IPA with a citrus finish, for example.

By comparing spider charts for different varieties, you can target the flavors you desire in your finished beer, or even combine several varieties into hop blends to create your own aroma profile.

I hope you enjoyed today’s article on hop sensory analysis and spider charts. Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

Process Control of DMS in Lagers with Dr Greg Casey – BeerSmith Podcast #317 22 Jan 9:03 AM (2 months ago)

This week Dr Greg Casey joins me to discuss Dimethyl Sulfide (DMS) in lagers, and how process control can aid in reducing DMS.

Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play

Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (56:09)

This week I welcome back Dr Greg Casey. Greg has had an extensive history in brewing including Carling O’Keefe, Molson’s, Carlsberg, Anheuser-Busch, Stroh, Coors, Molson Coors and MillerCoors. He holds a PhD in Applied Microbiology and Food Science and was the 2001-2002 Chair of the Education Committee of the Master Brewers Association and President of the American Society of Brewing Chemists from 2005-2006.
Greg recently released the first volume in his history of American Lagers: Insipiring History and Legacies of American Lager
Greg and I discuss the launch of his first volume history of American Lagers as well as the upcoming release of the second volume.
We talk about Process Control for DMS, and Greg’s history working the DMS problem for large breweries.
We discuss how reducing DMS is an important feature of American Lager beers – especially in the light variants.
Greg explains the two competing theories on how and where DMS is introduced in brewing and where the best points in the process are to reduce it.
We talk about how DMS first got on Greg’s radar screen and his in-depth dive into its causes.
Greg talks about his experience looking at DMS from a practical perspective and how even tiny changes in the equipment and process can cause DMS to rise.
We discuss some of the things Greg learned working with DMS, as well as what his believe is on the best control points to reduce it.
We discuss Quality at the Source and its impact.
Greg shares his thoughts on Dr Bamforth’s perspective on DMS and how he believes DMS can best be controlled in the early parts of brewing as opposed to fermentation. For reference, here’s the earlier episode on DMS I recorded with Dr Bamforth referenced in the show.
Greg provides us with a quick reference on how to get his 5 volume set (the first one is linked above).
He shares his closing thoughts.

Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsor Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine for sponsoring this episode. I encourage you to subscribe to their great magazine!
Also check out BeerSmith, BeerSmith Web, BeerSmith Mobile software and the DVDs John Palmer and I filmed – How to Brew with Malt Extract and How to Brew All Grain are available now. You can subscribe to the BeerSmith newsletter for free to get some great articles on home brewing.

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

Audio feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/content/feed/podcast)
Video feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/tv/category/podcast/feed/ )
Audio podcast on Google Play here

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (or link at the top of the page) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

How to Read a Beer Brewing Yeast Data Sheet 17 Jan 12:28 PM (2 months ago)

This week I take a look at how to read a yeast data sheet for brewing yeasts and how to better understand the flavors a given yeast might produce.

Yeast Data Sheets

Accurate yeast data can be hard to come by. Some of the better yeast labs publish detailed data on each strain, often collected by brewing a “typical” batch and then measuring specific compounds present in the finished beer. Others publish only the basic data such as recommended temperature range, average attenuation and a short description. A few yeast providers, like White Labs have begun publishing “Spider charts” (like the one here) – much like we see for many hops and malts which gives you a better idea of the typical flavor profile. However virtually every major yeast lab now provides at least their basic yeast bank online so you can easily look up their products and get some idea of what they are offering.

Basic Yeast Data

This is the type of data you can expect to see for the vast majority of yeast providers:

Name and Product ID: Most yeasts are named for the style of beer they target, for example “California Ale Yeast” or “English Ale”, but they also have a ID number associated them such as WLP002 for White labs, or 1028 for a Wyeast London Ale. This helps narrow things down as some labs provide multiple strains for a single style such as “American Ale II” or “Whitbread II” which have different product numbers.
Attenuation Range: The range listed is apparent attenuation, and gives you an idea of the percent of sugars fermented. Most brewers yeast will have apparent attenuation in the 68-85% range. Those with low attenuation will give you a higher finishing gravity with more body, maltiness and residual carbohydrates while those with high attenuation will finish cleaner and drier.
Fermentation Temperature Range: This is the recommended fermentation temperature for this yeast strain. Within this temperature range you will typically get the best yeast performance and best overall flavor. If you ferment too cold, the fermentation may be slow, stall or not finish properly. Fermenting too hot can result in additional esters (fruity flavors) as well as fusel alcohols. Fermenting outside the range can also give you off flavors.
Flocculation: A measure of how fast the yeast “drops out” of suspension after the fermentation is complete. A highly flocculant yeast will fall out rapidly, leaving your beer clear in just a few days, while a low flocculation yeast can stay in the finished beer for some time.
Alcohol Tolerance: A measure of the percent of alcohol the yeast can tolerate before it shuts down. Many beer strains are not as tolerant as wine yeast and can only handle lower alcohol levels in the 6-10% range. If you attempt to make a high gravity beer or barley wine with a low to medium alcohol tolerance yeast, you will find that the fermentation often stalls leaving you with a very high finishing gravity and improper balance. So if you are working with a high gravity style, you need to select a yeast that can tolerate higher alcohol.
Description: These vary tremendously, but the description will typically include something about the source or heritage of the yeast, styles it is used in and something about the flavor and character of the yeast strain.

Advanced Yeast Data

Diacetyl (Buttery): A buttery popcorn-like flavor common in many English Ale strains. While desirable in English ales, high levels of diacetyl are not desirable in many continental and US beer styles.
Phenolics (Pentainedione): Present in many Belgian yeast strains, phenolics produce a clove and spicy finish that is distinctive. To some it can take on a smoky flavor and at very high levels result in medicinal and band-aid flavors. Another good example is Bavarian Witbier yeast which has a distinctive clove character from phenolics produced. Pentainedione is loosely related to diacetyl, this compound has more of a honey like flavor that is easily picked up in the finished beer.
Acetaldehyde (Green Apple): A green apple tasting flavor that is actually an intermediate compound created during fermentation. Most yeast strains will clean it up, but some yeast strains have higher residual levels than others leaving a slight green apple finish to the beer.
Esters (Fruity, Isoamyl Alcohol, Ethyl Acetate): Sometimes listed separately, but these are all esters. Ethyl acetate is the strongest of common esters with a fruity pear like flavor and aroma. Isoamyl acetate is another form with a flavor more closely aligned with bananas or “circus peanuts” and is a major component in the banana flavor we get from Bavarian Witbier yeast. In extreme, very high levels of esters can give you a solvent flavor like nail polish or turpentine.
Alcoholic (1-Propanol): These are both measures of higher level fusel alcohols you might associate with hard liquor. Fusel alcohols are produced by many strains if you ferment at a high temperature, though all yeast produce them to some degree.
Ethanol (Regular Alcohol): This is just the normal alcohol produced by the yeast. So if you see this stat, it is typically the alcohol level of the sample beer produced to collect statistics.
Hours to 50%: The number of hours for the yeast to ferment 50% of the fermentable sugars.
STA1 Positive or Negative: This is a fairly new stat, but many labs have started publishing it. The STA1 gene is an indicator of a particular variant of saccharomyces cerevisiae (normal brewing yeast) called diastaticus which is common in wild yeast. Unfortunately the presence of this STA1 gene means that under certain environments the yeast can ferment residual carbohydrates that a normal cerevisae strain would not ferment, and also can do it over an extended period. This can result in instability in the finished beer, extended fermentations and even bottle bombs. So some labs have started genetically testing their strains to identify STA1 positive yeasts.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s article on yeast statistics. Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

Mash Hopping to Enhance Beer Stability 9 Jan 7:58 AM (2 months ago)

This week I take a fresh look at mash hopping and why it might promote long term beer stability.

What is Mash Hopping?

The idea of adding hops directly to the mash tun in beer brewing actually has a long history. Many brewers experimented with mash hopping in the 1980’s and 1990’s as an alternative or supplement to boil hops, with the idea that it might promote a smoother finish on the beer. Unfortunately, given our limited knowledge of mash chemistry back then, what was likely happening is that the mash hop addition was lowering the pH slightly giving many of the benefits of a modern pH adjustment, now usually done with acid, but at a higher cost as hops are expensive.

Mash hopping also does add some bitterness, but the utilization at a typical mash temperature of 154F (68C) is equivalent to a whirlpool addition at the same time and temperature, but without the advantage of preserving hop oils, which will be boiled off later. This somewhere in the 8-9% level as compared to boiling the hops. So it is roughly equivalent to a 1/10th size boil addition of the same time period. Given that we could use a boil addition 1/10th the size to achieve the same bitterness, mash hopping is not a good way to get bitterness into your beer.

I’ve been a long time critic of mash hopping as it is an inefficient use of hops for bittering, and also none of the aromatic hop oils survive the boiling process so it adds basically no aromatics.

Mash Hopping For Beer Stability

In a recent podcast episode with Scott Janish, he makes the case that a mash hop addition will actually lower the levels of metals like iron remaining in the finished beer and therefore reduce problems with long term stability in the beer. Scott says that the alpha and beta acids in the hops react with iron and other metals during the mash and can reduce iron content in the finished beer by as much as 30%. This was with a fairly robust addition of hops equal to about 20 IBUs he says.

Iron and other metals are highly reactive, particularly with oxygen, and play a major role in spoiling your beer after it is packaged, so reducing metal content is important for long term beer stability. Metals will typically oxidize easily so any residual oxygen in the beer will create the classic stale cardboard finish of oxidized beer. Scott also claims it reduces aldehydes which can also generate off flavors. I encourage you to listen to the full episode here for more information.

Mash Hopping to Enhance Thiols

The other interesting development the last few years has been the use of mash hops to free thiols in certain styles like Hazy/New England IPAs. I’ve done a number of podcasts highlighting the role that thiols from hops play in creating fruity tropical flavors in an IPA including this one with Stan Hieronymus, and this one with Chris Graham and Vito Delluchi. However we’ve not covered the use of mash hopping as a technique.

This article from Yakima Valley Hops covers the technique in some detail. Thiols come in two forms, free and bound, but only the free thiols make a significant contribution to the flavor and aroma of the finished beers. The basic idea is that hopping during the mash converts some of the crystaline bound thiols in the hops into a form that can then be biotransformed by yeast during fermentation into free thiols. While thiols make up a tiny portion of the hop cone, they are perceptable in the parts per trillion scale and therefore have a big impact on the finished beer.

Yakima recommends choosing hops that are high in thiol content, such as Citra, Cascade, Galaxy, Eclipse as well as most of the Australian and New Zealand varieties. They also recommend using a thiol boosting yeast for best effect such as Omega’s Cosmic Punch Ale (OLY-402) for maximum impact. These newer, thiol boosting yeasts are better at completing the biotransformation of bound thiols to create free thiols. Yakima has some additional tips like bagging your pelllet hops in the mash, and I encourage you to read their full article for more details.

So does mash hopping make sense for your next beer? If you are planning a beer for longer term storage or perhaps developing a commercial beer that may sit on the shelf for some time, then mash hopping to reduce metals in your beer might make sense. Similarly if you are developing a big tropical hazy IPA then combining mash hops with a thiol boosting yeast might also be a good choice.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s article on mash hopping. Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

Beer Case Study: BeerSmith’s Irish Stout 3 Jan 6:15 AM (3 months ago)

This week I take on another beer recipe design case study of the classic Irish Stout style.

The Irish Stout Style

The classic Irish Stout is obviously Guinness, first brewed by Arther Guinness at St James’ Gate in Dublin Ireland. I’ve had the privilege of visiting the brewery a few years back and a fresh Guinness in the tasting room in Dublin is an outstanding beer experience. Guinness is dominant in Ireland and arguably the most recognizable stout in the world.

While traveling in Ireland I was trying to sample some of the local beers. At two different pubs I attempted to order another brand of beer, only to be told by the server that “You don’t want that – you want a Guinness.” They both poured me a Guinness! Apparently the other beer taps are just for show.

The local draft version of Guinness is a fairly low alcohol beer in the 3.5-4% range. The BJCP style guide lists the original gravity in the 1.036-1.044 range, and ABV as 3.9-5%. Bitterness is a moderate 25-45 IBUs and color in the black 25-40 SRM range.

The dry acrid flavor comes from the use of stout roast/roasted barley. Roast barley is an interesting “malt” as its actually not malted at all but instead just raw barley roasted at very high temperature. The rich thick body in Irish Stout comes from a generous dose of flaked barley.

Design Decisions

Though my Irish Stout recipe dates back some 20 years, it is arguably one of the easier all grain beers to brew. The roast barley is so strong it hides most flaws in your brewing process, so its actually a hard beer to mess up. If you want to learn more designing recipes, this article on the principles of beer recipe design is a great place to start, and you will see many of its elements reflected here.

For a base malt, I use UK Pale malt, though arguably just about any pale malt will do. The other malts are dominant, so there is not a big reason to use a flavorful base malt like Maris Otter on this beer. While my rule of thumb for beers is to use no more than 20% specialty malts, for this particular style I break that rule and actually have about 30% specialty malts and 70% base malt. The reason for this is that I will use a big flaked barley addition to drive the body way up without significantly altering the flavor.

The next major addition is the flaked barley. For this recipe I use 20% flaked barley, which is basically unmalted barley that has been flaked like corn flakes so it can be mashed and converted. Flaked barley leaves a fair amount of proteins and unfermentable starches in the finished beer, which provides the thick mouthfeel we closely associate with Irish Stout. It also makes the beer punch above its low alcohol level, so it feels like a bigger beer than it is.

In sticking with the principle of simplicity, the remaining 10% of the malt bill is the defining flavor malt, which is roast barley, sometimes called stout roast. As I mentioned above this is also unmalted barley that has been roasted at high temperature. It has the magic dry, acrid, bitter finish we associate with Irish Stout, but lacks the sweetness, melanoidins and warmth you might get from Black Patent or Chocolate Malt. Roasted barley is the defining malt, so you don’t need to add anything else to it.

For water, many years ago brewers made a big deal out of brewing stouts with water high in bicarbonates. Dublin water is fairly soft with a moderate level or calcium, low sulfates and chlorides and a slightly elevated level of about 200 ppm bicarbonates. However the bicarbonate level is well within the roughly 0-250 ppm range that is considered normal for brewing water, so it is slightly elevated. I’ve brewed my recipe with no water salt additions using a moderate base water and it comes out fine, so I don’t think you need to really do much adjustment with your brewing water if it is within the normal range.

Given the huge amount of roast barley in this recipe, it is unlikely you will need to make any mash pH adjustments, but you can use a bit of lactic acid if the pH is too high. For mash temperature, I mash either with a medium body mash profile. You could go with a higher temperature full body mash if you like, but the 20% flaked barley usually adds plenty of body to the beer with either option.

Hopping is actually an important topic. While many brewers are familiar with the concept of the bitterness ratio and balancing your hop level with the original gravity, it is also important to balance hopping levels with the color of the beer for darker beers. A very dark beer with a lot of roast malt requires an elevated level of bitterness to balance out the roast malts. If you hopped this beer based purely on its low original gravity it would actually be out of balance. I used 44 IBUs of East Kent Goldings in a single boil addition in this beer which is at the high end of the range for the style (30-45 IBUs), but the hops are needed to offset the 10% black barley. East Kent Goldings is one of my favorite British hops as it has a nice complexity to it.

So overall, the brewing process is very straightforward for this beer. A base malt and two specialty malts, a simple single infusion mash, and just one boil addition for hops.

For yeast, I choose the Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale yeast, though you could use the White Labs WLP004 or any number of other vendor’s Irish Ale yeasts. I’ve also heard that other brewers have made this recipe with other English Ale yeast variants with great success. The beer does not require any special fermentation other than to keep it around room temperature. It also does not require extended aging, and you can typically enjoy it within two weeks.

Traditional Irish Ales are served at a fairly low carbonation level, though here in the US we often elevate that a bit. If you want full authenticity you can use a CO2/Nitrogen mix when kegging your Irish Stout, as this is how the draught Guinness is served. It does require a kegging system, bottle of mixed CO2/nitrogen and an elevated serving pressure. Of course the nitrogen works best with a true Stout Tap.

I have literally brewed this beer dozens of times, and it always comes out great! Here are the recipe link for the final recipe:

BeerSmith’s Dry Irish Stout (original 5 gal recipe)

I hope you enjoyed this weeks in depth look at one of my favorite beers – the dry Irish Stout. Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

How to Ship Home Brewed Beer 28 Dec 2024 8:12 AM (3 months ago)

This week I take a look at how to legally ship your home brewed beer to a friend or perhaps to submit it for a competition. As you will see, state laws as well as shipper’s restrictions can make this very difficult for an individual.

The Legal Complexities of Shipping Beer

First of all, I want to emphasize that this article is not intended to cover for-profit, commercial beer, which is a complex topic governed by each state’s alcohol and beverage commission. If you want to send beer for profit, you need to research the specific laws governing sale in a given state. Also I’m not a lawyer, so I won’t attempt to provide legal advice other than to refer you to local state laws.

Unfortunately in the US, there are a patchwork of laws covering alcoholic beverages governed by each state. While most states have exemptions in place for personal/non-commercial use as well as sending beer to beer competitions, I can’t say this the case with every state. So if you want to be completely, 100% legal you should probably check not only your local laws, but also the laws at the destination you are shipping to. There is a comprehensive list of the laws in every state here on the Crafty Shipping site, and another summary by state here, but even then sometimes homebrew falls into a grey area in which case you may want to contact your state alcohol/beverage commission. If you are shipping to another country, you also need to consider US as well as foreign import/export laws which vary widely.

In addition to complying with the laws of each state, you need to consider that different shippers also have their own rules about shipping alcohol. For example, the US Postal Service does NOT allow you to legally ship alcohol using their service. The other two major services do allow shipping of alcohol, but generally only for licensed businesses who have specific approval from the shipper. This does leave most home brewers at risk when shipping home brew.

US Postal Service (USPS): The US Postal Service does NOT allow shipping of alcoholic beverages.
Federal Express (FedEx): While FedEx does allow licensed businesses to ship and receive beer, they do not allow individual consumers as you can see on their web site. You need to go through a process to become an approved shipper, and this usually requires a business and alcohol license. There are also varying rules for licensee-to-licensee shipping and licensee-to-consumer shipping, and you must get approval as a licensed shipper.
United Parcel Service (UPS): UPS also only accepts packages containing beer from licensed shippers. Similar to the process above with FedEx you need to enter into an agreement with UPS to become an approved shipper of beer. Generally this requires a license to sell or distribute beer, and a consultation with UPS and signed agreement.
DHL: DHL specializes in international shipments, and like the domestic private shippers it requires a signed DHL agreement and business licensing to ship beer. There is also the added complexity of complying with various international alcohol and import/export laws.

Obviously, some homebrewers do ship beer to enter competitions and also to send samples to friends and family. Most do this via UPS or FedEx since the USPS has a general ban on shipping alcohol. How do they do this without a business alcohol license? I can only assume they either get someone who is licensed to ship it or perhaps do it in a way that may not fully comply with the shipper’s rules. I’m not advocating this in any way, just noting that you typically need a business, an alcohol license and an agreement with the shipper to legally ship beer.

If you ship beer as an individual without complying with the shipper’s rules, you do so at your own risk.

Packaging Your Beer

Here are some tips on how to best package your beer assuming you are shipping bottles:

Separate Each Bottle with Bubble Wrap or Cardboard – A basic rule of thumb is that you never want to have two bottles touching each other in any way as it can easily lead to cracked bottles. You need to individually wrap your bottles in bubble wrap or use cardboard separators between bottles. You can also use foam or packing peanuts to provide separation.
Line the box with foam or Double Box it: An additional layer of foam, bubble wrap or cardboard on the outside is good insurance against damage. Nothing should move when you shake the box after it is packed.
Tape the box well – Tape all of the seams on the box.
Label the box as Fragile – It never hurts to label the box as fragile. Possibly it will face less abuse in handling.
Plastic Lining: Some brewers will use a heavy gauge plastic trash bag or other plastic liner that can at least contain leaks if there is a broken bottle.
Check The Shipper’s Rules: Each shipper has their own set of packaging rules and restrictions on how alcoholic beverages must be packaged.
Avoid Shipping During Hot Weather – The beer will sit in a hot truck at some point, so it is best not to ship in the middle of summer.
Label the Box Properly: Make sure you have your destination address, return address and any labeling or paperwork required to comply with the shipper’s rules.

I hope you enjoyed today’s article on packaging and shipping beer. Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

Cider and Perry with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast #316 24 Dec 2024 9:00 AM (3 months ago)

Gordon Strong joins me this week to discuss making Cider, Perry and the upcoming changes to the BJCP cider style guide.

Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play

Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (56:21)

This week I welcome back Gordon Strong. Gordon Strong is the President Emeritus of the Beer Judge Certification Program, its highest rated beer judge, and author of the books Modern Homebrew Recipes and Brewing Better Beer (Books links are paid Amazon affiliate links).
Gordon joins me to talk about making cider at home, perry and the various cider styles. We also discuss the major revision he’s working on for the 2025 BJCP Cider Style Guide.
We start with a short discussion of some of Gordon’s activities including his revision of the cider style guidelines.
Gordon explains that most beer brewers have the equipment on hand to easily make cider from juice, and we talk about the process for making it.
He shares the kind of raw cider juice he prefers to work with.
We talk about kegging and finishing the cider, as well as the option to backsweeten cider.
Gordon introduces the major categories of cider, and we discuss a few cider styles.
We also discuss perry, which is made from pears and how it can really be a delicious alternatives.
Gordon discusses cider and perry made with other fruits, and we talk about a few of our favorite fruits that work well with ciders.
We talk about using herbs and spices with cider including hopped ciders.
Gordon introduces the new BJCP cider style guide which he’s been working on for some time, which is a major revision.
The new guide will be released by the BJCP in early 2025 on their web site.
Gordon shares his closing thoughts.

Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsor Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine for sponsoring this episode. I encourage you to subscribe to their great magazine!
Also check out BeerSmith, BeerSmith Web, BeerSmith Mobile software and the DVDs John Palmer and I filmed – How to Brew with Malt Extract and How to Brew All Grain are available now. You can subscribe to the BeerSmith newsletter for free to get some great articles on home brewing.

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

Audio feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/content/feed/podcast)
Video feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/tv/category/podcast/feed/ )
Audio podcast on Google Play here

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (or link at the top of the page) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Major Aromatic Hop Oils in Beer Brewing 19 Dec 2024 6:22 AM (3 months ago)

This week I take a fresh look at the major aromatic hop oils and how they affect your beer’s aroma and flavors.

Aromatic Hop Oils

Hops contain over 500 flavor and aroma compounds, many of which are transformed during brewing fermentation and aging. In addition, when and how you use the hops can affect the flavors produced. Several weeks ago I wrote an article on Hop Alpha Acids, which covered the five major alpha acids that contribute the bulk of the bitterness to your beer, primarily through boiling or a hot steep.

This week I’ll focus on aromatic oil compounds that, instead of bitterness, produce a wide variety of hoppy aroma in a finished beer that vary from tropical to piney to spicy. These aromas, combined with bitterness from the boil addition give you the complete hoppy sensory experience you get when you sample a well made IPA. Scott Janish has a nice interactive chart here that shows hop oil concentration for most of the major hop varieties and this is a handy tool for those looking to learn more.

Most aroma oils are volatile, meaning they vaporize at a fairly low temperature, which is why whirlpool and dry hopping have become the preferred way to introduce them into a beer.

Major Hop Oils

Here are the major hop oils that provide the bulk of the aroma in a finished beer:

Myrcene – The most significant hop oil, making up from 30-60% of total hop oils in most varieties. Myrcene is often described as the “fresh hop oil” and has flavors and aroma varying from herbaceous to resinous, green, balsamic, and slightly metallic. It is a major component in many hop varieties from the Pacific Northwest, and is therefore a critical oil in IPAs. Cascade, for example has a myrcene content of nearly 60%. Myrcene has a low boiling point and is highly volatile. In fact it will virtually disappear in most boil additions, and even tends to be volatile in higher temperature whirlpool/steeping additions. It also oxidizes very rapidly, and is probably best used in dry hop applications.
Humulene – The second largest hop oil by percentage, humulene makes up between 12% and 50% of total hop oils. Humulene is responsible for earthy and spicy flavors found in traditional noble hops. While humulene has a higher boiling point (around 210 F or 98.9 C), it is very volatile and hydrophobic, so it is still best used in the whirlpool or dry hopping. Humulene is also easily oxidized, though the oxidized humulene-epoxide III play a major role in the flavor of varieties like Hallertauer Mittelfrüh.
Caryophyllene- Caryophyllene makes up between 6% and 15% of total hop oils in most varieties. It is a major compound in many aromatic plants including cloves, cannabis, rosemary, and hops. It is also a significant aromatic compound in black pepper. The aroma is described as woody, earthy, and peppery though it also has a strong herbal component. The spicy, woody aroma is often evident when you crush dried hops in your hands. Many English hop varieties such as East Kent Goldings have the largest percentage of caryphyllene giving them a woody, earthy finish. While not quite as volatile as myrcene, caryophyllene it will boil quickly and is best used in the whirlpool or as a dry hop.
Geraniol – Geraniol is an aromatic oil with a floral, sweet or rose aroma found in many American, New Zealand and Australian hops. It is used in rose oil, palmarosa oil, and citronella oil, and is a component of common spices like lavender, nutmeg, coriander, rose and blackberry. Many brewers also will add hops with geraniol during the tail end of active fermentation to promote tropical and citrus fruit flavors. Hops with high geraniol have become popular for creating tropical/fruity IPA styles.
Linalool – Related closely to Myrcene chemically, linalool has a floral aroma that smells like rose, orange, citrus or lavender. It is more soluble in wort than myrcene, and also has a lower flavor threshold so it can be potent despite the small fraction it makes up of total hop oils. Like geraniol, linalool is associated with many of the tropical, floral and citrus flavors that are popular in fruity and tropical IPAs.
Farnesene – Farnesene is a volatile hop oil that is loosely associated with certain noble hops like Saaz, but can make up 10-20% of total hop oils in other noble hops like Tettnanger, Styrian hops and many American varieties. It has a woody, herbal, citrus aroma and sometimes also takes on a floral character. Because it is very volatile, it is rarely found in the finished beer unless it has been dry hopped. The compounds is often associated with varieties that take on a noble hop character, so if you see a hop high in Farnesene it likely has the aroma profile similar to many noble hops.
β-Pinene – Though not a major hop oil, β-Pinene has a green-woody and piney aroma. It is a monoterpene, commonly found in many plants and it is soluble in alcohol but not water.
Thiols – Fully covering thiols and their role in brewing could easily fill several articles. Thiols make up a very tiny fraction of overall hop oils, but are potent aromatics and also can biotransform and enhance many other hop oils in positive ways. They can drive beer flavor in both a positive and negative way but the most flavor positive thiols are 3MH, 4MMP (4-methyl-4-mercaptopentan-2-one), 3MHA (3-mercaptohexylacetate), and 3S4MP (3-sulfanyl-4-methylpentan-1-ol). Flavors associated with these include tropical fruits, passion fruit, grapefruit, rhubarb, black currants, and wine flavors. Thiols are so important to many IPA styles that labs have developed thiol boosting yeasts and additives to free bound thiols from hops. I’ve done several podcasts on thiols including this one with Stan Hieronymus and this one with Morebeer if you want to learn more.

Those are the most important hop oils, and as mentioned above, you can find the interactive chart of hop oils for many varieties from Scott Janish here. I hope you enjoyed this week’s article on hop oils! Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

The Benefits of Joining Your Local Homebrew Club 13 Dec 2024 11:03 AM (3 months ago)

This week I take a look at homebrew clubs, and why joining a homebrew club may be one of the best moves you can make as a brewer.

A Brief History of Homebrew Clubs

Homebrewing in the US started when the first English colonists arrived on the New World, though there is wide evidence many native tribes brewed beverages from various base grains, and many South American countries still make a style of beer from corn. After an 80 year dry spell starting with Prohibition, homebrewing in America was legalized again on October 14th, 1978 by President Jimmy Carter.

Only a few weeks later in December of 1978, Charlie Papazian founded the American Homebrewer’s Association (AHA) (affiliate link) which is the National organization in the US dedicated to amateur brewing. The first national beer competition was held in 1979 with only 34 entries. The National Homebrewing Competition continues to this day, organized each year by the AHA.

As soon as homebrewing was legalized, small local brewing clubs started to pop up in major metro areas. In a time before the YouTube and the internet, these clubs played an absolutely critical role in developing, promoting and educating new brewers in how beer is made at home. Equipment was often hand made, ingredients were of poor quality and there were only a handful of books, mostly from England on brewing.

Over the next 46 years these clubs grew and evolved to play a variety of roles including for social gatherings, education, sharing, experimenting, competing and just having fun making beer as well as related beverages like mead, wine and cider. One of the oldest, the Maltose falcons, celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2024.

Why Join a Homebrew Club?

Though some clubs took a bit of a membership hit during COVID, many are enjoying strong growth now. There are many benefits to joining a homebrew club to include:

Education: Clubs provide both formal and informal education for members. This can take the form of presentations by members and outside guests, but there is also a lot of informal education that happens at meetings including exchanging samples of your beer, evaluating beers, discussing new equipment options and techniques and much more. I would be hard pressed to come up with a meeting I attended without learning at least one or two new gems.
Informal Feedback on your Beer: Virtually every meeting I’ve ever been to finishes with a sharing of beers. Members bring in their latest creations and pass them around in an informal setting. You can ask for feedback, evaluate other brewers and learn how they achieved a certain flavor or effect.
Meet Other Brewers: Brewing at home is still a relatively small hobby. Though everyone seems to know a brewer, the AHA estimates there are around 1 million homebrewers in the US and many of those do not brew on a regular basis. That may sound like a lot, but in a country of 346 million, that’s less than 1 in every 300 people. So the local club is a great place to meet people who live nearby and share your passion for brewing beer.
The Social Aspect: Though some brewers are introverts, there is a social element to almost every homebrew meeting. Meetings usually end with an open sharing of beers, opinions and stories and after only a few meetings you do get to know the other members. Some clubs also have organized social events whether it be an annual Holiday dinner, local brewery tour, picnic, pub crawl or even unrelated activities. You will almost certainly find new friends.
Competition and Judging: Though competition may strike fear in the hearts of new brewers, the competitions for local clubs can vary from very informal to very formal. Some clubs just have a style of the night like Pale Ales and ask members to bring their best Pale Ales. Others organize more formal city or regional competitions one or more times a year where beer judges, score sheets, and medals are awarded. No matter what your skill level, you can learn a lot by both entering and judging beers in a competition.

What to Expect at a Club Meeting

Most meetings I’ve been to have followed a similar format. Typically they start with a short discussion of upcoming events and business followed by a presentation of some kind. This could be a formal presentation from a guest speaker, or an informal presentation from a club member describing new equipment, techniques or even a beer he brewed. After this the meeting usually transitions to an informal sharing of beers where you get to share the brews you made and sample beers others have made. This is the social part of the meeting, and a good chance to learn about beers, beer-making and judging from other members. It is also not uncommon for people to bring along a little home made food or snacks to share to go along with the beer. As the social hour (or two) progresses, people come and go at will, so there is no need to shut the place down unless you want to.

How to Find a Local Club

The AHA maintains a club finding tool here which lists clubs by state and also includes listings for many other (non US) countries. Their database includes over 1900 clubs and has links to each club’s website as well as contact email. Though not every club is great at updating their websites, you can usually get a response quickly from any active club by dropping them an email.

In addition, your favorite search engine is your friend. Just Google “homebrew club” and enter your local city or town and likely several sites will show up. From the club site you can find their meeting times, local membership contacts and upcoming event information.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s article on homebrew clubs. I would love to hear your comments on your local club. Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

Diastaticus Yeast, Beer Brewing and the STA1 Gene 5 Dec 2024 7:09 AM (4 months ago)

This week I take a look at the yeast variant diastaticus more formally known as saccharomyces cerevisiae var. diastaticus. This is a form of wild yeast that can lead to the unwanted extended fermentation of sugars in a finished beer.

The Diastaticus Problem

As mentioned above diastaticus is a genetic variant of the normal Saccharomyces cerevisiae (common brewing) yeast. It is commonly found in the wild and around many breweries, so it is fairly easy to get cross contamination in a typical brewing environment, and is also sometimes present even in certain brewing strains.

The main problem with diastaticus variants is that many of them will ferment residual carbohydrates that a normal cerevisae strain would not ferment, and also can do it over an extended period. This can unfortunately lead to fermentation after bottling or kegging creating issues with stability, over-attenuation, changes in flavor, over-carbonation and even bottles bursting.

A yeast is classified as a diastaticus variant if it carries a “signature” gene called STA1. So all diastaticus variants carry the STA1 gene, though not all strains will express the gene resulting in the extended fermentation issue above. Still it is known that if a yeast strain has the STA1 marker gene, it is capable of developing the stability and over-attenuation problem given the right environment. This article was derived from a wyeast article found here if you want to read more about the details on diastaticus and STA1.

The Root of the Problem

Diastaticus is common in many wild yeasts, so you can have contamination at the yeast supplier or brewery. The wyeast article linked above notes that a study (Meier-Dӧrnberg, Jakob, Michel & Hutzler, 2017) in Europe found that only a single contamination of STA1 occurred at a yeast supplier, and recently yeast labs have been taking extra steps to test for an prevent diastaticus contamination.

In 92% of the cases, the breweries themselves were the cause of contamination with the bottling/filling area making up the vast majority (71%). Most of the remaining issues (29%) came from the brewhouse, fermentation cellar and storage cellar.

Diastaticus Solutions

Yeast labs, now being widely aware of the issue have implemented additional steps to test for and eliminate diastaticus contamination in their strains. In addition, the major yeast labs have started publishing STA1 as part of their yeast data – typically listed simply as “STA1” positive or negative. A yeast that is STA1 negative does not have the gene, and cannot express itself in the unwanted fermentation of complex carbohydrates.

However as diastaticus is common in wild yeast strains, and over 90% of the cross contamination takes place in the brewery, both home and commercial brewers need to be aware of the issue and take additional steps to ensure proper cleaning and sanitation. Bottling and filling areas are of a particular concern and small items like fillers, hoses, kegs and bottles need to be meticulously cleaned and sanitized. However the fact is that contamination can occur anywhere on the cold side of brewing to include chilling, fermentation, aging, and storage. Pasteurization is often used for commercial beer to kill off any yeast in the finished product.

Proper care and pitching if yeast is also important. While yeast providers are taking extra precautions now, you can easily cross contaminate when making a starter or pitching your yeast. Those reusing yeast from one batch to another must be particularly careful as it is easy to get diastaticus in your sample when harvesting or propagating yeast.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s article on diastaticus. Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. If you want to take the guesswork out of brewing, please try my BeerSmith recipe software from BeerSmith.com. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes and youtube) for more great tips on homebrewing.

Hidden Beers of Belgium with Breandán Kearney – BeerSmith Podcast #315 4 Dec 2024 12:10 PM (4 months ago)

Breandán Kearney joins me this week to discuss his new book Hidden Beers of Belgium, which features many small brewers in Belgium as well as the stories and brewers behind them.

Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play

Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (48:25)

This week Breandán Kearney joins me to talk about his new book Hidden Beers of Belgium (Amazon Affiliate Link). Breandan is an author and runs a podcast called Belgian Smaak. He has been recognized by the North American Guild of Beer Writers, British Guild of Beer Writes and the Belgian Podcast Awards.
Breandán introduces his book and what motivated him to write it.
We discuss what a “Hidden Beer of Belgium” is and the criteria he used to find the beers featured in the book.
The chapters are divided loosely by beer character. We start with “Thirst Crushers” which are drinkable beers with lower alcohol.
Each of the beer sections includes a backstory about the brewer and the beer. Breandan shares one of his favorite backstories.
We talk about several other styles including Belgian Sours and Hoppy beers like Hazy IPA.
Breandán tells us about how Abbey style beers have a significant influence over many of the Belgian beers in his book.
We discuss his chapter on “Unusual Suspects” and what it really takes to create a unique beer in the widely varying Belgian beer market.
Breandán talks about stouts and his chapter on “Cereal Killers”.
He shares his closing thoughts on the innovative Belgian beer culture.

Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsor Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine for sponsoring this episode. I encourage you to subscribe to their great magazine!
Also check out BeerSmith, BeerSmith Web, BeerSmith Mobile software and the DVDs John Palmer and I filmed – How to Brew with Malt Extract and How to Brew All Grain are available now. You can subscribe to the BeerSmith newsletter for free to get some great articles on home brewing.

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

Audio feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/content/feed/podcast)
Video feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/tv/category/podcast/feed/ )
Audio podcast on Google Play here

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (or link at the top of the page) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Tasting and Designing Beer with Randy Mosher – BeerSmith Podcast #314 27 Nov 2024 12:48 PM (4 months ago)

Randy Mosher joins me this week to discuss the relationship between tasting and designing great beers. We talk about mental models, ingredients, taste, smell and how they all play together to create amazing beer.

Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play

Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (48:16)

This week Randy Mosher joins me to discuss mental models, ingredients, tasting, and how these factors all play into designing great beers. Randy is the author of the books Mastering Homebrew, Radical Brewing, and Tasting Beer. (Full disclosure: Amazon affiliate links to books) He’s also partner in two breweries near Chicago Five Rabbit and Forbidden Root.
Randy also has a new book coming out titled Your Tasting Brain and has recently revamped his website at RandyMosher.com
We start with a discussion of his new book Your Tasting Brain as well as the status of his two breweries, one of which is currently on hold.
Randy tells us how your ability to design great beers can be limited by your ability to smell, taste and judge beers. We also discuss how some people are more sensitive to certain smells and tastes and how you can improve upon areas of weakness.
We discuss mental models and how we each have an internal mental model of different beer styles as well as models that apply to each ingredient.
Randy explains how mental models can be improved and how we can also increase our knowledge of individual ingredients.
He tells us how you can tell if something is truly missing from a finished beer.
We talk about cloning commercial beers, and how you can get close to your favorite craft beer at home.
We discuss intangibles like balance, complexity and depth.
Randy shares his thoughts on multi-sensory considerations in recipe design and how hundreds of ingredients combine to produce a sensory experience.
He gives his advice for home brewers on improving their beer design skills.
Randy finishes with his closing thoughts.

Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsor Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine for sponsoring this episode. I encourage you to subscribe to their great magazine!
Also check out BeerSmith, BeerSmith Web, BeerSmith Mobile software and the DVDs John Palmer and I filmed – How to Brew with Malt Extract and How to Brew All Grain are available now. You can subscribe to the BeerSmith newsletter for free to get some great articles on home brewing.

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

Audio feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/content/feed/podcast)
Video feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/tv/category/podcast/feed/ )
Audio podcast on Google Play here

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (or link at the top of the page) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

The Advantages of Cold Dry Hopping for Beer 26 Nov 2024 3:23 PM (4 months ago)

This week I take a look at cold, short duration dry hopping which seems counter-intuitive but has been shown to have its advantages for certain beers.

Scott Janish was the first one to mention cold dry hopping to me during a podcast in 2021 (Discussion starts around 42 min). He subsequently published a short article on his blog here making the case for cold dry hopping with a relatively short duration.

From a strict science perspective, the main purpose of dry hopping is to try to get relatively insoluble aromatic compounds into the beer. I’ve said many times that the reason these oils are aromatic is that they don’t like to stay in the beer. Typically it is easier to get a relatively insoluble compound into solution by applying either time or temperature or both.

So if we look at whirlpool hopping, for instance, we add hops at a relatively high temperature for a short amount of time (perhaps 10-40 minutes) in an effort to get some of the aromatic oils into solution. In contrast, dry hopping is done at relatively low fermentation or storage temperatures, but the hops are left in contact for a much longer period of time – usually 1-3 days and sometimes longer.

So it seems counterintuitive to think that dry hopping for a relatively short period of time at even colder temperatures is going to help aromatic oils get into the finished beer. However, the idea stuck in my head so I decided to dive deeper.

The Case for Shorter Dry Hop Times and Agitation

Lets first take a look at the optimal contact time for dry hopping. When I first started brewing we often dry hopped for a week or more or even used a technique called keg hopping where you literally left the hops in the keg until the beer was gone. However, the IPA revolution changed all of that, as brewers started to use extreme levels of dry hops for styles like Hazy IPAs, and we also gained a better understanding of dry hops.

For dry hopping, the goal is to get aromatic hop oils into the beer, but avoid more undesirable vegetal flavors. Brewers have found that many hop varieties are prone to creating vegetal, lawn mower or fresh cut grass flavors in the finished beer if dry hopped too long. So how much is enough?

Scott Janish notes in his article above that Wolf, Qian and Shellhammer published a study where they looked at aromatic compounds after dry hopping at the 1, 4 and 7 day timeframes. They found that some oils like myrcene and linalool, peak concentration was reached within 24 hours and in fact dropped slightly at 7 days. There is some evidence that the bulk of the extraction takes place in a matter of hours. Ref: (2012, The Effect of Pellet Processing and Exposure Time on Dry Aroma Extraction, ACS Symposium)

They did another test but this time added agitation by dry hopping on a shaker table to maximize extraction. In this case the linalool peaked in only four hours. As a result of this work, Scott now used much shorter contact times and has added agitation to his dry hop routine.

Another study (Reglitz, K., N. L., S. H., & M. S. (2018). On the Behavior of the Important Hop Odorant 4-Mercapto-4methylpentan-2-one (4MMP) during Dry Hopping and during Storage of Dry Hopped Beer. BrewingScience,71, 96-99) found that thiols also could be extracted quickly, and indeed peaked within two days of dry hopping.

If you want to learn more , Scott has a variety of sources listed here of studies that support the case for short dry hop times. Among the benefits are good hop oil extraction, better head retention, reduced hop creep and better Hazy IPA stability using a contact time of as little as 24-72 hours.

Cold Dry Hopping and Polyphenols

What about dry hop temperature? Scott cites research that found that dry hopping at a lower temperature reduces the polyphenol concentrations by a factor of two or more by dry hopping at 39 F (4 C) versus 66 F (19C). These polyphenols contributes to the aggressive bitterness we refer to as “hop bite” present in many Hazy IPAs. Time also played a role, with the level of polyphenols peaking at about 3 days and remaining stable through 14 days. So reducing the temperature and contact time can result in less hop bite. Ref: (Oladokun, O., James, S., Cowley, T., Smart, K., Hort, J., & Cook, D. (2017). Dry-Hopping: the Effects of Temperature and Hop Variety on the Bittering Profiles and Properties of Resultant Beers. BrewingScience, 70, 187-196.)

There is also evidence that hop creep is reduced by lowering dry hop temperatures and contact time, and as surprisingly the lower temperatures do not slow down the absorption of hop oils by very much.

Optimal Dry Hop Time and Temperature

So what is the optimal dry hop time and temperature? As always it is a balance of tradeoffs. For example an Hazy IPA with extreme levels of dry hops might benefit from a very short contact time of 1-2 days and low temperature (perhaps 39 F/4C) to reduce hop bite, hop creep and still retain most of the oil and thiol extraction. You also might want to apply agitation to the fermenter or rouse the hops every few hours to enhance extraction and shorten the time even further.

A more lightly hopped beer where hop bite and hop creep is not as big a risk might be OK with a longer 3 day contact time and slightly higher temperatures. For those interested in more details, I highly recommend Scott Janish’s detailed article here.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s article on cold dry hopping. Thank you for joining me this week on the BeersSmith blog – please subscribe to the newsletter or listen to my video podcast for more great material on homebrewing.

The Joy of Extract Beer Brewing for Old and New Brewers 21 Nov 2024 10:55 AM (4 months ago)

This week I take a look at brewing using malt extract and some of the advantages of going back to this “old” style of brewing.

The History of Extract Brewing

Home brewing was once caught up in the Prohibition era. In 1919, the 18th amendment made alcohol illegal (Prohibition). While it was repealed in 1933 by the 21st Amendment, unfortunately the home brewing of beer was left out of the final legislation (unlike wine) so it remained illegal. It was not until 1978 that Jimmy Carter signed a bill making it again legal to brew beer at home in the US (effective 1 Feb, 1979).

As home brewing grew in the 1980’s, almost 100% of the brewers used liquid or dry malt extract. The first kits were imported from the UK or Australia primarily and consisted of 3 lb cans of liquid malt extract and usually had a small packet of yeast, often bread yeast, attached to the top of the can. A lot of the extract was pre-hopped, so you typically added water to create wort on a stovetop, boiled it for a while and then cooled it by adding several gallons of cold water. You then pitched the packet of yeast, wait a while and you have beer.

As we entered the 1990’s and home brewing became more popular, it became easier to access quality ingredients. We started steeping specialty malts before adding the liquid extract, and you could now buy fresh extracts, better quality hops and even liquid brewing yeast. While some brewers did venture out into all-grain brewing, the vast majority of kits and ingredients were extract based.

There was a bit of a shakeout in the industry around 2000, but as we entered the ’00’s we started to see more brewers expand out to all grain brewing. However it was not until about 2015 that the percentage of all-grain brewers first exceeded the percentage of extract brewers in the annual AHA industry surveys. In just a few short years, all grain brewing came to dominate home brewing over the next decade, especially with the introduction of small all-in-one brewing systems.

The Advantages of Extract Brewing

While all grain now dominates home brewing by about 70%-30%, we’ve also seen a decline in brewing at home. The causes for this are complex, including people shifting to other hobbies, fewer social events post-COVID, the availability of good Craft beer and others. However, we’ve also seen brewers brewing less, probably due to shifting priorities mixed with the fact that all grain brewing does take quite a bit of time. Brewers are also making smaller batch sizes than they were 10 years ago.

So today I’m going to make the case that if you are too busy to brew, or are making smaller quantities you might want to revisit extract brewing. Here’s a few reasons why:

Extract Brewing Takes Less Time: With our busy lifestyles, you can brew an extract batch in as little as an hour where an all grain brew typically takes 3 hours or more, and on larger systems can easily consume your entire day.
You can Steep Many Grains for Additional Flavor: While you can’t use most pale and kilned malts without mashing, you can steep most roast and caramel/crystal malts in hot water before adding your malt to add fresh flavors.
You can Brew on your Stovetop: You don’t need a separate burner or dedicated all-in-one system. You can start with a large pot on the stove.
Extract is Great for Small Batches: Many brewers have moved to smaller batches post-COVID, so an extract
Extract Brewing Takes Less Equipment: Many of us started brewing extract with a large stovetop pot and a plastic bucket, with minimal cost. Mini-extract batches can probably be done using a pot you already have and small bucket. In addition to the cost savings, less equipment means less time preparing and cleaning equipment.
You can Use All Major Hop Techniques – Extract brewing still lets you add hops in the boil, whirlpool or dry hopping, so you can create great IPAs and other hoppy beers using extract.

With all that being said, Extract brewing does have some limitations. First, you can’t use many pale and kilned malts as well as non-barley malts without mashing, so there are a few styles that are off limits. This can be worked around in some cases – for example you can purchase a wheat based malt extract to make a wheat beer even though you can’t directly steep wheat. There are other more subtle factors like being able to finely tune water chemistry and add mash hops, but these are relatively minor compared to the steeping limitations above.

Extract Brewing as a Supplement to All Grain Brewing

As our lives get more busy, and a larger portion of our day is spent in front of little screens, most of us are looking for ways to save time. A lot of brewers have a nice all grain system, but not the time to fully use it. So some brewers have moved to extract and even no-boil brewing as an alternative for making smaller batches when time is in short supply.

I have a 10 gallon (40 l) Blichmann all grain system which is a work of art. However it takes almost a full day to prepare, brew and clean the system. Even then I don’t always need 10 gallons of beer. So I’ve been toying with going back to the stovetop to make a 2 or 3 gallon extract batch in an hour or two instead. When I had Chris Graham on my podcast recently to discuss their no-boil brew kits, he mentioned that many of the kits are being sold to experienced brewers. I think extract kits fall into the same category.

So whether you are a new brewer or experienced brewer who’s short on time, I urge you to consider extract brewing as a great alternative for the casual brewer! Thank you for joining me on the BeerSmith blog. Please subscribe for regular weekly delivery, check out the podcast, and don’t hesitate to retweet, link, like or mention any of my articles on social media.

Low Alcohol and Alcohol Free Beer with Charlie Bamforth – BeerSmith Podcast #313 14 Nov 2024 5:34 PM (4 months ago)

Charlie Bamforth joins me this week to discuss methods for brewing low alcohol and alcohol free beers.

Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play

Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (49:24)

This week I welcome back Dr Charlie Bamforth, Professor Emeritus from the University of California at Davis. Charlie specializes in the study of the wholesomeness of beer including beer perception, polyphenols, foam stability, oxidation and flavor stability.
We start with a short dicussion of Charlie’s latest projects including his many books.
We start with the definition of low alcohol and alcohol free beers, which varies slightly depending on which country we are talking about.
Charlie then explains perhaps the oldest method of making alcohol free beers which is to brew a regular beer and then remove the alcohol by boiling it off, usually under a vacuum (vacuum distillation).
We talk a bit about the downsides of distillation which often changes the character of the beer in bad ways and also ages it.
Next we briefly talk about using membranes and reverse osmosis to separate the alcohol from the beer. This has some advantages as it does not heat the beer, but can be quite complex and involved requiring specialized equipment.
Next we discuss additional methods which are often done in combination, starting with mashing at a very high temperature.
Charlie tells us about fermentation techniques including arrested fermentation and low temperature fermentation.
We talk about the innovative new yeast strains many of which are maltose negative so they don’t ferment maltose well and produce very low alcohol levels during fermentation.
Charlie explains how often 3 or more techniques are combined such as high mash temperature, low temperature fermentation and specialized low alcohol yeast.
We discuss the challenges of creating the proper balance in a beer with low alcohol levels and how you need to adjust your hop schedules, malt bill and gravity levels to create the proper balance in a low alcohol beer.
Charlie provides some recommendations on the best methods for a homebrewer to use.
He shares his closing thoughts.

Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsor Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine for sponsoring this episode. I encourage you to subscribe to their great magazine!
Also check out BeerSmith, BeerSmith Web, BeerSmith Mobile software and the DVDs John Palmer and I filmed – How to Brew with Malt Extract and How to Brew All Grain are available now. You can subscribe to the BeerSmith newsletter for free to get some great articles on home brewing.

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

Audio feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/content/feed/podcast)
Video feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/tv/category/podcast/feed/ )
Audio podcast on Google Play here

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (or link at the top of the page) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Blending Brewing Yeast Strains in Beer 13 Nov 2024 7:27 AM (4 months ago)

This week I take a look at yeast blends and how you can blend yeast to achieve a unique flavor profile in your finished beer.

Why Blend Yeast?

In the last few years, hop blends have become very popular with home and professional brewers. By blending your hops you can not only get unique flavors and aroma but you can also insulate yourself somewhat from season to season variations in hop quality.

But what about yeast? Can I blend two yeast strains to create something new and unique? What happens to the flavor and other characteristics when I blend more than one yeast strain?

I discussed this in a recent podcast with White Labs founder Dr Chris White. Chris has not only done a lot of work with yeast blends but he sells a number of blended yeasts as separate products for use in beer. In fact Chris recently re-launched his “FrankenYeast” blend which is basically a blend of the 96 major yeast strains that White labs makes.

What Happens When you Blend Yeast Strains?

Here are some rules of thumb for blending yeast:

Attenuation: The yeast strain with the highest attenuation will dominate the blend, so if you mix a low attenuating English yeast with a high attenuation California Ale yeast you will finish with a high attenuation and gravity consistent with the California strain. So basically you can take the highest yeast attenuation in the blend and assume that will be the result.
Phenolics Dominate: If you mix a phenolic yeast (like a Belgian yeast) with a non-phenolic yeast, the finished beer will still have phenolics in it. Therefore the phenolic flavor is dominant and won’t necessarily blend like you might expect.
Sour Yeast/Bacteria Dominate: If you add a bacteria (bug) like Lactobacillus or Pediococcus, not surprisingly it will dominate and sour your beer even if added in small quantities. Similarly if you add a sour positive yeast like a wild yeast, it too will dominate and produce a sour finish in the beer.
Kveik Yeasts Dominate: I’ve been told that Kveik yeasts can be aggressive and can often dominate a mix with other yeast. I suspect this is due to fact that these yeasts complete fermentation very fast and can operate at high temperature.
Alcohol Tolerance: If you are working with very high gravity wort or wine/mead must, alcohol tolerance does come into play. However it generally is a large factor only near the end of fermentation when the limit is reached on one or more strains. So for the bulk of the fermentation, all of the yeasts in the blend will be active. Lower alcohol tolerant yeasts will tend to shut down near the end of fermentation as each of their limits is reached, but typically the highest alcohol tolerant strain will continue to act until their limit is reached.
Temperature: The yeast temperature range is still a factor if we want to blend something like an ale and lager yeast. If we ferment the blend at ale temperatures, for instance, we can expect the lager yeast will throw off some esters and fusel alcohols as well as possibly other off flavors if it is fermented warm.
Other Flavors Average: Other compounds like esters, alcoholic, diacetyl, sour/acidic, sulfur and yeasty flavors will tend to average out for the blend. For example an estery English yeast mixed with a neutral California Ale yeast in equal proportions will create a beer that has some esters in it but not as much as you would get using the English yeast alone. So, in general, the flavors tend to average out to be approximately the weighted average for each yeast used.

Reading Yeast Data Sheets

How can you better define the results of the finished blend? Many of the better yeast labs publish detailed yeast data on their strains. Ideally the following data should be listed for your yeast:

Alcohol Tolerance: Shows the maximum alcohol percentage the yeast can tolerate before shutting down.
Attenuation: The average apparent attenuation (percent of sugars consumed) before fermentation completes
Temperature: The temperature range where the yeast performs best
Isoamyl Alcohol/Acetate: The primary ester in beer, and a measure of ester production for the beer.
Acetaldehyde: A green apple tasting flavor produced during fermentation
Ethyl Acetate: The strongest of the common esters with flavors like fruits, pears and even solvent if the level is too high
Pentainedione – A VDK like diacetyl which gives a honey like flavor but is easily detectible in the beer.
Diacetyl: A buttery popcorn like flavor common in many English ale strains
1 Propanol – A fusel alchol that gives off alcoholic odor and a strong solvent like flavor
Ethanol – Another name for alcohol
Hours to 50% – The number of hours required to reach 50% completion in the fermentation

So if you are flying blind or using new yeast strains, and can find the detailed yeast data listed above you can get a very good idea of how two yeasts might blend by averaging the values above (with the exception of Alcohol Tolerance, Attenuation and Temperature).

I hope you enjoyed this weeks article on blending yeasts. Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes…and youtube…and streaming radio station) for more great tips on homebrewing.

Understanding Hop Alpha Acids: Are Cohumulones Really Harsh? 7 Nov 2024 7:50 AM (5 months ago)

This week I take a quick look at the major hop alpha acids and the role they play in brewing beer. I also discuss some of the recent research on cohumulone and how higher cohumulone hops may not be as harsh as is widely advertised.

Hop Alpha Acids

When you purchase hops, typically the alpha percentage(AA%) is listed somewhere on the package. This is a measure of the total alpha acids by weight in the dried hops you are purchasing. Alpha acids are converted into isomerized alpha acids during the boil phase of the brewing process and this produces the majority of the bitterness we perceive in beer. Brewers typically estimate the post boil bitterness in IBUs which is calculated directly from the hop schedule, boil time, hop quantities and alpha acids. I should note that the IBU level is not typically the level of bitterness in the finished beer due to changes that occur in fermentation as well as dry hopping, but it provides a good guideline for designing recipes.

While we tend to look at alpha acid as a single number, there are actually five hop acid analogs that make up the majority of the alpha acids in a hop code. The five are humulone, cohumulone, adhumulone, prehumulone and posthumulone. The five analogs are similar in their molecular structure, but all are transformed during the boil into iso-alpha acids.

Cohumulone and humulone make up the majority of the alpha acids in a typical hop. Each of these make up between 20 and 50% of the alpha acids. Adhumulone is a fairly consistent 10-15% of alpha acids for almost all hop varieties and the remaining two, prehumulone and posthumulone play a minor role in overall acid content. Each of the compounds isomerizes at a slightly different rate though this effect is not included in IBU estimation equations.

The Cohumulone Controversy

You will typically only see cohumulone listed on a hop specification sheet. You can safely assume that aduhumulone levels are near 10-15% and that humulone makes up the vast majority of the remainder of the alpha acids. So it is fairly easy to estimate adhumulone and humulone levels from just the cohumulone number. The highest cohumulone hops like Topaz, Bullion and Vic Secret have cohumulone levels in the 48-54% range. The lowest (hops like Vanguard) have cohumulone levels in the high teens. In general, aroma hops tend to have less cohumulone.

There is an interesting controversy over cohumulone and its effect on bitterness that remains a bit of an open issue (outlined here). A general rule of thumb with brewers is that hops with a higher cohumulone levels have a harsher bitterness. However, recent research has called this assertion into question.

The original research which you can find here was done by Dr Lloyd Rigby, a Canadian scientist way back in 1972. Dr Rigby brewed two beers using equal amounts of humulone and cohumulone and gave them to testers in a simple beer taste test. The testers found that beers made with higher levels of cohumulone were considered harsher, rougher and less pleasant to drink. This led to the rule of thumb above, which drove many craft breweries to seek lower cohumulone hops, and has even driven hop breeding and growing in a direction favoring low cohumulone, aromatic hops over the last 50+ years.

Subsequent research, however, has determined that Dr Rigby’s original experiment may have been flawed. The problem is that cohumulone and humulone actually isomerize at slightly different rates. In addition pH levels during fermentation affect each differently which also affects the perceived bitterness. So using equal amounts of the isolated alpha acids did not actually produce two different samples with the same bitterness level. So it is possible that the “harsh” beer with higher cohumulone simply had much higher bitterness than the one made with just humulone.

Brulosohpy did an experiment in 2016 where they made two identical beers except one used a high cohumulone hop (Chinook) and the other used a low cohumulone hop (Simcoe). In his experiment the tasters were evenly split over which beer they preferred, though the majority could tell the difference between the Simcoe and Chinook hops in a triangle test.

A similar test was presented earlier by Mike Karnowski from Green Man Brewery at the 2014 AHA conference, where he estimated that the original Rigby experiment could have had as much as a 62% difference in IBUs. He subsequently tried brewing beers with Cascade (35% cohumulone) and Simcoe (19% cohumulone) and then measured the actual IBUs. While the beer was estimated at 40 IBUs the Cascade (high cohumulone) beer had 42 IBUs measured and the Simcoe (low couhumulone) beer had 33 IBUs for a 27% difference!

The fact that measured IBUs differ from estimates is not a surprise – I outlined the major limitations of estimating IBUs here and also why the estimated IBUs will rarely matched the measured IBUs in a finished beer. However Mike went on to do more measurements and showed fairly conclusively that high cohumulone hops tend to produce finished beers with higher measured IBU bitterness levels, partially because cohumulone isomerizes at a higher rate, and partially because the isomerized cohumulone survives the pH drop during fermentation better. So with high cohumulone hops, more isomerized acid makes it into the finished beer.

He also went on to create beer samples with high and low cohumulone that had identical lab-measured IBU levels. Like the Brulosophy test, he found that there was not a correlation between higher cohumulone hops and perceived harshness when the IBU levels were actually the same.

So my overall conclusion from more recent literature is that higher cohumulone hops are not necessarily more harsh, but instead tend to produce higher levels of perceived bitterness in the finished beer. The reason for this is that the cohumulone isomerizes at a faster rate than other humulones, and also tends to survive the pH drop during fermentation better. So you can make good beer with higher cohumulone hops, but you may need to moderate the hops slightly to compensate for this effect.

Thank you for joining me on the BeerSmith blog. Please subscribe for regular weekly delivery, check out the podcast, and don’t hesitate to retweet, link, like or mention any of my articles on social media.

FrankenStout and Yeast Blends with Chris White – BeerSmith Podcast #312 31 Oct 2024 5:03 PM (5 months ago)

Chris White joins me this week from White Labs to discuss his FrankenStout, FrankenYeast and the use of yeast blends in beer.

Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play

Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (47:14)

Today I welcome Dr Chris White. Chris is the President and founder of White Labs Inc, a top provider of brewing yeast worldwide to both the professional and home brewing markets.
Editors Note: I do apologize for the video quality this week. Chris was having some technical difficulties so the video feed was marginal. However as his schedule has been packed and we rescheduled twice already we decided to proceed. Fortunately the audio and content Chris provided is excellent.
We start with a discussion on what has been happening at White Labs including unfortunately the temporary closure of his location in Asheville, NC due to the hurricane which did tremendous damage. Fortunately his facility was not seriously damaged, though they did suffer loss of power and water for several weeks. Many of his employees faced serious losses, however, and our hearts go out to those recovering in Asheville.
We start with a discussion of stouts and porters and some of the yeast characteristics that make the best stouts, porters and other dark English style beers.
Chris goes into some detail on the yeasts and yeast flavors that work well with stouts and also explains why high attenuation is surprisingly important.
We discuss the White Labs re-release of their legendary “FrankenYeast” blend which is a blend of some 96 yeast strains including both lagers and ales. Chris tells us about this unique strain and some of the flavors it creates in a finished beer.
We also talk about the related re-release of FrankenStout for Halloween which is a dark English style stout made using the FrankenYeast blend. Chris also released a pretty funny video on his website related to the release of the yeast and stout which you can find here: The Return of FrankenStout
Chris explains how the FrankenYeast actually has science behind it and we talk about his earlier work to genotype some 157 yeast strains in an effort to understand the genetic heritage of all of our brewing yeasts.
We transition to a talk about yeast blends and how blending two distinct yeasts manifests itself in the beer. Chris says that in general phenolic yeasts tend to always create phenolics in the finished beer, and also that the lower attenuation yeast will generally finish out the fermentation to a similar attenuation. However with respect to other flavors the blending of yeast also tends to result in a blend of similar flavors in the finished beer.
We talk about Chris’ web site where people can learn more about individual yeast strains as well as FrankenYeast and FrankenStout
Chris shares his closing thoughts.

Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsor Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine for sponsoring this episode. I encourage you to subscribe to their great magazine!
Also check out BeerSmith, BeerSmith Web, BeerSmith Mobile software and the DVDs John Palmer and I filmed – How to Brew with Malt Extract and How to Brew All Grain are available now. You can subscribe to the BeerSmith newsletter for free to get some great articles on home brewing.

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

Audio feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/content/feed/podcast)
Video feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/tv/category/podcast/feed/ )
Audio podcast on Google Play here

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (or link at the top of the page) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Designing Beer Recipes Using Percentages 30 Oct 2024 7:28 AM (5 months ago)

This week I take a look at how you can use percentages to formulate your grain bill for more efficient beer recipe design. I also explain how to do this using BeerSmith brewing software.

Formulating Your Grain Bill with Percentages

Professional brewers often use percentages to specify the malt bill for a recipe. This is done in part because professional recipes are often brewed on different size systems so it is quite common to scale a recipe using software when brewing on a particular equipment setup. However, percentages are also widely used because it gives you a more precise idea of the composition of the grain bill that is easier to work with than pounds, ounces and kilograms. I actually published a video some time back on how you too can build recipes like the pros with BeerSmith.

For example if I say I’ve use 9 lbs 3 oz of pale malt in my grain bill the information is rather meaningless unless I know the size of the batch I’m brewing, style, and overall intent. However if I say 90% of my grain bill is pale malt, I have a pretty good idea that the bulk of the base malt is pale malt, and likely the remaining 10% is specialty malts of various forms.

For example lets take a look at this malt bill:

90% English Pale Malt
5% Carafoam
5% Crystal 30

From the above I can see we are using English Pale Malt as the base, and the use of a small amount of carafoam is likely to enhance the head retention on the beer. The addition of 5% crystal malt will likely add a bit of color and sweetness to the beer. While its hard to place the exact style of the beer without knowing the original gravity, yeast and bitterness, I would quickly guess this is some kind of English Ale style – perhaps a Mild Ale or Pale Ale depending on the strength.

Using percentages also lets me more quickly balance the flavor of the beer, assuming I understand the underlying flavors of the malts used. I can limit harsh zone malt percentages, easily make sure the bulk of my malt is base malt, better control my use of adjuncts and non barley malts and ultimately make a better beer.

Some Rules of Thumb for Working with Percentages

I covered the basic principles of recipe design in this summary post here, and I recommend you read it if you want a quick overview. But here are some basic recommendations for working with percentages:

Base Malts Should Make Up the Vast Majority of the Malt Bill – Malts like Pale Malt, Pilsner Malt, Vienna Malt and occasionally Pilsner should make up around 80-100% of your malt bill. Many classic styles including English IPA were made with 100% pale malt. I personally try to limit my specialty malts to no more than 20% of the malt bill and in many cases it is 10% or less. Adding too many specialty malts in large quantities muddies the flavors you are trying to produce and also can inhibit fermentation and attenuation as darker specialty malts don’t add a lot of fermentables to the beer.
Specialty Malts Should Be Added with Purpose – While its fun to create a “kitchen sink porter” with whatever happens to be laying around the brewhouse, it won’t come out nearly as well as a properly designed Porter using targeted specialty malts to achieve your goals. Add specialty malts that create a specific flavor, aroma or effect you are looking for and use them in small quantities that achieve those goals. Most of these malts are in the 2%-15% range.
Limit Harsh Zone Malt Percentages – While harsh zone malts like Special B can be used to enhance many darker beers, they need to be used very sparingly, making up perhaps one to four percent of the grain bill. If you use them in larger quantities they can easily ruin the balance and flavor you are trying to achieve.
Use Non-Barley Malts in Proper Quantities – Non barley malts like wheat, rice, oats, rye, sorgum, etc… can be used to great effect in a beer, but may require special mashing schedules, enzymes, as well as careful sparging if used in large quantities. Some, like rye, tend to unbalance an otherwise balanced beer. In general the malted, flaked or torrified versions are much easier to use in a standard mash and can be converted far more easily than the raw grains which require special mash schedules such as a cereal mash. For grains like rye and oats I usually limit them to 1-15% of the grain bill much like a specialty malt. For malted wheat you can use it as part of the base grain bill. For example some German beers use as much as 50% wheat though I usually try to keep it well below 40%. Torrified or flaked rice can also be used as part of the base, but be aware that rice and wheat don’t contribute much in the way of enzymes to complete the mash so both require a generous base of pale or pilsner malts to provide the enzymes needed for conversion.
Keep it Simple – Most commercial beers are made with one to three malts including specialty malts. In fact the vast majority of beer styles can be created using just a base malt and one specialty malt. Only for darker beers do we need to use three or in some cases four malts. At a commercial level this is done not only because its hard to keep a ton of specialty malts in stock all the time, but also because simpler is usually better.

Using Recipe Percentages in BeerSmith

Some brewers don’t know that BeerSmith has had the capability to build a grain bill using percentages for many years now. For the desktop version, just open a recipe and click on the Grain Pct button which is in the stack of buttons to the right of the various Add ingredient buttons in BeerSmith 3. From the web version there is a Fermentable Pct button just below the various add ingredient buttons in any open recipe.

This displays the grain percentage dialog which shows your entire grain bill and a percentage for each ingredient. You can edit the percentages directly to set the exact percentage you want for each grain or fermentable and the total will be displayed at the bottom. Pressing OK will adjust the actual quantities in the recipe to match the percentages you set. You can use this in clever ways along with the adjust gravity and bitterness tools to very quickly build a recipe exactly the way you want it as outlined in this video.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s article on grain percentages. Please subscribe for regular weekly delivery, check out the podcast, and don’t hesitate to retweet, link, like or mention any of my articles on social media and give my BeerSmith software a try if you enjoy brewing your own beer.

The Hop Control Web Tool 23 Oct 2024 5:31 AM (5 months ago)

It’s not often I review other software based brewing tools, but I was recently contacted by Enrico Mollica about a web based program called Hop Control that includes a large well thought out hop database as well as some innovative analysis tools that will appeal to hop heads. I’m currently working with them to bring some of these features into a future version of BeerSmith, but I wanted to highlight their system for those interested in doing more detailed hop analysis today.

Hop Control Overview

Hop Control is a web-based software is the result of over 10 years of research performed by Italian engineers Enrico and Giulio Mollica. The algorithms behind this software was validated using experimental activities performed in collaboration with partner Italian brewery Birrificio Dada.

Hop Control is divided into two major pieces. The first is a database of currently over 300 hop varieties compiled from industry averages. This includes detailed aroma oil content as well as sensory data for each variety. The second piece lets you enter basic recipe data and do a study of the hop profile for the finished beer. I’ll discuss both in a bit of detail below:

Hop Control Database and Comparison Tool

Hop Control currently has some 300 hop varieties in the database but plan to increase that to over 400 in 2025. The data is compiled from industry averages but includes not only the typical alpha/beta acids but also full aroma oil content and sensory data which can be displayed in a color spider chart. While some of this data is available from individual suppliers, having it all in one place at your fingertips is a huge plus.

The hop finder lets you find hops by alpha, beta, and co-humulone percentage, and you can also filter by aromatic profile which can really help you find a desirable hop aroma quickly. Clicking on any variety brings up the sensory spider chart, description and technical data including total oils.

A hop comparison tool lets you compare up to six hop varieties in the database and display their sensory data on an overlayed spider chart along with critical hop data side by side. This can help you answer questions like “What’s the difference between using Fuggles or East Kent Goldings in my brew” or “How do these three hop varieties stack up.”

Hop Studies

In addition to the hop database, you can create a “hop study” which is a mini hop recipe to analyze the basic hop character and content for a given hopping schedule. Setting up the study involves entering basic volume, BJCP style, boil density and gravity data along with your hop schedule. Ths hop schedule includes variety, boil time, hop type as well as dry or whirlpool hops.

Once you enter your recipe and hop data, the tool calculates and displays the following for the overall recipe:

A Spider Chart: for the calculated hop aroma as well as the BJCP style hop aroma. To create this diagram, the algorithm performs a combination of the contents of several essential oils (the effect of thiols, when applicable, is included) contained in the hop additions chosen by the user, taking into account the effect of time, temperature and hop type.
Bitterness in International Bitterness Untis (IBU before fermentation).
Overall Bitterness Ratio: (BU/OG ratio) for the beer.
Overall Humulene/Caryophillene (H/C ratio)
Total Hoppy Level (THL): which is a macroscopic indicator of the overall hoppy level of the beer (according to the definition provided in Machado’s technical paper)
Beta to Alpha Ratio: (BA/AA %)
Bitter Quality Index: this a brand new hop metric created by the developer of HOP CONTROL that provides an estimation of the quality of the bittering (mainly related, as literature suggests, to the overall co-humulone content).
Main essential oil contents: reported in terms of “normalized diagrams”, i.e. for each essential oil the ratio between its quanity and its perception threshold is graphed. The reported main essential oils are myrcene, humulene, caryophyllene, farnesene, linalool and geraniol

While some of these, like IBUs and bitterness ratio are available in most beer recipe programs, the overal aroma oil content, combined calculated spider chart, quality index and total hoppy level are not widely available in other tools and can be quite useful if you are trying to tweak an IPA to have a particular aroma or bitterness profile.

According to Enrico and Giulio: “The revolutionary methodology of HOP CONTROL allows to optimize the brewing process by starting with a base recipe and immediately identifying the direction for hopping improvement, reducing trial batches and costs. Results from breweries and homebrewers show highly improved hop aroma, increased bitter quality as well as cost reduction.”

After registration at the official website you can test the software with all its functionalities and the complete 300+ hop database, for a free trial period of 7 days. The price for the annual license is less than $20 and includes an unlimited number of saved recipes plus all the new upgrades and hop database extension as new varieties are added. The developers have a discount code BeerSmith_2024 which you can use until 31 December 2024 to get 30% off a pro license.

From my perspective this particular tool would make a good addition for serious brewers looking for more detailed hop selection criteria as well as those who wish to do in-depth analysis on hoppy beers like IPAs. I hope to integrate some of these tools into BeerSmith over time, but Enrico and Giulio have a very nice tool available now for home and pro brewers.

Brad Smith Receives 2024 AHA Governing Committee Recognition Award 17 Oct 2024 8:11 AM (5 months ago)

Dr Brad Smith was named the 2024 American Homebrewers Association (AHA) Governing Committee Recognition Award winner at the National Homebrew Competition Awards ceremony on 10 October 2024 in Denver. The award was presented by AHA Executive Director Julia Herz, who called it the “Highest Award in Homebrewing”.

First issued in 1998, the award is selected by the American Homebrewer’s Governing Committee each year to recognize a lifetime of outstanding service to the community of homebrewers. Brad said “I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this award. I never imagined the little Stout kit I first brewed in 1987 would lead to this. I would like to thank the Governing Committee, AHA and all of the homebrewers out there for your continued support!”

The Complete List of Recognition Award Winners

Brad joins a distinguished list of AHA Recognition Award Winners:

2024 – Brad Smith (Clifton, VA)
2023 – Drew Beechum (Pasadena, CA)
2022 – Denny Conn (Noti, OR)
2021 – Gary Glass (Longmont, CO)
2020 – Jamil Zainasheff (Fairfield, CO)
2019 – Chris P. Frey (Hendersonville, NC)
2018 – Charlie Papazian (Boulder, CO)
2017 – Justin Crossley (Concord, CA)
2016 – Janis Gross (Tucson, AZ)
2015 – Stan Hieronymus (Saint Louis, MO)
2014 – Ken Schramm (Troy, MI)
2013 – Chris White (San Diego, CA)
2012 – Gordon Strong (Beavercreek, OH)
2011 – John Maier (Newport, OR)
2010 – Randy Mosher (Chicago, IL)
2009 – Ray Daniels (Chicago, IL)
2008 – Jim Kock (Boston, MA)
2007 – John Palmer (La Crescenta, CA)
2006 – Ralph Olson (Yakima, WA)
2005 – Joan & Ed Basham (Fort Worth, TX)
2004 – Dan Listermann (Cincinnati, OH)
2003 – Russ Wigglesworth (Petaluma, CA)
2002 – Mary Anne Gruber (Chilton, WI)
2001 – Scott Birdwell (Houston, TX)
2000 – Pat Babcock & Karl Lutzen (Canton Township, MA & Rolla, MO)
1999 – Alberta Rager (Shawnee, KS)
1998 – Charlie Olchowski (Greenfield, MA)
1997 – Greg Noonan (Burlington, VT)
1996 – Dave Miller (Nashville, TN)
1995 – Dave Line (England)
1994 – Jim Homer (Boulder, CO)
1993 – Dave Logsdon (Mount Hood, OR)
1992 – Ed Busch (Somerville, NJ)
1991 – George Fix (Arlington, TX)
1990 – Byron Burch (Santa Rosa, CA)
1989 – Pat Baker (Keene, NH)
1988 – Fred Eckhardt (Portland, OR)

Thanks again to the AHA for all they do for homebrewing, and a reminder you can join the AHA or renew your membership here! (Affiliate link) or use the discount code BeerSmith when joining or renewing.

No Boil Beer Brewing Kits – Get Your Friends Into Brewing! 10 Oct 2024 2:43 PM (5 months ago)

This week I take a look at some of the new no-boil beer kits that have entered the market and have the potential to bring new brewers into the hobby with a much lower time investment at a reasonable price.

It is arguably the best time ever to be a home brewer. The equipment, ingredients and base of knowledge we have access to as homebrewers have never been better, and home brewers have access to basically the same techniques and ingredients that pro brewers use. Despite this, home brewing as a hobby has been in decline since roughly 2014.

The reasons for this are multi-fold including improved Craft beer availability, lasting effects from COVID and demographic and drinking preference changes. However complexity has also played a role, as the majority of brewers have moved to all grain brewing in the last decade, and all grain brewing is neither simple nor easily approachable for new brewers. I started brewing with a bucket and a can of malt extract, and not a three tier all grain brewing system.

Two of my recent podcast guests are trying to change this, and bring simplicity back for new brewers. One is Chris Graham from MoreBeer who appeared on BeerSmith Podcast #309 talking about their new Flash Brewing kits. The other was Danny Monnot, operations manager at Pinter.com who appeared on BeerSmith Podcast #311 discussing his Pinter system.

These brewing systems and kits both offer a simplified no-boil approach to brewing. Basically you just sanitize your equipment, mix a malt/ingredient pouch with water, add yeast and possibly hop extract and ferment the beer for a week or two. This cuts the brew day from several hours to perhaps 15-20 minutes. The Flash Brewing kits are then bottled with their “pop shots” for priming. The Pinter system, which looks like a mini keg is not bottled but instead put in the fridge and served directly from the vessel. The entire process takes perhaps 2-3 weeks for the beer to ferment and age, but takes only an hour or two from the brewer.

Flash Brewing Kits from More Beer

The team at MoreBeer has been working to develop their Flash brewing kits for several years now. Chris tells me the idea evolved from “fresh wort kits” popular in Australia but MoreBeer wanted a kit that could be more easily shipped. So they started working with major Malt suppliers to develop a special malt extract that would preserve the advantages and flavor of a malt-extract beer without having to boil. According to Chris it took quite a bit of time to reach the right malt base formula.

The flash kits also leverage the latest developments in hop products. Their kits include isomorized hop extracts and also many use Cryo hops during fermentation to give you not only the bitterness but also the great aroma you would get from a traditional boil and dry hop. MoreBeer also includes the appropriate dry yeast packet for the style of beer you are brewing.

Chris tells me that even though they originally targeted flash brewing towards new brewers, the kits have also become popular with experienced brewers who are looking to get back into the hobby or perhaps are just short on time. The quality of the beer, according to him, has been quite good.

Their flash brewing kits are currently sold in a 5 gallon (19 l) kit size (about 48 bottles of beer), so if you are an existing brewer you probably already have an existing bucket or fermenter that can be used to brew. They also separately do sell a simple equipment kit which is a 7 gallon Fermonster fermenter with a bottling wand and small bottle of sanitizer for first time brewers. The customer needs to provide or purchase about 48 bottles to bottle the beer when finished. To date there are roughly 9 kits available in styles including Pale Ale, Blonde Ale, Irish Red, German Hefeweizen, and a variety of IPAs. MoreBeer is planning to add more kits.

The Pinter Brewing System

Pinter (pronounced like a pint of beer) takes a slightly different approach, centered around their “Pinter” vessel which looks like a small plastic keg. This is an “all-in-one” vessel where you mix your ingredients, ferment the beer, and then put it in the fridge to server your beer. The system includes a removable “brewing dock” which lets you remove the yeast and trub during fermentation resulting in a clearer beer. Each batch is smaller than the flash kits, roughly 12 pints or perhaps 16 standard bottles of beer.

The brewing process is simple as well. You sanitize the Pinter vessel, then mix the malt pouch with water and a yeast packet to start fermentation. The boil hop extract appears to be mixed in with the malt packet. They also have a “hopper” attachment with some kits that lets you add dry hops during fermentation. When fermentation is complete you remove the “brewing dock” which also separates the yeast sediment and then put the Pinter vessel in your fridge where you can directly server the beer. They have a phone app that walks you through the process which takes 7-14 days aging and less than 30 minutes invested time.

The Pinter kit is currently sold as a bundle with 2 ingredient kits at a pretty attractive bundle price. They have offered a $100 discount on new systems for a limited time (I get no kickbacks from this) if you use the code ‘BeerSmith49‘ or the link here to order a new Pinter system . As I mentioned makes roughly 12 pint servings in a single batch. They sell additional kits so you can reuse your Pinter vessel. You don’t need to bottle your beer as it is served directly from the Pinter vessel, but you do need space in your fridge to properly store and serve the beer. The Pinter vessel is roughly 9.5″ in diameter and 13.9″ deep, and comes in 3 colors. Currently about 22 kits are available in styles including IPAs, Pale Ales, Bitters, Hefeweizen, Stout, Brown Ale, Lagers, and even some Hard Seltzers and Ciders. They are also adding new kits all the time.

Closing Thoughts

Will either of these systems replace my all grain brewing system soon? Probably not, but if you are looking to get a friend started in brewing these kits are a great way to introduce them to brewing. If you are an existing brewer who’s short on time or perhaps just getting back into the hobby these kits may be a good fit for you as well. From all I’ve heard they make reasonably good quality beer with a minimal investment in time – literally sanitize, mix the ingredients and let it ferment until you are ready to bottle or server it.

Thanks for joining me this week on the BeerSmith blog. Please subscribe for regular weekly delivery, check out the podcast, and don’t hesitate to retweet, link, like or mention any of my articles on social media.

Central European Lagers – Beer Travel Blog 4 Oct 2024 9:49 AM (6 months ago)

I had the rare opportunity to travel around Central Europe a few weeks ago and while it was a vacation trip, I did have the chance to sample some of the local lagers and thought I might share my thoughts with you. I’m not a travel blogger, but I did enjoy the wonderful lagers we sampled in the region.

Czech Republic

We started our trip in Prague, in an area well known as the home of Czech lagers as well as region where many popular Czech hops like Saaz are grown. We also traveled through the regions of Pilzen and near České Budějovice where Budvar is brewed. Prague features a Pilsner Urquell museum, and the beer was widely available in local restaurants though I opted for a few smaller local lagers instead.

The local pilsners I sampled were all excellent with an extremely clean finish, nice bright noble hop notes and gave homage to their Bavarian brewing roots. We also went to a local brewery in the old city for a beer tasting where we sampled a variety of craft beers. These included a hazy IPA, sour fruit beer, and an IPA based on Idaho-7 hops as well as some local pilsners. Some were excellent, and though a few craft beers had minor flaws it was still a great experience. I was extremely pleased to see not only was there an active Craft Beer movement in the country, but the local brewers were quite passionate about it.

We drove South to Český Krumlov, a cobblestone town and Castle in the southern Czech Republic. There I enjoyed an excellent semi-sweet spiced mead at a local restaurant. Ordering mead is always a somewhat risky endeavor as you never know what you might get, but this one was outstanding.

Slovakia and Vienna

We unfortunately hit Vienna in the middle of one of the worst rainstorms in 50 years, so I was not able to venture out as much as I wished. Vienna had a mix of Czech lagers and German beers, but of course I had to order a local Vienna lager. I was somewhat surprised as it was lighter in color than I expected, but it was definitely brewed in the Bavarian style with a very clean finish, fresh noble hop note and high drinkability.

We made a mid-day stop in Bratsaslavia, Slovakia which has another charming cobblestone old town and castle on the Danube river. The local beer on tap here was Urpiner which is a European Pale Lager brewed in Slovakia. This beer had a bit more complexity to it, with some body, light sweetness and a different hop character than the Czech beers. I could not precisely place the hops, but the richer flavor went well with the pork dish I had for lunch.

Hungary and Poland

We had only a short time in Budapest, and again the weather worked against us. When I ordered a draft beer at a local restaurant they brought me a Svijany, which is actually a Czech beer. It was light, fresh and had a beautiful hop note like all of the previous Czech lagers I enjoyed. The logos I saw posted reflected that Czech beers were popular here, though some local brands like Draher and Borsod were also present. I hope to get back again someday to explore Hungary more fully in better weather.

Next we spent a few nights in Krakow, Poland, which was the Capitol of Poland for many hundreds of years before it moved to Warsaw. Krakow has a huge old town and square as well as castle and cathedral that was left largely undamaged after WWII. The beer here reflected much of the same European/Czech lager styles we saw in the Czech republic. The beers are refreshing, clean and very drinkable with that nice Saaz noble hops note.

We finished in Warsaw, a city that was almost completely destroyed by Hitler after the Warsaw uprising, but painstakingly reconstructed by Poles after the war. The old town was meticulously rebuilt, including the Palace, two old town squares, churches and royal mile. Having sampled quite a few lagers, I went for a wheat beer on the square. I believe it was a Książęce Złote Pszeniczne based on the glass used. It was served with yeast, and had many of the notes of a Bavarian Weizen, though the banana/clove flavor was slightly more muted than the Bavarian variant and had a slightly darker color. It was very drinkable though.

Overall Impressions

Let me first start by saying, I was incredibly impressed with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Vienna (Austria), Poland and Hungary. While some Americans think of these in terms of the Cold War, the fact is that the Iron Curtain only lasted a little over 40 years, which is a blip in time compared to the vibrant local cultures developed over many hundreds and thousands of years. The Austro-Hungarian Empire, which at times covered much of this region, lasted over 800 years and built many of these impressive cities. The people were incredibly friendly, the food was outstanding and not surprisingly the beer was also fantastic. Prices were quite reasonable considering the strength of the dollar compared to local currencies.

As I mentioned this was not really a beer trip, so I did not make a concerted effort to sample a large number of beers, instead ordering whatever was local or on tap. The super clean, super fresh Czech lager styles seemed the dominant beer style in most of these countries, though they also served many Vienna lagers, German lager and wheat styles. In the larger cities, there was a vibrant craft brewing culture growing as well with many offering IPAs, Hazy IPAs, Porters, sours and fruit beers.

I would recommend any of these cities if you are a beer (or food) fan as there is plenty to see, sample and enjoy!

Please subscribe for regular weekly delivery, check out the podcast, and don’t hesitate to retweet, link, like or mention any of my articles on social media and give my BeerSmith software a try if you enjoy brewing your own beer.

Pale Ale and Pinter with Danny Monnot – BeerSmith Podcast #311 2 Oct 2024 8:20 AM (6 months ago)

Professional brewer Danny Monnot joins me this week to discuss Pale Ales and his new project to make home brewing more accessible with the Pinter brewing system.

Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play

Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (49:40)

Today I welcome Danny Monnot. Danny started in Craft Brewing in 2013, and was the head brewer at Platform Beer Co in Cleveland. After being acquired by Anheuser-Bush, the brewery merged but was eventually shuttered due to recent downsizing. Danny has now joined Pinter creating small easy to use brewing kits for home brewers. Links: Pinter.com | Pinter on Facebook | Instagram: @pinterusa | Youtube
NOTE: Pinter has offered their Pinter kit/package for $100 off to BeerSmith listeners: Use discount code “BEERSMITH49” or this direct link to order.
We start with a bit about Danny’s brewing history including his experience being acquired and eventually shuttered by a large brewing company. We talk about how many breweries were acquired but then later shed by the larger brewers as craft brewing has entered a slowdown.
We discuss the “New Cleveland” Pale Ale, brewed by Platform brewing which won a GABF silver medal. We start with a discussion of Pale Ales which were arguably the breakout beer for many craft breweries before the IPA revolution took over.
Danny explains what makes American Pale Ales unique including their American hops and clean finish California yeast strains.
We talk about how “New Cleveland” was a Pale Pilsner Hybrid which means it did not fit neatly into the American Pale Ale tradition, but instead used pilsner malt and noble hops.
Danny details some other work he’s done on whirlpool and dry hopping and some of the things he’s found about dry hopping.
He provides his tips to make a great Pale Ale
Next we discuss his new job as operations manager at Pinter. Pinter is a new single vessel no-boil brewing system that lets you easily brew beer at home with minimal effort.
Danny shows us the Pinter brewing vessel which lets you mix, ferment and serve from a single vessel and includes an attachment to help remove the fermented yeast and trub from the vessel.
The entire process basically is to sanitize the vessel, add the ingredients and let it ferment for several days. Later you move it into your fridge when you can directly server beer from the unit. The entire process takes roughly 2-3 weeks, and requires no boil or mash.
We talk about how Pinter can help attract new brewers to home brewing and make homebrewing easier for the casual brewer.
Danny shares his closing thoughts.

Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsor Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine for sponsoring this episode. I encourage you to subscribe to their great magazine!
Also check out BeerSmith, BeerSmith Web, BeerSmith Mobile software and the DVDs John Palmer and I filmed – How to Brew with Malt Extract and How to Brew All Grain are available now. You can subscribe to the BeerSmith newsletter for free to get some great articles on home brewing.

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

Audio feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/content/feed/podcast)
Video feed on iTunes – (direct: http://beersmith.com/tv/category/podcast/feed/ )
Audio podcast on Google Play here

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (or link at the top of the page) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

BeerSmith Home Brewing View RSS

Podcast player

New Brewing Hop Products with Max Shafer – BeerSmith Podcast #322 30 Mar 3:44 PM (8 days ago)

Topics in This Week’s Episode (41:12)

Sponsors

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

Spontaneous Fermentation for Beer Brewing 25 Mar 2:48 PM (13 days ago)

What is Spontaneous Fermentation?

How to Spontaneously Ferment your Beer

Barrel Aged Stouts with Skip Schwartz – BeerSmith Podcast #321 20 Mar 9:51 AM (18 days ago)

Topics in This Week’s Episode (41:12)

Sponsors

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

When to Use Different Mashing Techniques in Beer Brewing 14 Mar 10:55 AM (24 days ago)

Mash Temperatures and Body

Mash pH and Body

Steeping or Sparging Dark Grains

Mash Hopping

Using Sensory Kits to Understand Off Flavors in Beer 5 Mar 9:14 AM (last month)

Why Every Brewer Should Judge Beers

Sensory Kits To Aid Judges

New England IPA and Hazy IPA Brewing Secrets 28 Feb 12:34 PM (last month)

What Makes Hazy IPAs Different

Brewing the Hazy IPA

Cold IPA with John Palmer – BeerSmith Podcast #320 27 Feb 7:56 AM (last month)

Topics in This Week’s Episode (40:43)

Sponsors

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

Yeast Flocculation and Beer Brewing 21 Feb 11:59 AM (last month)

What is Yeast Flocculation?

Yeast Strain Flocculation Values

Environmental Factors Affecting Flocculation

When to Use Different Hopping Techniques in Beer 15 Feb 7:59 AM (last month)

Hop Addition Techniques

When To Use Each Technique

Beer, Mead and Cider with Michael Fairbrother – BeerSmith Podcast #319 11 Feb 2:25 PM (last month)

Topics in This Week’s Episode (43:38)

Sponsors

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

Using Multiple Equipment Profiles in BeerSmith 8 Feb 12:42 PM (last month)

Why you might want multiple profiles?

Common Cases Where Muiltiple Equipment Profiles are Needed

International Bitterness Units (IBUs) and Beer Recipe Design 30 Jan 7:38 AM (2 months ago)

IBUS in Beer Defined

IBUs in Practical Beer Recipe Design

Some Practical Limitations of IBUs

Simplified Homebrewing with John Blichmann – BeerSmith Podcast #318 27 Jan 8:21 AM (2 months ago)

Topics in This Week’s Episode (56:09)

Sponsors

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

Understanding Hop Sensory Data 24 Jan 9:37 AM (2 months ago)

Hop Sensory Data

Reading the Spider Chart (Radar Chart)

Process Control of DMS in Lagers with Dr Greg Casey – BeerSmith Podcast #317 22 Jan 9:03 AM (2 months ago)

Topics in This Week’s Episode (56:09)

Sponsors

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or BeerSmith Radio

How to Read a Beer Brewing Yeast Data Sheet 17 Jan 12:28 PM (2 months ago)

Yeast Data Sheets

Basic Yeast Data

Advanced Yeast Data

Mash Hopping to Enhance Beer Stability 9 Jan 7:58 AM (2 months ago)

What is Mash Hopping?

Mash Hopping For Beer Stability

Mash Hopping to Enhance Thiols

Beer Case Study: BeerSmith’s Irish Stout 3 Jan 6:15 AM (3 months ago)

The Irish Stout Style

Design Decisions

How to Ship Home Brewed Beer 28 Dec 2024 8:12 AM (3 months ago)

The Legal Complexities of Shipping Beer

Packaging Your Beer

Cider and Perry with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast #316 24 Dec 2024 9:00 AM (3 months ago)

Topics in This Week’s Episode (56:21)

Sponsors