If you’re running out of brewer’s yeast and eyeing your sourdough starter as a replacement, you’re not alone. This idea crops up in homebrew forums from time to time, and everyone is wondering how it will turn out. You can brew beer using a sourdough starter, but it takes experimenting to produce the flavor you …
Even though I’ve heard beers negatively compared to water, even the highest quality craft beer is over 95% water. While other ingredients may have the reputation of giving beer its flavor, such as the grains, hops, or yeast, water may be, hands down, the most important ingredient. What type of water should you use to …
Choosing Water for Brewing Beer: A Very Important Guide Read More »
Homebrewers are mostly using sugar to add desired flavors and to carbonate their beers. But you may be wondering what types of sugars are best and what do they add to your homebrews. The best sugars for homebrewing are ‘simple’ sugars because they are the easiest to break down and manipulate in the brewing process. …
The Best Sugar to Use for Homebrew – and Why It Matters Read More »
Cloudiness may not affect the flavor, just the look or aesthetic of the beer. Cloudy beer is caused by several factors. Luckily most can be avoided with good brewing practices. There are 3-4 main culprits causing cloudy beer. The two main ones are chill haze and yeast. A more troubling one is bacterial infection. With …
If you’re interested in starting to brew at home, you may have run into some confusion about how much yeast you need to make a successful brew. Using an insufficient amount of yeast can result in suboptimal beer flavors. If you look online, you might find incredibly complicated calculations, opinions, and recommendations that are overwhelming …
How Much Yeast Do You Really Need for Home Brewing? Read More »
When brewing homebrew beer, the mash is the part of the process where the grains in the beer are mixed with hot water and heated through, converting the grains to starch. The process of mashing begins the fermentation process that inevitably leads to an alcoholic beverage. Beer cannot be mashed for too long, but if …
If you’re a craft beer enthusiast, you may have wondered if you could brew beer in your own apartment. The answer is: you absolutely can! Whether you live in a tiny studio or a penthouse, you can be enjoying the satisfaction of a homebrewed beer in a few simple steps. This article will outline in …
Can You and How to Brew Beer in an Apartment: a Complete Guide Read More »
A heavy rolling boil is essential for a clean beer. 90 minutes is the optimal time, however, a shorter boil is acceptable. You must carefully tailor your brew session to your specific time and spatial constraints. 60-minute boils are suitable for the dense extract worts of beginner to intermediate brewers. For advanced brewers, high-volume 90-minute …
As a beer lover and a prospective or current homebrewer, one question that may pop up is – Can bottle caps be reused batch after batch of my homebrew? You can reuse bottle caps for homebrewing needs. Only when it is possible to refit a cap to a bottle properly. When a bottle cap is …
Racking is a term that is thrown around often in brewing circles, but those who are new to crafting beer may not be sure what it entails. When most people hear the word “racking,” they think of pool tables rather than beer. In homebrewing, racking means to siphon beer from a primary container into a …
Keeping a homebrew log can be incredibly helpful for any brewer looking to brew more efficiently and produce better beers. By carefully logging your methods and recipes, you’ll be able to identify the trends that lead to success, as well as flag those that lead to less than ideal results. How do you keep a …
How to Keep a Homebrew Log and Improve at Beer Making Read More »
So, you’re experimenting with craft brewing, but can you re-bottle homebrew? Beer is bottled after the end of the fermentation process, but if you interrupt the finishing process, you risk changing the flavor and carbonation level of your brew. Re-bottling homebrew is not a recommended technique. When you open an unfinished beer, you introduce oxygen …
Can You Re-Bottle Homebrew After Priming and Bottling? Read More »
The airlock is one of the most important pieces of equipment for home brewing. New homebrewers may get overwhelmed by the choices, worry about the process, or forget this critical piece of equipment. Properly using and maintaining an airlock through the fermentation process is key to great results in the finished product. An airlock is …
Making homebrew is an acquired skill, and you are likely not going to master it the first time around. In fact, some homebrewers might need several attempts before being successful. Adding too much water is one mistake you can make when trying your hand at brewing your own nice, cold beer from the comfort of …
What to Do If You Added Too Much Water to Homebrew? Read More »
Beer infection and contamination is a frustrating reality. Good brewing habits help avoid it. Also, there are must-don’ts during the process wherein the beer is not purely infected but affected where off-flavors take away all pleasure and enjoyment. Our hopes, so promising at first, are dashed! Beer infection happens to homebrewers at every skill level. …
Is My Homebrew Beer Infected? 7 Ways to Avoid It Read More »
After cooking beer, perhaps one of the most mundane chores in beer making, is cooling your wort (pronounced wert– raw unfermented beer). Proper and expedient cooling is a critical step. If we skip it, we may disrupt the 1st most critical stage of beer making, the multiplying and respiration (multiplication) of the yeast. When wort …
Why Do You Need to Cool Your Wort Quickly? 3 Effective Methods Read More »
Homebrewing is a fantastic hobby for all beer lovers. It allows you to understand how the brewing process works, and it also allows you to experiment to find your taste preferences. If you are new to homebrewing and not sure where to begin, there are homebrewing kits that you can purchase to point you in …
Do Homebrew Kits Ever Expire? Is It Safe to Use out of Date Kits? Read More »
Beer, like any food or beverage, does have a shelf life. If handled properly, your homebrewed creations will last many weeks and even months. Spoiled beer will not hurt you, it just tastes bad. Homebrew and Craft-Brewed Beer stay drinkable for many weeks and even months if handled and stored properly. 60 – 90 days …
Yeast is one of the most critical ingredients when brewing your own alcoholic beverages at home. The use of different strains of yeast, even with all the other ingredients being the same, can impart different flavors in the finished brew. No one yeast will work for all recipes. Always choose a good quality yeast that …
What Are The Best Yeasts for Homebrewing (and Why!) Read More »
Fermentation is arguably the most important part of brewing. This is the process by which yeast transforms malt sugar into ethyl alcohol. And I believe the technical term for finished product is, “YAHOO!!!” The result of fermentation is this relaxing beverage with toasty, bready flavors and perhaps the bitterness, spicy and floral characteristics contributed by …
Primary and Secondary Fermentation in Beer: What’s the Difference? Read More »
Homebrewing is typically for personal consumption or for people who are learning about how to brew. There are only a few ingredients needed to make beer at home – malts, water, yeast, and hops. Some people like to add sugar, as well. When there is too much sugar added to your brew, and it has …
What to Do if You Added Too Much Sugar to Homebrew? Read More »
How much alcohol does this batch have? This question sticks in the back, or front, of every homebrewer’s mind. We follow the recipe closely, or not, and go through each step of the process meticulously, or not, and in the end, we enjoy the refreshing goodness of the beer we just made, with care and …
How to Measure Alcohol Content Without Original Gravity? Read More »
If you are interested in getting started with the process of homebrewing, it might be really tempting to start using a kit for the first time that you actually brew beer. Although it may feel as though many of the largest breweries are actually just scaling up what you are using in a small brew …
Do I Really Need a Kit to Start Brewing Beer? Here is the Answer Read More »
There are a number of preventable mistakes that many home brewers make the first time that they produce a batch of beer. As a somewhat experienced brewer here are some of the main things that I wish I knew before I made my first homebrew. Here are seven things I wish I knew before I …
7 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Made My First Homemade Beer Read More »
If you have heard of major brewing kits before it’s likely that you have come across the idea of the Coopers brewing kit. In most cases these are simple kits that can produce repeatable results for newer brewers. What Coopers beer kits focus on is the idea of keeping things extremely simple. They deliver high-quality …
Review: Coopers Beer Kit (Pros and Cons) Is It Worth Your Money? Read More »
Last update December 4, 2019 If you love the flavor of fresh cider and you want to get access to the ability to make this in the comfort of your own home, you might want to consider the idea of picking up a cider brewing kit. With the help of one of these products, you …
The 5 Best Brewing Cider Kits – Ultimate Buying Guide To Brew Like A Pro Read More »
You are looking for a way to learn about making your own beer on the cheap? There are 3 kits that are ahead of the competition and are proposed just right under $50. A great way to start getting into homebrewing without spending too much. It can also be a great, original and unexpensive gift …
Best 3 Homebrew Kits Under $50: a Kit on the Cheap Read More »
If you want to get started making homemade beer and you don’t want to purchase a kit directly, there are a number of ways that you can get started with this process using a not so secret recipe. Making beer at home is actually incredibly simple and with some of this basic equipment and these …
How to Make Homemade Beer – The Not So Secret Recipe Read More »
Two of the most popular beer kits currently are the Mr. Beer kit as well as the Northern Brewer kit. Making a decision between these two popular styles can often be beneficial when you are searching out the best investment for your own home brewing. Making a good decision will help to ensure that you …
Mr. Beer Vs Northern Brewer: Which Kit is The Best? (2020 Update) Read More »
Updated December 28, 2019 If you are looking for a great fridge that you can use to keep your beer cold, you likely have limitless options available to you. As passionate home brewers or simple beer lovers, if you are looking for a quality beer fridge in the year 2020, we have six of the …
Top 6 Best Beer Fridges & Mini Fridges (Updated 2020) Read More »
Many people that start homebrewing consider it as a cost-effective idea. They are tired of going to the store regularly to pick up beer and paying a premium for fresh craft beer when they can easily produce it in their own home. If you are getting into homebrewing is a cost-effective strategy, it’s important to …
Is Home Brewing Cost Effective? What Are All The Expenses? Read More »
If you are a big fan of craft brewing, you may be adjusted to know that the process of brewing beer could actually be far easier than you might think. Home brewing is something that beginners can take on and there are a number of simple recipes and kits that can make the process of …
How Difficult is Home Brewing for Total Beginners? Read More »
Last Update December 28, 2019 Brewing the best IPA may be much easier than you might think especially with the wealth of tools that are available in homebrew kits. India Pale Ale remains one of the highest-selling homebrew kits available for purchase. The big problem that many consumers face however is that with the ever-growing …
The 6 Best IPA Beer Making Kits Tested and Reviewed (2020 Buying Guide) Read More »
One of the greatest things that you can do if you are trying to expand your homebrewing knowledge and produce better beer, is start educating yourself. With the help of a good quality homebrew book you can start to produce much better beer as well as learn from some of the mistakes of more experienced …
8 Best Homebrewing Books to Learn From Expert Homebrewers Read More »
If you have just started a batch of homebrew it could be many weeks before you even have to worry about bottling it. When it comes to producing the best quality beer bottling is a fine touch that many brewers can use to preserve the quality of their beer. This process is actually one of …
Homebrew Bottles: Glass or Plastic? Flip Top or Screw Cap? Brown? Read More »
If you are embarking on a journey of homebrewing it’s likely that you’re going to want to consistently be improving on the last batch of beer that you created. The good news is that there are a number of tips that you will pick up in the homebrewing community after you have started to brew …
9 Tips on Making Your Homebrew Beer Taste Better Read More »
If you are planning on brewing beer it is important to know roughly how long that takes to make each variety of beer. If you want to make sure that your beer has fully matured in the fermentation stage you should be waiting for a variety of signs before you know it is time to …
To get the greatest level of satisfaction out of brewing your own beer you may be very tempted to control almost every aspect of the process. One of the best ways that you can control the taste of your homebrew beer is with the help of quality hops. With many of the world’s best top …
The Brooklyn Brew Shop is known for its one-of-a-kind homebrew kits that are fairly easy to ferment and perfect for hobbyists that are simply getting started. It produces excellent quality beer and comes in a fairly easy to ship box. The beer making kit is available for just around $40 and the Everyday IPA comes …
Review: Brooklyn Brew Shop Everyday IPA Kit, Is It Worth Your Money? Read More »
There are many types of full-service beer brewing kits available today. When it comes to getting the ultimate value from a brewing kit you’re going to want high-quality materials as well as a kit that includes almost everything that’s needed to produce a good batch of homebrew beer. There are many elements that go into …
Which Beer Brewing Kit to Buy: Guide With Reviews and Pros & Cons Read More »
