The difference between an award-winning brew and a funky mess is how the brewer controlled the temperature during the entire brewing process. Making beer is not easy, but the concept is, you just let yeast convert your sugary wort into beer. A proper wort, though, with the right extraction of fermentable sugars, can only be …
7 Best Home Brewing Thermometer: Which One to Pick? Read More »
The increasing trend of dry-hopping and double dry-hopping our brews has changed the way we see beer, especially the IPA styles. The world of hops is more varied and exciting than ever, with a myriad of alternatives from all corners of the earth offering astounding bitterness and aromatic profiles. Making the most out of the …
What Are the Best Hops for Dry Hopping Your Homebrew? Read More »
The next time you have a crystal-clear beer in your hand, you can thank Whirlfloc tablets. As much as we like to think about beer as an all-natural product, several ‘external’ components are involved. Don’t get me wrong, Whirlfloc tablets are actually a natural product made from Irish moss and purified carrageenan, but let’s start …
Are Whirlfloc Tablets Necessary For Brewing (Good) Beer? Read More »
Without considering your expertise, your beer will only be as good as the quality of your ingredients. That means you need to buy the good stuff, but also store it properly. We’ve seen craft brewers repeatedly tossing out their grains because they were swarming with small flies or worse. Grains are super nutritious, and that …
How Long Do Milled Grains Last And How To Store Them? Read More »
Hops are one of the most crucial ingredient in beer. Yes, they add lovely aromatics and an addictive bitterness to our favorite beers, but they also protect them from spoilage. Today, you’ll find hop flowers in either pellets or whole cones. Either way, you must take care of them to make the most of their …
How Long Do Hops Last? Do They Expire for Homebrewing? Read More »
Cooling wort for beginning homebrewers is a modest challenge. It takes time, ice, and patience. Cool your wort quickly and efficiently or face unwanted consequences. Many things could go wrong in waiting overnight. There are cooling contraptions for advanced brewers or for the beginner, the handy 8 lb. bag of ice bought from the Quick-Pick. …
3 Consequences of Leaving Wort to Cool Overnight Read More »
Fermentation is a tricky business. Sometimes the yeast prematurely rests on the bottom. Activity all but stops. What to do!!?? One is tempted to stir it. Once in the fermentor, the wort shouldn’t be stirred. The beer is vulnerable, so moving or touching it could introduce oxygen or bacteria that could spoil the beer. If …
Yeast is often an overlooked and underappreciated component to our passionately created homebrews. Dry yeast is a smart and simple place to begin when first making beer. It has its merits and limitations. Dry yeast offers a reliable fermentation media and while already resilient, rehydration helps to kickstart it. It adds more volume to the …
Do You Really Need to Rehydrate Your Dry Yeast Before Pitching? Read More »
An airlock is probably one of the first things a homebrewer should get. Beginner or not. If yours goes missing, or you simply haven’t got yours yet, there are a few inventive solutions. Airlock alternatives proposed by the craft brewing community. I’ve browsed the most passionate home brewing forums, Reddit threads and blogs to determine …
Airlock Alternatives: No Airlock? I’ve Got You Covered Read More »
Today there are more hops than ever. From classic Old World hops that have been around for ages to new hops being released every other month. The noble Humulus lupulus plant and its fragrant flower cones are perhaps beer’s most important ingredients. Choosing the right hop for your brewing undertaking is no easy feat. Either …
25 Different Types of Hops and Their Profile for Beer-Making Read More »
Fermentation is the essential facet within the transformation of sugar to beer. It’s perhaps the most mysterious process for beginning brewers. The fermentation vessels and environment must be clean – correction – ultra-clean, meaning sanitary. No contaminants nor microorganisms must be present or introduced to the fermenter. The lid of a fermenter may be open …
Sparging sets the stage for the boil and is 1/3 of the critical steps needed for wort production: mashing, sparging, and the boil. It releases all of the sweet wort from the mash and with added hot water extracts every last ounce of sugary goodness. Do it well, do it right. Fly Sparging – Sparging- …
Fly Sparge is the Only Way to go to Really Maximize your Efficiency Read More »
Strike temp refers to the heated hot water to begin a mash. This is largely the domain of advanced to intermediate brewers, however, this foundational information will make extract and partial mash experiments run smoother. Heat strike water accurately, with a 1 – 2° F (1° C) differential at most. A mash temperature is set …
Here’s Why Strike Water Temp Is So Important When Brewing Beer Read More »
There were two reasons I got into brewing. I wanted premium beer and wanted to save money. First came the passion. I loved beer and could not discover new ones nor absorb knowledge fast enough. Secondly came the economics. I was a 3rd-year college student, living off-campus and working part-time. Saving money in homebrewing is …
Few things are worse than having a good brew day, successful in every way, except when taking the final pre-fermentation original gravity…and it is too low. The beer may still be good. It reached the low end of the profile, 1.060 of a possible 1.060 – 1.068. Hitting Original Gravity defines a brew, the style, …
Your Original Gravity Is Too Low? Not Everything Is Lost Read More »
Here at KissMyBrew, home brewing is our focus, our mission. As evidenced by the 7,000 + extant breweries in the US right now, many homebrewers and enthusiasts have gone strictly commercial. Here are 6 things differences between home brewing and commercial brewing to consider. Sharing beer with others and making a good living is a …
6 Differences Between Home Brewing and Commercial Brewing Read More »
The first major benchmark for a serious homebrewer is Journeyman status. Brewing is a multitude of things, art, science, process, a reason to kick it with friends. One thing is certain, the beer must be good for anyone to enjoy it. Not least of which is the brewer themself. Mastering homebrewing takes many years, many …
Brewing is a temperature-sensitive process. Ales require 58-68˚ F (14-20° C). Lagers need 53 down to 40˚ F (4-11° C) to properly ferment and condition. Living in the middle latitudes, between the tropics, yet temperate with four distinct seasons, summer temperature becomes a concern. You have many options. You need not give up your homebrewing …
Brewing beer is a temperature-sensitive process. Ales require 58-68˚ F (14-20° C). Lagers need 53 down to 40˚ F (4-11° C) to properly ferment and condition. If you live in the far Northern Hemisphere, or the Southern, temperature becomes a concern. You have many options. You need not be relegated to your short summer months …
Brew day is the most fun when making beer, second only to the drinking itself. There are those that are gung-ho about bottling and ready by the time the airlock stops bubbling. They get carried away and bottle too early. Here is a best- and worst-case scenario. Bottling too early could result in broken bottles: …
What Happens if You Bottle Your Homebrew Too Early? Read More »
For intermediate to advanced brewers, mashing is an integral step to making better beer in their pursuit of great beer. There is no mash without a clean vorlauf. Whether store bought or homemade, mashing and extracting raw wort is key to the process. Vorlaufing (recirculation of the mash liquid for clarity) is an essential element …
You Should Recirculate (Vorlauf) Your Mash. Here’s Why Read More »
According to some…the Germans, there can only be four ingredients in beer. Barley, hops, yeast, and water. They speak from a position of authority as they are arguably the world’s preeminent lager brewers. What about the yeast? Dry yeast is stable, dependable and the quality has dramatically increased in recent years. Liquid yeast is cultured …
Dry Yeast vs Liquid Yeast: Which One to Use for Homebrewing? Read More »
Grain bags are used on two levels: beginner/ intermediate and advanced brewing. Brewing with grain bags is often the first step to upping your brewing game. The Brew-in-a-Bag (BIAB) method, wherein all-grain brewers place all of their mash in a bag, mash, sparge and boil in one vessel, eliminates the need for mash-tuns, lauters and …
Do I Squeeze My Grain Bag or Not? Answer to the Eternal Debate Read More »
Home brewers are full of questions. It comes with the territory. One that comes up regularly: Is it OK to top off my wort with water? Well, that depends. Yes and no. For extract brewers it is routine and expected to add water to concentrated wort. For all-grain brewers, it may be Ok, but the …
Is Topping off Wort With (a Lot of) Water a Good Idea? Read More »
Raw wort can tell you a lot or a little about your beer. This partly depends on how developed your palate is at that moment. It will hint at what sort of beer it will be, subtle characteristics to reveal how quenching or delicious its potential. Raw wort hints at the characteristics of a beer. …
What Should Raw Wort Taste Like? How Much Can You Tell From It? Read More »
Your brew session is wrapping up. Whether one hour for a beginner or eight hours for an advanced all-grain brewer, the next stage is the same. You must cool your wort and quickly. Your window for effective cooling is 30 minutes, 40 minutes at the absolute outside. You can cool your wort by adding cold …
When it comes to homebrewing beer, Brew-in-a-Bag (BIAB) can be one of the easiest and most efficient ways to homebrew beer if you’ve never done it before. BIAB bags take the guesswork out of adding your grains and extracts and instead let you focus on other technical aspects of the brew such as temperature and …
Sparging is the process of spraying or pouring 170°F water onto mash to collect or rinse out any residual sugars left in the mash pile. While there are three different ways to sparge, they all follow similar steps and processes of pouring brewed water over your mash pile until the sugar is fully collected. People …
What Is Sparging In Homebrewing? And How Do You Do It? Read More »
Brewing with an electric stove is not the preferred method of making homebrew, but it is definitely doable and can even be an advantage with smaller batches of beer. If you enjoy brewing, being able to brew on an electric stovetop gives you the freedom to brew year-round without interference from the elements. But how …
Brewing Beer on an Electric Stove / Burner: Pros and Cons Read More »
For the avid or amateur homebrewer, storing your brewed goods in a growler may seem like a quick and convenient idea. They can store the volume of several smaller 12 or 16 ounce bottles, saving time and effort. However, you will need to be careful with the type of growler you use and use a …
Filtering homebrew beer is a much different practice than the filtration processes undertaken by most commercial breweries. In homebrew, mechanical filtration and kegs are often overshadowed by microbrews and bottle conditioning. Homebrew is filtered by following these steps: Adding fining agents to the kettle Performing a secondary fermentation Performing a cold crash Racking the beer …
Step-by-Step: How to Filter Homebrew Before Bottling Read More »
Brewing beer is a craft. Who knows what kind of opportunities it may lead to? Whether it’s going to be a hobby or business venture, you want to make sure that your beer isn’t flat. These are six common reasons why your beer has no carbonation. And I am going to dig into these reasons …
A beer recipe is only as good as the ingredients that you will be fermenting. For some, the unique earthy taste of mushroom beer is a delicacy that goes well with many different types of meals. Ultimately, brewing beer with mushrooms gives the undeniably distinctive flavor and the scent of umami, which is challenging to …
Brewing Beer With Mushrooms? Yes, Here Are 4 Recipes! Read More »
Adding fruit to homebrewed beer is one of the best ways to add nuanced layers of flavor to an otherwise dull growler, and there are many kinds of fruit that are well-suited to be added into beer and pair well with several types of beer. Fruit can be added to homebrew in many different forms …
How to Add Fruit to a Homebrew Beer: All You Need to Know Read More »
The main reason that people start making beer at home is usually a hobby. Home brewers claim beers taste the same as the ones you buy, if not better. And making your beer is an enjoyable and satisfying pastime. It also takes less time than you might think. Pressure barrels are incredibly useful during the …
Many mistakes can be made during the homebrewing process that can turn a potentially clear beer into a hazy beer. While haze doesn’t detract from the flavor of a beer (although it can be indicative of spoilage in some cases), it isn’t usually a desired trait in many beer types, either. Refining homebrewing practices to …
Fermentation is the exciting part of beer making. It is where all the action happens. For ales it lasts 7-14 days on average. For lagers, much longer, 21-40 days. Belgian yeasts are also unique organisms and their fermentation can last 14 days to 6 months…yes, I know. When exactly is it finished? Fermentation is finished …
How to Tell When Fermentation Is Done Without a Hydrometer Read More »
Hitting your target OG (Original Gravity – amount of fermentable sugar in raw wort) correctly is like most things home-brewing, easy to learn about, taking time to get right. The good news is that you have a lot of latitude when brewing beer. It is your beer; you are the judge and the jury. If …
My Original Gravity Is Too High, Is It Bad? What Can I Do? Read More »
Pitching the right amount of yeast is one of the most important elements in making homebrew. Both over and under pitching can affect the beer’s flavor and overall quality, so it’s important to get it right. But what happens if you need to add more once the fermentation process has started? It’s possible to add …
Honey is a versatile ingredient in food used throughout the world. It is used to sweeten foods and drinks with its unique flavor. As with many other ingredients, though, honey can have an impact on the chemistry of your homebrew that you should consider before using it in your recipe. What happens when you add …
