brewing

By David Doucette The tides have turned on the “healthiness of beer” several times throughout my life, and likely yours too. Thankfully over the past few years newly discovered benefits have been more plentiful than newly discovered negative effects. Even WebMD (where we go to find out if our...

So often we’ve tasted beers that have been over powered by the one ingredient that ends up giving it the hollow single identity so advertised on the label. Whether it is a label illustrating a personified ninja blackberry performing a front snap kick to a pint glass, or strawberry that has been...

A few years ago in the last golden days of a late English summer I brewed up a clone of the Dark Star Brewery's lovely Festival Ale. Everything went well on the day and I collected a good amount of beautiful wort. Unfortunately, after fermentation in the midst of a searing (and unusual) heat...

I designed my very own induction brewing system that is based on a traditional 3 kettle system design. I wanted a way to brew great tasting beers, with the ease of brewing them in my basement. To do so I used 3 induction cookers and 2 pumps, powered by 3 dedicated electrical circuits run...

A beer brewed with love is drunk reasonably. A motto among the devoted monks who produce some of the most sought after and unique tasting beer in the world. Of course, Im speaking of the Trappist monks who create those delectable beers we love. Monks admiring beer is a common subject among...

My setup, and how I got to that point: First off, let me preface this with a few notes about myself. I am a minimalist at heart. I grew up dirt poor, so it has been ingrained in my head. Even when I have the money to buy something I would rather pool my skills and resources to try to figure out...

September 27th marked the 1st anniversary for me and my new found love Homebrewing! I jumped into all grain brewing with both feet after first reading John Palmer's How To Brew. I scoured tons of forums and homebrew community sites in search of the most detailed information and the best setup I...

. NOTE: This is the second part of a two-part article. The first part can be found here: Brewing on the Edge of the World: Canada's Arctic - Part I Now, I will cover my brewing practices, as made necessary by my environment. But first, a few notes on that environment. Igloolik Reservoir Pump...

The view of town from above the graveyard .... NOTE: This is the first part of a two-part article. The second part can be found here: Brewing on the Edge of the World: Canada's Arctic - Part II I'm a fairly new member here. I thought I'd never have something interesting enough to put into an...

No, I'm not talking about the Eugene, Oregon-based brewery, though they do make some fine beers. I'm talking about the Sumerian goddess of brewing; the oldest brewing deity known to historians. The Sumerians took their brewing seriously. Depictions of beer and even recipes occur in their artwork...

My dad taught me that making mistakes comes with the opportunity for an education; hence the phrase, "learn from your mistakes." However, I prefer to learn from someone else's mistakes. Some of the most fun you can have in this short life is watching someone get himself in a pickle, and then try...

I have been brewing on my Recirculating Infusion Mashing System (RIMS) for a little over a year now, and am loving every minute of it. When I first started all-grain brewing, I could never quite get my mash temperatures right. It would always be too high or too low after adding the grains to the...

About a year and a half ago, I stumbled on an article on the Flanders Red beer style. A Flanders Red is aged in oak barrels for years, giving it acidity and a Burgundian complexity which has been described as the most wine-like of all beers. I was intrigued by this concept, so I drove to my...

Have you ever had one of those brew days where nothing went right? Guess what? So has everyone else! I have been brewing since 2009 and I still have more of those days than not. It seems to happen more often when introducing new equipment, which changes your normal configuration. I recently...

Most of us are strapped for time. Jobs, family obligations, household chores, and other activities compete for our precious time. Brewing is a hobby, which by definition is "an activity done during one's leisure time for pleasure." Unfortunately, we all don't have the same amount of leisure time...

What NBA Players Can Teach You About Homebrewing Imagine an NBA point guard about to take his first of two free throws. A couple warm up dribbles....he lines up...pauses....crouches..... release! Miss. So close. And the second shot? "Swoosh" What just happened here? Benefits Of The Warm-up...

So, what made you decide to start home brewing? I think it all began swigging Lowenbrau with a high school friend under an overpass in Ocean City. Well, maybe that wasn't it but in the early 80's, a pair of dirty work jeans and a ball cap is all you needed in the way of ID. I was taught to...

So you want to grow your own hops, huh? The long and short of it is that the things grow as fast as bamboo and need constant management from April to September. Still want to grow hops? Awesome, here's one way to set up a small backyard hops garden that yielded almost a pound of wet hops, in...

A year ago, I had no idea how beer, whiskey, or wine were made. Nor did I really care. All I knew was that, come the typical Saturday night, my wife and I were likely visiting our local supermarket to pick up a six-pack of Miller Light and a bottle of Menage-a-Trois cabernet to share with...

The great joy of homebrewing is sharing the results with others and even making new friends through that sharing. Below is the story of my neighbor, who is now hopelessly addicted to the joys on brewing. I encourage everyone to adopt a new brewer. The benefits are tremendous and the friendships...