More and more independent brewers are getting into lager brewing, but plenty of misinformation still exists. We asked Firestone Walker brewmaster Matt Brynildson to help us dispel five common myths.
While anachronistic, the coolship is now used by more than two dozen breweries across the US to create spontaneously fermented ales in the Lambic tradition.
Although concrete fermentation tanks are new to the beer world, the vessel’s use dates back centuries to vintners in Europe. Its porous material and smooth shape aids in fermentation and flow.
In Speed Brewing, author Mary Izett applies her chemistry background and BJCP expertise to designing original recipes that ferment in just days or weeks.
No beer school program, no matter how rigorous, should be considered complete, in and of itself. One course, certificate or degree does not an expert make. They are but a starting point.
The idea of marrying sake and beer has been around for a while, but a hybrid has never been made in any great quantity. One of the issues is that many brewers, in spite of their creativity, do not have experience with sake.
Scattered across the country, a few enterprising brewers have begun working with an unusual ingredient: kombucha, a mildly alcoholic fermented tea. Wild fermenting organisms in the tea help lend uniquely funky and tart flavors to their beers, driving curiosity among consumers.
Like all good fairy tales, the story of Grimm Artisanal Ales starts with a moment of enchantment. One night in Providence, Rhode Island, Brown University students Lauren and Joe Grimm attended a talk on wild fermentation that left them spellbound.
Who thought spontaneous fermentation was unique to Belgium? It wasn’t, and lasted well into the 19th century in other parts of Europe. I’m not talking about Gose or another sour wheat style, but about one of the strangest beers brewed in recent times: Danziger Joppenbier.
Many a crazy homebrewer has talked big about letting their neighborhood critters run rampant in their beer, harboring romantic images of the Senne River Valley. If you want to go naturally wild though, start small, and use Mother Nature to your advantage.
Good beer, it seems, is in the pink. So what better time to look at what craft brewers are doing wrong? For its amazing range of tastes, styles, strengths and colors, so much of American craft beer seems to taste naïve, unworldly and lacking in complexity
Sauerkraut is easy to make, and any lover of sour beers will enjoy the flavor it can bring to a dish or meal. Here are a few recipes that use sauerkraut, and one recipe for making it from scratch.
With the summer’s blazing sun, you’re no doubt struggling with the burden of controlling the runaway temperatures of your ferments. Here are a couple of classic solutions to the temp problem.
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