Jester Goldman


Learning Lab: Standard Hops Additions

Hops for bitterness, flavor, and aroma... and, often, three corresponding additions to the boil. Using one-gallon test batches hopped differently, let's test our assumptions.

Learning Lab: A Richer Palette with Specialty Grains

Let's affirm the importance of building malt complexity. By mixing up your base malts, bringing in rye or oats, or experimenting with specialty malts, you can bring depth and nuance to your beers, creating a knock-out recipe.

Learning Lab: Water Treatment for All

Decent beer is definitely good but learning about water chemistry can give you additional control over what you brew and take your beer from good to great.

Learning Lab: The Foundations of Malt

Base malts are the foundation of beer. It’s worthwhile to have a sense of the trade-offs your extract supplier made. As a bonus, this mini-batch experiment is a good introduction to mashing.

Learning Lab: Going Deep on Yeast

In this issue’s Learning Lab column, Jester Goldman shows you how to expand your knowledge of yeast strains so you can pick the right yeast for your next batch of homebrew.

The Heart of Darkness: Exploring Dark Malts

In this Learning Lab column, Jester Goldman gives his full attention to dark malt. Settle in as he helps you understand how these grains differ and what they can bring to your beer.

Learning Lab: Distinguishing the Types of Crystal Malt

To avoid being overwhelmed by all the options, try focusing on a manageable subset of grain—crystal (aka caramel) malts. Using the mini-batch (1 gallon/3.8 liters) method, we demonstrate how you can learn to distinguish among the types of crystal malt.

Learning Lab: Hops Aroma and Flavor

Learn how to work with mini- batches to supercharge your progress toward becoming a better brewer. This column examines how you can use 1 gallon (3.8 liter) mini-batches to explore hops aroma and flavor.

Estimating AA% Using Calibrated Hop Teas

Growing your own hops isn’t always as simple as planting, harvesting, and brewing. For those who want to get deeper into the science, leading to a more fulfilling brewing experience, here are the steps you need to estimate alpha-acid percentage.

Cold Brew Coffee At Home

Want to pour your own cold brew coffee at home? If you already have a normal CO2 keg setup, you can level up by adding nitrogen to the mix. That one-time cost will let you satisfy your craving and still be able to put your stout on tap once in a while.