Brewing Techniques and Advice


Exchange Rates III: Extract Composition

Most malt extracts are produced using a blend of one or more base malts and some specialty grains, and the precise formulation varies from one manufacturer to the next.

The 4 Best Reasons to Join a Brew Club

When you join a brew club, you can immediately reap the rewards of education, connections, and, of course, beer. There are also a few side benefits to sweeten the deal.

How to Choose the Right Hydrometer

Here is a guide to hydrometers available to homebrewers and how to select the right one for you.

Exchange Rates II: Specialty Grains

Specialty grains add flavor, aroma, and color to beer and contribute proteins and unfermentable sugars.

Dandelion Cyser

Eric Reinsvold takes advantage of the season’s bounty of dandelions—and his daughter’s energy—to “brew” up a batch of bright sparkling floral summer cyser.

Let’s Do It Again: Three Steps to Consistency

Three metrics will help you develop familiarity with your equipment and brewing process so you won’t just make great beer, but you’ll make the great beer you planned, right from the start.

Exchange Rates I: Base Malts

Your brew buddy just emailed you the recipe for his or her award-winning American pale ale. You eagerly open the file and discover it’s an all-grain recipe. But you brew from extract. What now?

Dialing in a Recipe

In four steps, you can adjust your beer recipe and process to transform a decent beer in your arsenal into a solid 10.

Frugal Brewing: Choosing a Thermometer

New brewers will brew better with a good thermometer.

Breaking the Sugar Habit with Kräusening

Even if we pay lip service to the ideal of the Reinheitsgebot, we often overlook it every time we bottle: priming with corn sugar is a clear violation. Take an example from German brewers and keep it legal with a technique called kräusening.