ok, this is a style of beer that i can really get excited about, mainly because it involves three of my favorite things in life; history, research and of course, BEER! in this case, a really tasty, historical beer. few things could be cooler, IMO.

i've been really intrigued by the style since reading Martyn Cornell's article in last Jan/Feb's issue of Zymurgy. so, fast forward several months and one of my favorite breweries, Schell's, comes out with a limited release, Stag Series...

NordeastBrewer77

i've been posting about this topic a lot lately, it seems that many brewers want to harvest yeast from some of their favorite commercial breweries. some really good craft breweries bottle condition a few of their brews with what seems like a gift to us home brewers. Rogue and Bell's are the two that immediately come into my mind when it comes to an easy harvest. for this blog, i'll be demonstrating how to harvest yeast from 4 bottles of Bell's Amber Ale. my wife and i both love Bell's beer, quite...

NordeastBrewer77

as many of you know, i'm a very active member here on the HBT forums. it's one of my favorite things to do to pass the time between brews. in fact, i enjoy few things more than talking beer with everyone here. one of the more common topics i see popping up on the forums is temp control, or issues with brews due to a lack thereof. one many of these thread i notice myself and others recommending some solid ways to keep temps in check during active fermentation. in this blog entry, i will cover the...

NordeastBrewer77

yes, Cascadian Dark. not 'black IPA', definitely not American Style India Black Ale (wtf?), Cascadian Dark Ale. this is a style that, like it's lighter cousin American IPA, is driven by big, citrus-y, pine-y, resinous hops character. a hops character who's signature is bold, American hops from the Yakima and Willamette valleys in, you guessed it, Cascadia.

this is a style of beer that any true beer lover can really appreciate. it offers, IMO, the best of both worlds, big hops flavor...

NordeastBrewer77

i've seen a lot of posts recently with the OP asking if his/her fermentation temps are too low. most of the time, their ambient temps are a bit low, but considering the exothermic properties of fermentation, they're actually fermenting right in the desired range for the yeast they're using. occasionally the OP is actually fermenting a few degrees below the manufacturer's suggested temp range. which, in my experience, is a vague guideline they set for 'optimum' yeast performance. i have some thoughts...

NordeastBrewer77