Recent content by homebrewdad

Again, according to the Briess post, conversion is done in the husk (millions of little mash vessels), so a mash technically wasn't required. I'm aware that 20% isn't the "real" limit. According to the one anecdotal beer I cited, 50% isn't the limit, either. So the point of this silly...

I did mash for 90 minutes. I did not add enzymes. Again, according to the maltster literature, enzyme conversion has already happened. If that is correct - and I'm not saying that it is - then the beer should ferment. If it does, then I will step up the next experiment to 100% crystal. If...

I've seen this line of thought a lot. In fact, it's super common... and may be right. Sort of the point of this silly experiment. But then, there's this (taken from the Briess blog post about crystal malt) (emphasis added by Briess) So if that is correct, I should end up with a FG...

A silly idea occurred to me not long ago - how much crystal malt can I put into a beer? Today's post is about taking a good thing to silly extremes. This is the first in what I hope will be a fun little series of posts where I push the limits of various aspects of brewing.

If you still haven't entered, this is your absolute last chance for a shot a nearly eight thousand dollars worth of prizes in this year's BrewUnited Challenge. Headline prizes are a 7 gallon Chronical Fermentor from SS Brew Tech and a loaded 10 gallon Spike Brewing kettle from HomeBrewSupply...

After receiving our shipment from the AHA (our latest sponsor, and one of the biggest in terms of dollar value), the 2016 BrewUnited Challenge is up to a mind boggling almost $8000 worth of prizes! However, the hard entry deadline is upon us, and the remaining spots are limited (in some...

We are now down to fewer than 100 spots left of our 500 entry cap for this year's BrewUnited Challenge (which is now above $7500 worth of prizes to give away). The American Beers Division is even closer to full, with fewer than ten spots left! Also, you have about four hours as of this posting...

As of today, the SMaSH category is completely full for the 2016 BrewUnited Challenge. I will be setting up a wait list for those who would still like to enter it; last year, we had several cancellations, so if you missed the initial entry period, all is not yet lost. Our American beers...

The 2016 BrewUnited Challenge is now about 70% full. We are down to only one spot left for SMaSH beers, and the American Division isn't far behind that. The prize list continues to get crazier - we're up to nearly $7500 worth of prizes. Beer doesn't have to be to the judges until...

My eighteen year old son just got home from a six week trip to Germany. He brought thoughtful gifts home to everyone in the family, but Dad made out the best of all. He gave me a killer drinking horn with a pewter dragon on it, as well as an absolutely beautiful stein. if you care to see...

If you care to read about them, the official prize page is now up for review.

Last year's BrewUnited Challenge - with its funky ingredient requirements and awesome prizes - was a huge success. The 2016 incarnation has been open for entries for about ten days now; I've been debating on whether to post about it here at HBT, but decided that it ought to be appropriate to do...

Sure, I'll enter. I think that the American Ale (all grain) looks like fun.

I'm a huge supporter of Brulosophy. I love what Marshall does over there, and I promote his efforts on an ongoing basis. But I never agreed with this one. He tends to use very clean, forgiving strains of yeast in his beers. Earlier this year, I split up a batch of Irish red ale using...

To those who say that liquid yeast more than a few months old is dead, I say "neener neener". I recently spun up some WLP037 that was nearly a year old, and it's doing great. Full post here, with pics and video.