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Recently brewed my first batch of beer soured with lactic-acid-producing yeast, from Wild Pitch Yeast, instead of bacteria (batch details). While the acidity was good (pH 3.3-3.5), and fermentation finished in a reasonable amount of time (2-3 weeks) the flavor wasn’t spectacular with either. Not...

Brew Your Own magazine is running a series of homebrew Boot Camps around the country, and apparently the one in Santa Rosa was a big enough hit to bring the show back to California (specifically San Diego) February 2nd and 3rd, 2018. I've been back a few times since I lived there for two months...

A few months ago I sent Jeff Mello a sample of the House Saison culture I’ve been repitching since 2014. Surprisingly he pulled out a pretty similar set of microbes (in terms of species anyway) to what I started with. Served the test batch I brewed with the second pitch he sent over next to my...

Brew Your Own magazine is running a series of homebrew Boot Camps around the country, and lucky for California, they're second! February 24th and 25th I’ll be leading sessions in Santa Rosa (excited to finally make it to Russian River...). Friday will be wood and barrels, with hands-on...

Brew Your Own magazine is running a series of homebrew Boot Camps around the country, and lucky for Burlington they’re first! November 4th and 5th I’ll be leading sessions in Burlington Vermont. Friday will be sours beers (surprise), including a lecture, blending session (with my...

I’ve been using much of the same 5 gallon brewhouse gear for the last eight years (i.e., cooler, aluminum pot, homemade immersion chiller etc.). Considering stepping up to a bigger system that will allow quick/easy brews. I’ve already got a pump and a plate chiller, so why not put them to use...

I received a question about the formulas in the book that estimate the expected CO2 generated by bottle-fermentation of blended sour beers (of different final gravities). As a result, I ended up making a spreadsheet that does all of the calculations. It would be especially valuable if you...

So after three and a half years of research, writing, and editing, American Sour Beers is finished!... sort of. Despite my best efforts there were a few questions I was unable to answer satisfactorily. u/hirschb suggested I start a thread about them. So maybe you can help me answer my questions...

Pre-orders are now being taken for my book (American Sour Beer: Innovative Techniques for Mixed Fermentations). Release says April 7th, but it’ll actually be more like the end of May or early June. There will be an AHA pre-sale in a couple months, and an ebook version eventually if you'd...

What advanced brewing processes have you implemented that noticeably improved the quality of your homebrew? I’m not talking the relatively standard stuff (e.g., temperature control, starters, aeration, flushing with CO2, equipment), but the stuff that comes after that. Over the next few...

After more than two years of writing, I just signed a contract for Brewers Publications to publish my book about American sour beers (most likely in 2015)! I wanted to thank the people who have posted both questions and answers on this board. I've been linked to some interesting studies I’ve...

For the last year I've been working as a (long distance) recipe consultant for a brewery, Modern Times, which will be opening in the next few months in San Diego. Jacob McKean (the founder) raised enough money from traditional investors to lease a building, buy a 30 bbl brew house, and hire some...

Yesterday I spent 9 hours brewing a Czech pilsner. Did my first triple decoction (100, 148, 162, 170), 99.5% Weyermann floor malted Bohemian Pils and .5% acid malt to lower the mash pH. The mash/sparge liquor included 6 gallons of distilled water to cut my moderately minerally tap water. That...

This one has been on my to brew list for awhile, and this Sunday I'm planning to finally brew it. I've got a recipe file that I've been tossing bits of info I've gleaned off Vinnie from various interviews and posts. After making a DIPA I was really happy with last winter...

Sunday I brewed a double decocted SMaSH Pils with Weyermann Bohemian Pils and Saaz. It’s a beer I've been looking forward to brewing for a couple months now. With the complex mash and 105 minute boil the brew took about 8 hours. On Wednesday night I had made a 2 qrt starter of Wyeast 2001...

(Cross-post from the Events board) If live near NYC please come out to Beer Table in Brooklyn on October 25th. My friend Nathan and I will be up from DC to talk and taste homebrewed sour beer (including magnums of blended, barrel-aged, sour cherry stout and sour kvass). We’re happy to try to...

If you’re around please come out to Beer Table in Brooklyn on October 25th. My friend Nathan and I will be up from DC to talk and taste homebrewed sour beer (including magnums of blended, barrel-aged, sour cherry stout and sour kvass). We’re happy to try to take requests as well for...

Just racked 3 gallons of pale sour beer off of 4 packages of Goya Guanabana (Soursop) puree. The results are better than I expected, especially with the slightly cheesy flavor the puree had going in. The fruit has an odd hybrid tropical fruit somewhere between citrus (espcially pineapple) and...

I'm part of a NOVA/DC inter-club contest called the Iron Mug. Inspired by Iron Chef the contest gives you special ingredients that must be highlighted in the entries. This year the ingredients are two ounces of Sorachi Ace (which has a lemon character) and a pack of dried lime peel. Happy to...

I still see people concerned about using cane/corn sugar in large proportions, although Brew Like a Monk seems to have reduced this concern. I have also seen plenty of claims that the various clear/white sugars give similar, but not identical results. I like to try things for myself... So,I...