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Should new breweries have a "Dump Fund?" It's becoming more and more common... Whether I'm out trying a new brewery in my town or while I'm traveling... I get excited for the experience, order a pint of whatever sounds good, and take a sip. My brow furrows and my lips make a disapproving...

Ever find a great looking recipe - on a website, in a book, or elsewhere plug it into your brewing software - and the numbers just don't add up? I'm specifically talking about the IBUs and the specific gravity. It can be frustrating! Here are the main reasons why that happens: (Note: I've...

What NBA Players Can Teach You About Homebrewing Imagine an NBA point guard about to take his first of two free throws. A couple warm up dribbles....he lines up...pauses....crouches..... release! Miss. So close. And the second shot? "Swoosh" What just happened here? Benefits Of The Warm-up...

How can we have a conversation with someone about beer when all taste is subjective? Tastes vary wildly. Some people love fish and some can't even stand the smell. Some people can drink scorching hot sauce by the bucket while others wince at medium salsa. Although taste is subjective, there is...

What's the most precarious stage of homebrewing? To me, it's going from the hot side to the cold side. That all important period between the end of the boil and the start of fermentation. I call it The Transition. On the front end you have the hot side. A nice, long boil. You can kick back and...

What if you could have your own library full of successful homebrew experiments? It would have detailed notes, research, and your findings. You could use it as a powerful reference when crafting new recipes. "Hmm..what yeast strain should I go with in this sweet stout?" Off to your files you go...

"Ugh, you want me to add another 30 minutes to my brew day?!?" I know...brewing takes a long time already. It eats up the better part of a day. So it's no surprise the thought of extending your boil from 60 minutes to 90 minutes makes you grumble. But if you hear me out, I'm willing to bet you...

Did you know you can radically alter a beer without changing the ingredients? One thing I love about brewing is all the tools available. First you have the ingredients: grains, hops, yeast strains, water profiles, herbs, spices, vegetables, wood, fruit.... Factor in different amounts, ratios...

You hear it over and over again - controlling the fermentation temperature is the key to great tasting beer. And it's true. A glorious brew day can be ruined by forgetting about your beer once it enters the fermenter. Don't neglect the cold side! On this topic I get business school flashbacks of...

After judging hundreds of homebrews you start to pick up on trends. Judging is a crash course in beer education. Think about it - you taste around a dozen different homebrews in rapid fire succession while thinking critically and writing useful feedback about each one. You learn a lot - the hop...

After judging hundreds of homebrews you start to pick up on trends. Judging is a crash course in beer education. Think about it - you taste around a dozen different homebrews in rapid fire succession while thinking critically and writing useful feedback about each one. You learn a lot - the hop...