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Conventional wisdom is that dry-hopped beers are best when young. Aging a beer reduces the effect of the flavors and aromas. So, barleywines, Imperial stouts, and lagers of course, never get dry-hopped. So, what's to stop anyone from lagering a beer for a few months, or aging a barleywine...

Grain Bill: 11.5 lbs Marris Otter 0.5 lbs Victory Malt 0.5 lbs White Wheat Hops: 0.5 oz Simcoe 11.7% 60 min. 0.5 oz Simcoe 11.7% 30 Min 0.5 oz Simcoe 11.7% 10 Min 0.5 oz Amarillo 8.0% 10 Min 0.5 oz Simcoe 11.7% Flameout 0.5 oz Amarillo 8.0% Flameout This...

OK so, Ive been brewing for four years, have dozens of all-grain batches under my belt, and I've never had a mash that didn't convert. Until tonight. The grainbill was simple: 10 lbs Marris Otter; half pound Victory, half pound wheat. Dough in at 165, stirred a bunch, temp stabilized at...

My daughter works at City Winery in Chicago. She gave us a backstage tour of the winery, and these caught my eye. Cheers,

OK so, after 4 years of brewing ales I finally picked up a lagering fridge. In honor of this new acquisition, I’m putting together an Oktoberfest recipe. New tools, new recipes, new ingredients… So, a number of O’fest recipes call for CaraMunich. I’ll most likely...

Yes, I know the answer is 'yes'. But the results of my two most recent all-grain batches have me confused. Batch #1: Mash temp 157. OG = 1.056. Yeast = WLP011. FG = 1.014 Batch #2: Mash temp 152. OG = 1.054. Yeast = S-05. FG = 1.014. So, by the numbers, I got better attenuation...

I know the best answer is, “try it and see,” which I am about to do. But I’d like anyone’s opinions on the contributions of Amber Malt. In Greg Noonan’s book Scottish Ale, he gives recipes from the 1800’s that call for 1 to 1.5 lbs. Amber Malt to go with the 2-row base malt (I’ll be using...

I’m looking for experiences with this “European Ale” yeast, supposedly a malt-forward low-ester low attenuation yeast. I’ve been reading Greg Noonan’s Scotch Ale, which has some interesting nuggets worth digging out, but (IMO) a shortage of actual recipes. One such interesting point was that...

UPDATE: Award-winning beer! Details below. After much research, and back-and-forth indecision, I settled on a recipe that is sort of a cross between a Foreign Extra Stout, and an American Stout. Trans-Atlantic, if you will. I was going for a sort of “grapefruit marmalade on...

This recipe originally came on a promo card from White Labs that was in my issue of BYO. I can't recall if I made any changes to the grains or hops, but I did switch out the yeast. It originally called for WLP862 Cry Havoc (someday I'll try this), but I used WLP028 which is a workhorse for me...

I started this mead back in July of 2011. OG = 1.120, FG = 1.008. I just bottled it tonight. It tasted pretty good, but young if that's possible. 1. I used 3 pounds honey per gallon. I think this is a little rich, I'll probably cut that down to 2.5 next time. It ended up tasting like a...

Over the last year or so I’ve been dialing in a Scottish Ale recipe, which many among my clientele enjoy. My research began with the recipes in BCS, where Jamil goes to great lengths to emphatically warn against the dangers of using smoked malt. On the other hand, many on-line recipes call...

This recipe is based on a popular and highly regarded recipe for a simple, traditional Scottish Ale with kettle caramelization. My added element was tossing in the heather tips. This adds a subtle floral element that is very different from hops, and adds a layer of flavor above the maltiness...

I brewed up a Wee Heavy two weeks ago (OG 1.072) and pitched a healthy starter of WLP028. I've been keeping my swamp cooler in the high 50's the entire time. This is based on advice I read somewhere regarding this yeast. Two weeks later, and it is still swirling, still bubbling the...

... and so did I! I poured two glasses of brew - a Sierra Nevada Celebration, and my own IPA which was the "Hoppiness is an IPA" recipe from Brewing Classic Styles. I then had her do a blind taste test, which made her very nervous. Eventually, she tentatively said that 'that one' (mine) had...

In The Home Brewer's Companion by Papazian, he advocates a method to reduce chill haze: "Add about 1 ounce of finely crushed black malt to your light beers at the end of the mash. The addition will not affect the color significantly, but will absorb some of the polyphenols, tannins, and...

One of the great things about brewing, is the research. I love a lot of beers, but so far I haven’t really been a fan of the Belgians. Don’t like clove, banana, or pepper flavors in my beer. Not a fan of horse blankets or barnyards or yogurt flavors in my beers either. I liked Chimay Gold...

My first book was one of Papazian's, and he routinely recommends a protein mash at 120* or so before stepping up to the 150's. Modern thought is that today's "fully modified" malts don't need this step. And how does one "modify" a malt anyway, but that's another topic. I recently did a...

Earlier this week, I ordered a grainbill from a respected Supplier, well known on this board. It was for 14# of grain. The Fedex tracking information identified the package as weighing 13#. When I got it today, it weighed 12# on my crappy bathroom scale. This recipe really, really needs all...

OK so, I’ve been brewing for about a year and a half, I’ve more or less got my processes down, I make beers that I, along with friends and family, enjoy having around. Last night, I paid a visit for the first time to the local homebrewing club meeting, and humbly offered up samples of my...