Category Archives: Tip of the Week

When siphoning beer into the bottling bucket  aerate as little as possible. Do this by holding the tube as close to the top of the liquid as possible. The object is to get as little air as possible into the … Continue reading →

So how do I choose the right hops for my beer? With such a wide range of flavor and aroma characteristics, this chart can serve as a helpful guide to more than one hundred varieties. Whether you are trying to … Continue reading →

  We drain our grain bag after steeping in this mesh strainer. Never squeeze the bag as that releases tannins. Tannins: good in wine. Bad in Beer!

  Reading the hydrometer from the bottom up is an easier way to get an accurate read. The foam on the top often gets in the way. On dark beers, the use of a flashlight helps.

Professional breweries pop a shot of CO2 into the bottle right before capping. The CO2 displaces the oxygen. In home brewing, we fill the bottle to the point of run over. The head comes to the top, and is allowed … Continue reading →

It is very important to make sure your bottles are cleaned properly. We like to use the sanitizer injector that we have previously talked about, but you can use your dishwasher. Do not use any detergent or sanitizing agent, just … Continue reading →

Sensory scientist Sue Langstaff, who researches how we interpret and process the taste of food and drink, recently told Slate that the reason glacial cold covers up a beer’s flavors is that “key aromatic compounds cannot volatilize at lower temperatures.” … Continue reading →

Do you have a brew that you think is awesome? It’s time to get your entry in to the  American Homebrewer’s  Association (AHA) National Homebrew competition (NHC). Each of the 10 city locations are taking 750 entries, some are already … Continue reading →

Nov. 20 we brewed Northern brewers”Fixed gear American Red Ale”. We bottled it Dec 10. A week later we anxiously opened one. It was good, but tasted too young. We let it alone a couple more weeks, it had improved … Continue reading →

You can use vodka in your airlock instead of water. Vodka does not allow bacteria to grow.

We use High quality malt that has no adjuncts or additives. Dry malt extract is more concentrated than the syrup. A 3 lb bag of DME is equivalent  to about 4 lbs of LME. Syrup goes to the bottom of … Continue reading →

For an easier pour, try putting the LME syrup in hot water, before adding it to the brew kettle.

We have decided that we like room temperature glasses for beer tasting. If the glass is frosted  or even chilled,  it reduces the ability  to smell and taste. If the glass is room temperature, it allows the full aroma and … Continue reading →

When we started brewing, I put each recipe in a clear sleeve and put it in a notebook. It makes referencing easy. For example, we open a bottle, and it tastes terrific, we go to the recipe, we see when … Continue reading →

We have found the use of a sanitizer injector for our bottles invaluable! This is not a high priced item in our brewery equipment, ($15.95 from More Beer) the time it saves us in our bottling process is huge! Easy … Continue reading →