Stentorian Centurion

IPAs are the bread and butter of most American craft breweries. It’s the style I’m most likely to order when I’m at a bar or restaurant, as most breweries have a handle on the style by now. Since I have chosen to brew many different styles, I’ve only brewed a straight-forward IPA once, and never from all grain. One of the side-effects of this deficiency is that I don’t feel comfortable with my knowledge of hops. Additionally I usually don’t have any hoppy beers on hand, despite that often being just what I’m in the mood to drink.

Dealing with the Boiling Wort

My first brew in this apartment (the Saison du Pom) was also my first all-grain batch using a mash tun. Things went smoothly with that brew, and I actually got the sense, working in this new space, that I would have enough room to take advantage of some upgrades of my brewing apparatus. At first it was a new thermometer, then I started eyeing a new brew pot, and soon enough I was scouting out prices on soft copper tubing.

Brewing Gets Explosive

There are hazards that we’ve all heard of when it comes to beer, and it goes doubly for when you are making five gallons of it for relatively cheap every three weeks. However, a unique hazard that isn’t well known outside of homebrewing is that possibility of bottle bombs.

Building a Better Brown

The brown ale is one of my favorite styles, partially because it’s fairly loosely defined. They’re usually low to medium gravity, and can be toasty, sweet, nutty, or even heavily hopped or soured. I’ve found most of them to be friendly, approachable, and simply relaxing to drink. Jason has asked for his brew to be a brown, and I’m excited to take shot at formulating my own recipe this time around. It will hopefully be a step up from my first brew.

Son of a ($%*#&) Fermentation Chiller

I’ve been fermenting beer in my bedroom for two reasons: 1) it’s the most reasonable place for me to waste space in our apartment and 2) the temperature is as much as 8 degrees F cooler than elsewhere in the apartment during the cold months. Spring is finally here, and while I’m grateful for the opportunity to walk around and explore new parts of the city with Colleen, my bedroom will now be too warm to ferment in. I needed a solution for keeping the beer cool in a warm room while the yeast are throwing a hotter party than a hip-hop superstar.