What makes malt go: diastatic power and proteolytic enzymes
I made it through a whole hour-long presentation on malt without once mentioning diastatic power (what it is, how it works) or proteolytic enzymes. Whups. Thank goodness they were at [..]
Category: Brewing Articles & Threads
Malt: Everything a Homebrewer Wants To Know
In my BJCP class the teacher, Les White, assigned a presentation on malt and malting to me. We each signed up for our preferred topics, then Les assigned one topic to each student [..]
Make Your Malt
Ever think of making your malt to homebrew with? Uncertain you can do it? Sure you can. You can make your malt and thus have complete control over its roastiness, diastatic power, everything. [..]
Homebrewing beer: Potential Extract Values of Grains and Adjuncts
BJCP CLASS – we were given a choice of presentation topics, and I chose Malt. Turns out Malt is one of the very first presentations, so I’ve been scrambling through [..]
Starting the BJCP class!
Sometimes fate just calls your bluff. I’ve been saying for a while now I’d like to take the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) certification – for mead, and maybe beer – [..]
Aroma and Bouquet in Wine and Beer, and Suggestion for Evaluating Beer
I got into a conversation with Peter Barclay last night on aroma vs. bouquet for wines and beers. For wines it’s relatively straightforward – well, defining it is; experiencing it [..]
Where is your wine from? Or, Appelation Demystified
Wines are about where they come from. There is a critical piece of info on a wine label I’ve been overlooking. When the label on a bottle of wine says [..]
Where to find vintage/heritage cider apples
If you want to make really good hard cider, you need to use vintage apples. But where do you find these superb cider-making apples? I live smack in the middle [..]
Enjoying your trip to a winetasting room
So you’re about to walk into a wine tasting room. Maybe you’ve never been, maybe you’ve done this before but never been quite sure how it’s supposed to go: do [..]
Safale S-04 a top fermenter or bottom fermenter?
When I wrote about making a sparkling ginger mead using Safale S-04 (Fermentis) ale yeast, Carl Swan quite rightly pointed out that I’d said it was a bottom-fermenter, when traditionally [..]
Sparkling Ginger Mead
This is a recipe in progress for a sparkling ginger mead. I’m adding all my thought processes and decisions here. I’m making it for my friend Cynthia, unless she tells [..]
Hard Cider Apples
News flash for some folks: you can make apple juice from any apple, but you can’t make good hard cider – I mean the fermented stuff – from just anything. [..]