This year over at Jay’s Brewing blog we wrote quite a few different blog post. Before the Mayan Calender comes to an end I want to put together the essential blog post for the year that I enjoyed writing and thought were pretty good. So this is a reflection of 10 different blog post that I thought were pretty good and benefical to any homebrewer. They are in no particular order. Rather these are just ones that come to mind which I thought were pretty good. If you haven’t read these from our blog, I highly suggest that you do – lot’s of great information.
10) Extract to all-grain series.
This series is for those that are already brewing beer and want to make the switch over to all-grain. It goes step by step on how to do it. Great series. One that really makes the process of switch painless and easy. The series was started at the end of last year and finished in the beginning of this year. That’s why it made the cut for this list. Technically, the series got finished this year. This is a series that does help clear up the confusion on what to do with all-grain and makes the transition so much easier.
9) How to design your own recipe series
One of my favorite ones that we wrote up. It’s all about how to move away from kits and start designing your own recipes. It goes with a step by step mentality, breaking down every aspect of a recipe. By the end of this series you will be well on your way of understanding how to build your own recipe, and how different ingredients work together. This is a great series for those that are ready and wanting to tap into their creative side.
Many times as a homebrewer, we ask the question, “How do I lager a beer?”. This post is the answer to that one. It tells you step by step on the complicated process. There is a temp that its’ suppose to stay at? There is a schedule you are supposed to stick to? This clarifies everything. Generally the lager side of homebrewing remains something that homebrewers just glance over. This goes into just enough detail so you can start lagering. By the end of this post you should feel pretty comfortable with the ways on how to lager.
7) Tip And Trick To Get A Rubber Stopper Out Of A Carboy
It’s happened to many home brewers and home wine makers, your rubber stopper falls through the neck of the carboy. When it happens to you, you can feel desperation in your belly. Well there is a way to get your stopper out of the carboy easily. This has a quick video to demonstrate how to do it with a wine bottle.
6) 101 Alpha vs Beta Acids (Hops)
Sometimes I get asked, “What is the difference between alpha and beta acids for hops?”. Well I can tell you, but I must warn you – beer nerd talk is about to get put into full throttle. When it comes to hops there are two types of enzymes that can be found: 1) Alpha Acids 2) Beta Acids. Now most people are familiar with alpha acids but beta, not so much. So here is the 101 on Alpha and Beta acid chemistry.
5) Summer Wheat Beer – American Style
This post was a great recipe that was a major success for the summer time. It’s really quite simple to make, doesn’t take a lot of time. It is a very refreshing beer. I had to throw in this recipe just because we had so many request for it at our shop. It turns out great, but really is a summer time beer.
4) The Best Summer Blonde Ale Recipe
This recipe is perfect for those that do not want a beer that is too hoppy, quick to make, easy to drink, and a general crowd-pleaser . I’ve personally been handing this recipe out to some customers this summer, and only have received positive feed back. You know you have a good beer when people are telling you, “Ya and my wife even told me to make this one again!”. It’s a good beer
3) 3 Ways To Improve Your Efficiency For All-Grain
I sometimes hear when people get into all-grain brewing that they are not getting close to their expected original gravity. You know that you are doing the all-grain process correctly, you are hitting your temperature as well as going by the books, yet you still are coming up with a lower gravity. I know it can get frustrating – but if you fall into this category, don’t get frustrated and in the words of Charlie Papazian, “Have a homebrew.”.
It use to happen to me when I first started getting into all-grain brewing and these were some small adjustments that I made that really made some huge changes in my results. Anyone who brews all-grain can do these and they will help you out.
2) How To Use 6-Row Malt For All-Grain
One of the base malts that is rarely used is, 6-Row brewers malt. A lot of people blow off 6-row as a base malt and it is often overlooked. While I personally don’t use it very much, I do find myself at times looking at 6-row as the only possible solution for what I am trying to achieve. So this post is here to help bring better light to 6-row and how to use it in your beer. A lot of people ask, ”What is the difference between 6-row malt and 2-row malt?”. Most of the time, homebrewers will use 2-row for their base malt. But, there are times when using 6-row is better served and 2-row just does not have the properties that are needed to accomplish certain flavors or conversions which 6-row can.
1) Under Carbonated Beer – Quick Fix
There is a ton of information out on the web about how to fix highly carbonated beer. We’ll make sure to make post about that in the future, but there is far less information on the web about what to do if you beer in under carbonated.
It’s a pretty demoralizing thing when you open your beer only to find out it’s flat. So this is the quick run through to make sure that you are at the right point to do, “The Solution”.
Hope that you have enjoyed these post and got a lot of them. As always brew on.
Cheers
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