A lot of home brewers are familiar with the term “Noble Hops” which refers to four variety of continental European hops originally grown in Central Europe.  The four hop varieties are Terrnanger, Spalt, Hallertauer and Saaz.  This week we take a look at these popular hops and character in detail.

Noble Hops

The four traditional varieties of noble hops are properly characterized as aroma hops as they have relatively low alpha bitterness, but are highly aromatic.  They are widely used in traditional continental beer styles including Bohemian Pilsner, Oktoberfest/Marzen, Dunkel, many Wheat/Weizen beers and other lagers.  They generally do not store well.

From a hop analysis view, these hops have high amounts of the hop oil humulene.  Humulene is a fragrance often used in the perfume industry with an aroma that has a robust earthy, woody and herbal character.  Oxidation, heat and light rapidly break down humulene, which is why noble hops are susceptible to degradation if not properly stored.  Relatively low alpha acid levels (generally 3-5.5%) add aroma and bitterness without becoming harsh.  The low amounts of harsher tasting beta acids (lupulone, adlupulone and colupulone) contribute to the desirable flavor of noble hops.  Many also have a slightly spicy finish which adds to the character of beers like Pilsner.

Since growing soil and conditions have a large effect on the finished hops, many brewers consider only noble hop varieties grown within their traditional region to be true “noble hops”.  Therefore a Tettnanger hop grown outside of the Tettnang region of Germany would not be considered a true “noble hop”,

The Four Noble Hop Varieties

• Tettnanger (Tettnang) - A hops from Tettnang, which is a small town in Southern Baden-Wurttemberg Germany.  It has a mild, slightly spicy, floral character and is genetically similar to Saaz grown in the Czech republic.  It is highly valued as both an aroma and flavor hops and is exported worldwide for use in Belgian ales, French ales, Bocks, Lagers, Pilsners and Wheat beers.  Substitutes include Saaz and Fuggles.
• Saaz - Saaz is a hops traditionally grown in Bohemia and the modern day Czech Republic where it accounts for nearly 2/3 of hop production in the region.  It is named after the Czech city of Zatek, which in German is Saaz.  It has a distinct flavor that is mild, earthy yet spicy.  It is the definitive hops used in Pilsner Urquell and Budvar, which are the basis for almost all of the most popular American lagers.  However Saaz is also widely used in all types of lagers, pale ales, wheat beers, and many continential styles.  Its closest substitute is a hop called Sladek, thought often Tettnanger, Lublin, Ultra or Sterling may be used.
• Spalt (Spalter) – A traditional hop from the Spalter region of Germany south of Neuremberg.  It is grown in a fairly small acreage and not as widely distributed as other noble hops making it somewhat difficult for home brewers to obtain.  It provides a mild, slightly spicy flavor with a strong noble hop aroma.  Note that Spalt is not the same as the more widely distributed “Spalt Select” which is actually a descendent of Hallertauer Mittelfruh.  Spalt is used in many traditional German styles including Bocks, Alts, Lagers, Pilsners and Munich Helles.  Substitutions include Saaz, Tettnanger.
• Halltertau (Hallertauer Mittelfruh) – Named after the Hallertau (Halledau) region in central Bavaria, it was widely grown in Bavaria until the late 1970′s when it was largely replaced by the Hersbrucker variety.  A fungi called verticillium ravaged the Hallertau hop crop at that time.  You will often see Hersbrucker sold as “Hallertauer Hersbrucker” though it is actually a Hersbrucker variety.  Later Hallertauer Gold and Hallertauer Tradition variants (Also Hallertauer “Magnum, Merkir and Taurus”) were developed from Hallertau that were more disease resistant.  The hop has a highly floral character, slightly earthy but without a very strong spicy flavor.  It is used in both German and American lagers, and is known as a key flavor/aroma hops for Sam Adams Boston Lager.  Substitutes include Hersbrucker, Mt Hood and Liberty.

The “Nearly Noble” Hops

In addition to the four hops listed above (and their variants), you will often hear of other hops occasionally listed as noble hops.  These include English Fuggles, East Kent Golding, (Hallertauer) Hersbrucker, and Styrian Goldings (a Fuggle variant).  While none of these are actually true noble hops, they share many of the noble hop characteristics of being highly aromatic and having low alpha acid.

Also due to the pressured of land usage in Central Europe, diseases and pests and the move of many commercial brewers towards high yield, high alpha hops (for hop extract), the supply of true noble hops has been steadily decreasing for decades.  Growers are instead producing hybrids or variants such as Liberty (a cross of Hallertauer Mittlefruh with a disease resistant US hop) or Mt Hood (a higher alpha acid hybrid).  Variants of the nearly noble hops above such as Willamette (derived from Fuggles) are also widely grown in the United States.

Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith blog.  If you would like weekly articles delivered to your inbox, sign up for the BeerSmith newsletter.  Also check out the BeerSmith Podcast which is published every other week and available as a subscription on iTunes.

• Brewing German Altbier Recipes
• Dry Hopping: Enhanced Hops Aroma
• Baltic Porter Recipes – Beer Styles
• Brewing a Kolsch Beer Recipe: Beer Styles
• Scotch Ale Recipes: Beer Styles

Dr Charles Bamforth, Professor of Brewing Science is my guest on this week’s show and he shares with us a detailed look at diacetyl (an off flavor) and how to control it in your beer.  Join us for a detailed look at this interesting bit of home brewing science.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

This Episode Sponsored by MoreBeer!

MoreBeer is the sponsor of this week’s episode.  You can show your appreciation to them on your next order by using the special order links here at BeerSmith.com/MoreBeer – a portion of each order will go to support the BeerSmith sites, podcast, and newsletters.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (33:22)

• Dr Charlie Bamforth is a Professor of Brewing Science at the University of California at Davis, and an expert in commercial beer brewing science.  This week Charlie shares with us a detailed look at the buttery off flavor that comes from diacetyl.
• Charlie’s books include Beer is Proof that God Loves Us, Beer: Tap into the Art and Science of Brewing, What is a Good Beer, Standards of Brewing: Formulas for Consistency and Excellence (Amazon Affiliate Links) and many more.
• Charlie starts with a discussion of the buttery flavor of diacetyl and how it is used for flavoring artificial butter and popcorn.
• We talk about where diacetyl comes from and how it is a natural byproduct of fermentation
• We discuss the precursors for diacetyl as well as the way diacetyl is reabsorbed by yeast after fermentation is complete
• Charlie shares that how bacterial infection contributes to diacetyl infection especially in dirty keg lines
• We talk about the development of a diacetyl rest (14C or 57F for a Lager) as well as Krausening (with active yeast) as a solution for removing diacetyl
• Charlie shares his summary of how to reduce diacetyl using methods practical for homebrewers
• We mention Charlie’s books – several of which are linked above, though others are also available on Amazon

Thanks to Dr Charles Bamforth for appearing on the show and also to you for listening!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

• Head Retention with The Pope of Foam – BeerSmith Podcast 23
• Mashing with Dr Charlie Bamforth – BeerSmith Podcast #14
• Porter Beer Recipes with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast 26
• Heretic Brewing with Jamil Zainasheff – BeerSmith Podcast 25
• Beer Brewing Equipment with John Blichmann – BeerSmith Podcast 28

I’m happy to announce the release of our first open beta version of BeerSmith 2 for Linux.  This is the first time BeerSmith has been available as a native program on the Linux platform.

The Linux version is initially being released as an open beta for the community in preparation for formal release.  The initial version has been compiled for the popular Ubuntu Linux as a 32 bit Intel 386 version, and packaged as a Debian distribution package.  Early beta testers have had success with the program on other Debian linux platforms.

You can download the Debian package of BeerSmith 2 here on the main BeerSmith download page.

The Linux version is compatible with our PC and Mac versions of BeerSmith 2 and contains the same feature set.  It may be registered by purchasing an activation key like the Mac and PC platforms if you decide to purchase a copy after running the trial.

Thanks to those who provided early beta testing.  Please visit this discussion forum thread if you have comments or feedback on this version.

• BeerSmith 2 Release Date, Pricing, and Preorder
• BeerSmith 2 Update Posted (Build 40)
• BeerSmith 2.0 – A First Look
• Countdown to BeerSmith 2 – 10 June Launch!
• New BJCP 2008 Style Guide and BeerSmith Batch Sparging Release

When I interview top brewers both for the blog and BeerSmith podcast, time and time again they mention the importance of being able to judge beer to become a better brewer.  Knowing how to spot and correct the flaws in a beer is a critical skill if you want to compete or just make better beer for home consumption.  This week we take a tiny peek into the surprisingly complex world of beer tasting.

Why Beer Judging Matters?

For top beer competitors, judging beer is everything – as certified beer judges ultimately determine which brews make it to the winner’s circle.  However even for the average brewer who does not want to compete, knowing how to evaluate a beer is the key to making it better.  If you can’t make an objective evaluation of your beer including its strengths and flaws, you have no basis for improving it.

The Beer Judge Certification Program and Style Guideline

The BJCP (at bjcp.org) runs a program to “promote beer literacy and the appreciation of real beer, and to recognize beer tasting and evaluation skills”, and has about 3,900 active beer judges that evaluate beer competitions at all levels here in the United States, and also in many countries abroad.  BJCP has a multi-level certification program which I’ve covered before in interviews with Gordon Strong both on the blog and podcast.  If you are interested in becoming a judge I recommend visiting their site.

They also publish the very popular BJCP Beer Style Guide which is included in my BeerSmith software – it provides guidelines for various beer styles.  These style guidelines can be very useful for judging a particular beer as they provide specific guidance on taste, appearance, color, bitterness, and gravity for the finished beer.

Finally the BJCP provides scoresheets in the competition center that can be very useful as a guide for judging your own beer at home.  The scoresheet is very useful, even if you have never judged a beer before as it provides a framework for evaluating the beer and also explains many of the technical terms.

Judging Your Own Beer

Here’s the process I use for evaluating a beer for the first time.  It follows closely with the BJCP score sheet, so I recommend you print a copy of it and follow along as you read this.

• I start by filling in the scoresheet header – including the information about the beer, dates, etc…  I often will print out the relevant section of the BJCP style guide as well if I’m targeting a particular style since this provides excellent guidance on what the beer should be.
• Evaluate the bottle and external appearance – look for rings around the bottle neck (could be contamination) as well as the condition of sediment.
• I open the beer and pour a few ounces into the glass and try to immediately evaluate the aroma of the freshly poured beer.  Many aromas are fleeting, so you want to capture them up front.  I use the aroma section of the scoresheet to capture these.
• Next we look at appearance which includes color, clarity, head retention, proper carbonation and texture.
• Taste the beer, and focus on developing your initial overall impression from the first sip.  You will usually let this sit for a few seconds before swallowing and note the finish (taste as you swallow it) as well as any aftertastes.  For flavor we’re looking at malt, hops, fermentation character, finish/aftertaste and any other relevant flavors for the style.  At this point I will also often scan the description definitions that are on the left side of the BJCP scoresheet.  This contains a list of some 17 taste terms such as Metallic, Phenolic, Grassy, Astringent, etc.. many of which are undesirable and indicative of a problem.  However in some cases the flavors may be appropriate – for example many English Ales have an estery (fruity) flavor from the yeast used.
• Move on to mouthfeel (taking additional sips if needed) and evaluate the body, carbonation, warmth, creaminess, astringency and overall palate sensation of the beer.
• Finally comment on the overall impression of the beer – including any notes for possible improvement.  Do you like the beer?  Would you enjoy drinking another pint of it?  How could it be improved in the next batch?
• If you are scoring someone else’s beer, its best to try to be positive in your comments (even if the beer is pretty bad).  Here the checkboxes and numerical scores can be very useful in noting major flaws in the beer, and you can still phrase your comments in a positive way “You could improve this beer by xxx” rather than “This really stinks”.

Surprisingly, sitting down and objectively scoring a beer only takes a few minutes.  Yet if you do it properly you now have a guideline for how to improve the next batch.  Many obvious flaws in a beer have a simple solution as outlined in my troubleshooting article.  Others can be solved by adjusting the grain bill, changing the hop schedule or variety, or adjusting your carbonation.

Finally I should mention that I’ve only just touched on the basics of this complex topic.  If you want to learn more I suggest visiting the BJCP website or reading Randy Mosher’s recent book on Tasting Beer (Amazon Affiliate Link).  Have a great week, and don’t hesitate to subscribe to my newsletter or podcast for more free brewing info.

• Judging Beer with Grandmaster Gordon Strong – BSHB Podcast #6
• New BJCP 2008 Style Guide and BeerSmith Batch Sparging Release
• Grandmaster Beer Judge and BJCP President Gordon Strong
• India Pale Ale and Carrot Cake – BeerSmith Podcast #18
• Porter Beer Recipes with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast 26

This week, we discuss designing beer with brewing author Randy Mosher.  Randy shares with us the process he uses for designing beer and also gives us a sneak peek into the new book he’s working on.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

This Episode Sponsored by MoreBeer!

MoreBeer is the sponsor of this week’s episode.  You can show your appreciation to them on your next order by using the special order links here at BeerSmith.com/MoreBeer – a portion of each order will go to support the BeerSmith sites, podcast, and newsletters.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (45:20)

• Randy Mosher is a graphical designer and beer brewing author who has a web site at RadicalBrewing.com and has written the books Radical Brewing and Tasting Beer (Amazon Aff Links).  He is working on a new book for publication in the Fall of 2012 titled “The Handy Book of Homebrewing”.
• We start with the inspiration or “Big Idea” which Randy uses to drive his recipe design
• Randy walks through the basic process he uses to take his idea from concept to a completed recipe
• We talk about base malts and his preference of using base malts for color and flavor
•  Randy explains how many specialty malt flavors are tied closely to the caramel, toast, roast and other flavors we perceive in the finished beer
• We talk about the role of hops and how Randy groups hops to help determine which ones are best for a given recipe
• Randy discusses his simple approach to finishing and dry hops
• We talk about yeast strain selection and how it affects things
• In “Radical Brewing”, Randy explores a wide variety of unusual ingredients and he talks a bit about when to bring these flavors into the beer
• We talk about keeping mash schedules simple, where possible, to create good beer
• Randy talks for a minute about other techniques that might come into play for recipe design
• Tasting beer is also important – and most award winning brewers also are beer judges or experts in tasting beer
• Randy spends a minute talking about his new book which will be out in the fall of 2012 called “The Handy Book of Homebrewing”

Thanks to Randy Mosher for appearing on the show and also to you for listening!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

• India Pale Ale and Carrot Cake – BeerSmith Podcast #18
• Porter Beer Recipes with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast 26
• Session Beer with The Mad Fermentationist – BeerSmith Podcast 22
• Beyond Barley Brewing – BeerSmith Podcast #13
• Batch Sparging with Denny Conn – BeerSmith Podcast 27

This week I invite a panel of three of the top home brewers together to talk about beer brewing myths for an extended holiday edition of the BeerSmith podcast.   My panel includes John Palmer, Gordon Strong and Denny Conn in a wide-ranging discussion of beer brewing techniques and myths.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

This Episode Sponsored by MoreBeer!

MoreBeer is the sponsor of this week’s episode.  You can show your appreciation to them on your next order by using the special order links here at BeerSmith.com/MoreBeer – a portion of each order will go to support the BeerSmith sites, podcast, and newsletters.

Topics in This Week’s Extended Holiday Episode (1:06:36)

• This week we vary from the traditional format for a holiday extended edition where we have a panel of brewing experts discuss some popular beer brewing myths.  In a wide-ranging discussion we debunk as well as confirm many popular questions in homebrewing.
• We have an all-star panel including: Gordon Strong, President of the BJCP, 3x Ninkasi award winner and author of “Brewing Better Beer”, John Palmer author of “How to Brew” and Denny Conn who is an AHA governing committee member and runs a web site at DennyBrew.com
• The panel comments on whether too much sugar makes your beer taste like cider – we conclude its not the sugar, but a combination of other effects that makes some beginning extract homebrew taste like cider.
• We discuss the merits of a mash-out step – with mixed opinions on whether its needed or not.
• The panel comments on whether a multi-step mash is really needed.  Some prefer a single infusion while others regularly use a multi-step mash.
• We talk about whether dark grains should be mashed or steeped.  In general the panel supports Gordon’s position that steeping dark grains is a very useful technique.
• We discuss the myth that batch sparging (or BIAB) are less efficient than fly sparging.
• We have an extensive discussion on whether first wort hopping increases or decreases the bitterness of a beer.
• We talk about steeping hops and the myth that this can be a good alternative to boiling hops.
• The panel talks about the advantages of rapidly cooling your beer and the rise of a new technique called “no chill” brewing
• We conclude that mash hopping is largely a waste of time!
• Each of the guests makes some closing remarks, and we have quite a bit of fun and commentary along the way
• Thanks for listening and happy holidays to you!

Thanks to John Palmer, Gordon Strong, and Denny Conn for appearing on the show and also to you for listening!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Heretic Brewing with Jamil – BeerSmith Podcast 25

• Batch Sparging with Denny Conn – BeerSmith Podcast 27
• Porter Beer Recipes with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast 26
• Judging Beer with Grandmaster Gordon Strong – BSHB Podcast #6
• Session Beer with The Mad Fermentationist – BeerSmith Podcast 22
• Diacetyl in Beer with Charlie Bamforth – BeerSmith Podcast 31

John Blichmann of Blichmann Engineering makes some of the highest quality equipment for homebrewing including pots, three-tier systems, high end RIMS and HERMS systems and also his very popular Beer Gun.  This week I interview John about everything from simple stainless pots to high end pump and temperature control systems.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

This Episode Sponsored by MoreBeer!

MoreBeer is the sponsor of this week’s episode.  You can show your appreciation to them on your next order by using the special order links here at BeerSmith.com/MoreBeer – a portion of each order will go to support the BeerSmith sites, podcast, and newsletters.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (29:52)

• This week’s guest is John Blichmann (aka “The Beer Geek”) of Blichmann Engineering.  John’s company makes some of the finest home brewing equipment including everything from stainless steel brewing pots and conical fermenters to high end complete RIMS and HERMS systems
• John tells us how he got into the business of building high end home brewing equipment
• We start with their stainless steel brewing pots and how they are different from an average stainless pot.
• John talks about stainless steel conical fermenters and some of the advantages of using a conical fermenter
• We talk about gravity fed brew stands (top tier system) which let you use your own equipment
• John tells us the best way to clean stainless steel brewing equipment
• We talk about the “Beer Gun” which is a bottle filler that lets you fill directly from a kegging system.  I really enjoy John’s beer gun.
• John explains what a RIMS/HERMS system is and what some of the advantages are for this high end brewing system
• We talk about pumps and controllers and what to look for in each type of pump or controller
• John talks for a moment about his chilling system called the Therminator 2
• John shares where to find out the most about his equipment – from BlichmannEngineering.com
• John shares his thoughts on homebrewing in general

Thanks to John Blichmann for appearing on the show and also to you for listening!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Heretic Brewing with Jamil – BeerSmith Podcast 25

• RIMS and HERMS – Recirculating Infusion Mash Systems for Beer
• Aluminum vs Stainless? Best Beer Brewing Pots
• John Palmer – The Home Brewing Celebrity – BSHB Podcast Ep 3
• Beer Brewing Myths – Holiday Episode – BeerSmith Podcast 29
• Cleaning and Sanitation for Beer Brewing

Baltic Porter is a very strong, robust Porter brewed to fight off the harsh winters of thriving 18th and 19th Century Baltic trade routes.  Though the style originated in England, it was subsequently brewed throughout Northern Europe.  This week we take a look at the Baltic Porter beer history, style, recipes and how to brew it at home.

History of Baltic Porter

Baltic Porter owes its origins to the rise of wildly popular English Porter in the 1700′s.  Though Porters of the time were already much stronger than today’s beers (many exceeding 7% ABV), an even more robust version of Porter was made for export across the North Sea to support Baltic trade.   As the style grew in popularity it was also brewed in virtually all of the Northern European and Baltic states including Germany, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Denmark and Sweden. (Ref: Wikipedia)

Like English Porter, the character of the beer has changed over time.  The earliest Baltic Porters were made from wood kilned brown malts that had a smoky roasted brown somewhat bitter flavor.  They also were brewed with top fermenting ale yeasts.  They were often highly hopped to preserve the beer and also offset the heavy flavor of malts (over 7% ABV for many early porters).

Some authors also claim Baltic Porter owes some of its heritage to Russian Imperial Stout, another export beer brewed in England for export to the Russian imperial court in the 1700′s.  Like Baltic Porter, Russian Imperial Stout is a stronger, sweeter more robust version of the stouts made domestically in England at the time.

In the mid 1800′s as the beer was brewed more widely and continental influences drove production, most Baltic Porter brewers switched to bottom fermenting lager yeasts in a tradition that continues today.  Also as industrialization occurred, coke fired kilns eliminated the smoke flavor from brown malts, and gradually the Porter base of mostly brown malt was replaced by a combination of modern pale malt, Munich, Vienna and roasted malt.  While taxes and supply shortages during the Napoleonic wars drove the alcohol content of other Porter’s down to modern levels, Baltic Porter remained a strong beer at a robust 7-10% alcohol content.

The Baltic Porter Style

Baltic Porter has a complex flavor profile combining a rich malty sweetness with caramel, toffee, nutty, toasted and sometimes licorice flavors.  A warm alcohol profile is present, as the moderate fruity ester profile common to many English beers.  Some variations have a smoky or dark roasted profile similar to Schwarzbier though the flavor should not be burnt.

Since lager yeast is used the finish should be relatively clean.  Hop flavor should be moderately spicy (often from Lublin or Saaz hops).  The overall impression should be a full bodied, smooth Porter with a well aged alcohol warmth.  The beer is generally well carbonated to enhance mouth feel.  The beer should be rich and robust, but not as strong or robust as a Stout or Imperial Stout.

Baltic Porters start with a high gravity of 1.060 to 1.090 for an alcohol by volume content of 5.5-9.5%  Most Baltic Porters are in the traditional 7.5-9.5% ABV range.  Hop rates of 20-40 IBUs are needed to balance the roasted malt flavor (0.46 BU:GU bitterness ratio).  They are dark brown to black in color (17-30 SRM).

Brewing a Baltic Porter

Modern Baltic Porters start with a combination of Pale Malt and Munich/Vienna base malts that make up about 70-80% of the grain bill.  If using a Pale-Munich or Pale-Vienna mix often 50-50 is used.  However, it is not uncommon for some continental versions to use a base of all Munich or all Vienna malt.

Debittered Chocolate or Black malt provide the bulk of the color and roasted flavor (up to 10% of the malt bill).  A variety of other specialty malts are often added (5-10% total) for complexity and body including Crystal/Caramel malts, brown malt, amber malt, caramunich, carafoam, etc…

Historical versions often make heavy use of brown and amber malts and may even include a small amount of smoked malt in an attempt to recreate the slightly smoky brown malt base of the 1700′s.  Spices are sometimes added for complexity in small quantities including anise or black licorice.

Baltic Porter is typically mashed at a moderate conversion temperature to generate both body and alcohol content.  Continental noble or spicy hops are used including Saaz and Lublin.  Continental lager yeast is now widely used, with fermentation at lager temperatures.  Some historical variants still use ale yeast, but these are fermented at low (near lager) temperature.

Water profiles are not a major feature of the style – so use of a moderate profile is sufficient.  The style is highly carbonated to enhance mouthfeel.

Baltic Porter Recipe

Here is a sample recipe for a Baltic Porter that makes heavy use of Munich malt and some brown malt to provide the malty, complex base.

Makes 5 Gallons, All Grain, No spices used

• 8 lbs Pale Malt (2 row Belgian or German)
• 4 lbs Munich Malt (9 SRM)
• 8 oz Chocolate Malt (450 SRM)
• 4 oz Black Patent Malt
• 2.25 oz Saaz hops (boil 60 min)
• 1 pkg Belgian Lager Yeast (White Labs WLP815)

Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith blog.  Please be sure to subscribe to my newsletter for more brewing articles and listen to the podcast.

• Beer Styles: Making a Porter Recipe
• Russian Imperial Stout Recipes
• Sweet Stout and Milk Stout Recipes
• Brewing an Irish Stout Beer Recipe
• Schwarzbier Recipes – German Black Beer

Batch sparging has become a popular technique for all grain home brewers.  This week I invite Denny Conn who is an expert in batch sparging to provide his advice on the best way to batch sparge your home brewed beer.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

This Episode Sponsored by MoreBeer!

MoreBeer is the sponsor of this week’s episode.  You can show your appreciation to them on your next order by using the special order links here at BeerSmith.com/MoreBeer – a portion of each order will go to support the BeerSmith sites, podcast, and newsletters.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (36:37)

• This week’s guest is the batch sparging expert and home brewing icon Denny Conn.  Denny is an AHA governing committee member and has a web site focused on batch sparging at DennyBrew.com
• Denny talks about how he got into homebrewing and some of his early experiences.
• We talk about how batch sparging is different from traditional fly sparging.
• Denny explains some of the history behind batch sparging.
• We speak about how batch sparging came about and its early formulation in the 1990′s.  Denny refers to a paper by Ken Schwartz which you can read here.
• I ask about the advantages and disadvantages of batch sparging.
• We walk through the basic equipment needed and process used for batch sparging.
• Denny talks about formulation of recipes for batch sparging.
• We talk about mash efficiency and why batch sparging is actually fairly efficient, and also a bit about why equal runnings produces the highest efficiency
• Denny talks about brewing big beers using batch sparging
• Denny briefly mentions alternatives for sparging like fly sparging and BIAB.
• He provides some general brewing advice and then talks about his experience at this year’s beer camp
• Finally he mentions the American Homebrewer’s Conference 2012 which is in Seattle this year!

Thanks to Denny Conn for appearing on the show and also to you for listening!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Heretic Brewing with Jamil – BeerSmith Podcast 25

• Beer Brewing Myths – Holiday Episode – BeerSmith Podcast 29
• Heretic Brewing with Jamil Zainasheff – BeerSmith Podcast 25
• Head Retention with The Pope of Foam – BeerSmith Podcast 23
• Porter Beer Recipes with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast 26
• Session Beer with The Mad Fermentationist – BeerSmith Podcast 22

Dark grains are perhaps some of the most interesting ingredients for home brewing beer – they offer an explosion of flavor and color.  This week, I step off the beaten path and explore some alternative ways to use dark grains when brewing beer.

After last week’s podcast interview with Gordon Strong, I was revisiting some sections in his new book Brewing Better Beer (Amazon link), when I came across a discussion of dark grains that sparked this week’s topic.  Gordon refers also to a paper on steeping dark malts from Mary Anne Gruber of Briess Malting, and much of the material presented here is summarized from his book.

What’s Different about Dark Malts

For the purpose of this article, I will use the term dark malts to refer to roasted grains and malts such as Chocolate, Black Patent and Roasted (Black) Barley.  One could also include very dark roasted specialty malts such as Chocolate Wheat, Carafa, and Special B.

What is unique to these malts is that they have been roasted to the point that they have no diastatic enzymes and also that whatever fermentable sugars are present in the malt have already been broken down during the roasting process.  As a result they do not actually need to be mashed.  Steeping these malts is sufficient to release their flavor and remaining sugars.

If you understand this basic fact, you can now treat them (to borrow from Gordon Strong’s analogy) like coffee.  Whether you mash the dark grains or steep them in some other stage, the character of the dark malt flavor is driven more by the steeping time (assuming the water is sufficiently hot) than anything else.  Also, like coffee grains, if you steep your grains for a long time you will get a more acidic and bitter flavor profile.

Mashing Dark Grains

Most all grain brewers mill and mash their dark grains with the rest of their grains.  As many mashes last 60-90 minutes, this can lead to a more acidic and bitter flavor profile and in some extreme cases even an astringency (used tea bag) flavor.  Think for a moment of what would happen if you steeped coffee for 90 minutes to brew your morning cup.  This bitterness is accentuated if the pH of the mash has not been adjusted to the correct level (pH too high).

To be fair, mashing dark grains can be a plus in many styles.  Dark grains are acidic, and do play an important role in lowering the pH of the mash for many styles.  This lowering of the pH (5.2 is ideal for the mash) reduces the astringency and creates a much better beer overall.   Also bitterness from the grains is an important flavor component in many styles such as Porters, Schwarzbier and Stouts.

Adding Dark Grains to the Vorlauf (Recirculating)

The vorlauf is the recirculated wort typically drawn at the start of the sparge – usually the first few quarts of runoff for a home brewer.    This first runnings is then recirculated back to the top of the grain bed as it typically contains a high percentage of grain particles.  In this variation, one does not mash the darkest grains, but instead steeps them in the vorlauf at the start of the sparge process and then recirculates the steeped wort back through the mash tun.

The advantage of this method is that is avoids the long hot steep of the mash, and the dark wort from the vorlauf is recirculated through the mash tun again further reducing astringency.  However, since the resulting wort is still boiled for an extended time it can still result in some harshness particularly for styles where the bitter profile of dark grains is undesirable.

 Steeping Dark Grains

A third method is to steep dark grains separate from the mash, and then mix the resulting “grain tea” after the boil.  This is perhaps the most innovative of methods as it allows you to very finely crush the grains like coffee (they no longer need to be mashed), and also to vary the water used, steep time and temperature to achieve a desired flavor profile.  I liken this method to making a dark grain coffee or dark grain tea where you decide precisely how it is brewed.

Mr Strong recommends a water to grain ratio of 2 quarts per pound of grain for steeping.  There are three basic options: hot steeping, cold steeping, and boiling.

Hot steeping is much like making coffee.  The finely ground grains are mixed with hot water in the 165 F (74 C) range and steeped for 5-10 minutes (depending on profile use) and then strained with a coffee filter or kitchen strainer.  The dark extract is then chilled and added to the fermenter at the start of fermentation.

Cold steeping is akin to making cold brewed iced tea or cold steeped coffee.  In this case the grains are mixed at room temperature and left to steep for a day or more, before adding them to the fermenter.  In most cases this results in a milder flavor than hot steeping – like cold coffee.  If possible, consider boiling the water ahead of time for a short period to sterilize it and also remove oxygen before cooling and adding the grains.  NOTE: I recommend pasteurizing the cold steeped tea at 170 F for 10 minutes after you have steeped it to prevent possible infection or bacteria from the grains if you plan to add the tea directly to the fermenter.

A final option is to perform a short boil and add the grains at the end of the boil (tpypically 5-10 minutes before the end of the boil).  This is often done by simply adding the grains at the end of the regular wort boil rather than creating a separate boil.

The bottom line is that because of the nature of dark roasted grains, they need not be mashed and therefore can be added at any point in the brewing process prior to fermentation.   Steeping dark grains separately from the mash will generally result in less acidity, astringency and a little less color.  While a dark roasted bitter coffee flavor may be desirable for certain styles such as Stouts, Scwarzbier and Porter, steeping the dark grains separately may be an ideal solution for those brewing milder styles.  The techniques outlined above also provide more flexibility to precisely control the flavor and color that dark grains add to the beer.

Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith blog!  Please subscribe to the newsletter or podcast on iTunes for more articles and sessions on home brewing!

• Steeping Grains for Extract Beer Brewing
• Schwarzbier Recipes – German Black Beer
• Malt Extract Beer Brewing
• Sweet Stout and Milk Stout Recipes
• Converting All Grain Recipes to Malt Extract

Porter beer recipes and brewing Porter is the subject of this week’s interview with Grandmaster Beer Judge Gordon Strong.  Beer author and BJCP President Gordon shares some of his top tips for brewing an award winning Porter beer at home.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

This Episode Sponsored by MoreBeer!

MoreBeer is the sponsor of this week’s episode.  You can show your appreciation to them on your next order by using the special order links here at BeerSmith.com/MoreBeer – a portion of each order will go to support the BeerSmith sites, podcast, and newsletters.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (34:00)

• This week’s guest is the BJCP President Gordon Strong.  Gordon is a three time Ninkasi award winner as the top homebrewer in the US and author of the new book “Brewing Better Beer” available on Amazon.
• Gordon shares some of the history behind Porter beers, and why it is still a popular drinkable beer.
• He talks about the sub-styles and variations of Porter including Robust porter, brown porter, etc…
• He shares a typical grain bill for a Porter including his choice for base malts (Maris Otter) and specialty malts.
• Gordon talks about the “kitchen sink approach” to brewing a Porter.
• He shares his thoughts on mash profiles.
• Gordon talks about his favorite Porter hops and alternatives.
• Gordon uses a very simple hop schedule for brewing Porter
• We talk about water profiles for a Porter style
• He shares his thoughts on serving a Porter as well as brewing other Porter substyles
• Gordon talks for a few minutes about his new book “Brewing Better Beer” – targeted towards intermediate to advanced brewers.

Thanks to Gordon Strong for appearing on the show and also to you for listening!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Heretic Brewing with Jamil – BeerSmith Podcast 25

• Heretic Brewing with Jamil Zainasheff – BeerSmith Podcast 25
• Going All Grain with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast #16
• Diacetyl in Beer with Charlie Bamforth – BeerSmith Podcast 31
• Beer Brewing Equipment with John Blichmann – BeerSmith Podcast 28
• Head Retention with The Pope of Foam – BeerSmith Podcast 23

Sweet stout and milk stouts are increasingly popular beers that form a counterpoint to Dry Irish Stouts.  This week we take a look at the history of Sweet Stout, how to brew it and recipes for making it.

History of Sweet and Milk Stout

Milk Stout (also called Cream or Sweet Stout) traces its origins back to Porters.  Strong Porters which were widely popular in the 1700′s were often labeled as Stout Porter.  Eventually the Porter name was dropped in the 1800′s to become simply Stout.  A number of variations of stout emerged.  Dry Irish stouts (like Guinness) pushed the limits of using heavily roasted malts to create a dry coffee-like flavor.  Other stout variations such as Russian Imperial Stout pushed the limits on the malty or sweet end.  Still others, like Oatmeal stout pushed in other directions.

Milk stout and Sweet stouts push the sweet end of the spectrum by using lactose – which is unfermentable.  The iconic example of milk stout, Makeson’s stout, was first brewed in 1801 in the Southern United Kingdom.  Milk stouts were widely marketed in the 1800′s as nutritious – even to nursing mothers.  After World War II, the UK outlawed the use of the word and imagery for milk in association with beer, so many modern examples are labeled as Sweet stouts.

The Sweet Stout Style

Sweet stouts use dark roasted malts to create the dominant flavor which is a malty, dark, roasted chocolate character.  Like Dry Irish Stout, they may have roast coffee-like flavors.  Unlike Dry Stout, Sweet stouts have a medium to high sweetness (malt or lactose) that provides a counterpoint to the bitterness of hops and roast malt.  Some (though not all) sweet stouts include lactose, an unfermentable sugar that enhances sweetness and body.

These stouts are full bodied and creamy, and have low levels of carbonation.  Original gravity starts at 1.044-1.060 and finishes at 1.012-1.024 for a 4-6% alcohol by volume.  Many English examples use a relatively low starting gravity, while US examples tend to be brewed at a higher starting gravity.  They have low to medium esters and little to no diacytl.

They are moderatly hopped at 20-40 IBUs for a bitterness ratio of around 0.6.  The hops should balance the malt, but hops is not a major flavor in this style.  The color should be dark brown to black (30-40 SRM).

Brewing a Sweet Stout

Sweet stouts start with an English Pale Malt base which makes up 60-80% of the grain bill.  To that, we add a mix of crystal/caramel malts (roughly 10-15%), and chocolate, black and roasted malts (10% or more in total) to provide color and flavor.  Corn, treacle, wheat or other off-beat malts are sometimes (though rarely) used.

For a true milk stout, lactose is often added.  Since Lactose is unfermentable it provides a distinctive sweetness as well as body for the finished beer.

Sweet stouts traditionally use Southern English ale yeast as this is where the beer was originally brewed.  A relatively low attenuation English ale yeast with moderate esters  such as White Labs WLP002 or Wyeast 1092 would be appropriate.

English hop varieties such as Fuggles, East Kent Goldings, or Columbia  are appropriate, though many US variations also use popular American hops.  The hops should primarily be added as bitterness hops since hop aroma and flavor is not dominant.  Hops should balance the sweetness of the beer.

Mashing an all grain sweet stout should be done at the higher end of the temperature range to enhance body and residual sweetness.  I will typically mash this style in the 153-156 F range.  Fermentation is done at normal ale temperatures and the beer is conditioned as any other English Porter or Stout.

 Sweet Stout and Milk Stout Recipes

Here are some recipes from the BeerSmith recipe archive:

• Big Daddy Sweet Stout – All Grain
• It Smells Like Coffee – All Grain
• Jay’s Mandy Milk Stout – All Grain
• Rusty Red Kilkenny Draught – Partial Mash

Thank you for joining me on the BeerSmith Blog.  Please be sure to subscribe to my newsletter to get an article delivered to your inbox every week.

• Oatmeal Stout Recipes – Great Beer Styles
• Baltic Porter Recipes – Beer Styles
• Brewing an Irish Stout Beer Recipe
• Making Full Bodied Beer at Home
• Russian Imperial Stout Recipes

This week my guest is Jamil Zainasheff from Heretic Brewing.  Jamil is an icon in the homebrewing community – author of two books, a podcast of his own and very active in the AHA and other home brewing organizations.  Last year Jamil quit his day job in software to found his own brewery called Heretic Brewing Company.  He talks today about his experience in the first year as a pro-brewer.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

This Episode Sponsored by MoreBeer!

MoreBeer is the sponsor of this week’s episode.  You can show your appreciation to them on your next order by using the special order links here at BeerSmith.com/MoreBeer – a portion of each order will go to support the BeerSmith sites, podcast, and newsletters.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (34:00)

• This week’s guest is brewing icon Jamil Zainasheff.  We talk with him today about his new professional brewery called Heretic Brewing.  Jamil is the author of Brewing Classic Styles and Yeast: A Practical Guide (Amazon Links), as well as co-host of the Brewing Network podcast Brew Strong.  He is also a two-time Ninkasi award winner.
• Jamil talks about his decision to quit software engineering and open his own microbrewery called Heretic Brewing
• He tells how he assembled the new business in just a few months, and shares some of the challenges he faced.
• I ask him what it was like to brew that first batch of beer in his new brewery
• Jamil talks about the four beers currently in production at Heretic
• He talks about designing beers and also how designing a commercial beer is different from a typical homebrew
• He tells us some of the positives and negatives of owning your own brewery
• He shares how important the homebrew community has been to the success of Heretic brewing
• Jamil finishes with a few tips on making better homebrew!
• You can follow Jamil’s adventure on his blog at Heretic Brewing.

Thanks to Jamil for appearing on the show and also to you for listening!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Heretic Brewing with Jamil – BeerSmith Podcast 25

• Porter Beer Recipes with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast 26
• Batch Sparging with Denny Conn – BeerSmith Podcast 27
• Beer Brewing Equipment with John Blichmann – BeerSmith Podcast 28
• Session Beer with The Mad Fermentationist – BeerSmith Podcast 22
• Trappist Beer and Abbey Ales – BeerSmith Podcast 24

Many people have written the past few months asking that I put together a collection of tips for BeerSmith 2.  I launched BeerSmith 2 in June and it has been very popular with both new and existing brewers.  So this week I present a set of 10 tips for making the most of BeerSmith 2.

1. Build Your Own Equipment Profile – If I had to pick one item that causes the most trouble for new users it is creating that first equipment profile to match their specific equipment.  In BeerSmith, the equipment profile defines how large your equipment is, what its efficiency and losses look like and what your target batch and boil sizes are.  Having accurate numbers in this profile drives all of the calculations to estimate recipe bitterness, gravity, color, etc… so it is very important!  Here’s an article and video tutorial on building a custom profile.
2. Hold the Shift Key to Open a New Window – BeerSmith 2 users love the new tabbed interface, but if you hold down the shift key when opening a new recipe or tool you can make that tool or recipe appear in a separate window.  This is great for doing side-by-side comparisons or working on large screens.
3. Enter Units in Any Field – BeerSmith 2 has a unit converter built into every field.  So if you enter “3 kg” in a field as a grain weight the program will convert your 3 kilograms to pounds.  Enter “85 C” in as your temperature and the program will convert it to Fahrenheit.   You can even enter complex weights like “3 lb 5 oz” and BeerSmith will convert it to the equivalent decimal weight.  You can also change default units used by the program from the Units tab on the Options command.
4. Grab some Add-Ons – The new add-on button lets you download new ingredients and recipes directly from the internet in just a few seconds.  We have a large number of vendor specific grains, as well as a growing number of recipe packs you can download with the click of a button.  If you want to create your own recipe pack or ingredient add-on (a great way to promote your site or brand!) just use the Contact-Us button and I can help you get your add-on listed.
5. Try The New Water Profile Tool – The new water profile tool makes it really easy to adjust your local water profile to match waters from around the world.  Open the tool, select your local water as the base, and pick a target profile.  Next click on the “Calculate Best Additions” and BeerSmith 2 will automatically calculate the amount of each water minerals needed to best match the target water profile.  If your local profile is too high in minerals, you can dilute it with some bottled water to make a softer profile.
6. Take Any Recipe and Use It as Your Own – Once you have an accurate equipment profile for your setup, you can take any recipe off the internet or from our add-on recipe packs and scale it to match your own equipment profile for immediate brewing.  Open the recipe you want to work with, select the “Scale Recipe” command and select your personal equipment profile as the new one.  This will adjust all of the grains, hops and other ingredients to match your equipment settings and batch size.
7. Try the New Yeast Starter Features – BeerSmith 2 has a new yeast starter standalone tool as well as a yeast starter tab embedded in each recipe that lets you estimate the starter size needed for liquid yeast based on age of the yeast and yeast packs used.  If you have never been big on yeast starters, you really should give it a try as pitching at the proper yeast concentration can really improve your fermentation.
8. Spend a Few Minutes with the Video Tutorials – For BeerSmith 2 I created a good set of video tutorials to demonstrate some of the most used features of BeerSmith 2.  So if you don’t know where to start, or perhaps want to know how to use a more advanced feature check out the video tutorials.
9. Customize your Design View – In the main recipe design tab for any open recipe you can adjust the fields displayed while working on your recipes.  Use the “Select Fields” button in the bottom-right quadrant of the design tab to pick which fields you want to show.  There are over 100 available.
10. Keep Up to Date – I’m constantly improving BeerSmith – with formal releases from the main BeerSmith download page every month or two.  Also I frequently post open beta versions of upcoming features to the BeerSmith discussion forum before they are published as formal releases.  You can view the version of BeerSmith from your Help->About command (at writing, the latest build is 2.0.48) at any time and check for updates using the “Check for Updates” command on the Help menu.

One final tip – you can use the “+-” button next to the image of a beer glass to add your own thumbnail picture of your brew after you brew it.  If you don’t have your copy of BeerSmith 2 you can grab it from our download page and try it free for 21 days.  Thanks again for joining me and please subscribe if you want regular delivery of beer brewing articles to your inbox.

• BeerSmith Software Video Tutorials
• Ten Reasons to use Beer Brewing Software
• BeerSmith 2.0 – A First Look
• BeerSmith Hops and Yeast Updates
• Countdown to BeerSmith 2 – 10 June Launch!

This week I interview Dan Morey and we talk about how to brew Abbey and Trappist Ales. Trappist (or Abbey Ales) are a popular Belgian style that has become very popular and is widely duplicated by microbreweries here in the United States.  Dan walks us through the variations of the Trappist styles, their character and how to brew them at home.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

This Episode Sponsored by MoreBeer!

MoreBeer is the sponsor of this week’s episode.  You can show your appreciation to them on your next order by using the special order links here at BeerSmith.com/MoreBeer – a portion of each order will go to support the BeerSmith sites, podcast, and newsletters.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (29:36)

• This week’s guest is Dan Morey, author of the Morey Equation (used to estimate color) and a Babble Homebrewing member and avid beer competitor.  Dan has a web site here on Ning where you can learn more about him and his brewing experience.  Dan also provided a number of sample recipes for Trappist ales which you can download from the links at the bottom of this post.
• This week’s sponsor is MoreBeer - you can express your support for the BeerSmith sites by placing your next order with MoreBeer using the order page here.
• We talk a bit about the history of Trappist Ales and the seven remaining Abbeys that brew them.
• Dan talks about the Trappist substyles such as Singles Dubbels and Tripels
• We explore the character of the Trappist beer style
• Dan tells you how to brew a Trappist Ale – starting with the grain bill, including specialty grains and sugars
• He tells you about the importance of using good candi sugar and his preference for liquid sugar
• Dan provides an extensive list of yeast strains to use depending on the commercial style you are trying to match and talks about the importance of keeping yeast temperature controlled initially
• He provides his rationale for a step mash on Trappist ales
• Dan provides some suggestions for resources including the books Brew Like a Monk, Brewing Classic Styles: Belgian Ale, Radical Brewing, (Amazon Sponsor Links) and the Burgundian Babble Belt web site

Sample Belgian Ale Recipes

Dan provided a collection of his Belgian Strong Ale recipes in BeerSmith2 format – which you can download here.  If you don’t already have BeerSmith2, you can get the free trial here.

Thanks again to Dan Morey who was kind enough to take time from his very busy schedule to appear on the show!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

• Session Beer with The Mad Fermentationist – BeerSmith Podcast 22
• Porter Beer Recipes with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast 26
• Head Retention with The Pope of Foam – BeerSmith Podcast 23
• Heretic Brewing with Jamil Zainasheff – BeerSmith Podcast 25
• Batch Sparging with Denny Conn – BeerSmith Podcast 27

Parti-Gyle brewing is a method for making more than one batch of beer from a single all grain mash.  It offers tremendous flexibility since you can brew two beers of different gravities, and also add different hops and yeast to create distinct beers from one brewing session.

History

Parti-Gyle brewing is not a new method.  The method goes back hundreds of years, and many modern sub-styles are examples of light and heavy versions made from a single mash.  Examples include the various weights of English and Scotch Ale, various grades of Bock, and even variations of Trappist ales.  In the 1700′s and 1800′s it was very common to create a strong beer from the first runnings of the mash and a lighter common beer from the second runnings of a mash.

The Parti-Gyle Method

The standard method for Parti-Gyle brewing is to make two beers from a single mash.  Typically a fairly high gravity beer is made from the “first runnings” of the mash, and the second runnings are boiled separately to make a lighter beer.  Often different hop additions, boil additions and yeast are used to create distinct styles from the two runnings depending on the brewer’s preference.

Estimating the Gravity of Each Beer

When designing a parti-gyle beer, one is usually concerned with gravity and color of the two beers being created.   This is important for determining how much grain is required for each beer and also how much liquid to run through each to achieve a target boil gravity.  The rule of thumb for an average mash is that 2/3 of the gravity potential is in the first 1/2 of the runnings.  This is due to the fact that most of the high gravity wort comes in the first third of the lauter.

One common parti-gyle split is 1/3 volume for the first runnings and 2/3 volume for the second which results in a first batch of beer that has twice the points that the second batch will have.  So for example if the total mash had an estimated original gravity of 1.060, we would expect the first 1/3 to have a gravity of 1.090 and the second to have a gravity of half the points or 1.045.

For a 50-50 split by volume, with half of the wort in each batch we get a roughly 58% of the gravity points in the first batch.  So a 1.060 overall batch OG would translate to a 1.070 first runnings and 1.050 second runnings, with both of equal size.

Estimating OG for Split Batches

To perform these calculations yourself, start with the OG estimate of the mash runnings using conventional methods.  This can be done using the method described here, except you use the mash efficiency and total lauter volume instead of the overall brewhouse efficiency and overall batch volume to get your mash OG estimate.

Once you have the OG estimate for the overall batch, get the number of points by subtracting one and multiplying by 1000, so 1.060 becomes 60 points.  Next we use the following to calculate the final number of points in this fraction:

Number_points_ runnings = (Tot_points * Points_fraction / fractional_volume)

So if we look at a 1.060 total gravity estimate with a 1/3-2/3 volume split which has half the points in each runnings we get 60 points, 0.5 as the points_fraction and 1/3 or 0.333 as the fractional volume:

Number_points_runnings = (60 * 0.50 / 0.333) = 90 points or a gravity of 1.090

The second runnings of 2/3 is:

Number_points_runnings2 = (60*0.50 / 0.666) = 45 points or 1.045 gravity

Using the same equation, you can come up with an accurate estimate for the gravity of each of the runnings based on the original gravity of the overall batch.

Color Considerations

It should be no surprise that the color of the two batches in a parti-gyle will be darker for the first runnings and lighter for the second in most cases.  Calculating the actual color for a regular beer is described here, and is based on the Malt Color Units (MCUs) which are simply the sum of the pounds of malt times their color for all grains in a batch.

Looking at the examples above – a 50-50 volume split has about 2/3 of the gravity in the first runnings and 1/3 in the second runnings.  The malt color units follow, so about 2/3 of the MCUs will be in the first running and 1/3 in the second.  So if you calculate the overall Malt Color Units for the total batch (sum of the pounds of malt times color of each malt), you can multiply it by 2/3 or 1/3 for each running and then apply the Morey equation to get the color estimate for each of the runnings.  Here the OG_FRACTION refers to the 2/3-1/3 OG split so you would apply 2/3 to the first runnings and 1/3 to the second:

SRM_color = 1.4922 * ((MCU * OG_FRACTION) ** 0.6859)

Since the Morey equation is not linear, you will see a larger color difference for a parti-gyle beer when working with lighter beers.  So for a very light beer and a 50-50 volume split, the first runnings will be almost twice as dark as the second runnings.  However as the beer gets darker the difference will be smaller – to the point where the second runnings of a Stout beer might have no perceivable difference in color from the first.

After the Mash

Once you have mashed your parti-gyle beer and taken the two runnings, the rest of the brewing process is the same as with any other beer.  Obviously the two runnings are boiled separately so you either need two boil pots and heat sources or a sterile way to store one of the runnings for a few hours while you boil the other.

One of the great features of part-gyle brewing is the ability to change the character of the beer in the boil and fermentation.  By adding different hop additions, yeast, spices or steeping additional grains prior to the boil (much like an extract brew) you can dramatically change the character of the two beers produced.  With a little imagination you really can create two distinctly different beer styles from a single brewing session.

For design purposes it is usually best to treat the two runnings as separate beers at this point, and the usual rules for estimating bitterness, final gravity and fermentation apply.  The design possibilities are nearly endless.  You could create a strong ale and bitter, a wheat bock and weizen, a brown and pale and many other combinations from a single mash.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s article and decide to make your own parti-gyle brew in the future.  Thanks for dropping by, and please subscribe to my blog or podcast for more great articles and sessions on brewing beer.

• Multiplying Your Home Brewed Beer – BSHB Podcast #5
• Brewhouse Efficiency for All Grain Beer Brewing
• How to Batch Sparge: A Guide for Batch Sparging and No Sparge
• Beer Color: Understanding SRM, Lovibond and EBC
• How to Brew Big – Making High Gravity Beers

Beer foam and head retention are the topics for this week’s podcast with Dr Charles Bamforth, the Anheuser-Busch endowed Professor of Brewing Science at the University of California, Davis.  Known as “the Pope of Foam”, Charlie has been studying beer foam since 1979.  He provides a complete overview of carbonation, how foam forms in a beer, how you can enhance the head retention in a beer, and much more.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

This Episode Sponsored by MoreBeer!

MoreBeer is the sponsor of this week’s episode.  You can show your appreciation to them on your next order by using the special order links here at BeerSmith.com/MoreBeer – a portion of each order will go to support the BeerSmith sites, podcast, and newsletters.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (37:40)

• This week’s guest is Dr Charles Bamforth, Professor of Brewing Science at the University of California at Davis.  Charlie teaches sold-out classes on brewing at the University.  His facebook page is here at UC Davis Brewing.
• This week’s sponsor is MoreBeer - you can express your support for the BeerSmith sites by placing your next order with MoreBeer using the order page here.
• Charlie introduces carbonation and talks a bit about the history of carbonation and how it is measured.
• We talk about why some styles are highly carbonated while others are not.
• Charlie talks about why foam is an important part of most modern beers.
• We walk through how foam and carbonation affects the percepion, body and flavor of the beer.
• Charlie talks about the most popular methods for carbonating beer.
• We dive into the science of bubbles and head retention
• Charlie provides a few methods for enhancing and managing head retention in a beer
• We discuss the role of glasses and how glass shapes affect beer
• Charlie explains how some beers like Guiness Stout are served with a nitrogen-carbon-dioxide mix

Thanks again to Dr Charles Bamforth who was kind enough to take time from his very busy schedule to appear on the show!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

• Diacetyl in Beer with Charlie Bamforth – BeerSmith Podcast 31
• Mashing with Dr Charlie Bamforth – BeerSmith Podcast #14
• Porter Beer Recipes with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast 26
• Batch Sparging with Denny Conn – BeerSmith Podcast 27
• Heretic Brewing with Jamil Zainasheff – BeerSmith Podcast 25

Oatmeal stout is a popular variant of Stout introduced in the late 19th century and famous for its smooth, creamy, silky texture.  This week we’ll talk a bit about the history of oatmeal stouts, the beer style, how to design a recipe for one and how to brew it.

The History of Oatmeal Stout

As mentioned in my earlier article on Dry Irish Stout, as well as my podcast on Irish Stout with John Palmer, all modern stouts trace their heritage back to Porter, which was an immensely popular drink in the 17th century.  As far back as 1677, the term “stout” was used to describe “strong” beers, and most beers in that time period were dark ales (what we would call Porters) because malt at the time was kilned over fires – true Pale malt did not arrive until the early industrial revolution brought coal fired malting.

The term “Stout ” was used to describe strong beers of various kinds well into the 1800′s, and evolved over the century to refer to strong very dark “Stout Porters”, or simply “Stouts”.  Oatmeal Stout was first widely marketed in the late 1800′s as a nutritional drink.  The marketing worked well as oats were though to have a restorative, nourishing and healthy effect in Victorian England.

The use of oats in beer was not a modern innovation, however, as oats were widely used for ales in medieval Europe.  The use of oats in beer had largely died out by the 16th century, with the exception of Norway where it was still used.

Oatmeal stout sales flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century, and continued to be brewed until shortly after World War II.  However, in the 1950′s most breweries stopped producing oatmeal stout, and by the early 1970′s no commercial examples remained.  However, brewer Samuel Smith revived the style in the late 1970′s and since then hundreds of small and micro-breweries have produced Oatmeal Stouts.

 The Oatmeal Stout Style

Many beer fans are surprised to find that oatmeal stout has very little oatmeal flavor.  Instead the oatmeal adds a rich, creamy, silky character to the beer due to the high protein, lipid and gum content.  Several early commercial examples included very little oatmeal (less than 1%), though most were made with between 5% and 30% oatmeal by weight.  Using more than 30% oatmeal will lead to an astringent flavor and bitterness.

The BJCP style guide describes Oatmeal Stout as a variant of sweet stout that is less sweet, and relies on oatmeal for body and complexity rather than lactose.  It may have a roasted grain aroma mixed with a light sweetness, with little fruitiness or diacetyl.  Hop aroma and flavor are low, and it may have a slight oatmeal aroma.

Color is medium brown to black (22-40 SRM), with an original gravity of 1.048-1.065 which results in an alcohol content of 4.2-5.9%.  Bitterness is in the 25-40 IBU range, with a bitterness ratio in the 0.5 IBU/GU range.

Brewing an Oatmeal Stout

The grain bill for an oatmeal stout typically starts with UK or American pale malt, which generally comprises about 60-80% of the grain bill.  Oats are the next major component, making up 5%-25% of the bill in most recipes, though some extreme examples use as much as 30% oats.  I personally recommend targeting the 10% oats to start with.

A variety of grains are often added to enhance body and complexity including Caramel/Crystal malts, Cara-Pils, Cara-Foram malt, flaked barley, and occasionally even wheat or flaked wheat.  These typically are included in the 5-10% (each) weight range.  When using Caramel/Crystal malts, the darker versions are often favored to add color and caramel sweetness to the beer.

The stout character and color is usually achieved by using Chocolate malt and Black Patent malt (along with the Caramel mentioned earlier).  These are typically constrained to 4-10% (each) of the grain bill to achieve a stout character without creating an overwhelming roasted coffee flavor, as oatmeal stout should be in the “sweet stout” family, and not dry like Irish stout.  Stout roast and roasted barley is generally not used in oatmeal stout as it adds too much “coffee” or “burnt” flavor to the mix.

Traditional English or American bittering hops are used such as East Kent Goldings, Fuggles, Centennial, Willamette, Northdown, etc… to balance the strong dark malts.  As hop aroma and flavor is not a significant characteristic of oatmeal stout, it is rare to add finishing or dry hops.  Instead, enough boil hops should be used to properly balance the beer (about 0.5 IBU/GU).

Some all-grain brewers prefer to use a full bodied mash profile (around 156 F for conversion) to further enhance the body of the beer, while others have advocated lower temperatures (148 F) to achieve a cleaner fermentation of barley malt and enhance the oatmeal character.  I tend to prefer a medium to full body mash profile to preserve the sweet character of the beer as the finish should be sweet and not overly dry.

English ale yeasts are traditionally used with oatmeal stouts.  I try to select a strain without excessive ester (fruit) or diacytl (butterscotch) production that will still leave residual sweetness in the beer such as White Labs WLP002.  You don’t want a yeast that ferments too cleanly, as complexity is part of the flavor, but you also don’t want an English yeast that is too fruity.

Fermentation is done at normal ale temperatures and the beer may be bottled or kegged.  Traditional stouts are served with fairly low carbonation and warm, but many American drinkers prefer a moderate carbonation and chilled beer.

 Oatmeal Stout Recipes

Here are a few oatmeal stout recipes from the BeerSmith Recipe Archive:

•  Dirty Pig Oatmeal Stout – Extract
• Muddy Pig Oatmeal Stout – Extract
• Oatmeal Cookie Monster Stout – Partial Mash
• Oatmeal Stout – All Grain
• Oatmeal Stout by Gregar – All Grain
• Prairie Oatmeal Stout - All Grain

Thank you for joining us this week, and please don’t hesitate to subscribe to the blog or podcast  for weekly articles and information on beer brewing.  Have a great week!

• Sweet Stout and Milk Stout Recipes
• Brown Ale Recipes: Brewing Styles
• Russian Imperial Stout Recipes
• Brewing an Irish Stout Beer Recipe
• Baltic Porter Recipes – Beer Styles

This week my guest is Mike Tonsmeire, aka “The Mad Fermentationist”.  Mike walks us through the fine art of designing and brewing very low gravity beers called “Session Beers”.  Session beers are eminently drinkable beers that are still full bodied and enjoyable, without weighing you down.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

This Episode Sponsored by MoreBeer!

MoreBeer is the sponsor of this week’s episode.  You can show your appreciation to them on your next order by using the special order links here at BeerSmith.com/MoreBeer – a portion of each order will go to support the BeerSmith sites, podcast, and newsletters.

Also – BeerSmith 2 is out – You can grab your free 21 day trial copy of BeerSmith 2 here – and brew better beer the first time!

Topics in This Week’s Episode (43:40)

• This week’s guest is Michael Tonsmeire, aka “The Mad Fermentationist” who runs a brewing blog at TheMadFermentationist.com  Mike will walk us through how to design and brew low gravity session beers that you can enjoy year round.
• I introduce this week’s sponsor at MoreBeer - you can support the BeerSmith sites by placing your next order with MoreBeer through our special order page here.
• Mike tells us why you might want to brew a low gravity beer
• He talks about the origin of the term “Session Beers” which is believed to have originated during the breaks that armament workers took during World War I.
• We talk through how to design a low gravity beer and how it is different from normal beers.
• Mike explains how light beer is slightly different than Session beer
• We talk about creating a grain bill for a session beer, and concerns with balancing hop bitterness
• Mike tells us why a higher temperature mash schedule might be better to preserve the body of a session beer
• We explore parti-gyle brewing which is a technique for getting more than one beer out of a single mash
• Mike talks about “out of style” session beers
• We finish with a discussion of low calorie beers

Thanks again to Mike Tonsmeire who was kind enough to take time from his very busy schedule to appear on the show!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Note: The link to Mr Strong’s book is an Amazon Affiliate link – if you order a copy I will receive a few dimes in commission.

• Head Retention with The Pope of Foam – BeerSmith Podcast 23
• Trappist Beer and Abbey Ales – BeerSmith Podcast 24
• Porter Beer Recipes with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast 26
• Designing Beer with Randy Mosher – BeerSmith Podcast 30
• Heretic Brewing with Jamil Zainasheff – BeerSmith Podcast 25

With the emphasis of many intermediate and advanced home brewers on larger and more complex brewing systems, many of us who have brewed for years (over 24 years in my case) have started turning back to smaller, simpler beer brewing.  The trend is far from universal, but I’ve found even friends with brewing systems that cost 10′s of thousands of dollars occasionally enjoy making a simple 5 gallon batch of beer using traditional methods and equipment.  [Aside: If you have never made your own beer, you can start with a simple extract based batch here]

Another factor at work here is the realization that pumps, whirlpool chillers, RIMS, and HERMS systems are not necessary to brew great beer.  The automation can make some steps easier and more consistent – especially for large batches, but some amazing award winning beers have been made with nothing more than a picnic cooler and large pot.

The other challenge many brewers face is the lack of time.  Jobs, kids, longer hours and the diminishing line between work time and play time eat into our brewing time.  We are blessed, as beer brewing in itself does not have to take a lot of time – but one is pressured to get the most of the precious hours spent brewing.

There is certainly nothing wrong with taking the entire day to brew 25 gallons of beer on your giant home-built brewhouse, but sometimes it is also fun to go back and brew a simple beer in a small batch.  So this week I’ll take you back and share some of the lessons learned in an attempt to simplify my all grain beer brewing and get back to basics:

• Five Gallons is Great – It is fun to play with 10-20+ gallon brewing systems, but time, space and other considerations make dealing with 5 gallons the easiest (you can still lift the fermenter or pot easily) and fastest.  The time spent in setup, brewing and particularly cleanup is all less with a small 5 gallon system.  The equipment is light, easy to handle and easy to clean.  Also a 5 gallon batch is a great test size to perfect a recipe before moving to a larger brewing system.
•  Keep the Grain Bill Simple – Many beginners tend to think that adding as many types of grains as possible will somehow enhance the beer.  The truth is that many great commercial beers are made with pale malt and perhaps one or two other malts.  If you do some research into beer styles, you will find that it is rare that more than 2-3 specialty grains are needed to make even complex beer styles.
• A Single Infusion is Good Enough – Yes, I’ve played with decoction, multi-step infusion, mash-outs and other exotic mash profiles, but for beers that don’t have exotic cereals or adjuncts added (which is about 97% of all beers), a single infusion mash is good enough – so keep it simple.
• Overlap the Tasks to Save Time – Sometimes I have only the evening to brew beer, and have brewed  full all grain batches in as little as three hours.  The key is to overlap the tasks as much as possible.  For example, I will heat my mash water, and while it is heating I’ll crush the grains.  Once the infusion mash has been started, I’ll measure and lay out all of the equipment and ingredients for the sparge and boil.  When the boil is on, I’ll be cleaning the chiller and getting my fermenter sanitized.  In every step, I try to make sure I’m prepping for the next step or cleaning the equipment I’m finished with so I can save time.
• Two Hop Additions Is Enough – For most beer styles, a single bittering hop addition and a single aroma addition is often enough.  The fact is that most aromatic hop oils boil off in less than 10 minutes, so if you want to preserve aromatics keep the boil time short for those additions.  For example, I will often add a bitterness hop addition at the beginning of the boil and a second addition the last 5 minutes to preserve aroma.
• You Don’t Need Fancy Equipment – More equipment means more setup time and more cleaning after you are done.  For all grain infusion mashing, often a 5 gallon water cooler and large pot is sufficient.   Extract beers require even less equipment.  If you want to keep it even simpler, consider Brew-In-A-Bag (article, podcast) which requires only a single large pot and one large grain bag to brew great all-grain beer.  Formulating a good recipe, and following a good process when brewing will affect the quality of your beer more than the latest brewing widget.

Brewing beer on a fancy recirculating mash system is fun, but occasionally its also fun to get back to basics and brew a few gallons the old fashioned way.  Even for large systems, simplifying your recipes and processes can save you time and money without sacrificing on quality.  So get back to basics!

Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith blog – please subscribe if you want go get great beer brewing articles mailed to you every week.

• All Grain Beer Brewing With An Infusion Mash Setup
• RIMS and HERMS – Recirculating Infusion Mash Systems for Beer
• Brew in a Bag (BIAB) All Grain Beer Brewing
• Brew in a Bag (BIAB) Down Under – BeerSmith Podcast 10
• Infusion Mashing and Decoction for Brewing Beer

This week my guest is “The Homebrew Chef” Sean Z. Paxton.  Sean is arguably the most famous beer chef in the world – and has been the chef for the last several National Homebrew Conference banquets.  He is also an active author, has a new podcast on cooking with beer and cooks for major beer events around the country.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

From Top Left: Sean Paxton (Big Guy), Brad Smith, Jamil Zainasheff, John Palmer and Gordon Strong at NHC 2011

Reminder: BeerSmith 2 is Here!

You can grab your free 21 day trial copy of BeerSmith 2 here – and brew better beer the first time!  We have the next update coming for it in September as well!

Topics in This Week’s Episode (46:20)

• This week’s guest is Sean Z. Paxton, aka “The Homebrew Chef”.  Sean is a full time chef who focuses on beer-food pairings, using beer in food and even making delicious meals that accent and reflect the flavors found in beer.  Sean has a website a TheHomebrewChef.com with many of his recipes and also does a monthly podcast called “The Homebrewed Chef” on the Brewing Network.
• Sean talks a bit about how he has carved out a very unique niche as the “go-to” chef for homebrewers and beer lovers.
• He talks about why beer food pairing and cooking with beer is given less attention than pairing and cooking with wine.
• Sean shares his thoughts on beer-food pairing
• We talk about using beer as an ingredient with many foods
• Sean talks about his new monthly podcast “The Homebrewed Chef” on the Brewing Network
• He shares his recipe for “beer brined Turkey”
• We talk about what is meant by beer cuisine – going beyond just using beer in a dish
• Sean discusses using beer brewing ingredients for cooking – such as hops and malt
• We talk about where listeners can learn more about beer cuisine and beer brewing – including Sean’s website (link above)
• Sean talks about how he has been experimenting with using the “water tool” to make water profiles to enhance bread, pizza crust, etc…

Thanks again to Sean Paxton who was kind enough to take time from his very busy schedule to appear on the show!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Note: The link to Mr Strong’s book is an Amazon Affiliate link – if you order a copy I will receive a few dimes in commission.

• Brett and Sour Beer Brewing – BeerSmith Podcast #17
• Beer Bloggers and 365 Beers-BSHB Podcast Episode 2
• Heretic Brewing with Jamil Zainasheff – BeerSmith Podcast 25
• India Pale Ale and Carrot Cake – BeerSmith Podcast #18
• Brewing on a Budget with Chris Graham – BSHB Podcast 19

Irish Red is an refreshing, popular beer style closely related to English Bitters.  This week, we’re going to take a look at Irish Red ale recipes and how to brew this beer at home.  The style has quite a few variants, but is known most for its deep red color and mild flavor.

History

The history of Irish Red Ale is difficult to trace.  Many Irish Ales made in Ireland are closely related to English Bitters, and some authors say characterize Irish Red as a sub-category of English Bitters or Pale Ales.  Others believe Irish Red stands as its own distinct style.  Some Irish Ales are lagers, though they share many of the same characteristics as ales.  Adding to confusion, breweries in America have taken American Amber Ales and added coloring or a bit of roasted malt and called that Irish Red as well.

Despite the variations and complex origins, the BJCP style guide and other organizations now recognize Irish Red Ale as its own distinct style of beer.  The recognized style most closely matches the Irish Red Ales brewed in Ireland such as Smithwick’s, Beamish Red Ale, Caffrey’s Irish Ale, Goose Island Kilgubbin Red Ale, and Murphy’s Irish Red.

The Irish Red Ale Style

Irish Reds have virtually no hop aroma low to moderate hop flavor, and have low to moderate malty aroma and flavor.  They have a very clean finish with a low buttery or toffee flavor.  The use of roasted barley for coloring often results in a slight roasted finish and also creates a dry finish for the beer.  Unlike English Ales, Irish Red has no ester (fruity) flavors.  Some Irish Reds are fermented with lager yeast, but again they have a very clean finish, low diacytl flavors and should exhibit a clean finish.

Overall the impression is slightly on the malty side, with a clean slightly dry finish.  The body and mouthfeel should be light to medium.  Highly alcoholic versions may have a slight warmth.  The beer should be easy to drink.

Original gravity is in the 1.044-1.060 range and final gravity in the 1.010 to 1.014 range for an alcohol level of 4-6% ABV.  Bitterness is in the low to moderate 17-28 IBU range.  The color is a moderate 9-18 SRM, though it should have a distinctive reddish hue (provided by a small amount of roast malt).

Brewing an Irish Red Ale

Irish Red starts with traditional Irish or UK barley grains, with English or Irish Pale Malt making the vast bulk of the grain bill.  A moderate amount of light colored Caramel/Crystal malt (10-40 L) is often used to make up 5-10% of the grain bill to aid in body and head retention.

The key malt for a red ale, however, is roast barley which is added in very small quantities for coloring.  It is the roast barley (not black patent malt or chocolate malt) that gives an Irish Red its traditional deep red color.  Care must be taken to add just enough to color the beer, as you don’t want the roasted flavor to be a major component for flavoring.  For 5 gallons, as little as a few ounces is sufficient to color the beer.

Some Irish Red recipes use other specialty malts such as Special B or CaraMunich.  Caramunich malt is a darker variation of Munich malt and adds malty flavor as well as a slight reddish hue.  If used, it should only be used in very small quantities (along with roasted malt) as too much malt flavor could overwhelm the style.  Special B malt is a very dark crystal malt from Belgium with a heavy caramel and raisin like flavors.  In my opinion, Special B is not appropriate for the Irish Red style as it has too much caramel flavor and darkens rather than reddens the beer.  Dark malts such as chocolate and black patent malts are also inappropriate in an Irish Red as they tend to create a dark brown (not red) beer with too much caramel flavor.

Moderate alpha English hops are traditionally used for bittering.  Irish or English ale yeast is appropriate, though care must be made to avoid English yeasts with excessive esters (fruitiness).  If lager yeast is used, it should be selected for a clean flavor profile.

A light to medium body mash profile is used for all grain brews, and fermentation temperature should be selected to provide moderate attenuation.  Irish Red Ales are moderately carbonated and sometimes served cold to accentuate the slight roast character.

Irish Red Recipes

Here are a few sample recipes from the BeerSmith recipe archive:

•  Big Head Irish Red (Extract)
• Joe’s Irish Red (All Grain)
• Killkenny Irish Red (Extract)
• Shades of Red (All Grain)

I hope you enjoyed this article on Irish Red – its a great smooth-drinking beer style.  For a weekly article on beer styles and brewing techniques, consider signing up for my email newsletter or take a look at my home brewing book.  I’ll be back next week with another podcast episode.

• American Amber Ale Recipes and Beer Style
• Schwarzbier Recipes – German Black Beer
• Sweet Stout and Milk Stout Recipes
• Old Ale Recipes – Stock Ale and Winter Warmers
• Russian Imperial Stout Recipes

This week Curt Stock is my guest and we talk about mead making.  The leap from making beer to making mead is not a large one, and most brewers have the equipment they need already on hand.  Curt was the 2005 AHA mead maker of the year and serving in his second term on the AHA governing committee.  He’s a member of the Saint Paul Homebrewer’s club.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

Reminder: BeerSmith 2 is Here!

You can grab your free 21 day trial copy of BeerSmith 2 here – and brew better beer the first time!

Topics in This Week’s Episode (38:22)

• This week’s guest is Curt Stock, the 2005 AHA Mead Maker of the year and long time homebrewer.
• Curt discusses the basics of mead – any fermented drink made from honey
• He explains the mead making process including what you need to brew mead if you are already brewing beer
• We talk about how you can use modern techniques to keep the yeast healthy and significantly reduce the time needed to make mead (down to a few months)
• Curt shares his thoughts on honey and where to get it
• We talk through mead yeast and what Curt recommends for most meads
• Nutrients are a critical part of mead-making as the yeast will not thrive without them.  Curt shares the nutrients he uses as well as how to adjust your pH.
• Aeration is critical for mead throughout the meadmaking process.  Curt tells us when and how to oxygenate your beer, when to stop doing it and how to remove some of the CO2 later in fermentation to aid in fermentation
• We talk about fruits and spices used to make many popular meads and when to add them
• Curt shares his thoughts on clarity and enhancing clarity
• We talk about making the leap from beer brewing to mead making
• Curt shares his final thoughts on mead making

Thanks again to Curt Stock who was kind enough to appear on the show!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Note: The link to Mr Strong’s book is an Amazon Affiliate link – if you order a copy I will receive a few dimes in commission.

• Brewing Beer with Honey
• The Homebrew Chef – Sean Z. Paxton – BeerSmith Podcast 21
• Going All Grain with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast #16
• Brewing on a Budget with Chris Graham – BSHB Podcast 19
• Porter Beer Recipes with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast 26

Recirculating mash systems such as RIMS (Recirculating Infusion Mash System) and HERMS (Heat Exchanged Recirculating Mash Systems) are advanced beer brewing systems that use a pump and heating element to maintain a stable mash temperature during brewing.  RIMS and HERMS are the two most popular, though many other systems exist.  So this week, we take a look at these more brewing systems and how they differ from simple infusion mashing.

Infusion Mashing vs RIMS/HERMS

Most brewers switching to all grain start with a simple infusion mash system – made of some kind of cooler with a filter screen or tubes added to create an insulated mash tun.  Another all grain setup gaining in popularity for first time brewers is Brew-in-a-Bag (BIAB) (podcast).  Both of these systems offer simplicity at a reasonable cost, and both give you a method to maintain a steady temperature during the mashing process.  The cooler retains heat, and for BIAB you can apply heat directly to the kettle.

The limitations of the simple cooler or BIAB setup become apparent when you try to work with much larger home brew systems.  While its relatively easy to transfer 5-6 gallons of hot wort by dumping or siphoning it, or manage 10 lbs of grain in a bag, brewing at larger scales of 10, 15 or 20 gallons starts to make transferring large quantities of hot wort and grain by lifting very difficult.  Also its difficult to find coolers large enough to support these batches.

As one scales up to larger brewing systems, pumping wort and water around becomes a necessity for most brewers, and most sophisticated all grain setups use three large vessels – one for the mash, one for the boil and one for hot water used during the infusion and lauter.  Large converted Sanke kegs with the tops cut off are common, though many also use high end stainless steel pots.  Pumps are used to transfer wort and water between the various components.

Recirculating Mash Systems

If we consider the problem of keeping a large 15-20 gallon stainless steel mash tun at a constant temperature for the an average 60 minute mash, other problems arise.  First, most stainless vessels are not insulated, and conduct heat relatively well.  The old technique of heating an infusion and letting it sit in the cooler we used for smaller batches might not work as well in our large stainless pot or converted keg.  A second problem is that the larger volume is more likely to develop hot and cool spots in the mash tun over time – again making it difficult to achieve a consistent temperature across the entire grain bed.

A recirculating mash system addresses both of these problems using the pump mentioned earlier.  Rather than infusing hot water and letting the mash tun slowly cool, a recirculating system uses a pump to constantly recirculate and heat the water to maintain temperature and also avoid hot spots.   Typically a controller is used to turn on and off the heat source in the pump line to maintain a constant mash temperature.

This provides the following benefits:

• The temperature can be maintained very close to the target temperature even in an uninsulated metal mash tun – particularly if you use an electronic controller.  Often the mash temperature can be controlled much more precisely than a typical infusion cooler.
• Hot spots in the mash are minimized as there is a slow steady flow through the tun
• The constant recirculation of the mash results in very clean wort during the lauter
• Overall the mash is more consistent and repeatable for large batches than a non-recirculating infusion.  Repeatability is important when working with large home brewing systems or advanced systems that may serve as pilot batches for commercial microbrewers.

The recirculating mash systems (RIMS/HERMS) vary in how they heat the recirculating wort.

• A RIMS system uses direct heat on the tube to heat the wort as it is recirculated.  The heat source may be electric or gas, but the wort is heated as it passes through the tube and is pumped during recirculation.  The pump keeps the wort moving through the tube at a steady rate to avoid scorching it.  The pump must run continuously during the mash when heating, though the heater itself is often cycled on and off to control temperature.  A risk with the RIMS system is scorching the wort if the pump fails for some reason.
• In a HERMS system the wort is passed through a heat exchanger.  The most common type of heat exchanger is an immersion setup (much like an immersion chiller) where a coil of copper tubing is immersed in a hot liquor tun.  In this type of setup the hot liquor tun is often kept at a constant temperature slightly above the target mash temperature and the pump is cycled on and off to maintain the temperature of the mash.

Which one best fits your needs is up to you.  Often a RIMS system is easier to physically construct, but you need a variable heat source (one that can be turned on and off).  A HERMS system requires more equipment (often a coil immersed in a large pot) but can be regulated by simply turning the pump on and off.  Both offer similar overall performance for the advanced brewer.

If you want to build a RIMS or HERMS system of your own, More Beer (a BeerSmith sponsor) has a wide selection of pumps, kettles, and brewing sculptures to help you assemble your ideal system.

Thank you for joining us on the BeerSmith home brewing blog.  Please sign up for my newsletter to get weekly articles on home brewing delivered to your inbox, or give our podcast a listen using the podcast link above.

• Beer Brewing Equipment with John Blichmann – BeerSmith Podcast 28
• Partial Mashing
• Simple Beer Brewing
• All Grain Beer Brewing With An Infusion Mash Setup
• Infusion Mashing and Decoction for Brewing Beer

This week I interview Chris Graham from MoreBeer.com and we talk about how to save money brewing beer at home.  Given the economy, many brewers are working on a tight budget both in terms of time and money so Chris provides some useful tips on how keep within your budget and save a bit of time while still enjoying your home brewed beer.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

Reminder: BeerSmith 2 is Here!

You can grab your free 21 day trial copy of BeerSmith 2 here – and brew better beer the first time!

Topics in This Week’s Episode (37:00)

• This week’s guest is Chris Graham, a partner/owner from MoreBeer.com – one of the largest online brewing supply stores.  Chris is a longtime brewer, and is focused on helping brewers get the most out of their brewing dollar.
• We talk about Chris’ early experience in brewing beer, including his first home brew
• Chris explains how you can in some cases save money – especially when compared to higher priced premium beers
• We discuss how to save time, and why home brewing is a great hobby for people who are busy
• Chris provides some tips for those just starting out who are looking to make that initial equipment outlay of $200 by using items you already have, co-owning or borrowing them.  He also shares some good tips on purchasing inexpensive equipment.
• We talk about building your own equipment and some of the more popular equipment you can build yourself like cooling coils
• Chris shares some tips to save money on ingredients by purchasing in bulk or sharing in group buys
• Chris talks about buying ingredients online as well as supporting your local homebrew store
• We talk for a minute about how Chris decided to turn his hobby into a full time business
• Chris shares his thoughts about why brewing continues to grow even in a tough economy

Thanks again to Chris Graham who was kind enough to appear on the show!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Note: The link to Mr Strong’s book is an Amazon Affiliate link – if you order a copy I will receive a few dimes in commission.

• Making Mead with Curt Stock – BeerSmith Podcast 20
• Going All Grain with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast #16
• Chris White on Yeast and His New Book – BSHB Podcast #4
• Historic Beer Brewing – BSHB Podcast Episode 8
• The Homebrew Chef – Sean Z. Paxton – BeerSmith Podcast 21

This week we take a look at the science behind designing a good draft beer system for your kegged homebrew.   Everyone loves draft beer, and I consider my keg system to be one of the best purchases I’ve made in my brewing career.  Kegging makes everything easier, and if you want to start kegging, please read my earlier article on how to keg.  This week we’re going to look at the more advanced topic of balancing your keg lines.

In my previous article we covered how the temperature of the beer and carbonation level desired in volumes of CO2 drives the overall carbonation pressure – a number you can also calculate easily using BeerSmith.   You will need to know your keg pressure as a starting point for designing your overall system.  However this is not the complete story – as the lines of your keg play a very important role.  In general the longer your keg lines are, the lower the serving pressure at the tap.  If the tap pressure is too high or too low, the overall system is said to be out of balance and your beer will either foam or be flat.

Line Resistance is Not Futile

So how does one design a draft beer system to maintain proper balance at the tap?  The pressure drop depends on resistance in the beer line.  Beer lines have two types of resistance – one due to elevation change (i.e. the keg being higher or lower than the tap), and a second due to the beer lines themselves which generate friction as the beer flows through the lines.

Lets look at resistance first to keep things simple.  Here are some sample resistance ratings for various popular beer lines:

• 3/16″ ID  vinyl tubing = 3 psi/ft
• 1/4″ ID vinyl tubing = 0.85 psi/ft
• 3/16″ ID Polyethylene tubing = 2.2 psi/ft
• 1/4″ ID Polyethylene tubing = 0.5 psi/ft
• 3/8″ OD Stainless tubing = 0.2 psi/ft
• 5/16″ OD Stainless tubing = 0.5 psi/ft
• 1/4″ OD Stainless tubing = 2 psi/ft

Generally plastic tube of smaller than 3/16″ ID is not recommended – it provides too much resistance for practical use!

So now that we have the resistance factors how to we go about designing a keg system that is in balance?  For the purpose of our example lets assume that you have pressurized your kegging system at a nominal 12 psi, which at a 40F refrigerator temperature represents a mid range carbonation level of about 2.5 volumes of CO2 – typical for an average American or European beer.

At the tap end of our balanced keg system we want a slight positive pressure to push the beer out, but not enough to foam.  Generally this would be between less than 1 psi.  So let’s target a tap end pressure of 1 psi.  The math from here is pretty easy to calculate the balanced line length (L):

• L = (keg_pressure – 1 psi) / Resistance

So starting with our example of 12 psi keg pressure, and some typical 3/16″ vinyl keg tubing (which loses 3 lb/ft) we get L= (12-1)/3 which is 3.66 feet.  So a 12 psi kegging system would provide 1 psi of pressure at the tap with 3.66 feet of tubing.

Note that some authors leave out the 1 psi tap pressure (i.e. use zero tap pressure) and simplify the equation to L= (keg_pressure/Resistance) which makes the math even easier (the simplified equation would give you 4 feet of tubing vs 3.66 ft).  The truth is that you can target anywhere between zero and 1 psi at the tap and still be in balance – the difference is relatively small, though a slight positive keg pressure will give you a better flow rate.

The four foot example with 3/16″ ID vinyl is great if we only have a few feet to go (i.e. in a fridge) but what if one needs to go further?  A simple switch to 1/4″ ID vinyl tubing will get us there – looking at the same 12 psi keg system we get: L = (12-1)/0.85 = 12.9 feet.  So with the larger tubing we can deliver our beer to just under 13 feet.  For other applications we can consider polyethylene or stainless.  However if going a long distance one needs to also consider refrigeration – as you don’t want a large volume of warm beer in the lines.

Beer Line Length and Elevation

Changes in elevation also come into play if you design a more complex serving system.  The rule of thumb is that your beer loses 0.5 psi/foot of elevation gain.  So if your tap is 1 foot higher than the keg it loses 0.5 psi, and conversely if it is lower than the keg it will gain 0.5 psi per foot of elevation.

So if we roll this into our equation, we get the following for a given height (Height – in feet) of the tap above the keg itself:

• L = (keg_pressure – 1 – (Height/2)) / Resistance

So lets go back to our original example of a 12 psi keg pressure, 3/16″ ID vinyl tubing and this time put the tap 2 feet above the keg itself.  We get L=(12-1-(2/2))/3 which is 10/3 or a line length of 3.33 feet.

Another example with longer lines: 12 psi keg pressure, 1/4″ ID vinyl and a tap four feet above the keg gives: L=(12-1-(4/2)/0.85 which is 9/0.85 or 10.6 feet of line length.

Thanks!

Using the above equations, it is pretty easy to calculate the ideal line lengths for a given keg system operating at pressure.  Hopefully this will help you properly balance your own keg system for home use.  I intend to roll the line length calculator into a future update for BeerSmith.  I hope you enjoyed this short article on balancing your kegging system.  Thank you for joining me on the BeerSmith blog – and please subscribe to my newsletter or give my home brewing software a spin for some great ways to improve your homebrewing.

• How to Keg Homebrew Beer
• The Beer Gun and Counter Pressure Fillers: Bottling Beer
• Chilling Your Brew: Building an Immersion Chiller
• Beer Brewing Equipment with John Blichmann – BeerSmith Podcast 28
• RIMS and HERMS – Recirculating Infusion Mash Systems for Beer

This week I bring back prolific beer author and tasting authority Randy Mosher to talk about tasting beer.  Tasting beer and sensory evaluation are important topics for anyone who wants to brew better beer, and Randy is an expert on both.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

Reminder: BeerSmith 2 is Here!

You can grab your free 21 day trial copy of BeerSmith 2 here!

Topics in This Week’s Episode (37:00)

• This week’s guest is Randy Mosher, the author of “Tasting Beer: An Insider’s Guide to the World’s Greatest Drink” as well as “Radical Brewing”
• Randy tells us why beer the world’s greatest drink and also summarizes the story of beer.
• We discuss what is meant by “sensory evaluation” and tasting beer, and why tasting great beer is a very important skill if you want to brew great beer.
• We walk through presentation, and the importance of beer glasses.
• He walks us through how to actually taste a beer
• We talk about some of the basic terms used by beer judges to refer to key flavors in beer
• Randy explains the role beer style plays (and does not play) in great beer
• We talk about the importance of adjusting taste to match the style of beer being judged.
• Randy talks about where to learn more about tasting beer

Thanks again to Randy Mosher who was kind enough to appear on the show!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Note: The link to Mr Strong’s book is an Amazon Affiliate link – if you order a copy I will receive a few dimes in commission.

• Designing Beer with Randy Mosher – BeerSmith Podcast 30
• Beyond Barley Brewing – BeerSmith Podcast #13
• Making Mead with Curt Stock – BeerSmith Podcast 20
• Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher – Book Review
• Beer Bloggers and 365 Beers-BSHB Podcast Episode 2

This will be a short note to let you know I just released an update to BeerSmith 2.  I’ve posted BeerSmith 2 Build 40 (2.0.40) to the main download page here.

This is a recommended update for all users of BeerSmith 2 – as it contains over 30 fixes and enhancements for items that people wanted fixed immediately after the initial release such as boil off rate, water/grain ratios, BIAB profiles, and adding the Save As button back in.  The release notes are here.

Due to a bug in the version 38 and lower (including the initial release) this update will not show up when you click on the updates button – so you do need to go to the download page to grab the new version.

To install it, simply download it and install it to the same Program Files or application directory as your BeerSmith 2 install.   Do not install it to your Documents directory, however, as that could overwrite your existing data.

Happy brewing!

Brad Smith

• BeerSmith Hops and Yeast Updates
• BeerSmith 2 for Linux Open Beta Release
• BeerSmith 2.0 – A First Look
• Ten BeerSmith 2 Brewing Software Tips
• Home Brewing with BeerSmith Book – Its Released!

This week we talk about methods for making sour and wild beers using Brettanomyces yeast (Brett).  Brett is used in many sour beers styles including Lambics, Gueze, Oud Bruin, Berliner Weisse, and others.  My guests are Drew Beechum and Nathan Smith – both of whom have done extensive brewing using Brett.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

Reminder: BeerSmith 2 is Here!

You can grab your free 21 day trial copy of BeerSmith 2 here!

Topics in This Week’s Episode (44:48)

• This week’s guests are Drew Beechum, author of the “Everything Homebrewing Book” and Nathan Smith, of the Destroy.net homebrewing site.
• In the announcements, I cover the launch of BeerSmith 2.0 – for both PC and Mac.  The program was released just days ago, and you can grab your 21 day free trial from our main website at BeerSmith.com.
• Drew tells us some of the more popular styles that use Brett for making popular sour beer styles.
• Nathan explains exactly what Brettanomyces (Brett) yeast is and what it does to beer.
• Drew tells us what is “normal” for a Brett fermentation and cautions us to use kegging vs bottling.
• Nathan explains how to try to determine when the end of fermentation is complete and how to get the most out of your Brett fermentation.
• Drew talks about how to push the funky character forward – including adding fresh wort along with the Brett.
• Nathan talks about using fruit with your Brett beer – including blackberries and cherries.
• Drew explains why you need to keep your plastic items used with Brett segregated from your other equipment as plastic or porus materials can be contaminated by Brett.
• We chat a bit about Drew’s brewing for the AHA conference
• Drew talks about sour mashing and how it can be used as an alternative for brewing sour beer
• Nathan talks about using wood to age your sour beer and his experiments working with oak
• Both guests provide their final thoughts on brewing with Brett!

Thanks again to Drew Beechum and Nathan Smith who were kind enough to appear on the show!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Note: The link to Mr Strong’s book is an Amazon Affiliate link – if you order a copy I will receive a few dimes in commission.

• Multiplying Your Home Brewed Beer – BSHB Podcast #5
• Beyond Barley Brewing – BeerSmith Podcast #13
• The Homebrew Chef – Sean Z. Paxton – BeerSmith Podcast 21
• Historic Beer Brewing – BSHB Podcast Episode 8
• Going All Grain with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast #16

Our BeerSmith 2 home brewing software has been officially released!  BeerSmith 2 is the next generation in beer brewing software, and is packed with new features including tabbed browsing, yeast calculators, a redesigned interface and lots more!  It is also our first release available for the Macintosh platform.

I’ve included a sample of the new features below – and hope you will take a few minutes to download the trial copy and give it a test spin.

Download your Free 21 Day Trial of BeerSmith 2 here!

Also – I hope to see many of you at the National Homebrewer’s Convention in San Diego later this week (I’ll be wearing a BeerSmith 2 polo shirt), and promise we’ll return to our regular programming about beer brewing next week after I get back from the AHA conference.  I’ll also do some twittering from the conference if you want to follow me @beersmith -  Thank you again for all of your support!

BeerSmith 2 Home Brewing Software

Take the guesswork out of home brewing with BeerSmith 2!  BeerSmith 2 has been completely redesigned from the ground up to include tabbed browsing, graphical recipe design and a host of new features.  BeerSmith helps you design great beers, match popular beer styles from around the world, manage your recipes, generate step-by-step brewing instructions and perform dozens of brewing calculations with ease.  BeerSmith sets the gold standard for brewing software.  Now available for Macintosh (Intel/Leopard/10.5 and above), Windows 7, Vista and XP/SP3.

Features:

• Take the guesswork out of home brewing using the gold standard for recipe design
• The new BeerSmith 2 was redesigned from the ground up with a modern, graphical interface
• Tabbed browsing lets you work with multiple tools and recipes at the same time
• Build recipes by selecting ingredients from our preloaded database of hundreds of ingredients
• Download new recipes and ingredients (add-ons) from within the program
• Does dozens calculations for you – estimates color, gravity, bitterness, and more
• Shows step-by-step instructions for any recipe
• Inventory, shopping list, calendar and folders help you organize your brewing
• Over a dozen stand alone brewing tools including our new yeast starter calculator
• Supports metric, english and imperial units
• Available for the first time on Macintosh (Intel platforms) as well as Windows 7, Vista and XP

Download your Free 21 Day Trial of BeerSmith 2 here!

• BeerSmith 2.0 – A First Look
• Ten Reasons to use Beer Brewing Software
• Countdown to BeerSmith 2 – 10 June Launch!
• BeerSmith Software Video Tutorials
• Ten BeerSmith 2 Brewing Software Tips

Let the countdown begin!  BeerSmith 2 will be available for download this Friday, 10 June 2011, starting at noon Eastern time (US) for both Windows and the Macintosh from our main site at BeerSmith.com.

That only leaves you a few days to take advantage of  the BeerSmith preorder discounts (both for new and existing users).

BeerSmith 2 is the biggest product release since our original BeerSmith 1.0 way back in 2003 – a complete rewrite of the program for both Macintosh and PC, and we believe it will set the new standard for beer brewing software.

In preparation for the launch, I’ve redone the entire BeerSmith web site at BeerSmith.com, and I’ve added a wealth of resources for those who might still be on the fence regarding BeerSmith 2.  I think brewers at all levels will be happy with the result.

• I have a new Features page showing some of the key features in BeerSmith 2 as well as my previous post regarding features
• I’ve added over a dozen video tutorials on BeerSmith 2, and will be publishing additional overviews shortly
• The entire help system for BeerSmith 2 is now available online as well

Again, you can get a discount if you preorder your copy, but the preorder is open only until the official launch date.

Also, I would like to take one more opportunity to thank the (nearly 100) people who participated in beta testing!

• BeerSmith 2 Release Date, Pricing, and Preorder
• BeerSmith Software Video Tutorials
• BeerSmith 2 Home Brewing Software is Here!
• Ten BeerSmith 2 Brewing Software Tips
• BeerSmith 2.0 – A First Look

This week we go all grain with Grandmaster brewing judge Gordon Strong.  Gordon tells you how to make the leap from extract brewing to all-grain, including basic equipment, how to do a simple infusion mash, and sparging.  Gordon also shares his thoughts on his new book “Brewing Better Beer” which was just released.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

Reminder: The BeerSmith 2.0 Preorder is Open!

You can preorder your copy of BeerSmith here – including discounts for preorders and an additional discount for existing users!

Topics in This Week’s Episode (44:20)

• This week’s guest is Grandmaster brewer and 3 time Ninkasi award winner Gordon Strong.  Gordon is also the author of the new book Brewing Better Beer: Master Lessons for Advanced Homebrewers.  Gordon shares his thoughts on how to transition from extract to all grain brewing.
• In the announcements, I cover the upcoming launch of BeerSmith 2.0 – for both PC and Mac.  The preorder is open now at a discount – so grab your copy now.  This is a complete rewrite of BeerSmith from scratch – the most significant new release in the 8 years since the original BeerSmith was published.
• Gordon gives us his thoughts on partial mash brewing – and urges people to consider moving directly to all grain instead.
• He walks us through the equipment needed for an average brewer to move from extract to all grain brewing.
• We talk about crushing grains, and using them in a relatively short time after crushing them.
• Gordon explains the infusion mash – the simplest technique to start out with.
• We talk about sparging and lautering, including basic techniques for fly sparging, batch sparging, and avoiding a stuck sparge.
• Gordon talks about full wort boils and the importance of cooling your wort quickly
• He gives some sound advice on brewing with a buddy before you jump right into all grain alone!
• Gordon shares his thoughts on his new book “Brewing Better Beer” oriented towards advanced brewers.  The book was just released and has been selling very well on Amazon.

Thanks again to Gordon Strong who was kind enough to appear on the show!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

Note: The link to Mr Strong’s book is an Amazon Affiliate link – if you order a copy I will receive a few dimes in commission.

• Porter Beer Recipes with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast 26
• Judging Beer with Grandmaster Gordon Strong – BSHB Podcast #6
• Making Mead with Curt Stock – BeerSmith Podcast 20
• Countdown to BeerSmith 2 – 10 June Launch!
• Beer Brewing Myths – Holiday Episode – BeerSmith Podcast 29

After my earlier post announcing BeerSmith 2, I received a lot of email asking when it would be available and how much it would cost.  I’m pleased to announce both the BeerSmith 2 release date, pricing and also open up the preorder for those who wish to get a great discount on the next generation in brewing software.

BeerSmith 2 Release Date: 10 June 2011

I’m launching BeerSmith 2 in conjunction with the National Homebrewer’s Conference in San Diego June 16-18 2011.  As I will be attending the conference, I’m currently working to release the software on 10 June.  BeerSmith 2 will be available for both PC and Mac on the release date.

If you want to learn more about BeerSmith 2, you can read about it here.  Also I will be posting some videos shortly on the main web site showing the program in action.

Regular Pricing

The regular price (both Mac and PC) for BeerSmith 2 will be $27.95 (US).  This is a great value for the average homebrewer given all of the features we’ve packed into the new release, and is less than the cost of a bad batch of beer for most brewers.  In addition I will be offering discounts (below) for those who choose to preorder as well as existing users wishing to upgrade.

Existing BeerSmith 1.4 Users

If you have bought BeerSmith 1 at any point in the last 8 years since its release, you can  upgrade for$19.95 after launch. The full upgrade price ($19.95) is only going to be available until 31 August 2011.  You need your registration key to upgrade.

Also if you purchased BeerSmith after 15 February 2011, you can get a substantial discount on the new version.  See this page for further details on how to upgrade if your BeerSmith purchase was made after 15 Feb 2011.  This program will be available until 31 July 2011.

Thank you again for all of your support – especially the (now approaching 100) beta testers who continue to help me improve the software!

• Countdown to BeerSmith 2 – 10 June Launch!
• BeerSmith 2.0 – A First Look
• BeerSmith 2 Update Posted (Build 40)
• Going All Grain with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast #16
• National Homebrewers Conference Preview – BSHB Podcast 12

This week my guest is Dave Wills of Freshops and we talk about how to grow your own hops in your garden.  Dave is a long time brewer, hop grower and also microbrewer at the Oregon Trail Brewery and he provides some great advice on how you can start your own hop garden.

Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file

Topics in This Week’s Episode (43:44)

• This week’s guest is Dave Wills of Freshops.com (a hop and hop rhizome provider) as well as Oregon Trail Brewery.  Dave has an extensive background in hop growing, home brewing and professional brewing.
• In the announcements, I cover my blog article containing a first look at BeerSmith 2.0.  I’ll be working pretty hard on the BeerSmith 2.0 release the next month or two, so I apologize if the podcasts come a week or two late during the launch period.
• Dave talks a bit about his background in brewing and hops – including home brewing, fresh hops and his microbrewery.
• We talk about how hops are grown and processed for use by brewers, as well as modern hop storage (near freezing).
• Dave explains the ideal climate for growing hops, and how hops are grown from rhizomes and not from seeds.
• We walk through how to plant your hops the right way up.
• Dave explains why it takes two years to really get your hops going, and also talks about how to water and care for your hops.
• We talk about the importance of full sun (South side) and a good solid hop trellis.
• Dave walks us through harvesting, drying and packaging your hops as well as how to best store them and shares a few more tips on brewing with your own hops!

Thanks again to Dave Wills of Freshops.com who was kind enough to appear on the show!

Thoughts on the Podcast?

Leave me a comment below or visit our discussion forum to leave a comment in the podcast section there.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Great News! We’ve been featured in the New and Notable podcasts on iTunes.

If you are not using iTunes, you can subscribe using this feed:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/BeersmithcomHomeBrewingBlog

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and my newsletter (use the links in the sidebar) – to get free weekly articles on home brewing.

• Beer Bloggers and 365 Beers-BSHB Podcast Episode 2
• Mashing with Dr Charlie Bamforth – BeerSmith Podcast #14
• Irish Stout Recipes with John Palmer – BeerSmith Podcast 11
• India Pale Ale and Carrot Cake – BeerSmith Podcast #18
• Designing Beer with Randy Mosher – BeerSmith Podcast 30

I’m happy to announce that BeerSmith 2.0 is well into its beta test phase, and the pre-order is now open.  It took over three years and 55,000 lines of code to get to this point, but I wanted a solid foundation for the future of BeerSmith.   I thought I would take a few minutes this week to share a few screen shots and some of the details of the new version, though I plan to publish a lot more in the coming weeks.

The first thing to know is that BeerSmith 2 is not an “update” to BeerSmith 1.4 – it is a complete redesign of the program from the ground up.  That has allowed me to redesign the foundations for the program and also take a hard look at what features worked best and which ones people would most like to see in the new version.

Macintosh and PC Support

Rewriting the program also gave me a chance to go cross platform – for both PC and Mac.  Over 60 people are testing the new program on both platforms, and the two versions are nearly identical on both systems.  I intend to release the two versions simultaneously so Mac users will now have the same full featured BeerSmith program available on the PC.

PC Version

Macintosh Version

A New Look, Familiar Feel

The basic platform for BeerSmith 1.0 was started way back in 2002 – and though it has served thousands of brewers very well over the years, it was starting to show its age.  BeerSmith 2.0 has a significantly updated look and feel – including a ribbon bar, liberal use of high resolution graphics and icons, and a lot of options to customize the platform.

At the same time, the new version maintains the features you are most familiar with including all of the separate tools, custom reports and detailed ingredient databases you have used over the years.

Tabbed and Windowed Browsing

Tabbed and Windowed Browsing

One of the biggest features brewers wanted was a way to work on more than one recipe or tool at a time.  After all, you can open a bunch of web pages in your web browser – why not your brewing software?  So I added tabbed and windowed browsing to BeerSmith 2.0.  You can open any recipe, tool or item in a tab or in a separate window and work on it the way you want.  Want to work on three recipes at a time?  No problem – they will open in three different tabs.  Have multiple monitors?  You can open as many windows as you like and spread them across all your screens.

Tabbed Browsing Details

Improved Recipe Design

The improved recipe design tool gives you a graphical look at your recipe – from the large glass showing the color of your beer to the graphical style guide comparison.  Since a lot of people asked for different fields to be added to the recipe design display, I decided to make them all happy – the section in the lower right lets you pick from dozens fields detailing your recipe.

Graphical Recipe Design

Many existing users of BeerSmith are familiar with the Equipment and Mash profiles that make scaling to match your equipment or selecting a new mash profile as easy as choosing from a list.  In BeerSmith 2, I’ve extended that concept to include carbonation and fermentation – you can pick from a preloaded set of carbonation and fermentation/aging profiles and apply them to a recipe.

Style Guide and "Pick your own" Fields

Formulate Recipes by Percent

Perhaps one of the most frequently asked-for features was the ability to formulate recipes by grain percentage.  Now you can do exactly that – add your grains and then use the grain percent button to adjust the percentages.

Adjust Grains by Percent

Beyond Design

While the recipe design page still offers everything you need to build great beers, many advanced users wanted to be able to look under the hood to see details about their brewing session.  So in addition to the design tab for building recipes, there are now tabs for yeast starters, mash details, fermentation, water and notes.  As a beginning or even intermediate brewer, you may not every need to look at these details as the design tool has what you need to get started — but the details are there when you want them.

Mash Tab for a Recipe

Add More to BeerSmith 2

A lot of people liked the recipe packs and vendor specific ingredients I had as downloads for BeerSmith 1.0.   But they did not like how hard it was to add them.  So for BeerSmith 2, I’ve added a “Add-on” manager that lets you grab updated ingredient files and recipe packs from the web.

Download Add-ons From the Web

The Other Great Stuff You Expect from BeerSmith

I’ve carried over the best features from BeerSmith 1.4 as well.  These include step by step instructions for any recipe, multiple report formats (HTML and text, including the ability to make your own reports), the ability to read and write BeerSmith 1.x files – even on the Macintosh, full support for metric, english and imperial units, in-field math and unit conversion, and much more.  BeerSmith 2.0 even has support built in for translation – making it possible to have non-english speaking versions built by the BeerSmith community.

When is it Coming?

I’m targeting an early June release date for BeerSmith 2.0 – before the AHA National Homebrewer Conference in mid-June.  The pricing and preorder information are available here – and if you order during the preorder period you can get a substantial discount!

• Ten BeerSmith 2 Brewing Software Tips
• BeerSmith 2 Home Brewing Software is Here!
• Countdown to BeerSmith 2 – 10 June Launch!
• BeerSmith 2 Release Date, Pricing, and Preorder
• BeerSmith 2 for Linux Open Beta Release