Today we released BeerSmith 2.1 and it is now available for download from our main site.  Simultaneously we publicly launched the new BeerSmithRecipes.com recipe sharing site and cloud service.

BeerSmith 2.1 includes a new recipe timer (open any recipe and click on the timer tab) which shows you step-by-step how to mash, steep and boil your recipe and also plays an alarm as each step is reached so you don’t miss anything.  This makes it easy to use BeerSmith to keep track of your latest brewday.

The other major enhancement is a new site called BeerSmithRecipes.com which is integrated with a new cloud folder feature in BeerSmith.  BeerSmithRecipes.com is a large online repository for BeerSmith 2 recipes, both public and private.  You can visit the site and search from hundreds (soon to be thousands) of recipes that others in the BeerSmith community have published.

View Your Cloud Folder On the Go!

If you set up a free basic account, you can view, download, bookmark and review all of these recipes.  I’ve also built extensive social media functions in so you can find your friends online, follow what they are doing, view their public recipes, comment on their wall and review their recipes.

I think the new site will also be a great resource for many homebrew clubs.  Several have already contacted me about creating a club account for club members to follow where they can publish recipes for the club or organization.

Next we come to the new cloud folder which is tightly integrated with BeerSmith 2.1 and BeerSmithRecipes.com.  As I mentioned above, anyone can create a free basic account on the new site and participate there.  You use that same account to log into your cloud folder within BeerSmith 2.1 (under View->Cloud).  When you do, any recipes stored in your cloud folder are also stored online on the BeerSmithRecipes.com site.  So you can upload or download recipes from right within BeerSmith by moving them to your cloud folder.

To upload a recipe you’ve created to BeerSmithRecipes.com, all you need to do is copy/paste that recipe over to your cloud folder within BeerSmith.  It will be private by default, but you can also share it from there by clicking on the Shared/Private button on the ribbon.

Once you have put a recipe in your cloud folder (either public or private) you can log into your BeerSmithRecipes.com account from any computer or mobile device and view your recipes there as well.  This gives you instant access to your cloud recipes from anywhere – even on the go!  I’m planning to start on mobile apps for BeerSmith shortly which will also use the cloud.

Similarly if you find a recipe you like on BeerSmithRecipes.com all you need to do is to click on the link to make a private copy of it, and a copy of that recipe will be put in your cloud folder and will appear instantly in BeerSmith 2.1 the next time you click on the Refresh button from your cloud folder.  So publishing or downloading recipes becomes child’s play.

BeerSmith 2.1 Shares Across Machines

Finally, a lot of you wanted to be able to share your recipes across machines.  BeerSmith 2.1 also gives you that feature as well.  If you open your cloud folder on more than one machine you will see the same set of recipes, since they are all stored online.  So you can move a recipe from your laptop to desktop by just copying it to the cloud folder and then going to the desktop and hitting the refresh button to grab the latest changes.

We’re rapidly approaching 1000 public recipes (and some 2600 total) on the new site, and the community is growing fast (already over 1500 members).  I hope you will take a few minutes to grab the new version, set up your free account and rate a few of your favorite recipes.

The basic account does come with limited space, but you can easily upgrade to a Gold or higher level account starting at just over $1/month.  We’re offering a substantial discount (over 30% off) new memberships here on the upgrade page.  The sale will be open until the end of the National Homebrew Conference on 25 June – so join us now!

• BeerSmith 2.1 and the BeerSmith Recipe Cloud – A Preview
• Ten BeerSmith 2 Brewing Software Tips
• Home Brewing Clubs with Drew Beechum – BeerSmith Podcast 36
• Updated Beer Recipes Archive
• Converting All Grain Recipes to Malt Extract

This week my guest is James Altwies, the President of Gorst Valley Hops.  James is an expert in hop chemistry and this week we’re going to discuss what alpha acids, beta acids and hop aroma oils are and how they can help you make better beer.

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

Topics in This Week’s Episode (43:34)

• James Altwies, the President and CEO of Gorst Valley Hops is my guest this week.  James is working to reintroduce through small farmers in Wisconsin.  He is also an expert in hop growing and hop chemistry.
• Our topic for this week is Hop Chemistry and how hop chemistry affects home brewers.
• We start by discussing his project promoting the reintroduction of commercial hops into Wisconsin.  James has been working with hop growers to produce very high quality hops without destroying fragile hop aroma oils.
• We start with the basic hop growing process and how hops are dried, pelletized and stored for our use.
• James explains where hop bitterness comes from – and what the alpha acids are.
• We discuss the various hop alpha acids (humulone, cohumulone, etc…) and how these are isomorized during the boil.
• James talks a bit about what the various humulone’s contribute to the beer.
• We talk about what IBUs measure and also some of the limitations of IBU measurement – which really only measures one aspect of hops flavor
• James explains what beta acids are and what they do for the beer
• We talk about hop storage and how rapidly hops can degrade if not stored properly
• He discusses in depth what the various aroma oils are and how they boil off at different temperatures.  Often the oil flavor you are looking for drives what temperature and when you need to add your aroma hops.
• James explains how different uses of hops come together to create a complex hoppy beer like an IPA.
• He talks through the importance of understanding the chemistry of hops and how it drives beer brewing

Thanks to James Altwies from Gorst Valley Hops 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.

• Brewing Hops Storage: Preserving Precious Hops
• Growing Hops with Dave Wills – BeerSmith Podcast #15
• Using a Hop Back for Homebrewed Beer
• Dry Hopping: Enhanced Hops Aroma
• Best Hop Techniques for Homebrewing

This week my guest is Stan Hieronymous – the author of “Brew Like a Monk”.  Stan joins us to talk about brewing Belgian beers, the history of Belgian Abbey and Trappist ales, and how to brew them at home.

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Topics in This Week’s Episode (51:00)

• Stan Heironymous is this week’s guest.  Stan is the author of Brew Like a Monk, the book Brewing with Wheat, (Amazon affiliate links) and he runs a blog called Appellation Beer online.
• Our topic for this week is the history of Belgian Abbey ales and how to brew Belgian Abbeys.
• Stan talks for a few minutes about his blog (listed above) on beer brewing.
• We discuss the history of Belgian ales, and how the brewing of these has evolved over time.  He explains how the Dubbel is closest to historical abbey ales, but also walks us through Tripels and other styles.
• We talk about the basic styles of Abbey and Trappist ales (Dubbels, Tripels, Belgian Golden Strongs).
• Stan discusses some of the traditional Belgian ale techniques and ingredients.
• He shares that they really just use sucrose (table sugar) to enhance the alcohol content of the beer – adding no flavor (plain white sugar)
• We talk about the low mash temperature that is used to create high attenuation
• Target CO2 levels for Belgians are very high (3.5-4.0 volumes) in Belgium, requiring stout bottles to contain them
• We discuss optimal fermentation schedules and fermentation conditions for a Belgian ale
• Stan walks us through how he would go about brewing a Belgian Dubbel
• He talks about his visits to Belgium and interviews with both brewers and monks there
• Stan finishes by talking about his new book “For the Love of Hops” which will be out in the Fall of 2012
• For more information on Brewing Belgian Ales, see our earlier podcast on Belgian Ales or my article on Belgian ales.

Thanks to Stan Heironymous 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.

• Trappist Beer and Abbey Ales – BeerSmith Podcast 24
• Trappist Dubbel and Tripel Beer Recipes
• Designing Beer with Randy Mosher – BeerSmith Podcast 30
• India Pale Ale and Carrot Cake – BeerSmith Podcast #18
• John Palmer – The Home Brewing Celebrity – BSHB Podcast Ep 3

Almost 11 months have passed since BeerSmith 2 was launched, and I am only a few weeks away from launching version 2.1 of BeerSmith (launching 15 May).  The new version includes two major feature enhancements – a brew day timer and the BeerSmith cloud storage.

Mash and Boil Timer

The Brew Day Timer

For quite some time now, many of you have asked for an integrated timer to use on brew day.  In BeerSmith 2.1, I’ve added a separate timer tab you can view for any open recipe (much like the current design, mash, and fermentation buttons).  For all grain brewers, the top half of this screen has a mash timer and a list of each mash step.  As each step expires an alarm is played and older completed steps are removed from the instruction list.  For extract brewers, the mash timer acts as a steep timer and it will show a list of grains to be steeped along with a timer that tracks steep time.  You can configure the steeping options (time and temperature) from the Options->Brewing dialog.

The lower half of the timer page has the boil timer, and shows step-by-step times and additions to be used during the boil.  Again if you start the timer, it will play an alarm as various steps are reached and remove older steps a few minutes after they are completed until your boil is finished.  It also lists first wort hops and steeped aroma hops (end of the boil hops) so you don’t miss those additions.

The BeerSmith Recipe Cloud

The BeerSmith Recipe Cloud

Many of you are now working from more than one computer and wanted an easy way to transfer recipes between them.  All of you wanted a library of BeerSmith recipes you could easily download to use in BeerSmith.  The BeerSmith Recipe Cloud delivers both.

It starts with a relatively simple addition – a single “cloud” folder available from the View menu/ribbon.  Here you can copy/paste recipes to and from your cloud folder, and as long as your computer is connected to the internet those recipes will be stored online on our recipe server.  Your recipes are tied to your account, so if you log into another computer with your cloud account, you can view, download and edit the same group of recipes there.  This gives you an easy mechanism to share recipes across machines.

BeerSmith 2.1 Cloud Folder

Since your cloud folder is stored online, I thought it would be great to make it easy to publish those recipes.  So any of your recipes (which are private by default) can be marked as shared in your cloud folder and they will then appear on our BeerSmith Recipe web site for the public to search and use.

I did not stop there, of course.  I then built a large searchable recipe website with social media features on the new site so you can find  recipes, rate your favorite ones, follow your friends to see what they are brewing, comment on their wall, bookmark recipes that interest you and much more.

Search a Huge Recipe Database

You can find recipes by typing just a few words such as “irish stout”.  Bookmark the ones you like to download later.  Download them either in BSMX format or by making a private copy which instantly goes into your cloud folder.  You can later access these directly from BeerSmith.  If you like a recipe, leave a rating and comment on it so others can find the top rated and most commented recipes.  The beta testers already put hundreds of recipes online, and I expect we’ll have thousands shortly after launch.

The social media features are nice as well – you can follow friends, see what they’ve been brewing and commenting on, leave comments on their wall, and send private messages.  I’m also working with online vendors to get many of their kits published with order links after launch so you can search commercial recipe kits that link directly to their order page.

Follow Your Friends

Finally, since the new site is web based you can log in and view your cloud recipes from any computer or mobile device with a web browser – which is handy if you don’t happen to have your desktop computer with you.  At the moment you can’t edit the recipes directly on the web, but you can view, download, bookmark and share recipes from your web login.  I’m also planning to integrate the cloud service with mobile apps (iPad, iPhone, Android) in the future so you’ll have an integrated brewing experience across all of your devices.

What does it cost?

BeerSmith 2.1 will be a free upgrade for all BeerSmith 2 users.  A basic cloud account will also be free.  It has limited online storage (currently 10 recipes in your cloud folder), but gives you enough room to download several recipes at a time (which you can easily cut/paste to your main My Recipes folder), share the ones you are working on across machines or the community, and engage in commenting and bookmarking on the new site.

If you find the service meets your needs you can purchase additional space and resources starting at around $1/month (introductory price).  I also have higher level accounts for professional brewers, groups and vendors. My goal was to keep the service very affordable but also cover the costs of operating and maintaining the site as it grows.

View Your Cloud Recipes From Any Browser

When Will It Launch?

The launch is planned for mid-May 2012, and subscribers to my newsletter will get first access to the new version a few days early.

I will be offering substantial discount on subscriptions for the first month after launch.  My goal is to encourage people to sign up and grow a large database of recipes for everyone to use.  I’ll continue the discounts through the National Homebrewer Conference which ends 23 June 2012.

If you enjoy the new site, I encourage you to upgrade your account, as it will not only give you the space to download and share great homebrew recipes, but also will support further development of cloud features and mobile apps I plan to integrate with the cloud.

What’s Next After This?

I’ll be attending the National Homebrew Conference in Seattle (I’ll be speaking and have a booth – hope to see many of you there) and then I plan to start development on some mobile BeerSmith apps for iPad, iPhone and Android which will also make use of the cloud for cross platform integration.  I also will continue to develop and enhance both BeerSmith 2 and the new BeerSmith cloud service.

• BeerSmith 2.1 and BeerSmithRecipes.com Now Available
• Countdown to BeerSmith 2 – 10 June Launch!
• iPhone and Kindle Friendly BeerSmith Blog Themes
• BrewPoll Home Brewing and Craft Beer News Site
• BeerSmith Hops and Yeast Updates

Diacetyl is the butterscotch or buttery flavor that can ruin your home brewed beer.  This week, as part of my ongoing series on beer flavors and off flavors, we’ll discuss diacetyl in your beer and how you can control it.  Earlier articles in the series include DMS in home brewed beer,  Esters in Home Brewed Beer and Judging Beer.

Diacetyl tastes like butter, Pentainedione tastes like honey

If you want to learn more about diacetyl I also recommend listening to my podcast/video interview with Charlie Bamforth – he does a great job of explaining it.

What is Diacetyl?

Diacetyl is a natural by-product of fermentation.  It is one of two major Vicinal Diketones (VDKs) produced during fermentation, the other being Pentainedione.  Diacetyl tastes like butter or butterscotch and in fact is used in the production of artificial butter flavors.  Pentainedione provides a honey like flavor.  Both can be detremental to the finished beer, and are considered off flavors if too much is present.

Diacetyl is most noticible in very light flavored beers, such as light lager, due to its relatively low flavor threshold.  It is far less of an issue in full bodied english ales or dark beers because ales are fermented at higher temperature which helps break down VDKs after fermentation.  Also other flavors in ales often mask the flavor of remaining diacetyl.

Diacetyl can also be produced by bacterial infection, and in fact bacteria produces more diacetyl than pentainedione.  It is most often produced by contaminated keg lines (particularly in bars), but can occur even in home brewed beers that are infected.

 Controlling Diacetyl

Diacetyl is a natural byproduct of fermentation, so it cannot be completely eliminated.  However healthy yeast can also “mop up” or break down both diacetyl and pentainedione into other substances that have a much higher flavor threshold.  To do this, the yeast needs to remain in contact with the beer, and also it needs to remain healthy.

This brings us to the first important method for controlling diacetyl, which is simply to pitch a proper quantity of healthy yeast with a good yeast starter at the start of the fermentation.  Properly pitching the right amount of yeast will result in a strong healthy yeast concentration after fermentation and allow the yeast to reabsorb the VDKs (diacetyl and pentainedione).  Underpitching can lead to diacetyl.

A second method, called “krausening”, involves pitching fresh active yeast after the beer has completed fermentation.  This active yeast will break down the diacetyl and pentainedione and significantly reduce the levels of both in the finished beer.

A third method, often used with lagers, is to add a diacetyl rest.  A diacetyl rest is allowing the fermentation temperature to rise slightly to 57F or 14 C for lagers (roughly a few degrees higher than your fermentation temperature) near the end of the fermentation to help activate the yeast so it can absorb some of the VDKs.  Diacetyl rests are rarely needed with ales, as ales are already fermented at a high temperature that promotes VDK reduction.

Diacetyl can also come from bacterial contamination, so it is important to sanitize everything that might touch your beer.  Dirty keg lines also contain bacteria that produces diacetyl, so keeping your keg lines clean is very important.

Finally, some commercial brewers use a product called Maturex that is a chemical that helps reduce VDKs.  In some cases, microbrewers and home brewers can obtain this as well, but it must be used with care in the appropriate quantity.

Summary

• Diacetyl (butterscotch flavor) and pentainedione (honey flavor) are a natural biproduct of fermentation, but both can be broken down by healthy yeast when fermentation completes.
• The primary method for controlling diacetyl (and pentainedione) is to pitch the appropriate quantity of healthy yeast from a yeast starter and ensure that the yeast remains healthy.
• A diacetyl rest for lagers (raising it a few degrees during fermentation) can also help reduce diacetyl in the finished beer by helping the yeast break down VDKs.
• For some really light lagers where eliminating all of the diacetyl is important, a method called krausening can also be used.  In krausening, fresh active yeast is added after fermentation has completed to break down remaining VDKs.  This method is relatively quick – taking less than a day in most cases.
• If you are kegging, be sure to keep your keg lines and taps clean as bacteria often creates diacetyl within the dirty lines and taps.
• Poor sanitation can lead to bacterial infection which will also produce large quantities of diacetyl.  Keep your equipment clean.
• Finally, some commercial brewers use chemical additives (Maturex) to chemically break down diacetyl and pentainedione.  This may be available for microbreweries and home brewers if you can find a good source of it.

Thank you for joining me this week on the BeersSmith blog – please subscribe to the newsletter or listen to my video podcast for more great material on homebrewing.

• Diacetyl in Beer with Charlie Bamforth – BeerSmith Podcast 31
• Dimethyl Sulfides (DMS) in Home Brewed Beer
• Esters in Beer Brewing
• Beer Yeast, Fermentation, and Home Brewing
• Irish Red Ale Recipes

This week I invite Drew Beechum back to talk about the merits of homebrew clubs.  Drew was president of the Maltose Falcons and is active in the American Homebrewers Association, and provides a unique perspective on what clubs have to offer to homebrewers.

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

I apologize for the quality of the video this week – the video connection was marginal for video when we recorded this session.

Topics in This Week’s Episode (34:44)

• Drew Beechum is my guest.  Drew is the former President of the Maltose Falcons homebrew club and also the author of the Everything Homebrewing Book (Amazon affiliate link) and frequently an author for beer advocate.
• Our topic for this week is homebrew clubs and what they offer the average homebrewer.
• Drew talks about his experience joining and eventually running the Maltose Falcons homebrew club – one of the larger clubs here in the US.
• He shares what an average club offers to its members and also what a meeting might look like.
• Drew talks about education and training opportunities at the club
• We discuss homebrew competitions and what they add to a club.
• Drew explains how clubs are chartered and organized at the national level
• We talk about the importance of many local homebrew shops and the role they play in sponsoring clubs
• I ask Drew to tell us why a new homebrewer might want to attend his first club meeting.

Thanks to Drew Beechum 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.

• Multiplying Your Home Brewed Beer – BSHB Podcast #5
• Brett and Sour Beer Brewing – BeerSmith Podcast #17
• Justin Crossley from The Brewing Network – BeerSmith Podcast 34
• Beyond Barley Brewing – BeerSmith Podcast #13
• Heretic Brewing with Jamil Zainasheff – BeerSmith Podcast 25

Dimethyl Sulfide (DMS) is a sulfur compound produced during fermentation of beer that has the aroma of cooked or creamed corn.  As part of my ongoing series on flavors in beer (including the earlier articles Esters in Home Brewed Beer and Judging Beer), we’re going to go into detail this week on DMS.

DMS in Home Brewed Beer

DMS (Dimethyl Sulfide) is a byproduct of mashing and fermentation, so it is present to some degree in all beers.   It has the aroma of cooked or creamed corn.  Because people can perceive DMS even at very low flavor thresholds (of 10-150 parts per billion) it can have a significant impact on the flavor of finished beer.

DMS is primarily found in lagers for a variety of reasons we will discuss shortly.  DMS is actually desirable at low levels in many lagers, but excessive levels of DMS will create a strong cooked corn aroma and flavor.  German lagers contain the highest DMS concentrations (50-175 parts per billion).  American lagers generally contain less than 100 ppb, and British ales contain the lowest concentrations at 10-20 ppb. (Ref: Wikipedia).

Where DMS comes from:

All malt has in it a chemical called S-Methyl Methionine (SMM) which is responsible for DMS. SMM is an amino acid formed during germination and kilning of barley as part of the malting process.  The maltster can reduce SMM by slightly under-modifying the malt, and adjusting the kilning temperatures, but this is largely outside the control of homebrewers.  However, two row pale malts have significantly lower SMM levels than six row pale malts, so you can reduce your DMS levels by choosing a two row pale malt base.  Also very pale lager malts (such as pilsner malt) tend to have slightly higher SMM levels due to the very low temperatures used in kilning.

Heating the SMM present in pale malt will always produce some DMS. During the mashing process (and even the boil), some SMM is broken down into both DMS and a variant of DMS called Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) which is basically DMS with an oxygen atom attached.  So after the mashing process we have wort that contains both DMS and DMSO (as well as some residual SMM).

The good news is that DMS itself is very volatile and a lot of it will boil off rapidly when we boil or wort during the brewing process.  However DMSO is more stable, and some of it can be converted to DMS during fermenation.  Vigorous ale fermentations generally produce less DMS.

Finally, infection can produce a DMS like flavor and aroma, though it will generally be an aroma closer to cabbage than corn.  If you have a strong cabbage aroma or flavor you may have an infection in your finished beer.

DMS in the Beer Brewing Process

DMS is created whenever wort is heated, so some DMS is present in any beer.  DMS is created in the mash, however most DMS is evaporated during the boil, so the boil is the primary place to focus if you have a DMS problem.

The half-life for DMS is 40 minutes, so half of the DMS will be boiled off in a 40 minute vigorous boil.   So if we do the math, a 60 minute boil gets rid of 64.7% of the DMS and a 90 minute boil rids us of 79% of the DMS.  That is why most experienced brewers recommend a 90 minute or longer vigorous boil.

Since DMS needs to evaporate off during the boil, it is important not to cover your pot.  Covering a brew kettle during the boil will prevent the DMS from evaporating and create a beer with much higher levels of DMS.

Rapidly cooling your wort after boiling is also important.  The SMM to DMS conversion continues at temperatures well below boiling, so DMS is produced even while the wort is cooling after the boil.  However, unlike the mash, DMS produced while cooling cannot be boiled off.  This conversion continues even if the hot wort is vented.  For every hour you have hot wort sitting around, you will produce approximately a 30% increase in DMS.

During fermentation, CO2 bubbles actually help remove from DMS from the beer.  More vigorous ale yeasts tend to produce lower DMS levels.  Also different strains of yeast do tend to produce DMS during fermentation primarily by converting DMSO (which does not boil off) to DMS.  Lager yeasts and yeasts fermented at lower temperatures tend to have higher DMS production.  Certain wild yeasts and bacteria can create high levels of DMS as well.

DMS aromas (including some sulfur or rotten-egg aroma) during fermentation (particularly lagers) are not unusual, so you don’t need to toss your beer out just because you have a DMS aroma during fermentation.  Some of this will fade naturally during the lagering process.

Finally, beers with robust flavor profiles (dark beers, strong ales, etc) tend to mask the DMS cooked corn flavor with other flavors such as roast, chocolate or caramel malts.  Because of this, high DMS levels are most perceivable in lightly flavored beers such as low-adjunct pilsners, many German lagers, continental lagers and extremely light ales.  DMS is rarely a problem in beers that are Amber colored or darker, and also rarely an issue with most robust beer styles.

Controlling DMS – Summary

• High DMS levels are most often perceived as a problem in light lagers such as Pilsner and many German lagers
• Choose a 2 row pale malt (over 6 row) as a base malt to minimize SMM (a DMS precursor)
• Very pale base malts (such as pilsner malt) tend to have higher SMM levels which drives higher DMS production
• Avoid using corn as an adjunct with these beers, as it can enhance the creamed corn perception
• Boil your wort for 90 minutes or longer with a vigorous rolling boil
• Don’t cover your boil pot – leave it open so the DMS can evaporate during the boil
• Minimize hot wort standing time by rapidly cooling your wort after the boil
• Select a yeast and correct fermentation temperature to minimize DMS production
• For many lagers, DMS aroma is normal during fermentation, but it should fade with time as you lager and age the beer

If you brew a beer with high DMS levels (creamed corn aroma) take a close look at the suggestions above, and focus on your boil, as that is where DMS can be most easily controlled.  Thanks for joining me on the BeerSmith blog.  Check out my podcast or email list for more great brewing material!

• Esters in Beer Brewing
• Malt Extract Beer Brewing
• Beer Yeast, Fermentation, and Home Brewing
• Cream Ale Recipes – Beer Styles
• Counting Calories in your Homebrewed Beer

This week I invite Bob Hansen from Briess malting and ingredients company to talk about beer brewing, malts, malting your own grain and also malt extract.  Bob provides a great overview of how malted barley is grain, how specialty grains are made and even how they make malt extract.

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

Topics in This Week’s Episode (48:58)

• Bob Hansen from Briess malting is my guest this week.  Bob is a double major in Biochemistry and Applied Math/Physics and worked previously at Water Street Brewery.  Bob is involved in R&D at Briess and helped set up their Briess extract plant as well as their pilot brewery.
• We start with a short discussion of Briess and what they provide to the brewing industry.
• Bob explains the difference between malted and unmalted barley.
• We talk about the steps of turning unmalted barley into malted barley (soaking, germinating, roasting).
• Bob explains the kilning process and how it can be used to make some base malt varieties.
• We also explore how malted and unmalted barley is roasted to make most of the remaining specialty malts we brew with.
• Bob offers some tips for malting barley at home.
• We talk about grain storage and how long you can reasonably store malted barley
• Bob explains how torrified grains are made, and why some raw grains need to be cooked or gelatinized.
• We walk through how grains are mashed and then the moisture is removed to produce malt extract
• We talk about how Briess reaches out to the homebrewing community.

Thanks to Bob Hansen from Briess 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.

• Beyond Barley Brewing – BeerSmith Podcast #13
• Malting Barley Grain at Home
• Irish Stout Recipes with John Palmer – BeerSmith Podcast 11
• Mashing with Dr Charlie Bamforth – BeerSmith Podcast #14
• Diastatic Power and Mashing your Beer

This week I invite Justin Crossley from the Brewing Network to talk a bit about his journey in beer broadcasting, some of his shows and his recent journey into television.  Justin is the popular host of the Session (a podcast) and runs a network of several shows centered around homebrewing.

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

Topics in This Week’s Episode (32:58)

• Justin Crossley, founder of the Brewing Network is my guest this week.  Justin is the host of “The Session” which is a very popular show and one of the earliest podcasts on home brewing.
• Justin shares how he got started in the brewing network
• He tells us what the early days were (in 2005) when he started his podcast in the same month that iTunes started carrying podcasts.
• We discuss his headline 4 our show called “The Session” – which is aired on Sundays live
• Justin shares some thoughts on his co-hosts and cast of the session
• We talk about his live format which includes the forum, email, phone-ins and live chat
• Justin shares some of his favorite guests from the last 7 years
• He talks about some of his other shows including Brew Strong and The Jamil Show
• Recently Justin did a television show on homebrewing for a local TV station – he shares his thoughts on video and doing television
• We talk about the Brewing Network Army and how that came about
• Justin shares his thoughts on how the BN Army won “Homebrew Club of the Year” even though it has no club in the traditional sense
• Justin gives a few brewing tips he’s picked up over the years
• He finishes by talking about what a rewarding few years it has been working on the brewing network

Thanks to Justin Crossley 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.

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• 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.

• John Palmer – The Home Brewing Celebrity – BSHB Podcast Ep 3
• The Homebrew Chef – Sean Z. Paxton – BeerSmith Podcast 21
• Session Beer with The Mad Fermentationist – BeerSmith Podcast 22
• Making Mead with Curt Stock – BeerSmith Podcast 20
• Porter Beer Recipes with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast 26

Esters in home brew beer can be both a blessing and a curse.  Ester (a fruity flavor) can be highly desirable in many English ales or Bavarian Weizen, but can also be a curse in other styles like lager.  This week we take a look at esters in beer and what you can do about it.

What are Esters?

Esters are a fruity flavor produced during fermentation that can vary in taste and aroma between pears, roses, bananas or other light fruits.  In very high concentration it can create a solvent-like flavor.

Esters are formed in beer by the “esterification” of ethanol which is the primary alcohol in beer.  Ethanol combines with fatty acids and a molecule called acetyl coenzyme (ACOA) forming ethyl acetate.  Ethyl acetate’s flavor varies from a light pear-like character to solvent-like in high concentrations.

Other alcohols present in the beer may also combine to produce additional esters.  For example isoamyl alcohol will combine and produce isoamyl acetate which tastes like bananas in low concentration.  This ester is the distinct banana flavor that is the defining characteristic of Bavarian Hefeweizen.

Are Esters Bad?

Different styles require different levels of esters.  For example, esters are highly undesirable for most lagers, so you would want to minimized ester production when brewing a lager.  Esters are a feature of many English ales and as noted above in Weizen/Hefeweizen.

Choosing a Yeast Strain

The production of esters is primarily driven by the yeast used.  Yeasts have an enzyme called acetate transferase (AAT) which drives the production of esters.  A low AAT yeast will produce far fewer esters, so choosing a yeast that is appropriate to the style you are brewing is the #1 way to control ester production and make sure it is appropriate for your beer.

Fermentation Temperature

A second way to control ester production is by controlling the fermentation temperature.  Higher temperatures in fermentation result in rapid yeast growth, more AAT and more ester production.  This is why, in general, ale yeast produces more ester than lager yeast.   So if you are brewing an estery English ale you might want to target the high end of the yeast’s fermentation temperature.

If you are brewing a style such as lager where you want few esters, be sure to ferment at appropriate lager temperatures.  One common beginner mistake is to attempt fermentation of a lager at room temperature which will result in a fruity lager – not what you were shooting for at all.

Yeast Pitch Rate and Esters

A third way to control ester production is by varying your pitch rate.  If you under-pitch yeast (i.e. don’t pitch enough yeast for your volume of wort) the yeast will reproduce rapidly during the short lag phase.  Rapidly reproducing yeast enhances AAT production and subsequently produces more esters in the finished beer.  This is another common problem for beginners who often brew with no starter and get fruity esters in their lagers.  Pitching enough yeast (or even overpitching) will result in less ester production.

Oxygenation of Wort and Esters

Finally you can reduce esters by properly oxiginating your wort.  During the growth phase, the yeast will actually consume ACOA (above) which is a precursor of ester production to reproduce.  However this only continues until the yeast run out of oxygen.  So if you properly oxygenate your wort it will reduce overall ester production.  Conversely if you under-oxygenate your wort it will actually enhance ester production in the finished beer.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s article on esters and homebrewing.  Please subscribe to my newsletter for a weekly article on homebrewing.

• Beer Yeast, Fermentation, and Home Brewing
• Diacetyl in Home Brewed Beer – The Butterscotch Flavor
• Dimethyl Sulfides (DMS) in Home Brewed Beer
• Cream Ale Recipes – Beer Styles
• Apparent and Real Attenuation for Beer Brewers – Part 2

This week I invite John Palmer back to talk about brewing high gravity “big” beers.  John shares some of his tips on getting the most from your high gravity mash, scaling recipes up to higher gravities, balancing your big beer and fermentation and aging.

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Topics in This Week’s Episode (40:54)

• John Palmer, author of “How to Brew” at HowToBrew.com is back to talk about high gravity “big” beers and how to brew them at home.
• We start by discussing how high gravity brewing is fundamentally different from brewing a regular beer, and what defined a high gravity beer.
• John talks about the grain bill and why brewing a high gravity beer is not just a matter of scaling up an average beer but in fact requires you to add more malt.
• We discuss why high gravity mashes are much less efficient due to the lower grain to sparge/mash water ratio used.
• I briefly mention that mash tun capacity is a problem as well since a typical 5 gallon mash tun only holds about 13 lbs of grain at max capacity.
• John talks extensively about the importance of balancing malt and bitterness for a large beer.  He explains how the bitterness ratio needs to be balanced for large brewing.
• John refers to his “How to Brew” book, page 212 which has a diagram showing OG/bitterness ratios for different styles
• We talk about hop presence in big beers and how most big beers don’t need a huge hop finish (except for a few styles like Imperial IPA)
• John talks about fermentation of big beers and the importance of pitching plenty of yeast for a big beer – as yeast requirements grow with the starting gravity
• We also discuss the need for wine/champagne yeast but John takes the position that if you properly pitch an appropriate yeast starter you rarely need to use wine/champagne yeast for finishing.
• John explains proper fermentation for large beers and makes the case that proper pitching and fermentation can actually significantly reduce your need for long aging.
• Along the way we also discuss parti-gyle brewing (getting more than one batch from a single mash)
• John shares a few of his favorite high gravity beer styles
• Finally he talks for a minute about his new book about beer brewing water which will be published in the fall.  He’s planning to cover water from start to finish including filtration, preparation, additions, and much more.  Look for the book from Brewer’s Publications this fall.

Thanks to John Palmer 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.

• John Palmer – The Home Brewing Celebrity – BSHB Podcast Ep 3
• Beer Brewing Equipment with John Blichmann – BeerSmith Podcast 28
• Brewing Like a Monk with Stan Hieronymous – BeerSmith Podcast 37
• Irish Stout Recipes with John Palmer – BeerSmith Podcast 11
• Beer Brewing Myths – Holiday Episode – BeerSmith Podcast 29

The use of oak and other woods in flavoring beer has enjoyed a resurgence recently among home brewers and some micro breweries.  Oak is commonly used in winemaking, and was once widely used to barrel beer.  This week we take a look at using oak to flavor your beer.

When To Use Oak

Oak flavor does not match every single beer.  Oak barrels were widely used for storing beer for thousands of years, however you probably don’t want to accent your delicately balanced Koelsch or Bohemian Pilsner with oak chips.  Oak is most strongly associated with English and some Scotch ales such as Old Ales, Stouts, Porters, Browns, IPAs and some Bitters.  Some brewers have used oak in Belgian styles such as the darker Belgian Ales, Farmhouse Ale, or Saison.  More rarely you will see oak used with darker central european beers such as Bock or Schwarzbier.

In general oak flavoring is associated with darker, older beers or beers replicating historic brewing techniques.

Types of Oak

There are many types of oak though the three most popular are American, Hungarian and French.  French oak provides the mildest flavor including some sweet vanilla hints, while American oak gives the strongest oak flavor.  Hungarian oak provides a middle ground.

The flavor of oak also can be changed by toasting your oak.  The dark toasted oak has a more carbonized or carmelized flavor while lightly toasted or untoasted oak has a much more mild flavor.  Toasting is usually graded on a light-medium-heavy scale and you can purchase wood chips toasted at these different levels.

Forms of Oak for Homebrewing

• Oak Chips – These are the most popular form used in home brewing – typically the chips are sold in a bag and look like wood shavings.  The small chips have a large surface area which delivers the oak flavor to the beer quickly.  The only disadvantage is that the small chips can be hard to separate from the finished beer, so it is important to have them in a grain or hop bag so they can be easily removed after aging.
• Oak Cubes – Packages of cubes are also widely available from home brewing supply shops.  They work similarly to chips but take longer to impart their flavor as they have much less surface area than oak chips.  However the advantage of cubes is that they can easily be separated from the beer when you are finished aging.
• Spirals – Though less common that cubes or chips, spiral cut oak is a compromise that offers a large surface area similar to chips, but are still easy to remove like cubes.  Therefore they still impart flavor to the beer quickly but allow for removal.  Their only disadvantage is that they are more expensive than chips or cubes.
• Oak Essence and Oak Powder – Oak essence (such as Sinatin 17) is a liquid flavor extract that can be stirred in at bottling time to taste.  Oak powder is similar – essentially it is a powdered oak flavor stirred into the beer.  Both work instantly and can be added in small amounts to taste.
• Barrels – Oak barrels offer both unique opportunities and challenges.  They are generally pretty expensive to purchase unless you get a great deal on a used one, but they offer a lot of potential for reuse.  They can be a challenge however, as older barrels can get infected, can leak, allow some oxygen in, and may have their own flavors depending on what they were previously used for.  Some home brewers prize used sherry, whiskey and bourbon barrels for the added flavor they impart, but you need to make sure the flavor you want matches the barrel’s previous use.  Be very careful with wine barrels as most wine flavors don’t go well with beer (try mixing them in a glass sometime).  Wine barrels should be sanitized before use, and any barrel needs careful maintenance.  Finally it can take some time (often months) to achieve the desired flavor, particularly for larger barrels.

Oak Flavoring Methods

Three major methods are available to home brewers:

• Oak Aging – The simplest method – which involves adding the oak chips/spirals/cubes after fermentation while aging the beer.  Also this is the method used with barrels, since you store the beer in the oak barrel.  I recommend sanitizing the chips/spirals/cubes first by steaming them for 15 minutes to reduce the risk of infection (don’t use sanitizing solution as it is absorbed by the chips).   Most home brewers add their oak shortly after fermentation completes and before bottling (i.e. in the secondary) and leave the oak in there until they achieve the desired taste – sampling every day or two.  Some brewers with keg systems also add the oak chips/cubes in the keg itself – containing it in a bag so it will not block the keg’s dip tube.  Oak aging can take anywhere from a few days to several months depending on the oak used and desired flavor level.
• Oak Tea – You can boil the oak to make an oak tea.  Simply drop your chips/spirals/cubes in enough water to cover them fully and bring it to a boil for 10-15 minutes.  Once the tea is complete you can add it a bit at a time to the finished beer until you achieve the overall beer flavor you desire.  Making a tea is much faster than aging with oak, and also lets you more closely control the flavor.
• Liquor Tea – If you are looking to add burbon, whiskey or your favorite liquor flavor to the beer you can make a tea using liquor instead.  In this case you add the chips/cubes/spirals to a small amount of your favorite liquor (possibly diluted a bit with water) and let it sit for a week.  Then mix the liquor in with you beer in small amounts until you achieve the desired overall flavor.  Obviously moderation is important here as the liquor can easily overpower the flavor of the beer or wood chips.

Beechwood in Beer

Despite the fact that one very large American brewer advertises their beer as “Beechwood Aged”, beechwood chips do not actually impart flavor to the beer like Oak does. Beechwood is actually used because it has very low phenolic resins so it won’t flavor the beer.  Adding beechwood chips to a beer provides a large surface area for yeast cells to attach to and helps in settling and clearing the beer.  Beechwood is therefore added at the end of fermentation to help the yeast fall out more quickly which reduces aging time needed for commercial brewers.

I hope these tips help you to add a great oak flavor to your Old Ale or other favorite beer style.  Than you for joining me on the BeerSmith blog.  If you want articles sent to your inbox weekly, join our newsletter and also check out the BeerSmith podcast available on iTunes.

• Filtering Home Brewed Beer
• Old Ale Recipes – Stock Ale and Winter Warmers
• German Rauchbier and Smoked Beer Recipes
• Malting Barley Grain at Home
• Brewing Hops Storage: Preserving Precious Hops

This week we talk about American hop varieties and developing new hops.  Al Haunold, a retired genetic engineer from USDA and Dave Wills from Freshops.com are my guests as we talk about how some of the most popular US hop varieties came about, how high alpha varieties are used now and how hops are grown.

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Topics in This Week’s Episode (45:07)

• Al Haunold and Dave Wills are my guests for this week’s podcast.  Al is a retired geneticist from the USDA who played a major role in the development of most of the modern American hop varieties including Cascade, Willamette and many others.  He is joined by Dave Wills from Freshops.com who is a provider of bulk hops and also hop rhizomes.
• Al provides a summary of his career at USDA including some 30+ years of hop research and engineering hop varieties.
• Dave tells us how he worked with Al at USDA before moving over to the hop growing business.
• Al shares with us stories of how several of the most popular hops were created such as Cascade.
• Dave and Al share how a new hop plant goes from inception to commercialization – a process that can take up to 15-20 years
• We talk about how most modern hop varieties have a basis in traditional varieites.
• Al tells us a bit about Willamette and how it came about.
• Dave explains where the hop crisis of 2008 originated and how hop prices shot through the roof
• We talk about the large shift in commercial hop production towards high alpha hops and hop extract
• We end with a few tips for homebrewers

Thanks to Al Haunold and Dave Wills 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.

• Growing Hops with Dave Wills – BeerSmith Podcast #15
• Justin Crossley from The Brewing Network – BeerSmith Podcast 34
• Making Mead with Curt Stock – BeerSmith Podcast 20
• Beer Brewing Equipment with John Blichmann – BeerSmith Podcast 28
• India Pale Ale and Carrot Cake – BeerSmith Podcast #18

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
• Baltic Porter Recipes – Beer Styles
• Dry Hopping: Enhanced Hops Aroma
• 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.

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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
• New BJCP 2008 Style Guide and BeerSmith Batch Sparging Release
• Countdown to BeerSmith 2 – 10 June Launch!

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.

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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
• Beyond Barley Brewing – BeerSmith Podcast #13
• Porter Beer Recipes with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast 26
• Session Beer with The Mad Fermentationist – BeerSmith Podcast 22
• 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
• Going All Grain with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast #16

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
• Cleaning and Sanitation for Beer Brewing
• John Palmer – The Home Brewing Celebrity – BSHB Podcast Ep 3
• Beer Brewing Myths – Holiday Episode – BeerSmith Podcast 29

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
• Brewing an Irish Stout Beer Recipe

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
• Beer Brewing Myths – Holiday Episode – BeerSmith Podcast 29

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
• Making Full Bodied Beer at Home
• Brewing an Irish Stout Beer Recipe
• 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

• Batch Sparging with Denny Conn – BeerSmith Podcast 27
• Porter Beer Recipes with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast 26
• 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
• BeerSmith 2 Home Brewing Software is Here!

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
• Brewing Like a Monk with Stan Hieronymous – BeerSmith Podcast 37
• Head Retention with The Pope of Foam – BeerSmith Podcast 23
• 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
• Beer Color: Understanding SRM, Lovibond and EBC
• How to Batch Sparge: A Guide for Batch Sparging and No Sparge
• 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
• Designing Beer with Randy Mosher – BeerSmith Podcast 30
• Porter Beer Recipes with Gordon Strong – BeerSmith Podcast 26
• 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!

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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
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