Alcohol free beer is flowing in venues as Australia’s first NA bar opens soon.
The post The heaps normal growth of on-premise NA beer sales appeared first on Beer & Brewer.
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Dr Charlie Bamforth joins me this week to discuss foam and head retention in beer. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio element. Topics in This Week’s […] The team behind well-known Sydney brewery to open a brewpub in country NSW.
The post Nomad go overland with new Mudgee brewery appeared first on Beer & Brewer.
Mathias Siebler, a 10th generation German hop farmer, joins me this week from Bavaria to discuss growing hops. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio element. Topics […] Build Me A Brewery delves into the dos and don’ts so you don’t have to.
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These classic Christmas beers from craft breweries pair perfectly whether you’re looking to share a bottle with friends or enjoy as you’re decorating the house for the holidays.
The post 12 Beers of Christmas appeared first on CraftBeer.com.
The Virginia Beer Company (Williamsburg, VA) will mark the holiday season with the return of their seasonal Spiced Milk Stout, Evil Santa. “Since the first winter we were open back in 2016, Evil Santa has been one of our most sought after recipes,” reminisces Co-Founder Robby Willey. “The branding is playful, the time of year […]
The post Virginia Beer Co. Releases Four Evil Santa Spiced Milk Stout Variants appeared first on CraftBeer.com.
The #1 winter seasonal beer1 returns with a crisper and brighter recipe and festive inspiration for holidays spent at home BOSTON, MA, Nov. 9, 2020—Samuel Adams brewers recognize the winter season will feel different this year, with many Americans taking “home for the holidays” literally. To spread some holiday cheer when drinkers need it most, […]
The post Samuel Adams’ New Winter Lager Brings A Wintery Remix To Holiday Classics appeared first on CraftBeer.com.
In August 2020, the federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA) finalized the definition and labeling requirements of gluten-free fermented and hydrolyzed foods (including beer and other alcoholic beverages). The ruling provides a clear delineation between products that are truly gluten-free and products that are not and how product labels communicate those differences to consumers. In […]
The post Gluten-Free Brewers Group Responds to FDA Final Rule on Gluten-Free Claims on Fermented Foods appeared first on CraftBeer.com.
On September 23, 2020, gluten-free breweries from around the world connected virtually at the 2nd Annual Gluten-free Beer Conference, hosted by Golden-based Holidaily Brewing Company. Out of over 8,000 craft breweries in the U.S., only 15 breweries are dedicated gluten-free, meaning they brew, package, and sell gluten-free beer only. The U.S. breweries in attendance included […]
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Fretboard Brewing Company (Blue Ash, OH) isn’t known for their collaborations with other breweries. Over the course of their 3 year history, they’ve partnered with musicians like Bootsy Collins and The Cliftones, to foundations like ArtsWave, and even a bread company (Klosterman Baking), but they’ve never released a product brewed in partnership with another brewery. […]
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Fall is in the air and that means one thing: harvest season! Brewing with fresh hops is a meticulous process, having to rely on bountiful bines and timing of wet hops plucked, packaged, and shipped overnight via air freight to align with a brew day built around the arrival of those hops and those hops alone…and this […]
The post Virginia Beer Co. Celebrates Harvest Season With Two Wet-Hopped Recipes appeared first on CraftBeer.com.
Andrea Stanley from Valley Malt joins me this week to discuss Craft Malting and heirloom malt varieties. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio element. Topics in […] Stan Hieronymus joins me this week to discuss hop breeding programs and some of the new hop varieties hitting the brewing market. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support […] Jamil Zainasheff from Heretic Brewing joins me this week for a beer brewing question and answer session. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio element. Topics in […] Andreas Krennmair joins me this week to discuss his new book on the history of Vienna Lagers. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio element. Topics in […] Randy Mosher joins me this week to discuss brewing fruity IPAs and using fruit in your IPAs. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio element. Topics in […] 
Today I’m going to highlight some of the new dry hop features in BeerSmith 3.1. BeerSmith 3.1 was released in mid-2020. Dry hopping is one of the best ways to preserve aroma oils in your hops. Because it is done at low temperature, you don’t risk boiling off volatile aroma oils. Also the long contact […] This week Marshall Schott joins me to discuss how many “short and shoddy” shortcuts you can take when brewing beer and still produce good beer. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser […] I’m happy to announce the official release of the BeerSmith 3.1 update. This update includes some significant updates to the BeerSmith data storage model, TILT data import, new brewing features and a large number of bug fixes. This release is also a very important foundational step towards establishing both an online version of BeerSmith and […] Gary Glass joins me this week to discuss the state of US Craft and Homebrewing, the upcoming virtual Homebrewcon and some of his own homebrew creations. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your […] Denny Conn and Drew Beechum join me this week to discuss hop techniques and brewing beers with unusual specialty ingredients. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio […] Steve Piatz, the author of “The Complete Guide to Making Mead” joins me this week to discuss mead making techniques. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio […] 
This week I take a look at how you can use BeerSmith brewing software to adjust the brewhouse efficiency for your individual equipment setup. Understanding Brewhouse Efficiency Brewhouse efficiency is simply a measure of how efficient your all grain brewing system is at converting pounds (or kilograms) of grains into Original Gravity (OG) points going […] Dr Charlie Bamforth, Professor Emeritus from the University of California at Davis joins me this week to discuss beer brewing yeast. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or on Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio […] I received a lot of positive feedback from the BeerSmith Blog Article Index that I sent out last week featuring about 360 free articles on brewing. So last weekend I indexed all 212 BeerSmith Podcast episodes by subject so you can find the ones you are most interested in: BeerSmith Podcast IndexThe BeerSmith podcast is […] Ted Fleming joins me this week from Partake Brewing to discuss how to brew alcohol free beer at home. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or on Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio element. Topics […] Ron Pattinson joins me to discuss his upcoming book on British beer brewing during World War II. Ron has done extensive research on how commercial beer production and recipes evolved during the war. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or on Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As […] Chris White joins me this week to discuss how White Labs produces yeast for commercial brewers and home brewing. We discuss everything from his yeast bank to production and packaging. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or on Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this […] Whether you are a homebrewer or a craft brewer, things don't always go as expected or something breaks. If you aren't ready, it could cost you a batch or delay a brew. In the worst case scenario a company can go out of business, making a replacement part difficult and expensive to procure. More than once we haven't had a (seemingly) small inexpensive thing and it caused issues. Learn from us (and chime in with your own suggestions)!
Yeast
If you use liquid cultures, there is always a chance that your starter won't start or your brink will run dry. We always keep a couple bricks of dried yeast on hand. On a commercial scale, SafAle is ridiculously inexpensive ($50-75 for 500 g). We always have a brick of US-05 and S-04 in the cooler. The strains you keep will depend on what strains you use. If nothing else, we'll use them for primary fermentation on sour beers when we don't have enough liquid yeast harvested.
Being friendly with a few other local brewers could be handy as well, but there usually isn't a guarantee they'll have yeast to spare at the last minute.
Fermentables
I find it helpful to have both dextrose and maltodextrin on hand. We had a DIPA dry out a few points too far, easy enough to boil a pot of maltodextrin, keg it and shoot it into the brite tank to add .004/1P. Dextrose is handy if your gravity is lower by a few points, although in most cases we'll just leave the beer alone. Dried pale malt extract is another option, especially if your efficiency is inconsistent (or you often brew really strong beers).
It never hurts to order a few extra bags of a favorite malts either, especially for things like Golden Naked Oats that often seem to be out of stock. Extra base malt is nice too, especially early on when you're ordering ingredients for a few batches and still feeling out system efficiency.
Hops
Buying on the spot market means sometimes you get a bag that isn't all it should be. Better to have a few back-up options to swap in for dry hopping. Mediocre hops are usually fine in the boil, so if we open a bag of Simcoe that is so-so, we'll open another and save the first for a boil/whirlpool addition.
Fittings/Gaskets
We try to have at least one "extra" gasket in each size. This is especially true for things like manways that aren't generic. Unluckily we didn't think of this before the gasket on our 15 bbl DME fermentor stretched out... now they're out of business and we're still working to find a replacement. The one we have still works, but likely won't forever. If we order anything new, we get replacement seals and parts for it at the same time.
Same goes for having extra valves and other fittings that might leak or stop working. Delicate instruments like hydrometers, thermometers, refractometers never hurt to have redundancy either.
Controllers
Nothing is worse that electronics that don't want to work properly. Our MidCo burner for the kettle has a small control board that shorts if a few drops of water fall onto it. The first time was a complete surprise after washing down the kettle, but we ordered two replacements. That saved a batch of beer a few months later after a boil-over (our new gas meter really increased the heat output). No problems since adding a water-proof cover...
I've been meaning to buy a few extra solinoids for the glycol/tanks too as they are notorious for going bad.
Enzymes
When our most recent batch of saison stalled out we were ready for it, we added amyloglucosidase and the gravity dropped quickly to 1.001. There are other enzymes that you might consider as well that help with conversion, run-off, and clarity as well.
Gasses
While we have a bulk CO2 tank, we also have a few smaller tanks. They're necessary to pour at events, but they're also nice to have if the bulk tank runs empty and we need to keep pouring beer! Same story with nitrogen. We have two tanks so we have one in use and one filled (or waiting to be swapped).
Your Suggestions
Rather than waiting for more things to go wrong to learn what else we should have, post a comment and let me know what to buy!
Yeast
If you use liquid cultures, there is always a chance that your starter won't start or your brink will run dry. We always keep a couple bricks of dried yeast on hand. On a commercial scale, SafAle is ridiculously inexpensive ($50-75 for 500 g). We always have a brick of US-05 and S-04 in the cooler. The strains you keep will depend on what strains you use. If nothing else, we'll use them for primary fermentation on sour beers when we don't have enough liquid yeast harvested.
Being friendly with a few other local brewers could be handy as well, but there usually isn't a guarantee they'll have yeast to spare at the last minute.
Fermentables
I find it helpful to have both dextrose and maltodextrin on hand. We had a DIPA dry out a few points too far, easy enough to boil a pot of maltodextrin, keg it and shoot it into the brite tank to add .004/1P. Dextrose is handy if your gravity is lower by a few points, although in most cases we'll just leave the beer alone. Dried pale malt extract is another option, especially if your efficiency is inconsistent (or you often brew really strong beers).
It never hurts to order a few extra bags of a favorite malts either, especially for things like Golden Naked Oats that often seem to be out of stock. Extra base malt is nice too, especially early on when you're ordering ingredients for a few batches and still feeling out system efficiency.
Hops
Buying on the spot market means sometimes you get a bag that isn't all it should be. Better to have a few back-up options to swap in for dry hopping. Mediocre hops are usually fine in the boil, so if we open a bag of Simcoe that is so-so, we'll open another and save the first for a boil/whirlpool addition.
Fittings/Gaskets
We try to have at least one "extra" gasket in each size. This is especially true for things like manways that aren't generic. Unluckily we didn't think of this before the gasket on our 15 bbl DME fermentor stretched out... now they're out of business and we're still working to find a replacement. The one we have still works, but likely won't forever. If we order anything new, we get replacement seals and parts for it at the same time.
Same goes for having extra valves and other fittings that might leak or stop working. Delicate instruments like hydrometers, thermometers, refractometers never hurt to have redundancy either.
Controllers
Nothing is worse that electronics that don't want to work properly. Our MidCo burner for the kettle has a small control board that shorts if a few drops of water fall onto it. The first time was a complete surprise after washing down the kettle, but we ordered two replacements. That saved a batch of beer a few months later after a boil-over (our new gas meter really increased the heat output). No problems since adding a water-proof cover...
I've been meaning to buy a few extra solinoids for the glycol/tanks too as they are notorious for going bad.
Enzymes
When our most recent batch of saison stalled out we were ready for it, we added amyloglucosidase and the gravity dropped quickly to 1.001. There are other enzymes that you might consider as well that help with conversion, run-off, and clarity as well.
Gasses
While we have a bulk CO2 tank, we also have a few smaller tanks. They're necessary to pour at events, but they're also nice to have if the bulk tank runs empty and we need to keep pouring beer! Same story with nitrogen. We have two tanks so we have one in use and one filled (or waiting to be swapped).
Your Suggestions
Rather than waiting for more things to go wrong to learn what else we should have, post a comment and let me know what to buy!
