Here’s a look at how six Northern California breweries are crafting conscious, sustainable beers, and why they do it.
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Over the weekend I completed a long overdue revision of the BeerSmith forum. I moved to a new forum software platform, which adds a ton of new features. I also secured the main BeerSmith web site, blog, forum and recipes site so they all redirect to our secure server now. This resolved a series of […] 
This week I though I would share a case study in beer recipe design to explore how I approach beer recipe design and some of the critical decisions made along the way. I will be designing a robust porter, which is one of my favorite beer styles. Defining the Robust Porter Before I start on […] 
This week I cover some of the changes you need to make to brew a high gravity beer using BeerSmith software. High gravity beers (generally over 1.060 or so) do require some minor changes to your recipe and equipment profile as well as some process changes for brewing. High Gravity Brewing Considerations I’ve written a […] 
This week I take a look at what type of water is best for extract beer brewers. I make the case that distilled or RO water may be the best choice for extract brewing. Water Chemistry for Extract Brewers Advanced all grain brewers go through a lot of effort to get their water profiles right […] 
This week I take a look at the very important topic of blending traditional sour and barrel aged beers. Traditional sour beer brewing, where fermentation is done before the souring, as well as many barrel aged beers can be hard to get right the first time. Both involve very long maturation cycles, relatively high alcohol […] 
This week I take a look at the Dunkles Bock beer style from Northern Germany and examine its history and how to brew one. Dunkles Bock is a dark, strong, malty German lager. Dunkles Bock History Bock beer traces its history to Einbeck, a small German town between Kassel and Hannover. Brewing records mentioning bock […] You know the saying: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Well, beer’s always been there for fish, but only recently have chefs around the country sufficiently established the pairings between seafood and suds to make them part […]
The post Salinity & Suds: Pairing Beer with Seafood appeared first on CraftBeer.com.
This week I take a look at the reason why most beer brewers have moved to a single boil addition instead of having short duration flavor and aroma hop additions in the boil. The History of Short Duration Boil Additions When I started brewing back in 1987 it was very common to use short duration, […] 
This week I take a look at the key components of a brewing yeast data sheet and how to apply them when brewing beer. Yeast Data Sheets With the explosion of information available to home brewers, many yeast labs are now providing detailed data on the performance of their yeast strains. Virtually all yeast labs […] As if the countless American IPA iterations were not enough to satiate a hophead’s palate, a new one—dubbed Cold IPA—lingers bitterly on the horizon.
The post Is Cold IPA Really a New Beer Style (and Does that Even Matter)? appeared first on CraftBeer.com.
This week I’m going to cover the two major methods (in two parts) used to create sour beers at a home brew level. While sour beer brewing is considered a more advanced brewing technique, it is possible for even a beginning homebrewer to create great sour beers using these methods. Sour Beer Basics Sour beers […] 
This week I take a look at some of the factors affecting how bitterness in beer is perceived and how they interact in a finished beer. Bitterness Perception in Beer For many years, I thought that the International Bitterness Units (IBU) level drove the overall bitterness level in a finished beer. As I matured as […] 
I frequently get the question of how to transition BeerSmith data from one computer to another if you have purchased a new computer. This week I’m going to cover how to most easily transfer your local brewing data. It is important to note that BeerSmith desktop stores all of your “My Recipe” data locally on […] BeerSmith Holiday Sale – 20% Off!Get the lowest price we’ve ever offered on a combined BeerSmith desktop and BeerSmith web Gold license starting at $11.95 for your first year! (Sale ends at midnight Eastern US time on Monday 6 December) Imagine Your Best Beer Ever!Take the guesswork out of your brewing. BeerSmith desktop and BeerSmith […] 
Some of the most frequent questions I receive on BeerSmith software are about how to properly set up and dial in your equipment profile. This is an important first step as the equipment you are using drives all of the critical recipe estimates like color, bitterness and original gravity. I’ve composed many articles and videos […] 
This week I present the mash temperature calculations in BeerSmith and how you can adjust your equipment profile and mash profile to hit your mash temperature the first time. Mash Steps and Profiles To understand the mash profile system in BeerSmith, lets start with the mash profiles themselves. You can edit and create mash profiles […] 
From Firestone Walker: “Cinnamon Dolce Stout is a nitro milk stout conditioned on whole Madagascar vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks. The malt profile is designed to provide rich coffee, chocolate, and sweet malty notes to play off the cinnamon and vanilla and provide an overall profile similar to cinnamon dolce coffee, which is typically a […]
The post Reviewed: Firestone Waker Cinnamon Dolce Nitro Stout appeared first on The Full Pint - Craft Beer News.
With the growing popularity of small tabletop all-grain brewing systems I decided to take a look this week at how to set up and use these systems in BeerSmith. Tabletop All-in-one Brewing Systems There has been an explosion in the popularity of small all-in-one all grain electric brewing systems. These include systems like the DigiMash, […] 
This week I highlight some of the great features in BeerSmith Web, which is our online version of BeerSmith you can use from any device. Simply create an account and log in at BeerSmithRecipes.com to give it a try. Also the editor is part of your license if you have a Gold, Platinum or Pro […] This week I look at how to create layers of flavor in your darker beers by mixing grains from different groups and judicious use of harsh zone malts. Depth in Beer Flavor I want to first introduce the concept of depth in beer flavor. Depth refers to a beer that has layers of flavor and […] 
Today I focus on some of the principles of good beer recipe design, and how they can help improve your beer. As many of you know I’ve been doing presentations and classes on the topic of beer recipe design for some time now, and thought it best to summarize some of the key elements below: […] Lick Pier, the world’s tastiest ginger beer, has a new flavour. Lick Pier Tropical Ginger Beer was supposed to be released last summer, but COVID got in the way… Now, the new release finds itself in the midst of our harsh lockdown rules and promises to take your body and mind on that tropical holiday […]
The post GREETINGS FROM LICK PIER…WISH YOU WERE (GINGER) BEER! appeared first on Beer & Brewer.
This week I take a look at one of those little known features in BeerSmith brewing software that can make building recipes just a little easier. This feature is available in the desktop, mobile and web based versions of BeerSmith. What is “Save as Default”? When you build a recipe in BeerSmith from scratch you […] From a stout to a Saison with a twist, these are our top Spring beers.
The post Spring’s 16 outstanding Australian craft beers appeared first on Beer & Brewer.
This week I take a look at how to exchange profiles and ingredients between the desktop version of BeerSmith and the web based version. These features were added as part of the BeerSmith 3.2 release and BeerSmith Web release. These features are also covered in a video tutorial on web based profiles and ingredients here. […] 
This week I take a look at the big six water ions in your water profile that drive the water chemistry of beer brewing. The Big Six Water Ions When we measure our starting brewing water or adjust our water, there are six main ions dissolved in the water that drive the mash pH as […] 
This week I take a look at the various versions and options available for using BeerSmith to develop your beer, mead, wine and cider recipes. This list is current as of mid 2021 following the release of BeerSmith 3.2 desktop and BeerSmith Web. BeerSmith Versions and Platforms BeerSmith Desktop – The BeerSmith desktop program, currently […] 
A short tutorial on the use of the brewday timer for the BeerSmith Web Version. This is also available on the desktop and mobile versions. Related Videos: Design Tab | Yeast Starter Tab | Water Profile Tab | Mash Tab | Session Tab | Recipe Adjustment Tools | Find/Scale Recipes | Pro Recipe Tips | […] 
An overview of the mash tab in the beer recipe builder for BeerSmith Web as well as a short introduction on how to calculate and make mash pH adjustments. Related Videos: Design Tab | Yeast Starter Tab | Water Profile Tab | Timer Tab | Session Tab | Recipe Adjustment Tools | Find/Scale Recipes | […]