9 RECIPES OU CCAN FERMENT |

C S YOU

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O
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O TRIPP
ROAD

QUICK
BECOME A
CERTIFIED CIDER
PROFESSIONAL
HOMEBREW

TIPS
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EASILY OPEN MALT SACKS,
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BOTTLE LABELS (AND MORE)

A G A Z INE OF T
EM HE
TH

VOL 45 • №3
MAY/JUNE 2022 HomebrewersAssociation.org
 ZYMURGY
Staff

Follow the AHA @homebrewassoc

Published by the American Homebrewers Association, a
THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN HOMEBREWERS ASSOCIATION® AMERICAN HOMEBREWERS ASSOCIATION division of the Brewers Association. The purpose of the
Publisher | Brewers AssociationSM Vice President | Ryan Farrell Brewers Association is to promote and protect small and
independent American brewers, their craft beers, and the
Editor-in-Chief | Dave Carpenter Associate Director | Duncan Bryant community of brewing enthusiasts. The Brewers Association
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CONTRIBUTORS

CODY GABBARD lives in Portland, Ore., THOMAS KRAUS-WEYERMANN is president KRISTEN KUCHAR has covered the food
by way of Colorado, D.C., Virginia, and and CEO of Weyermann Malzfabrik in and beverage industries for the past
Kentucky. He is a data analyst by trade and Bamberg, Germany. HORST DORNBUSCH 14 years. She has written for Brew Your
occasionally poses as a freelance writer. He is founder and owner of Cerevisia Own, BeerAdvocate, CraftBeer.com, The
is a proud member of the AHA and the Communications LLC in West Beer Connoisseur, DRAFT, All About Beer,
Portland Brewers Collective. Newbury, Mass. VinePair, and many more.

LEANDRO MEINERS & MATIAS CAVANNA RON MINKOFF has been brewing in the DAVID J. SCHMIDT is an author, homebrewer,
are co-hosts of the Spanish-language comfort of his driveway since 2003. He is and multilingual translator who splits his
Birratecnia podcast. Meiners and Cavanna a past president of the Hogtown Brewers time between Mexico City and San Diego,
have founded and brewed at breweries (2016 Radegast Club of the Year) and a Calif. Schmidt speaks twelve languages.
in Argentina and Uruguay. BJCP certified judge.

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 1

 EDITOR’S
Desk
BY DAVE CARPENTERR

Bring Back
the Cask
I
t’s time to fall in love with cask ale again. Some readers might have enjoyed
Zymurgy’s veteran readers may remember London Pride as their first “real” (i.e.,
a time when American taprooms made a not macro lager) beer. Anyone who has
big deal of British-style real ale. Some of studied for a beer exam has come across
the more devoted outlets installed proper London Pride as one of the classic com-
beer engines with swan-neck faucets and mercial examples the BJCP lists for the Best
welcomed heated debates over the merits Bitter style. Maybe you’ve recently pur-
(or horrors) of the sparkler. Others were chased a bottle for nostalgia’s sake.
content to plunk a cask on the counter for London Pride in a bottle and London
Firkin Friday and gravity dispense. Pride served from a cask are two different
This wasn’t all that long ago. Remember beers, quite literally. The bottled ale is
BridgePort India Pale Ale? I sure do. It brewed to 4.7% ABV, while the cask ver-
combined American and UK hops in a fla- sion is an even more sessionable 4.1% ABV.
vorful beer of only 5.5% ABV. You probably It’s common practice in the UK to have two
couldn’t call it IPA today. One of my fond- versions of the same brand—a low-alcohol
est beer memories involves having enjoyed cask ale to enjoy in the pub and a high-
a couple of pints of BridgePort IPA, served er-strength formula for the bottle.
cask-style, in the now-defunct brewery’s I was delighted to tour Fuller’s historic
taproom in Portland, Ore. The brewery Griffin brewery in Chiswick. Owned by
and its beer may be gone, but that memory Japanese brewing concern Asahi since
remains. And it was less than a decade ago. 2019, the brewery still manages to retain
But where are the casks now? Today’s much Victorian charm, even if the old
U.S. beer consumer is hard-pressed to coppers are long since out of use. Fuller’s
find real-deal cask ale. Sure, a handful of do continue to use a grain mill that most
breweries have built businesses around breweries would have replaced years ago.
cask-conditioned ale, and they are to be It’s still serviced by millwright Ronnie Lee,
applauded and frequented. A few others whose name is well-known in Scotch whis-
augment kegged offerings with the occa- ky circles as the Welshman who maintains
sional real ale. But, on the whole, it appears many antique mills that keep the uisce
to have fallen out of fashion. beatha flowing.
It was thus a welcome diversion to have London Pride is an excellent beer, but
recently enjoyed a long-overdue vacation to like so many beers, it is at its best close
the UK. Between London sightseeing and to its birthplace. Homebrewers know this
walking in the picture-perfect countryside intuitively, which is why I suggest we all
of the Cotswolds, many opportunities for spend some time making our own cask ale.
liquid refreshment presented themselves. I would wager that the proportion of us
Every day included at least one stop at a who enjoy a good cask-conditioned pint is
pub with several handles of real ale. higher than that of the wider population of really need for stylistic fidelity is to nat-
Just a few notable highlights include beer consumers. If you appreciate real ale urally carbonate modestly (1.1 vol or 2.2
Photos courtesy of Dave Carpenter

Proper Job from St Austell Brewery; as much as I do, consider doing it yourself. g/L) and serve at cellar temperature, about
Portobello Brewing Company’s Westway Before I came on as Zymurgy’s editor-in- 50–55°F (10–13°C). Try it this year. Maybe
Pale Ale; Ghost Ship from Adnams chief, I penned an article on DIY cask ale in you’ll be so delighted that you’ll encourage
Southwold; Titanic Brewery’s Plum Porter; this very publication (“(Un)real Ale: Cask your local brewery to bring back the cask.
Oakham Ales Citra; and the much-celebrat- Conditioning at Home,” Jul/Aug 2013).
ed Timothy Taylor’s Landlord. There was You don’t really need a beer engine. You Dave Carpenter is editor-in-chief
also, of course, Fuller’s London Pride. don’t even need an actual cask. All you of Zymurgy.

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 3

 TABLE OF
Contents

a t u r e s
Fe
HOMEBREW QUICK-TIP
CONCENTRATE
From Beano and bottles to
bags and bacon, this rapid-
fire, vetted collection of
homebrew tips and techniques
will have you asking, “Why
didn’t I think of that?”

By Ron Minkoff

34

40
PLANNING A
46
BREWING IN THE
54
SKEPTICAL BREWING, PART 3
62
PREDICTING BEER COLOR
BREWERY ROAD TRIP ALOHA SPIRIT In the third installment in the FROM RECIPES
Without a plan, a brewery road Hawaii’s breweries, meaderies, Skeptical Brewing series, we Several competing equations
trip might feel overwhelming. By and winemakers draw from explore biotransformation, are used to estimate beer color,
following a few basic guidelines, nature’s tropical abundance. isomerization, and first- but each predicts a different
though, you can reduce stress For brewers looking to wort hopping to challenge value. In part two of this three-
and make the most of your next experiment, no place in the some common myths and part series, we examine the
brewery road trip. world matches Hawaii. misconceptions. math behind beer color.

By Cody Gabbard By David Schmidt By Leandro Meiners By Horst Dornbusch and

and Matias Cavanna Thomas Kraus-Weyermann

70
IS CIDER EDUCATION THE KEY TO THE INDUSTRY’S GROWTH?
The American Cider Association’s certification program
offers a powerful path to mastering cider.
By Kristen Kuchar

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 5

 l u m n s
C o
3
EDITOR’S DESK
13
DIRECTOR’S CUT
88
LAST DROP
Bring Back the Cask Immaculate Fermentation Arizona Brewing

By Dave Carpenter By Julia Herz By Norm Ryder

t m e n t s
e p a r
D i p e
e c
R uide
8 NOW ON TAP G
17 DEAR ZYMURGY

23 23 YOU CAN FERMENT THAT!

Dark Inception Imperial Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

29 BEER SCHOOL
Tha CommUNITY Lager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Camembert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

76
Steve’s Sterling Pilsner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
BIG BREW GEAR GUIDE Festivus Festbier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Bag of Grains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

81 FERMENT ON THIS
Three S Amber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

29 81
Ol’ New School IPA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

85 ADVERTISER INDEX
Liliko’i Pale Ale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Cover Photo ON THE WEB

Luke Trautwein Find these homebrewing recipes
and more on our website @
HomebrewersAssociation.org/
Vol 45 • No. 3 (zĪ ’m r jē) n: the art and science
e
homebrew-recipes
May/June 2022 of fermentation, as in brewing.

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 7

New Products
NOW ON
ALCHEMY PEPPERS
HOPP SAUCE
Alchemy Peppers recently announced
Tap
the launch of its new line of hop-in-
fused Hopp Sauces. The three debut hot
sauce varieties include

• Fresno Peppers + Simcoe Hops,

which mixes Fresno and red bell
peppers, strawberry puree, Simcoe
hops, and garlic.
• Jalapeno Peppers + Citra Hops,
which blends jalapeños, Citra hops,
and a dash of lime to create the
brand’s mildest hot sauce. TAPCOOLER NANOCANNER
R
• Scotch Bonnet + Mosaic Hops,
the brand’s hottest variety, which With its innovative Counter Pressu ure Bottle
is made from yellow bell peppers, Filler, Tapcooler brought simple, rel bl
eliable
Scotch Bonnet peppers, Mosaic counter-pressure filling to homebreewers
hops, and pineapple. who bottle from kegs. Now the No g
orwegian
company has done it again for can ns!
Each variety of hot sauce is made Counter-pressure filling is the prreferred
from all-natural fruits and vegetables way to fill cans and bottles with caarbon-
and is infused with hops to deliver one ated beer because it reduces foamingg and
of the first hop-forward hot sauces creat- preserves the intended CO2 level of the
ed for—and by—beer lovers. finished beer. Homebrewers have long l used
Hopp Sauces are made in small counter-pressure fillers to fill bottlees from
f
batches using real hops. The hot kegs, but Tapcooler’s Counter Pressure
sauces are not built on a vinegar Bottle Filler changed the game by attachingg
base, which allows the fresh chile fla- directly to a draught faucet.
vor to take center stage. The new Tapcooler Nanocanneer
Alchemy Peppers Hopp Sauces range Counter Pressure Can Filler includ udes
from 3,000 to 45,000 Scoville heat everything you need to fill cans of home--
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or puchase a three-pack sampler for The Tapcooler Nanocanner work ks with h
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To learn more, visit included beer valve connects to yo k s
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s
nut, and the gas adapter accepts ball-lock
gas disconnects. A telescoping tube per- the drain barb and ball-lock CO2 adapters
mits filling different-sized cans, as long are made from aluminum. Add one of two
as they use standard 202 ends. Use the optional mounting brackets to secure your
push-button CO2 purge valve to purge cans Nannocanner, or use the included screws
of oxygen before and after you fill them, to mount it wherever you like. The kit
and adjust the pressure relief valve (PRV) includes the Tapcooler counter-pressure
to regulate fill speed. The PRV also doubles filler, Nanocanner can attachment, and all
as an overflow drain for beer and foam to necessary connectors and adapters, but it
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Everything that touches your beer is Available from Great Fermentations, the
fabricated from 304 stainless steel, while Tapcooler Nanocanner starts at $227.99.

For more information, visit

GreatFermentations.com.

8 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 AHA Governing Committee Election
Congratulations to Matt Bolling of time each year to serve the community
Fredericksburg, Va.; Melissa McCann of of homebrewers through the Governing
Orangevale, Calif.; and Doug Piper of Committee and its many subcommittees.
Greenville, S.C., your newly elected AHA Pictures and contact info for all Governing
Governing Committee members. These Committee members can be found at
new members officially join the Governing HomebrewersAssociation.org/ahagc.
Committee on June 1 and will participate in Many thanks to outgoing Governing
the annual in-person meeting at Homebrew Committee members Denny Conn, Donna
Con in Pittsburgh. Reuter, and Carvin Wilson for their years of
The Governing Committee advises AHA service on behalf of the AHA membership.
staff and provides input on the future of the Thank you to the 12 candidates who ran
organization. The members of the Governing in this year’s election, and thanks to all AHA
Committee volunteer many hours of their members who voted!

Big Brew
May 7 is National Homebrew Day, and the AHA’s annual Big Brew
is always celebrated on the first Saturday in May. In 2022, those
two happen to be one and the same! At this year’s Big Brew, which
is now in its 25th year, we’re asking homebrewers worldwide to
participate by firing up their kettles and raising a glass to the great-
est hobby there is—homebrewing!
This year’s two official Big Brew recipes are Dark Inception
Imperial Porter and Tha CommUNITY Lager. You’ll find reci-
pes for both right here. For more information on Big Brew, visit
HomebrewersAssociation.org.
Photos © courtesy of

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 9

Dark Inception Imperial Porter
This imperial porter recipe was contributed by Marcus Baskerville of brewing big, dark beers. This thick-bodied, luscious, flavor-
of San Antonio’s Weathered Souls Brewing Co. He’s also the ful beer features additions of raspberry, cacao, and vanilla, and
leading force behind the Black Is Beautiful collaborative brew- is bursting with notes of toffee, caramel, coffee, chocolate, malt,
ing project. This recipe was initially created after hearing 2013 liqueur, and fruit. It’s a perfect pairing with rich desserts, or as a
Homebrewer of the Year Annie Johnson featured on the Brewing standalone finale for your evening.
Network. Seeing an African-American woman win Homebrewer
of the Year provided Marcus with bright hope for his future in Note: Original gravity is measured before the addition of fruit puree.
homebrewing, and this first foray as a homebrewer led to his love Calculated ABV% includes contribution from fruit puree addition.

Brehwis! Dark Inception

T 4. Total boil time will be 60–90 minutes (depending on desired level of

Imperial Porter caramelization and desired original gravity). 30 minutes after reaching boil,
add the 60-minute hop addition.

Batch volume: 5 US gal. (19 L) 5. With 15 minutes of the boil remaining, turn off burner. Stir in the 6.6 lb. (3
Original gravity: 1.085 (20.5°P) kg) of LME, maltodextrin, and 1½ tsp. yeast nutrient, ensuring that they are
Final gravity: 1.023 (5.8°P) completely dissolved before turning burner back on. Once having reached boil
Color: 40 SRM again, add second hop addition and complete the final 15 minutes of boil.
Bitterness: 20 IBU
Alcohol: 8.4% by volume 6. Chill to 70°F (21°C). Transfer to fermenter, top off volume with water if
necessary, and sprinkle yeast directly into wort.
MALT EXTRACT
6.6 lb. (3.0 kg) Briess CBW Pale Ale LME Once you’ve pitched the yeast, you can create the vanilla bean tincture. Slice
4.0 lb. (1.8 kg) Briess CBW Traditional Dark DME the two vanilla beans lengthwise, and place in a pint-sized canning jar. Add
1 cup (235 mL) of your preferred bourbon. Seal jar, set aside, and allow the
SPECIALTY GRAINS beans to macerate (soak) for at least a week, shaking jar occasionally. The
0.5 lb. (230 g) 120°L crystal malt vanilla beans will be added to the fermenter 1 week before packaging (2 Tbsp.
0.5 lb. (230 g) 10°L Munich malt pure vanilla extract can be substituted in place of the vanilla beans just before
0.5 lb. (230 g) chocolate malt bottling or kegging).
0.13 lb. (60 g) black malt
0.13 lb. (60 g) chocolate wheat malt Ferment at 64–72°F (18–22°C) for 14–21 days.

HOPS On 6th day of fermentation: Add 1½ tsp. yeast nutrient, and 2 liters of fruit
1 oz. (28 g) Cascade, 6.0% a.a. @ 60 min puree to your fermenter. Gently swirl fermenter, if possible, to rouse yeast.
0.5 oz. (14 g) Cascade, 6.0% a.a. @ 15 min
1 week before kegging or bottling: Pre-heat your oven to 300°F (150°C).
ADDITIONAL ITEMS Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper and spread the cacao nibs
1 lb. (450 g) maltodextrin out evenly in a single layer. Place sheet on middle rack and bake for 10–12
2L Boiron Raspberry Puree minutes until aroma is released from cacao. Remove and allow to cool for a few
7.8 oz. (221 g) cacao nibs minutes. Place vanilla beans and cacao nibs in muslin bag, add to fermenter,
2 Madagascar vanilla beans, soaked in bourbon for 1 week (or substitute and infuse for 7 days before packaging (if using vanilla extract add it just before
2 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract) packaging).
3 tsp. Fermax Yeast Nutrient, divided (optional if your yeast is fresh)
ALL-GRAIN OPTION
YEAST Replace malt extract and specialty grains with:
2 sachets (22 g) Lallemand LalBrew BRY-97 West Coast Ale Yeast or any other
brand of “Chico” yeast 11.5 lb. (5.2 kg) Crisp Finest Maris Otter
2.25 lb. (1.0 kg) Weyermann Munich Type 2, 10°L
BREWING NOTES 1.5 lb. (680 g) Simpsons DRC Double Roasted Crystal, 105–120°L
1. Bring 1 gallon (3.8L) of water to 175°F (80°C). Place grains in a strainer bag, 0.75 lb. (340 g) Simpsons Chocolate Malt, 400–500°L
and add to water, making sure that they are completely saturated. 0.25 lb. (115 g) Simpsons Black Malt, 550–700°L
0.13 lb. (60 g) Weyermann Chocolate Wheat Malt, 375–450°L
2. Steep grain for 30 minutes at approximately 165°F (74°C), stirring
occasionally. Remove, rinse, and top off kettle to your normal boil volume. Please note that grain bill is calculated for a brewhouse efficiency of 65%;
adjust as needed. Mash at 151°F (66°C) for 75 minutes. Marcus recommends
3. Stir in the 4 lb. (1.8 kg) of DME, making sure that it is completely dissolved, a 180-minute boil for the all-grain version of this recipe, but a 90-minute boil
then bring to a boil. may be sufficient.
 AMERICAN HOMEBREWERS ASSOCIATION ®
PRESENTS

THE WORLD’S LARGEST

MAY 7, 2022
TAKE THE BIG BREW PLEDGE
to be counted in this year's event

Download the official recipes: Tha CommUNITY

American Lager and Dark Inception Imperial Porter

Order ingredients from your favorite

homebrew shop

Get advice from fellow homebrewers

in the AHA Forum

Join the conversation with #BigBrew

and tag @HomebrewAssoc

TAKE THE PLEDGE, JOIN THE AHA & GET TIPS:

HomebrewersAssociation.org/BigBrew

BROUGHT TO
YOU BY:
Brehwis!
T Tha CommUNITY Lager
Tha CommUNITY American Lager was contributed by April Dove, a homebrewer in South Carolina who is using her brewing education to make a difference in
the brewing community. In 2021, Dove (also known as the Traveling Hoptista) started a multi-brew initiative to offer a more diverse and inclusive taproom
experience throughout the tri-county Charleston region. These efforts led her to release an American lager (Tha CommUNITY) in partnership with Holy City
Brewing, becoming the first Black woman to do so. Her career highlights not only include brewing a flavorful and inclusive beer, but also encouraging the City
of North Charleston to recognize October 1 annually as Tha CommUNITY Day. April loves what she does and hopes to diversify the palate of her community
“one beer at a time.” Follow her at @thacommunity.brew.

This simple and delicious American lager is an approachable first step into lagering since the temperature can easily be achieved with something like a cold-
water bath, towel, and fan. If the specific malts, hop, and yeasts indicated here aren’t available, substitutes are readily available. Your local homebrew shop
can point you in the right direction!

Batch volume: 5 US gal. (19 L)

Original gravity: 1.057 (14°P)
Final gravity: 1.015 (3.8°P)
Color: 5 SRM
Bitterness: 30 IBU
Alcohol: 5.6% by volume

MALTS
9.22 lb. (4.2 kg) American Pilsner malt
0.5 lb. (230 g) honey malt
0.5 lb. (230 g) flaked maize
0.1 lb. (45 g) Briess Carapils

HOPS
1.25 oz. (35 g) Tettnanger @ 60 min
0.5 oz. (14 g) Saaz @ 30 min
0.25 oz. (7 g) Hallertauer Mittelfrüh @ 15 min

YEAST
Lallemand LalBrew Diamond Lager yeast or White
Labs WLP800 Pilsner Lager Yeast

BREWING NOTES
Mash at 150° F (66° C) for 60 minutes. Boil 90
minutes, adding hops as directed. Ferment at 59°F
(15°C) for 25 days.

PARTIAL-MASH OPTION
Replace malts with:

1 lb. (454 g) American Pilsner malt

0.5 lb. (230 g) honey malt
0.5 lb. (230 g) flaked maize
0.1 lb. (45 g) Briess Carapils

and

6.6 lb. (3 kg) Pilsner liquid malt extract

Mash the grains at 150° F (70.5° C) for 60 minutes

and dissolve malt extract in the resulting wort. Top
up with water to desired boil volume and proceed
with the boil.

12 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 DIRECTOR’S
Cut
BY JULIA HERZ

Immaculate
Fermentation
A
hhhhh, my first column. What to
say, what to call it, how to make
you each proud? No pressure,
considering I’ve been religiously
reading Zymurgy since the 1990s when
the stars aligned, the universe spoke,
and the one and only Charlie Papazian,
founder of the American Homebrewers
Association, drew my name from a top
hat to win a membership.

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 13

 Right before that immaculate moment, A lot has happened since then. So many tap into the community and support that
I had been struggling to sneak peeks of homebrews, brewery tours, beer festivals, comes along with it.
judges and stewards in action as I floated BJCP and Cicerone study sessions (and test- Speaking of community, it is not lost
through the hallway that housed both ing), plus competition judging. I am a kid in on me that those who read this incredible
the hidden goings-on of serious beer a candy store. You know how beer teaches publication include a wide array of innova-
entry sorting and judging, as well as the us science, art, culinary exploration, innova- tors, leaders, and like-minded folks, includ-
restrooms, at a Beaver Creek, Colo., beer tion, geography, agriculture, history/herstory, ing homebrew clubs, retailers, suppliers,
festival. While stewards properly poured about ourselves and each other? Well, no allied trade members, distributors, and
and judges sniffed and slurped, I was des- wonder we homebrew, right? And always media. So, since I have your attention as a
perate for a glimpse of anything or anyone along the way of my homebrewing journey, member of this prestigious group, it’s good
who could help me, one day, become a the American Homebrewers Association has to align us on the incredible and immacu-
beer judge. Needless to say, that day put been there. Collectively, since 1978, Zymurgy late contributions of the AHA and how the
me on a trajectory that has manifested has been giving the world reasons to brew, association has fueled and forwarded the
itself in epic proportions. ways to brew better, and a direct avenue to entire beverage of beer as we know it.

Helped establish the rewing

tion
Founded the Helped ensure homeb
Beer Judge Certifica Great American was legalized in all 5
0 states
Program (BJCP)? ip pi an d Al ab am a came on board
Beer Festival ? ®
(Mississ
13 as th e tw o la st to legalize)
in 20
st il l pr otec ts ho m eb rewers’ legal
Offers 1,300 and
medal-winning recipe Today supports ts to br ew , sa m pl e, and share
s for beer, s, righ
mead, and cider, in ad 2,200 homebrew club their creations?
dition to recipes
for craft beer clones 377 of which take
, fermented foods, club Keeps track of
and other fermented advantage of the AHA more than 630 retail
beverages via
HomebrewersAssocia insurance program? hundreds of BJCP an
ers,
tion.org? nual
competitions, and 2,
200
Is showcased in the orld’s member deals?
Created and celebrat l Museum Annually hosts the w
es Smithsonian Nationa mpetition, the
annual homebrewing thanks largest homebrew co
holidays, including B of American History, rew Co m pe ti ti on (NHC), which in
of the National Hom eb
Brew, Learn to Homeb
ig to the work and effort ar s st ro ng ? Si nc e 1979, NHC judges
rew parent 2022 will be 44 ye
Day, and Mead Day? Brewers Association, 0 br ew s, w it h the 2021 competition
A? have evaluated 15 6, 83
Photos © Getty/LightFieldStudios

organization of the AH 5 en tr ie s fr om 2,037 homebrewers

having judged 5, 04
Washington, D.C.,
Most importantly, located in 50 states,
untries.
has 37,000 members Puerto Rico, and 13 co
, Wow.
14 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy
including you? HomebrewersAssociation.org
 Simply put, the AHA is the most trusted and estab-
lished resource advocating for homebrewers today. What
I share is nothing short of immaculate, just like the glo-
ries of fermentation and our collective hobby of brew-
ing. Thus, that is the title of this first installment of my
column in this incredible magazine.
On that, and I’m sure you each can relate, offering
somebody one of my homebrews, every time, feels noth-
ing less than immaculate. Immaculate fermentations gets
close to capturing the marvel and wonder of brewing
and fermentation and the wonders of the incredible
institution we each contribute to as members. Please
consider following my new @immaculatefermentation
Instagram channel, where I’m sharing all things home-
brewing through my lens to the world.
Here’s to 2022 and beyond. Hold onto your mash
paddles because you ain’t seen nothing yet. We are just
getting started and I cannot wait to connect with each of
you on how we can continue to help homebrewers reach
our goals. The future looks bright, and I am honored to
have the chance to lead the AHA.

Cheers,
Julia

Julia Herz is executive director of the American

Homebrewers Association.

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 15

 DEAR
Zymurgy

Of Crocks and Pi
Dear Zymurgy,
I enjoyed the article “My Grandfather’s
Crock” (Mar/Apr 2022) about old-school
homebrew and have some comments
based on Bill Paciesas’s and my home-
brewing adventures in San Diego in the
early 1970s. Our hand-me-down from the
Prohibition era was my grandfather’s cast-
iron bottle capper. He had been a grocer,
and he used excess produce from the store
to make fruit wines.
We had some experience using Blue
Ribbon extract. My recollection is that even
one 3-pound tin of the light malt extract in
a 5-gallon batch would produce an amber
beer. Any modern light malt extract would
be too pale. We found that two tins of dark
Blue Ribbon for 5 gallons made a decent
(and cheap!) beer. I think it might have
been reminiscent of Pabst Bock of the era.
We used untreated San Diego city water,
compressed whole hops that were never
fresh, and packets of dry beer yeast. We
fermented at ambient San Diego tempera-
tures. I think some of our homebrew could
have been very similar to the results men-
tioned in the article. Most of our batches
used 5 to 6 pounds of extract with sugar
for bottling.
The article brought back good memories,
even about the times when the beer didn’t
quite measure up. I haven’t brewed beer
for over 30 years, but I did recently open
Photos © Getty/ksena32

a nearly 40-year-old extract homebrew. It

tasted fine!

Arnie Moodenbaugh
Westhampton, N.Y.

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 17

Dear Zymurgy, Today, I’ve gone to a one-keggle brew- Desk piece. I consider fully automated
Any Editor’s Desk note that begins with in-a-bag system. I still use my RIMS brewing machines similar to one of those
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy auto- Rocket, but Big Brutus is in mothballs. It’s devices that attaches to the neck of a gui-
matically catches my eye. As I read about a sign of the times that I can’t find anyone tar to hold down four popular chords by
Dave Carpenter’s homebrewing odyssey, to take my old three-keggle system. But using only one finger for each chord. I
I thought about mine. Maybe because I I’m not through—I have plans to further realize that different people learn in differ-
started brewing about a decade earlier than modify my system. After Zooming into ent ways, and some may need the physical
Dave, I’m both a “one piece at a time” and the 2021 Homebrew Con’s session on help. But if you have both the physical
DIY homebrewer. automating homebreweries, I bought a and mental means to learn, I believe it
I built my first all-grain system using Raspberry Pi, learned a little Python pro- pays to take the time and go through the
Charlie Papazian’s Joy of Homebrewing as gramming, and downloaded CraftBeerPi 4. entire process.
my bible. Following Charlie’s instructions, Over Christmas, I built a control box, In cooking, you slice, dice, measure, and
I fashioned a mash-tun out of two 5-gallon complete with solid-state relay (SSR) con- stir. When playing guitar, you work through
plastic buckets. I brewed for three years trollers and have successfully navigated the pain, build the calluses, and develop
using that mash tun, an 8-gallon enamel controlling my RIMS Rocket and pump speed and dexterity. And unless you’re a
canning pot as a boiler, and a garden hose with CraftBeerPi 4. Next, I plan to add a prodigy, it’s going to take some time.
counter-flow chiller. 240-volt heating element to an old boil In homebrewing, many of the same
As I developed my skills, I started covet- keggle and buy some electrically con- things apply. And don’t be afraid to make
ing a three-tier system. Using the materials trolled two- and three-way valves. a mess or make mistakes. And pick up a
that were handy, I built a wooden, three-ti- I will keep adding “one piece at a time” book or two to help you learn and under-
er, gravity-fed keggle system, which I until I have a system that is automated. stand the concepts involved in the craft.
dubbed the “half-a-buck-a-pound” brewery. Just load the recipe, mill the grain, add Yes, there are shortcuts. But I believe taking
In 2004, I wrote a tongue-in-cheek article some water, push the button and in a one’s time to learn the process and every-
that appeared in Zymurgy, which compared few hours, voilà—wort! But my system thing involved can only make you better.
my brewery to Randy Mosher’s “buck-a- won’t be a Nutri-Matic Drinks Synthesizer And that feeling of accomplishment, when
pound” brewery (“The Half-a-Buckapound because I don’t want to brew something things really start to click is priceless!
Brewery,” Nov/Dec 2004). that is “almost, but not quite, entirely
I brewed silver- and bronze-medal beers unlike” beer. Cheers!
on that system. I should have kept it, but Mike Laemmrich
my son took a welding class in high school. Joe Aistrup Waunakee, Wis.
He needed a project and I wanted “Big Auburn Brew Club
Brutus.” I moved my three keggles over to Auburn, Ala. Zymurgy editor-in-chief Dave Carpenter
Brutus, added a March pump, and brewed responds: Mike, I’m comfortable slicing and
on Brutus for a decade. Dear Zymurgy, dicing, but I’m pretty sure I’d need one of
Even 15 years ago, there were relatively The March/April 2022 issue arrived, and those chord thingummies were I ever to take
few off-the-shelf homebrewing systems that I enjoyed your “Share and Enjoy” Editor’s up guitar!
didn’t cost beaucoup pesos (pardon my
French and Spanish). But as prices for brew-
ing equipment became more reasonable, I
Illustration © Getty/stevenfoley

finally caved—not in a big way, but I caved.

That damned Blichmann RIMS Rocket is
one great piece of engineering that my DIY DEAR ZYMURGY
Send your Dear Zymurgy letters to [email protected].
abilities just can’t replicate. I did build my
Letters may be edited for length and/or clarity.
own PID controller, but my brewery is no
longer a DIY haven. I don’t mind.

18 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 YOUR HOMEBREW LABELS
In 2016, Jorge Montero and I started this
journey. We initially used a 20-liter rig and
then evolved to 40, 60, and now 80 liters
per batch. We lost count, but for sure we
have already brewed more than 2,000 liters
and enjoyed them with friends and family.

Pablo Cardenas
Homebrewer 15 years,
AHA member 1 year
YESCA BREW CO
Providencia, Chile

This label is for my husband’s Czech dark

lager. It is a particularly yummy beer and
quite popular with our friends. We were in
the Czech Republic on vacation in the fall
of 2019, so I wanted to name it something
that reminded us of our trip. We stayed
one block off of Andel square in Prague.
Andel is Czech for “angel,” so I decided I’d
call it Dark Angel, Tmave Andel in Czech! I
made the label using Grog Tag which I like
because we can reuse it.

Kathleen Horzempa
(Jack Horzempa, brewer)
Homebrewer 27 years, AHA member 5 years
King of Prussia, Pa.

My brew partner Ron Mitchell and I do all our beers as a team. Several years ago, we
brewed our first stout, a dry Irish stout. The beer’s name had the word Buzzin’ in it. Since
then, the names of all our stouts have included that word. We had been aging an impe-
rial stout in a bourbon barrel and decided to blend it with an American stout we had
fermented on mahleb and cacao nibs. Since this was our most complex stout to date, we
gave it a fitting name—Everyone’s Buzzin’—and look forward to sharing it.

Michael Syrop and Ron Mitchell

Homebrewer 7 years, AHA member 6 years
Covert Hops Society Michael and Ron serving an earlier
Marietta, Ga. imperial stout at a cask ale festival.

SUBMIT YOUR LABEL

Do you make custom labels for your homebrew? Want it featured here in the pages of Zymurgy for all to see your work?
Send them to us at HomebrewersAssociation.org/magazines/submit-bottle-label and we will take it into consideration!

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 19

 YOUR HOMEBREW EXPERIENCE
Homebrewing is all about sharing, and we get hoppy when Zymurgy readers share their homebrewing and fermentation
experiences with us. We’d love to show the AHA community what your experience looks like. From 1-gallon batches on
the stovetop to 20-gallon brew days on your custom sculpture, we all have fun with family, friends and pets while we
make and enjoy our favorite beverage. Show us your brewing/fermentation day, who you brew with, the ingredients you
include, what special processes you use, and how you enjoy the final product of beer and beyond.

Upload photos of your homebrew-related fun at

HomebrewersAssociation.org/your-homebrew-experience

This is Locust Hill Brewing Company’s assistant brewer Stout, From bine to brew kettle. My own hops planted along the back fence and then put to good use in a batch of Kölsch.
with a peanut butter chocolate stout just brewed on this half-
barrel system. Cheers! Mike Ultee
Homebrewer 35 years, AHA member 30 years
Kevin Cassidy Princeton Ale and Lager Enthusiast Society (PALE ALES)
Homebrewer 8 years, AHA member 1 year Hillsborough, N.J.
Rochester, Mass.

My dogs Woody and Jessie waiting for me to turn my back so I always wanted a personalized license plate for my car and, honestly, what a better way to honor and celebrate my favorite hobby!
they can sneak a taste of the wort. Who would have thought a Mr. Beer kit for Christmas back in ’08 would start such a journey? I did one batch and that was it—I was
hooked. The rest, as they say, is history.
Brian Wescott
Homebrewer 6 years, AHA member 5 years Blake Morillas | Homebrewer 14 years, AHA member 9 years
Poquoson, Va. That Dam Brew Club; Brewers of Paradise | Loomis, Calif.

20 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 YOUR HOMEBREW EXPERIENCE

Mr. Hank the grain inspector. Every brew day he has to “help.” Here’s my brew buddy, Dusty! He helps by looking cute while I June-bug, the Spinone Italiano, enjoying the lovely Bozeman,
When he’s not inspecting the grain, he likes to assist by do all the lifting and stirring. Today we made an oatmeal stout Mt., brew day.
clearing the brew bench of small objects such as pens, brew with cocoa.
notes, etc. Wyatt Cross
Ben Centra Homebrewer 10 years, AHA member 3 years
Ron Mellum Homebrewer 6 years, AHA member 3 years Bozeman, Mt.
Homebrewer 23 years, AHA member 20 years Post Modern Brewers
Rogers, Minn. Medford, Mass.

Brew dog Wes, our Chocolate Lab, waiting for his sweet wort My trusty duo Maeby (white cattle dog mix) and Sir Robert Lenny making sure we’re maintaining the right temperature.
cleanup duty. Burns (Rottweiler mix) overseeing the hot break with me.
Ben Hock
Mike Bernard Stephen Hopkins Homebrewer 8 years, AHA member 8 years
Homebrewer 9 years, AHA member 4 years Homebrewer 5 years, AHA member 2 years Denver, Colo.
New Holland, Pa. Spokane, Wash.

SHARE YOUR BEST HOMEBREWING SHOTS! E

Homebrewing is all about fun and sharing. We would love to show others in the community what
SCAN M
your homebrewing/fermentation experiences looks like. Upload photos of your homebrew related fun at
HomebrewersAssociation.org/your-homebrew-experience and you may see it in the pages of Zymurgy!

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 21

 You Can
FERMENT THAT!

CAMEMBERT By Gabe Toth

C
amembert is a surface-ripened cheese
from the Normandy region in north-
west France. It is similar to brie in
flavor and texture, though smaller
and faster-ripening. Often described as
earthy, mushroomy, nutty, and fruity,
the character of a ripe camembert is
largely the result of enzymes produced
by Penicillium camemberti, a white mold
that grows on the rind of the cheese and
gradually transforms the cheese from the
outside in.
Photos © Shutterstock/Sloniki (cheese); Gety/Be-Art (background)
While the MA11 lactic acid bacteria used Finally, it is important to mix the cul-
here will acidify the milk, the Penicillium tures and the rennet into the milk using an
will gradually transform the cheese into an up-and-down motion. If these are simply
oozy, funky paste. Much of this character added to the milk and stirred in a circular
is created by enzymes from the Penicillium, motion, the cheesemaker runs the risk of
which belongs to a genus well known having pockets of milk or stratified layers
for its robust production of a variety of of milk where the culture or rennet isn’t
enzymes for different uses, also including equally dispersed.
blue cheese (Penicillium roqueforti) and the
group of antibiotics known as penicillins. HOW TO MAKE CAMEMBERT
In the case of P. camemberti, proteolytic and You’ll need some equipment, much of
lipolytic enzymes gradually break down which you probably already have.
the proteins and lipids (fats) in the cheese, P Measuring spoons/cups
creating robustly flavorful compounds in P Nonreactive pot (stainless steel or could scorch the milk. Add calcium chlo-
the process. enamel Dutch oven) with lid ride while heating and whisk in. Once the
Camembert is traditionally made from P Thermometer milk is up to temperature, add the hydrated
unpasteurized milk. The version made P Long, thin metal spatula (such as cheese cultures, whisking them into the
in France and protected under the name an icing spatula) or similar tool for milk using an up-and-down motion to fully
Camembert de Normandie cannot legally cutting curds (those who want the incorporate. Let the milk rest 90 minutes.
use pasteurized milk. For the purposes precise tool for every job might seek At around minute 75, low heat may be
of general availability, this recipe assumes out a curd knife, widely available for needed to return the milk to 90°F (32°C)
pasteurized, homogenized milk, but if the purchase online) before proceeding to the next step.
cheesemaker has access to high-quality raw P Slotted spoon After a 90-minute rest, add 1/2. tsp
milk, it can be substituted and the calcium P 4- to 4.5-inch round cheese molds rennet diluted in 1/4 cup of unchlorinated
chloride omitted. For readers interested in P Drying mat water. Mix rennet in using an up-and-down
learning more about raw versus pasteurized P Ripening box with lid and draining tray motion to fully incorporate into the milk.
milk, I discuss the issues involved in The P Curing chamber, temperature-controlled Let rest another 90 minutes.
Fermentation Kitchen on pages 85–86. fridge, or other space that maintains After the second 90-minute rest, once
I like to use a Dutch oven for chee- about 50°F (10°C) the curds have coagulated and are cleanly
semaking. The heavy-duty construction Many homebrew shops stock the neces- separated from the whey (testable by per-
offers good heat retention and good heat sary cheesemaking ingredients. They’re also forming an initial cut into the curds to see
dispersion—it won’t give you as many readily available online. if they have knit together), use the spatula,
hot spots, which can scorch the milk, as P 1 gal. (3.8 L) cow’s milk (whole, curd knife, or another long, thin tool to
you might get from a thin-bottomed pot. pasteurized, and homogenized) cut vertically through the curd in 1/2-inch
Nonetheless, even with a Dutch oven, my P 1/4 tsp. calcium chloride (CaCl2) increments. Turn the pot 90 degrees and
milk cools by about 5°F (2.8°C) over a P 1/4 tsp. MA11 cheese culture repeat the cuts, giving you 1/2-inch by
90-minute rest, so I’ll bring the milk back P 1/16 tsp. (a pinch) Penicillium 1/2-inch square curds. Turn the pot again
up to 90°F (32°C) prior to adding the ren- camemberti and, rather than cutting vertically, angle
net. I use a small refrigerator plugged into P 1/2 tsp. liquid rennet your cutting tool 45 degrees and cut again
a temperature controller to age my cheeses P 15 g salt (about 1.5 Tbsp.) at 1/2-inch increments. Turn the pot once
and charcuterie, and a humidistat to keep Add 1/4 cup of unchlorinated, more and cut again at diagonal 1/2-inch
an eye on the ambient moisture. A curing room-temperature water to the cheese increments. Gently stir the curds, which
box with a fitted lid will retain enough bacteria and molds (MA11 and Penicillium will be very delicate still, to check for large
moisture to keep the humidity up and camemberti) to hydrate. masses of curd that didn’t get cut.
can be cracked or left partially ajar if the Gently bring milk to 90°F (32°C), being Let the curds sit for ten minutes, gently
humidity gets too high. careful not to heat it too quickly, which stirring every couple of minutes to prevent

Cheese cultures ready for inoculation. Rest the inoculated milk for 90 minutes. Rennet promotes coagulation of the milk. Photos courtesy of Gabe Toth

24 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 the growth of the surface mold, though it
won’t be visible yet. BREWERS PUBLICATIONS®
When the room-temperature rest is Read about more fermentation
magic by Gabe Toth in his book
complete, put the lid on the ripening box The Fermentation Kitchen at
and move to a space that is about 50°F BrewersPublications.com
(10°C) and 80 to 90 percent humidity. If
the aging box begins to collect moisture,
the humidity is too high, and if the cheese
rind begins to dry out, the humidity is too
low. Too moist an environment will allow MUSHROOM CAMEMBERT
the surface mold to form, but the layer just This one is a real mouthful. Mushrooms
inside the cheese rind will age too quickly, do a great job playing off of and ampli-
resulting in a gap between the rind and fying the fermentation character of the
them from matting and to encourage them the interior of the cheese and a rind that cheese, and the intensely flavored porcini
to release additional whey. can slip right off of the cheese. Insufficient mushroom, also known as the king bolete
Place two round cheese molds about humidity will interfere with the growth of and revered in Italian cooking, is a great
four to four-and-a-half inches in diameter the P. camemberti. place to start. If porcinis seem too strong,
onto a draining mat on a draining tray in a Condition for five to seven days in the a milder mushroom or blend of dried
ripening box or other space that will allow aging space, after which a layer of white mushrooms can be used, including oyster
whey to drain off the rounds. Using a slot- fuzz should be developing on some of the mushrooms, morels, chanterelles, shiita-
ted spoon, gently ladle off the curds into cheese surface. This is the Penicillium gain- kes, or a blend of wild mushrooms.
the cheese molds and let drain for at least ing a foothold and starting its work. Flip It is important to use dried mushrooms
two hours, until the curds have firmed up the cheeses and let age for another three rather than fresh mushrooms since the
enough to flip the molds. After the initial to five days as necessary, until white mold moisture in fresh mushrooms will leach out
hours of sitting, flip the molds and let sit covers most of the cheese (it doesn’t have to into the cheese over time. For this recipe,
for an hour. Continue flipping once an be completely covered). When the cheeses they’re added in two stages: half are used
hour for five hours. The easiest way to flip are mostly covered with white mold, they to infuse mushroom flavor into the milk,
the cheeses is to have an extra mat and tray can be wrapped in cheese paper or wax while the other half are broken down and
to put on top of the molds, which allows paper and put into the regular refrigerator added the cheese, giving it an extra bump
the cheesemaker to put one hand under the for another month. in flavor and some visual texture.
bottom tray and one hand over the top tray, The cheese is ready when the center To make mushroom Camembert, start
pick everything up at once, and turn it over feels soft or when it’s at the preferred with 0.5 oz. (14 g) of dried mushrooms.
in one swift motion. ripeness. Camembert will continue to Bring a half gallon (1.9 L) of milk up to
After five hours of flipping every hour, ripen as it sits in the fridge, moving 100°F (38°C) and add 0.25 oz. (7 g) of
remove the plastic molds. The curds gradually from firmer and more delicate- mushrooms to infuse for an hour. While
should be consolidated and the cheeses ly flavored to very soft and pungent. As the first half of the mushrooms is steep-
firm enough to stand on their own. Pat with many fermented foods, “ready” is a ing, buzz the second quarter ounce in a
them dry and evenly salt all surfaces of the very subjective point on a spectrum of spice grinder or food processor to break
cheeses. Handle gently—they will still be ripeness, and it may take eating some down into small pieces (less than a quar-
fairly soft. Place both rounds on a drying too-fresh and some too-ripe Camemberts ter inch, or 6 millimeters, in size). After
mat, on a draining tray, inside of a plastic to determine the Goldilocks moment an hour, strain the mushrooms out of
ripening box. Leave the ripening box open when it’s just right. Because cutting into the milk and add the second half gallon
at room temperature overnight or for up to the cheese will interrupt further ripening, (1.9 L) of milk. Bring the milk back up
a day, wiping out any residual moisture that it helps to make a few cheeses at once, to 90°F (32°C), whisking in the calcium
accumulates in the tray. This stage will help especially when still learning to gauge the chloride in the process, and add the sec-
excess moisture to evaporate and encourage desired level of ripeness. ond half of the mushrooms.

Mushrooms steeping in the milk. Cut curds with perpendicular cuts. Curds pressed into molds.

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 25

 Cheese ready to mature (left) and ready to enjoy (below).

Once the milk is up to temperature, add and ACSA. He now oversees operations
hydrated cheese cultures and continue with at The Family Jones production distillery.
regular Camembert recipe above. Toth is author of The Fermentation
Kitchen and is a current contributor to
Gabe Toth is a brewer, distiller, and Artisan Spirit, Distiller, and The New from the Institute of Brewing and
journalist in northern Colorado who has Brewer magazines. He holds degrees Distilling (IBD). He has been applying
earned awards from the Great American in communications and sociology and his fermentation knowledge to home-
Beer Festival®, World Beer Cup®, ADI, brewing and distilling certifications fermented food and drink since 2005.

26 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 27
Hi,
I’m E
m!

Em Sauter’s wit,
humor, and whimsical
illustrations take
readers on an
entertaining and
informative journey
through the history
and world of craft beer.

Order Now:
BrewersPublications.com
 BEER
School

Brewing on a Budget

By Steve Ruch

A
s I stood surveying the available space same, but it carried the added cost of run-
in our new house, I had a brilliant ning a gas line into my brew room.
flash of inspiration: I had room for a I found several three-vessel systems that
three-tier brewery! I jumped onto the looked really spiffy, but the least expensive
internet and found a fantastic unit. I drool- was still close to $2,000. It was time to
ingly prepared to add it to my basket and scale back my avaricious desires.
then saw the price: more than $6,000. That I won’t name names, but yowser, some
figure didn’t include the cost of running a all-in one rigs approach a couple thousand
Photos © Getty/Proformabooks

220-volt line and installing an exhaust vent dollars just to brew 5 gallons, more for
with a fan. Not so brilliant after all. The larger batches. I ruled out any system that
natural gas option seemed to cost about the required increasing the electrical service

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 29

to our house to accommodate a 220-volt EXTRACT BREWING AND NO-BOIL KITS
circuit. I also eliminated several 110- Before you shop for equipment, first consider how you’d like to make wort: extract only, extract
volt systems that still pushed a thousand with specialty grains, partial-mash, or all-grain. New homebrewers almost always used to start
bucks. The few left were still too pricey brewing with malt extracts, and it’s still a great way to start with minimal equipment outlay.
for my budget. I wondered if it was time Here are some representative pre-tax costs for some of the basic equipment a new brewer
to start buying lottery tickets and crossing might need to purchase to brew 3-gallon batches:
my fingers.
Feeling vaguely discouraged and unwill- R $30 for a 5-gallon brew pot, available at most homebrew shops and big-box retailers
ing to throw money at the long odds of the for under $30
lottery, I lowered my expectations and pro-
ceeded to price check individual pieces of R $4 for a long-handled spoon
brewing equipment. I found stainless-steel
conical fermenters for hundreds of dollars R $7 for a hydrometer (optional but recommended)
and plastic ones for not much less. Kegging
systems went for $200 or more, grain mills R $11 for a 5-gallon food grade bucket with lid can be found at Lowes
for $100 and up (some way up), and top-
of-the-line brew kettles for hundreds of R $3 for a stopper and airlock
dollars. Even plastic mash tun setups were
going for nearly $200. R $6 for a five-pack of hop bags
I added up the cost of the a-la-carte
components and spent 20 minutes catch- R $12 for a bottling bucket
ing my breath. What must a curious wan-
nabe homebrewer think? And how many R $4 for a racking cane and 5 feet of tubing
new homebrewers has our hobby lost to
sticker shock? R $25 for two cases of bottles (or just drink some craft beer and reuse the empties)
Fortunately, you don’t need to spend
thousands of dollars to brew great beer at R $2 for a bottling wand
home. Homebrewers are a clever lot, and all
it takes is a little planning to turn out excel- R $3 for 144 crown caps
lent homebrew without breaking the bank.
R $13 for a wing capper

Brehwis!
T Steve’s Sterling Pilsner
Pilsner, 100% malt extract
Batch volume: 3 US gal. (11.4 L)
Original gravity: 1.050 (12.4°P)
Final gravity: 1.008 (2.1°P) BREWING NOTES
Color: 4 SRM Thoroughly clean and sanitize all your equipment. water, or seal around the pot and lid with plastic
Bitterness: 35 IBU Place the two hop additions in two separate wrap and leave it overnight. Transfer to fermenter.
Alcohol: 5.6% by volume hop bags. Heat 3.5 gal. (13.25 L) distilled water Add 2 packs of W-34/70 if you’ve achieved a wort
to 160°F (71°C). Distilled water works well with temperature in the low to mid 50s °F (10–13°C)
EXTRACT extracts and eliminates the need to treat the If you don’t have temperature control, you can
3.3 lb. (1.5 kg) Briess Pilsner dried malt extract water for chlorine. Remove pot from heat and, pitch 1 pack of W-34/70 and still get good results
using a long-handled spoon, thoroughly mix in the in the mid to upper 60s °F (17–20°C). Ferment 3
HOPS Pilsner dry malt extract (DME). Return the pot to weeks, optionally monitoring specific gravity with
0.66 oz. (19 g) Sterling hops, 9% a.a. @ 30 min the heat and bring the wort (unfermented beer) a hydrometer. When fermentation is complete, add
0.2 oz. (6 g) Sterling hops, 9% a.a. @ 10 min to a boil. Add 0.66 oz. (18.5 g) Sterling hops and priming sugar, bottle, and hold bottles at room
boil 20 minutes. Add 0.2 oz. (5.6 g) Sterling hops temperature for two weeks. Chill and enjoy.
YEAST and boil 10 more minutes. Boil time is 30 minutes
1–2 packs Fermentis SafLager W-34/70 because a longer boil would darken the resulting If you use a no-boil Pilsner kit that contains
beer more than I want. Remove hops and chill hopped extract, simply heat water enough to mix
ADDITIONAL ITEMS wort by immersing the pot into a large tub of cold in the extract, chill, and pitch the yeast.
Pinch Irish moss @ 15 min
3.5 oz. (100 g) corn sugar to prime

30 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 BREWING FROM EXTRACT
WITH SPECIALTY GRAINS
The only additional equipment needed to
add specialty grains is a scale (around $21)
and a nylon grain bag (about $4), for an
It was time to additional outlay of $25. That brings the
grand total to $145 plus tax. A hydrometer
is recommended at this point if you haven’t
scale back my already purchased one.
You may be asking yourself, “Why

avaricious desires. should I increase my cost and workload by

throwing specialty grains into the mix since
I’m already brewing pretty good beer with
extract?” This is a good question with a
simple answer.
A lot of homebrewers start out with
extract, and many are satisfied to stick with
extracts only. But adding specialty grains to
extract opens up the possibility of brewing
This adds up to $120 plus tax. Prices how much extract and water are in the far more styles of beer than you can with
can vary widely, so shop around. You recipe. A wort chiller ($60 or more) is also extract alone. It’s a nice step up with only
may already have some of these items in helpful, but it’s not always necessary, par- a small cost and not that much extra work
your kitchen, like a 5-gallon pot and a ticularly if you brew a concentrated wort for the gain.
long-handled spoon. If you’re brewing and top up with cold tap water. Furthermore, steeping a little malt in
with extract exclusively, a hydrometer is See the accompanying recipe for Steve’s your extract-based wort introduces fresh
not strictly necessary as the original grav- Sterling Pilsner for an easy extract-only malt flavors and aromas that may be harder
ity is simple to compute just by knowing option. to achieve with extract alone.
See the accompanying recipe for Festivus
Festbier for a beer that adds complexity
with the addition of specialty grain.

PARTIAL-MASH BREWING

Brehwis!
Partial-mash, or mini-mash, brewing

T Festivus Festbier involves mashing a small amount of base

malts—usually 1 to 3 pounds—along with
the specialty grains and then augmenting
Festbier, malt extract with specialty grains with malt extract.
You may be able to use your tap water
Batch volume: 3 US gal. (11.4 L) without modification, but most brewers
Original gravity: 1.049 (12.2°P) will at least want to filter out chlorine. An
Final gravity: 1.009 (2.3°P) inexpensive Brita water filter will set you
Color: 8 SRM HOPS back about $25, which brings the total to
Bitterness: 20 IBU 1 oz. (28 g) Tettnanger, 3% a.a. @ 45 min $170. You’ll also need to factor in the time
Alcohol: 5.3% spent treating your water.
Once again, the question comes up: why
MALT EXTRACT YEAST spend more money and prolong your brew
3 lb. (1.36 kg) Briess Pilsner DME 2 packs Fermentis SafLager S-189 day? Using base malt with specialty grains
adds additional complexity to your beer
STEEPING GRAINS ADDITIONAL ITEMS and makes it possible to incorporate unma-
6 oz. (170 g) Munich malt, 10°L Pinch Irish moss @ 15 min lted and flaked grains like flaked barley,
4 oz. (113 g) Vienna malt 3 oz. (85 g) corn sugar to prime oats, wheat, triticale, or rye.
1 oz. (28 g) Weyermann Carafa I malt You can now add styles like cream ale,
Irish stout, and most other styles to your
BREWING NOTES recipe file. While mini-mash is a step up,
Thoroughly clean and sanitize all your equipment. Place milled specialty grains in a grain bag and the no one will think any less of you if you
hops in a hop bag. Add 3.75 gal. (14.2 L) distilled water to brew pot, add bag of specialty grains, and heat decide extract with specialty grain works
to 170°F (77°C). Remove specialty grains. Using a long-handled spoon, thoroughly mix in DME and heat to for you. I spent almost three years in a liv-
boiling. Add hops and boil 45 minutes. Turn off heat and remove hops. Seal around the pot and lid with ing situation that restricted me to extract
plastic wrap and let cool overnight. Transfer to fermentation vessel in the morning and pitch yeast. Mix in with specialty grains, and I would have
priming sugar and bottle after three weeks. Leave bottles at room temperature for three weeks. Chill and happily kept to it had I not moved.
enjoy. Brew up Three S Amber to see how a
partial mash can introduce a grain that
requires mashing, in this case Vienna malt,

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 31

 for character you can’t get from extract and was used, or what minerals were in the

Brehwis!
steeping grains alone. water used in the extract. You can make
every style of beer using all-grain meth-
T ALL-GRAIN BREWING ods. I’m happiest when I brew all-grain,
All-grain brewing gives you complete but I have no hesitation if time or space
control over the finished beer. You can limitations lead me to brewing with any
spend as much as you like, but to simply of the other methods.
and affordably ease into all-grain, just
brew smaller batches and use a brew-in- THE CHOICE IS YOURS!

Bag Of Grains a-bag (BIAB) method with your existing

boil kettle. You’ll need a larger grain bag,
which might cost about $7, for a grand
I hope this review of four affordable
approaches to homebrewing helps you
find a beer-making method that suits your
Stout, all-grain total of $177. available funds, time, space, and ener-
Many homebrewers consider all-grain gy. Consider the cost of the equipment
Batch volume: 3 US gal. (11.4 L). brewing the absolute pinnacle of brew- involved and the effort that each method
Original gravity: 1.055 (13.6°P) ing, the ultimate brewing experience. takes to guide your decisions (or those of
Final gravity: 1.018 (4.6°P) That might be debatable, but what makes your inquiring friends).
Color: 32 SRM the upgrade to all-grain brewing worth You can spend whatever you can afford
Bitterness: 33 IBU the additional time, cost, and effort is on whatever shiny gadgets catch your eye,
Alcohol: 4.9% gaining complete control over the entire but you don’t have to break the bank to
brewing process. brew tasty beer at home.
MALTS There’s no uncertainty over what vari-
7 lb. (3.2 kg) pale ale malt ety of base grain went into the produc- Steve Ruch lives in Fort Wayne, Ind., and
8 oz. (227 g) roast barley tion of the extract, what mashing regimen is a regular contributor to Zymurgy.
4 oz. (113 g) Weyermann Carafa II malt

HOPS
0.4 oz. (11 g) Nugget, 14.2% a.a. @ 45 min
Brehwis!
YEAST
2 packs Muntons ale yeast
T Three S Amber
ADDITIONAL ITEMS Amber ale, partial-mash
3.5 oz. (100 g) corn sugar to prime
Batch volume: 3 US gal. (11.4 L) HOPS
BREWING NOTES Original gravity: 1.058 (14.3°P) 0.125 oz. (3.5 g) Summit, 14.2% a.a. @ 45 min
Thoroughly clean and sanitize all your Final gravity: 1.012 (3.1°P) 0.125 oz. (3.5 g) Simcoe, 12.2% a.a. @ 45 min
equipment. Add hops to a hop bag and place Color: 14 SRM 0.75 oz. (21 g) Saphir, 3.8% a.a. @ 45 min
milled grains to a grain bag. Heat 3.5 gal. Bitterness: 39 IBU 0.75 oz. (21 g) Saphir, 3.8% a.a. @ 6 min
(13.25 L) filtered water to 165°F (74°C), add Alcohol: 6.1% 0.5 oz. (14 g) Saphir, hop stand
the grain bag to the pot, and make sure the
grains are thoroughly wet with no dough balls. GRAINS YEAST
This should reduce the temperature to about 2 lb. (.9 kg) Briess 2-row 1 pack Lallemand BRY-97
152°F (67°C). Insulate the pot. After 45 minutes 8 oz. (224 g) Briess crystal 80 malt
remove the grain bag and, holding it over the 6 oz. (168 g) Briess Carawheat malt ADDITIONAL ITEMS
pot (I use a colander), pour 2 qt. (2 L) of water 6 oz. (168 g) Briess Goldpils Vienna malt Pinch Irish moss @ 15 min
over the grains to rinse additional sugars. 3 oz. (85 g) corn sugar to prime
Squeeze the bag after giving the water 5–10 EXTRACT
minutes to run through the grains. Heat the 2 lb. (.9 kg) Briess Golden Light DME
wort to boiling, add hops, and boil 45 minutes.
Turn off the heat and remove the hops. Seal BREWING NOTES
the lid and pot with plastic wrap and let cool Thoroughly clean and sanitize all your equipment. Put 0.125 oz. (3.5 g) Summit, 0.125 oz. (3.5 g) Simcoe,
overnight. In the morning, transfer to the and 0.75 oz. (21 g) Saphir in hop bag 1. Put 0.75 oz. (21 g) Saphir hops in hop bag 2. Put 0.5 oz. (14 g)
fermenter and pitch yeast. Mix in the priming Saphir in hop bag 3. Place the milled grains in a grain bag. Heat 3.75 gal. (14.2 L) filtered water to 160°F
sugar and bottle after two weeks. Leave (71°C) and add the grain bag to the water, making sure all the grain is wet with no dough balls. The
bottles at room temperature for two weeks to temperature should fall to about 152°F (67°C). Insulate the pot. After 45 minutes, remove the grain bag
carbonate. Chill and enjoy. (squeeze the grain bag over the pot) and, using a long-handled spoon, thoroughly mix in the extract. Bring
to a boil and add hop bag 1. Boil 39 minutes, add hop bag 2, and boil 6 more minutes. Turn off heat and
remove hops. Add hop bag 3 and let steep 15 minutes. Remove hop bag 3 and seal around the pot and lid
with plastic wrap. Let wort cool overnight, transfer to fermenter, and pitch the yeast. Mix in the priming
sugar and bottle after three weeks. Leave bottles at room temperature for 2 weeks. Chill and enjoy.

32 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 Rapid-Fire Tips for the
Short-Attention-Span Homebrewer
By Ron Minkoff

If you brew long enough, you’ll eventually be surprised at how many bits
of homebrew wisdom you’ve accumulated. What follows here is a vetted
collection of some of the most useful techniques, in quick-tip form, never
watered down, that are easy to explain and may even be instantly helpful
to you. I, as well as several of my fellow Hogtown Brewers buddies, have
long used these tips. Let’s open a can of concentrate and get started!
 QUICK AND EASY REMOVAL
OF BEER BOTTLE LABELS
You’re ready to bottle your best stuff for
Make
an upcoming homebrew competition and your own
need some pristine bot- alkaline
ic
lu -
tles without labels. A
quick and reliable
non-caust You may be thinking,
cleaner “I really like having
Use a so
o f a lka - way to remove
tion
on -ca u st ic labels from most alkaline non-caustic
line n bottles is to soak cleaner handy, but I’d like it even better if I had
quick ly
STUCK FERMENTATION? cleaner to them in a solution a good coupon!” You’re in luck because you can
ttle
BEANO TO THE RESCUE! remove bo of your favorite make your own. Here’s how. Mix the following:
I think we’ve all been there. Your batch has labels. alkaline non-caustic 1. 10 ounces (285 g) Seventh Generation
completed fermentation, but its current cleaner (e.g., PBW, Dishwasher Detergent Powder, Free and
final gravity is 4, 6, maybe 10 points from Bru-R-Ez, Cell-R-Mastr, Clear
the desired final gravity. etc.). Do this and you’ll find the labels fall 2. 16 ounces (454 g) Red Devil TSP/90
Sure, you could rouse off the bottle within two hours (maybe 3. 24 ounces (680 g) OxiClean Free (make
the yeast. Or perhaps even just one hour). You’re welcome. sure to get the “free” one with the green
ne e d to raise the temperature lid, which has no dyes or perfumes).
If you
yo u r fin a l to try and squeeze a THE RIGHT WAY TO OPEN A Enjoy your abundant supply and savings!
lower little more effort out BAG OF WEYERMANN MALT (Shout-out to Hogtown’s Joe Gullett for doing
side r
gravity, con of your yeast. But Since I brew often, I tend to buy full bags of the research of other people’s research!)
o.
using Bean if the gravity doesn’t base malt (pale malt, Pilsner, Munich, etc.).
change (and many Rahr bags of malt are incredibly easy and
times it won’t), now intuitive to open. If only all bags opened
what? Well, you’re likely that way! But bags of Weyermann malt are properly start that process. First, choose the
out of fermentables. That’s why it’s stuck. almost as easy to open if you know how to side where the white string ends. Then cut
Just add some Beano to your carboy. Yes, the red and white “tangled” string near the
that Beano! Just add one crushed tablet per edge of the bag. Then grab the tip of the
additional gravity point. white string and pull across to open it all
Beano contains amylase, which breaks up. That’s one less hassle for you!
down unfermentable sugar and makes it
fermentable. Can you buy amylase from PITCH YEAST THE NEXT DAY
your local homebrew shop? Yes, yes you Many homebrewers strongly believe pitch-
can. But Beano is sold everywhere making ing yeast the same day you brew is very
it very accessible. That makes Beano a true important. However, I long ago figured out
multi-tasker. It reduces the final gravity of that pitching yeast the next day is perfectly
your batch and saves your relationships on fine and offers the same quality of fermen-
burrito night! tation, if not better. It also provides several
Cut and advantages. Pitching the next day has been
NO MORE CLOUDY ite my standard homebrew-
pull the wh
STAR SAN SOLUTION to ea si- ing process for more
Like me, you probably keep a spray bottle string than 10 years, and
n ba g s of
of Star San solution around because it’s ly ope as long as you the
Wey erm an n Pitch yeast
handy for all kinds of homebrew tasks. practice appro- ay to
But Star San solution is malt. priate sanitation next d
d
known for becoming (and don’t sneeze save time an
resourc es.
cloudy after a short in your carboy),
d isti lle d time, especially if you all is good! Why
Use
r fo r y ou r have hard water. To do it? There are sev-
wate keep your solution eral reasons:
luti o n
Star San so clear, simply use 1. It saves ice (when chilling wort). Chill
ea r.
to keep it cl distilled (or reverse your wort as low as your tap water will
osmosis) water instead allow, and then let your fermentation
of tap water. Do this, temperature control system finish the
and it will easily stay clear job overnight. By morning of the next
for many months to come. (Tip courtesy of day, the wort will be right at your
Hogtown’s Master-Dr-Irish George) desired pitching temperature.
Bonus tip: I also keep a half-gallon jug 2. It saves the hassle of procuring ice!
of Star San distilled water solution for post- This also saves the hassle of setting up
brew-day tasks. The proper mix is half a gal- a two-stage chiller, which we all can
lon of distilled water to 0.6 teaspoons (3.0 agree is a hassle, right?
mL), or a heaping half-teaspoon, of Star San. 3. Best of all, it saves time on brew day.

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 35

JUST-IN-TIME YEAST STARTER The amount of
Typically, we make yeast starters by buying coffee to use nat- ee
Infuse coff
a bag of dried malt extract (DME), add- urally depends ) in to
ing it to water to make on your beer’s (and more
e b re w
starter wort, boiling style and the your hom
re n ch
the starter wort strength of your with a F
rte r to sanitize, and coffee. A good press.
Make a sta
u r b rew then cooling the starting point is 1
with yo starter before cup of beans (about
an d p itch
day wort finally adding 3 ounces or 85 grams) for
y.
the next da yeast. Well, if I’ve a 5-gallon (18.9-liter) batch. Use twice as
convinced you much water, by volume, as you do coffee
that pitching yeast beans to prepare the brew.
the day after brewing is For example, grind 1 cup of beans into a
okay, then you can streamline a big part of French press and hydrate with 2 cups (just
the yeast starter process. Simply do this: shy of 500 milliliters) of bottled or filtered
1. Just after chilling your wort on brew water. Close the lid, cover the top of the
day, remove a portion of it to a starter French press with aluminum foil, and sit it
flask (no DME needed!). on your counter for at least 12 hours. Filter
2. Dilute the wort in the flask to a gravity the cold-brewed coffee by slowly pressing
between 1.035 and 1.040 (8.8–10°P). the plunger, pour it into a small pot, and
Bottled water works great for this. heat it to 165°F (74°C) to pasteurize. Then,
3. Add your yeast and place the flask on a simply pour the coffee into a keg and rack
stir plate (or do the shaken-not-stirred your beer on top of it. Or pour it into beer
method if that’s your thing). that’s already been kegged and stir it very
4. The next day, pitch the entire volume gently with a sanitized stirrer.
of the starter into your carboy at high Bonus pony trick: Use your French press
kräusen, which is generally the best as an instant hop Randall by filling it with
time to pitch a starter anyway. leaf hops. Steep your homebrew in it and
How do you know how much wort to gently press down on the plunger before
collect and how much water is needed to pouring into your pint glass.
dilute it? Simply use your brewing soft-
ware’s dilution calculator. For example, say HYDROMETER PAPER TOWEL DAB
you brewed a batch with an OG of 1.060 This tip comes courtesy of Hogtown-Fry-
(14.7°P) and you want to make a 1.5-liter Daddy Bill Edwards. When you take a
starter. Your calculator will tell you to gravity reading with
siphon off 900 milliliters of wort and dilute your hydrometer, it’s
it with 600 milliliters of water to make a good to agitate it
1.036 (9°P) starter. to degas any CO2 Absorb the
ur
and ensure an foam in yo
te r jar
USE A 40-CENT “MINI-ME” accurate reading. hydrome
er to wel
FAUCET TO DISPENSE AT EVENTS with a pap
k re ad.
Long ago, I figured out that using a typical about 40 cents. Simply reduce the line for a quic
5-foot (1.5-meter) picnic faucet to dispense from 5 feet (1.5 meters) to about 6 inch-
homebrew at a festival es (15 centimeters), add a cheap 1-inch
is not ideal. For diameter PVC pipe elbow to angle your line
sh o rt- one thing, if any upwards, and you’re set!
Use a
ened p icn ic significant time
t lin e an d elapses between THE FRENCH PRESS IS
fauce
elb o w to dispensing sam- NOT A ONE-TRICK PONY
PVC ples, the beer sits I’m a big fan of coffee beers, and I often
able
make a port in the line and make homebrews with coffee. My preferred
dispenser. gets warm. Plus, method for infusing beer with that java
it drapes awkwardly kick is to use cold brewed coffee. I’ve seen a
over your keg, and you number of recipes that recommend steeping
have to keep leaning down to pick it back coffee in a jar and then filtering it through
up for the next sample. a coffee filter or cheesecloth. This is too
Photos courtesy of Ron Minkoff

Some may opt for a jockey box, but I complicated and messy. Your quality of life
prefer something simpler. You can buy a spikes if you simply use a French press for
stainless-steel ball lock tap faucet, which this job. Normally you’d use hot water with
will solve the problem for about $30 or a French press, but it makes a great cold
more. But if you have an unused picnic brew as well. And because of the built-in
faucet line, you can rig a simple faucet for filter, filtering is a breeze.

36 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

But this causes foam to form, and you often
need to wait several minutes for the foam to
dissipate before you can properly read the
hydrometer. If you’re impatient, just take a
paper towel, soak up the foam, and go read
that gravity now, not later!

DIRTY FLAMES FROM

YOUR BURNER? CLEAN
OUT THAT CARBON
Here’s another tip from Bill Edwards. If
you use a burner that is similar to a Bayou
Classic burner, over time you’ll start getting
dirty flames out of it.
The flame will be
orange, and the
bottom of your
nd
Use a drill a kettle will get
er to
soft hamm black carbon
burner.
clean your marks. There’s an
easy way to clean
that up, though.
Unscrew the burn-
er from the frame and
then get a tiny drill bit that will fit inside
each of the burner’s flame holes, probably
a 5/64-inch bit. Attach the bit to a drill and

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 37

drill inside each of the burner flame holes. is much better than emptying out your strategy in the Hogtown Brewers home-
This will scour the carbon stuck inside. mash tun. brew club for quite a while now. We don’t
Next, flip the burner upside down and with mind sharing it.
a soft hammer, vigorously pat the back side HOMEBREW CLUB HARMONY
of the burner. You will be impressed with WITH “BACON!” EASY TEMPERATURE CONTROL
the large ant-hill pile of carbon that comes Homebrew club gatherings are meant to be FOR BREW-IN-A-BAG
pouring out of your burner. After that, reat- fun oases away from the acrid stress of the This tip is probably
tach the burner to its frame and clean blue outside world. Chattering about favorite obvious to experi-
flames are in your near future. styles, how tasty the beer is, what hops enced brew-in-a-
you used, and the best bag (BIAB) home- Use a sous
-
STUCK SPARGE? band to jam to on brewers, but I’m vide circula
re gu la te
GRAB YOUR CO2 TANK brew day are all throwing it in for tor to
IA B m a sh
The stuck sparge can easily derail an oth- fair game! But te the newbies: If your B
The antido era tu re .
erwise smooth brew day. To get the wort there’s always on you’re a foo-foo temp
flowing again, first confirm that rogue that one person to hot-butt home chef (I wear
grains haven’t collected in your mash who has to rant chatter is that badge myself),
tun’s ball valve. If so, on a hot-button “Bacon!” you probably own a sous
clean that out and topic because they vide circulator. And, if BIAB is your method
enjoy the rest of just can’t help them- of choice for homebrewing, then you have
your brew day. selves. The rant may the right equipment for easy temperature
a
If you have If the block- be on politics, or gossip, or—no, it’s usu- control in your BIAB mash tun. That qualifies
e, CO2
stuck sparg age is inside ally politics. Everyone around them starts the sous vide as an Alton Brown multi-tasker.
nd.
is your frie the mash tun, rolling their eyes and awkwardly waits for
though, bring them to be done. GET YEAST FROM YOUR
out the big guns, If this happens to you, do what we do: NEIGHBORHOOD BREWERY
i.e., your CO2 tank. immediately talk about bacon, your love Our final tip comes from my buddy
Gently back flush the of bacon, the über-amazingness of bacon, John Denny, who co-owns a beer facto-
mash tun tubing with carbon dioxide to and so on. Everyone around you will join ry down here in Gainesville Fla., First
clear the tube. If that doesn’t work, then in to drown out the sourpuss, and you can Magnitude Brewing.
don’t be so gentle. This tends to take all move on with your lives. This tactic Are you out of yeast, or not in the mood
care of the majority of stuck sparges and has been our go-to standard safe-word to pitch a starter? Develop a relationship
with your local brewery. Breweries rou-
tinely produce more yeast than they need,
especially of the Chico strain. If you ask
nicely, give them plenty
of advance notice,
e frie nd s and show up with
Mak
y ou r loca l a sanitized con-
with
d ge t tainer, your local
brewery an brewer will often
ith
rewarded w reward you with
tary
complimen a healthy slurry
yeast. of vigorous yeast
for your next batch.
Nice perk! For those
of us who want to keep homebrewing as
just a hobby, this illustrates why breweries
are like boats. I don’t want to own a boat. I
just want a friend who owns a boat.

That’s it for this can of quick-tip concen-

trate! I hope some of these bits of wisdom
prove useful for your next batch of liquid
bread, spike your brewing quality of life,
and elevate your homebrew success!

Ron Minkoff has been brewing in the

comfort of his driveway since 2003. He is
a past president of the Hogtown Brewers
(2016 Radegast Club of the Year) and
a BJCP certified judge who rarely turns
down the offer of a bacon-based dish.

38 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 Planning a
BREWERY ROAD TRIP
By Cody Gabbard
 he first time I attended the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), I was so felt much more genuine, and I accom-

T overwhelmed and excited I tried to sample as much as possible. The first hour
was spent worrying about where to start, the second realizing I was not going
to sample nearly as many beers as I had hoped, the third incoherently speak-
ing into my recorder for the article I was working on, and the fourth barely even look-
ing at the brewery names listed above the booths before having my glass filled. Suffice
plished my pre-festival goals.
These experiences have helped shape
how I plan for more extended tastings—
brewery road trips. Without a plan, the
whole trip can feel just as overwhelming
to say, it was still enjoyable, but quite stressful, and my article consisted of a mish-mash as that sea of people and booths at GABF
of half-remembered tastings. and similar festivals. So, to reduce stress
The next time I attended, I highlighted all of my “must-see” breweries in my program and make the most of my trips, I now
and carved out some time to look for trends and revisit breweries that were pouring beers follow a set of basic guidelines. My main
that adhered to those parameters. Knowing the last hour or so is pretty much a wash, I put tenets are Have a Focus, Plan Ahead,
down the notepad, met up with some friends, and just enjoyed the rest of the experience as Avoid Burnout, and Finish Strong. The
a group. I didn’t drink nearly as much as I had the year before, but the overall experience following is a summary of those tenets

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 41

and some considerations I’ve made for an Oregon for some hiking. I’ll also have my If you’re going to use a ride share or taxi
upcoming trip through Oregon. dog in tow, so if it’s not dog-friendly, it’s service, identify one ahead of time. Ride
on the skip list. shares are actually banned in certain parts
HAVE A FOCUS of the country, and are even more limited
This may seem like a silly statement (drink PLAN AHEAD abroad, so check your apps for available
great beer, of course!), but it really does Again, this seems like an obvious neces- locations beforehand. When I lived in
help to narrow your list when planning. sity, but there are some unique consider- Longmont, Colo., in the mid ’10s, Uber and
With more than 9,000 breweries in the U.S. ations when you’re planning a trip around Lyft had yet to be made available, and I’m
alone, choice is not at a premium. Having alcoholic beverages, especially if you’ll pretty sure the “taxi service” consisted of
a focus will help you get over your fear of be driving. This is a good place to note: a single person who kept irregular hours.
missing out, especially since you’ve likely if you will be drinking and then driving Back then, visiting a mecca of old-school
not been able to visit nearly as many brew- between breweries, under no circumstanc- beer titans in Oskar Blues and Left Hand
eries in the past several years as you’d like. es get behind a wheel if you’ve had (or and emerging Boulder-area breweries would
Years ago, I toured the Northeast, starting even think you’ve had) too much to drink. have been difficult to manage by vehicle.
in Washington, D.C., and driving through Breathalyzers are available for under $50 For my upcoming trip, I plan on hik-
Pennsylvania to New Hampshire. I prob- nowadays, but in my opinion, if you have ing each morning and then finishing at a
ably could have stayed in any number to test yourself on a breathalyzer, then you brewery in the late afternoon or evening.
of cities along the way and enjoyed their shouldn’t consider driving anyway. Now, That way I’m in one location for all of
plethora of breweries, but at the end of the onto the fun stuff. my tasting. Since I haven’t been to any of
day I really wanted to visit venues I had Because driving can be dubious, stick- these breweries before, just pulling up a
never heard of. I was also itching to get ing with a single general location each day stool and going through their full offer-
away from the hustle and bustle of the city, really is the way to go unless you’re spac- ings sounds a lot more enjoyable than bar
so I further narrowed my focus to areas ing your visits out by several hours. If I’m hopping and only getting a sample at each
with good hiking trails. looking to hit a few breweries in a single destination.
Even if your goal is as simple as wanting day, I either start fairly early around lunch I don’t go crazy with gear, but a few
to drink the best West Coast IPAs in your and then wait to drive to the next location key items can make a huge difference in
state or relax at places with great outdoor for dinner. Otherwise, I like to stick to comfort level. Having backup water bot-
venues, this really helps in the planning a single location and use a ride share or tles is always a good idea, especially when
stages when you have to make hard deci- taxi to reach multiple spots. During my you don’t know when that next rest stop
sions and choose between multiple brew- Northeast trip years ago, I specifically chose is coming up (and if the vending machine
eries and routes. For my upcoming trip, Burlington, Vt., as one of my stops because will accept tattered dollar bills). Ensure
I’m focusing on going to breweries I’ve I could hit up several breweries in one day, you have the right apps, too. Some cities
never been to that are along a route that all within walking distance of each other may have one service and not the other, so
will take me through the Painted Hills of and my lodging. downloading a few ride-share apps (Uber

Ellie, Oregon coast.

42 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 and Lyft) and lodging (HotelTonight and
Airbnb) may be needed. I like to add some
side trips into my schedule, so AllTrails
is a great app for hiking enthusiasts. And
if you are using apps, take advantage of
any features that allow offline use, such
as downloading maps beforehand since
If you aren’t
mobile network service could be variable.
Hard copies of directions could be helpful
in remote areas, or you might even dust off
comfortable, you
that old road atlas your parents made you
purchase years ago.
If you’re collecting or transporting food
aren’t having fun.
and beverages, get a cooler. Springing for
a better-insulated (and eco-conscious) one
is worth the extra bucks in my opinion, as
you’ll get a ton of miles out of it. I’m sure
there are also great commercially available to say, “I’m going to camp every night and day? Would it even be fun at that point?
ice packs out there, but if I’m going on a then stay at a hostel when I hit the cities,” Think about this when planning. What’s
trip, I just save up on those reusable ice but after an evening of drinking imperial your driving limit or the point at which
packs that are ubiquitous with the mail stouts, that weathered tent or shared bath- you start to get restless? I know if I have
order meal kits that many of us have used room becomes less bearable. And if you to drive more than three hours, I’m going
(at least for the two-week trial period) in aren’t comfortable, you aren’t having fun. to be tired and irritable, so visiting that
the last few years. They come in all sizes We all have our limits, so just know bucket list brewery at the end of the drive
and can also be handy if you’re a brew-in- yours, and maybe treat yourself to nicer may lose a bit of its luster. For that reason,
a-bag (BIAB) mini-batch brewer like me lodging as you go along, and save camping I either sprinkle in some activities along
who cools your kettle in the sink! for the beginning of the trip when your the way, or I just skip visiting a brewery
In my early 20s (and admittedly my optimism hasn’t yet been dashed by unpre- and consider it a travel day. I also know the
early 30s), I was all about budget, so I dictable weather. And speaking of limits, be return on consecutive drinking days dimin-
was happy to shack up at the cheapest honest with yourself about yours. ishes rapidly for me.
youth hostel. Nowadays, especially with Knowing this, I front-load my visits with
COVID-19, I’m more reluctant to share my AVOID BURNOUT more breweries. Maybe you’re the oppo-
quarters, so house rentals and hotels are Could you reasonably visit three breweries site and like to build up to more visits,
my preferred lodging choice. It can be easy a day for a full week in a different city each but either way, make a conscious effort to

FIGURE 1:
It’s helpful to plan ahead with a list of target venues, hours of operation, and special considerations.

Distance Dog- Open /

Day Venue Location
(hrs) Friendly? Close Times
Oak Creek Dimple Hill (hike) Oak Creek Dimple Hill Trailhead 1.75 Y

FRIDAY Viking Braggot (late lunch) 2490 Willamette St., Eugene, OR 1 Y Mo-Fr 3-9, Sa-Su 12-9

Draper Draft House (dinner) 640 SE Jackson St, Roseburg, OR 1.25 Y Mo-Sat 3-11 / Sun

Spencer Butte (hike) Spencer Butte Park 1.25 Y

SATURDAY
Illustrations © Shutterstock/Nomad90 (roadways); courtesy of Cody Gabbard

3 Legged Crane 48329 E 1st St., Oakridge, OR 1 Y Th-Mo 12-9 / Tu-Wed

Painted Hills (hike) Carrol Rim Trail & Painted Hills Overlook 3.75 Y

Painted Hills (hike 2) Blue Basin Overlook / Island in Time 1 Y

SUNDAY
Strawberry Mountain (hike 3) Strawberry Mountain 1.5 Y check weather closure

Barley Brown's Taphouse 2200 Main St, Baker City, OR 1.75 Y Su 12-5, Mo-Sa 2-8

Wallowa (hike) China Cap 1.5 Y check weather closure

Pendleton (lunch) Pendleton, OR 2

MONDAY
Thunder Island Brewing 601 NW Wa Na Pa St, Cascade Locks, OR 3 Y Daily 11-9

Home Portland, OR 0.75

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 43

understand your limits. And by no means that may pique your interest or, better yet,
force visits. If you’re tired (or tipsy), just ask your beertender what there is to do
skip that brewery. Maybe you can visit it around town.
the next day and skip one you have less When I visited Bruges, Belgium, years
interest in. I’ve done just that with my ago, it was a last-minute detour while visit-
upcoming trip, opting to visit more brew- ing friends in Paris. Knowing that trying to
eries and do less driving at the beginning, plan last minute would likely cause more
and then add more hiking and longer drive stress, I let the fates decide my route, and
stints at the end. at each restaurant or bar I visited, I just
This leads to maybe the most important asked the bartender, “What’s your favor-
piece of advice: remain flexible. Don’t let ite place to drink/eat?” By the end of my
unpredictability ruin your well-planned 36-hour mini-trip, I had been to a bar in
trip. Go into it knowing that you likely the basement of a historic church, been
won’t be able to visit each brewery, espe- served lambic in a traditional lambic bas-
cially during the ongoing pandemic. I like ket, and dined at a 150-year-old brewery.
to pick a backup for each brewery, or try Don’t be afraid to mix it up with other
to factor in two-day visits in the same city people, too. You’d be surprised how many
for breweries I really want to visit. Are they other folks are on similar trips. And when
patio-only and there’s an impending thun- someone learns you’re on a trip, their local
derstorm? Did you bring your dog only to
find out they recently banned pets?
I was in the Midwest last summer and
was going to tack on three days to a trip
to catch a few bucket-list breweries, only
to find out one was closed for the entire
season and another had changed its open
hours to exclude all weekdays. Sure, it’ll
sting to miss out on going to a place you
potentially drove hours to try, but remain-
ing flexible will ease that pain a bit.
Adding variety and breaks will also help
with burnout. I like adding a morning hike
or dog walk to my daily routine to get a lit-
tle exercise so I’m not immediately starting
the day out with a long drive. If hiking isn’t
your thing, look for other side excursions

Top to bottom:
Lake Massabesic, N.H.; A barn in New Hampshire;
Mt. Mansfield, Vt.

44 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

pride typically kicks into overdrive and These considerations helped with my past are on the way back, so I could stop
(unsolicited or not), you’re regaled with a upcoming trip. I had originally thought in if I’m up for it, or if I’m tired or just
plethora of suggestions. I could do a multi-week trip that would restless, I could forge on home and not
Homebrew can also act as a nice cur- take me to Austin, Texas, but the only feel like I’ve missed out. Reversing my
rency if you’ve remembered your cooler. feasible way to do this would be to fin- route also made this possible. Had I gone
I don’t know how many times I’ve men- ish with a two-day, non-stop drive back the opposite way, my final day would be
tioned being a homebrewer and then home to Portland—not a great way to spent deciding between two to three plac-
been asked if I had any on hand. On the end a trip. Instead, I shortened the trip es I really want to try.
occasions when I have, I’ve been able extensively and decided to explore my Possibly the best advice, as in most cases,
to trade (usually up) with others who newest home state. and especially in these uncertain times,
are also on a brew journey. My biggest A buffer day can also help you accom- comes from our patron saint of homebrew.
score to date was a trade of a sever- plish your original goals. Let’s say you’re Relax—you’re enjoying your favorite bev-
al-month’s-old homebrewed Kölsch for a traveling for seven days, going to 12 erage after perhaps taking that privilege
bottle from a still-little-known brewery in breweries, and traveling across two states. for granted as I certainly had in times past.
2010 named Hill Farmstead. Pretty much everything has to go accord- Don’t worry about not getting to go to all
ing to plan with no interruptions for a of the breweries on your list because, if
FINISH STRONG plan like that to work. If you factor in an you’ve followed my advice, you planned
Similar to planning to avoid burnout, try to extra day (whether that means trimming for that and have backups or alternatives!
end on a high note. I’ll never forget my trip your trip by a day or taking an additional And have a homebrew. Or a commercial
from D.C. to New Hampshire, but it was vacation day), you relieve the stress of brew—I think Charlie would happily make
actually supposed to be a trip from D.C. to being on-time for every leg of the trip, an exception.
Maine. By day six, my vigor (and cash) had but you can also take your time and
waned, and knowing that I had a long drive maybe hit some extra spots if your plan Cody Gabbard lives in Portland, Ore.,
back, I turned in early. So, consider again does pan out perfectly. by way of Colorado, D.C., Virginia, and
what your limits are. Can and should you On this trip, I had originally decided Kentucky. He is a data analyst by trade and
drive the 17 hours back in one day at the to skip breweries altogether on the last occasionally poses as a freelance writer. He
end of your trip? Although more expensive, day and just enjoy the last hike and drive is a proud member of the AHA and is in
would you enjoy it more by renting a car along the Columbia River. I’ve noted a constant awe of his fellow homebrewers in
one-way and then flying back at the end? few breweries that I’ve been to in the the Portland Brewers Collective.

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 45

BREWING IN THE
ALOHA SPIRIT
Making Beer, Mead, and Wine in the Hawaiian Islands

By David Schmidt

Given Hawai’i’s location, it is virtually THE WINE OF THE TROPICS Eventually, it came time for the main
I sat barefoot on my cousin Whitney’s event, my prized find: a bottle of wine. This
impossible to make a local beer with all driveway, drinking and chatting with her was no ordinary wine; it wasn’t even made
indigenous ingredients. Like many other neighbors. A light breeze blew in from the from grapes. It was the sort of rare wine that
nearby ocean. As we reclined in folding is only possible in a place like Hawai’i.
places, the term “local,” when applied chairs, some folks sipped Coronas, while I had come to the Islands in search of
to food and drink in Hawai’i, has evolved Whitney and I opted for local brews: a a truly local brew, something uniquely
coconut porter by Maui Brewing Co. and Hawaiian, and found more of them than
to include other desirable features, Big Wave Golden Ale by Kona. I could count: breweries that draw deep
I had just driven all the way around from nature’s tropical abundance, meade-
such as small-scale or organic the island of Oahu, and we shared the ries using Hawaii’s pristine honey, and the
ingredients. None of this has prevented homemade roadside delicacies that I had creators of this very special island wine. For
collected along the way: crispy chips brewers looking to experiment, no place in
debates in the state over what is and made from dried ’ulu (breadfruit), pine- the world matches Hawaii.
what should be labeled “local” beer. apple coconut cobbler, fresh guava juice,
spongy ’ulu bread, and a heaping poke THE SMELL OF GREEN
bowl, thick chunks of fresh ahi tuna As someone who lived 40 years with-
—Paul R. Kan, swimming in creamy wasabi sauce. In the out ever setting foot on Hawaii, I always
Hawai’i Beer: A History of Brewing in Paradise distance, the waves crashed against the thought people were exaggerating when
cliffs of the island. they described it as “paradise.” I assumed

46 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 My cousin Whitn neyy met me at the
Honolulu airport an nd greeted
g me with
a fresh flower lei. She’
S s a born and bred
Californian like myyself, but has quickly
q y
d i her
taken to island life during h years spentt off the
th mostt delicious
d li i f d and
food d drink
d i k off my
living there. We drove toward her home life. Hawaii’s cuisine and brews alike are the
on the eastern side of the island of Oahu. product of its rich cultural melange. I had
I say “east,” but it felt west for my West plenty of native foods, including my first taste
Coast mind, as we were headed towards of ono, a fish aptly named after the Hawaiian
the ocean. I quickly learned that, in the word for “tasty,” and native crops like the
Islands, it makes more sense to give direc- ubiquitous kalo (taro root) and ’ulu (bread-
tions according to geography: you either fruit). I also tried rice-based dishes with
drive mauka, towards the mountains, or Japanese and Chinese influence, such as the
makai, towards the sea. handy musubi snack and the poke bowl. The
We left the city and took Pali Highway Philippines contribute the soft, sweet, purple
through a long tunnel cutting through the sweet potato, the ube. Even Spam, brought by
mountainside. “It’s a good thing you don’t GIs from the mainland, proved much more
have any pork on you,” Whitney said with palatable than I imagined.
a smile. She explained that local custom Not only do these foods pair well with
forbids crossing pork through the tunnel. local Hawaiian beers, but many of them have
According to legend, the vengeful fire god- become brewing ingredients as well. The
dess Pele resents her former lover, the half- bounty of nature provides countless inspira-
pig demigod Kamapua’a, and won’t allow tions. And yet, for most of Hawaii’s history,
pork to cross through the mountain. Many alcohol did not even exist on the Islands.
people swear to have tried it, only for their
car to break down soon after. The old ways A SHORT HISTORY OF
are ever-present in Hawaii. Like the Roman BREWING IN HAWAII
aqueducts in London, the ancient archi- There is no conclusive evidence that native
tecture of the Kingdom of Hawaii is every- Hawaiians fermented alcohol with any reg-
where: lava rock walls, irrigation ditches, ularity before colonization. It is possible
and stone heiau (temples). These sacred that some communities may have fermented
sites are still revered today, where altars the root of the ti plant which, when baked,
are still covered in offerings of fruit, flower presents fermentable sugars that collect on
leis, and ti leaves. the root’s surface. However, author and early
it was all hyperbole and cliché, like the The highway took us past towering, cultural historian David Malo wrote in 1838
comment made by the postman Newman otherworldly mountains of volcanic that it was foreign sea-rovers who brought
from Seinfeld: “The air is so dewy-sweet you rock covered in lush, thick jungle. Mark “lawless spirits” to the Islands.
don’t even have to lick the stamps!” When Twain’s first impressions of this same Before Europeans came, the closest
I finally went there last November, though, island, when he visited back in 1866, are thing to a native Hawaiian brew was a
I found the word “paradise” to be defi- still very applicable: drink known in Hawaii as ’awa, known
cient. In fact, no words seemed adequate to elsewhere as kava. (This drink merits its
describe the beauty of this place. I saw on the one side a frame-work of own article, forthcoming in this publica-
The first thing that hit me when I arrived tall, precipitous mountains close at hand, tion.) While not alcoholic, it does have a
was the aroma. I had smelled that sort of clad in refreshing green, and cleft by deep, mild narcotic effect. Kava is made from
lush vitality in the air before, in southern cool, chasm-like valleys—and in front the powdered root of the Piper methysticum
Mexico, the islands of the Caribbean, and the grand sweep of the ocean: a brilliant, plant, which contains the active ingredient
the tropical jungles of Peru, but never on transparent green near the shore, bound of kavalactones. It is a traditional drink
U.S. territory. It was the rich, humid smell and bordered by a long white line of foamy for various cultures of Polynesia and the
of a place teeming with life. It smelled spray dashing against the reef, and further Pacific and, like many folk brews across
green. Before exiting the airport, I treated out the dead blue water of the deep sea… the globe, it was associated with the realm
myself to a Kona Longboard, a crisp lager of the sacred and the supernatural. The
that just hits different when you drink it in Over the next few days, as I drove up and primordial god Kane, the giver of life, was
the Islands. It would be the first of many down the rural highways of Oahu in wan- the deity of agriculture and the patron
local beers. dering holoholo style, I would enjoy some of many nourishing plants: the taro root,

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 47

the banana and sugarcane, and yes, kava. Native Hawaiians, meanwhile, didn’t the mainland, though—it was just too hard
Alcohol, meanwhile, seems to have been take long to learn the art of distillation. to do business in Hawaii. I spoke with
largely foreign to the Islands. Adapting it to native flora, they developed seven Hawaiian breweries to find out why.
Until Europeans arrived. Then every- a uniquely Hawaiian spirit: okolehao, a The first problem is the issue of hops,
thing changed. liquor made from baked ti root. With the as Josh Kopp of Hana Koa Brewing Co.
After Captain Cook made the first arrival of large numbers of workers from explained to me. “Some people have tried
European contact with the sovereign Japan and China, okolehao incorporated growing hops on the islands, but nothing
Kingdom of Hawaii, foreigners came in rice, as well as sugarcane and pineapple, has really come of it. It’s difficult based
droves: traders, whalers, soldiers, mission- and quickly spread across the Islands. on space and that we don’t have a winter.”
aries, and plantation owners. Along with Of course, the arrival of alcohol was Likewise, there is not enough farmland to
their lust for land and riches, they brought not all good news. Along with brewing grow sufficient barley—this, too, must be
a host of invasive species. Mark Twain and distillation came problems that were shipped in. This involves a whole series of
describes his first night in the Islands in previously unknown for Hawaiians: addic- challenges in itself, the first of which is the
typical sarcastic style, as he suffered attacks tion and alcohol abuse. As a result, King sheer cost of shipping.
from scorpions, malaria-ridden mosquitoes, Kamehameha I banned the production and Hawaii is home to the westernmost brew-
and centipedes; notably, all these pests consumption of alcohol in 1818. His suc- ery in the United States (located on the
sneaked into Hawaii aboard foreign ships. cessor, King Kamehameha III established, island of Kaua’i), as well as the southern-
However, among all these ills, outsiders did in the 1850 Penal Code for the indepen- most, on the Big Island. Not only is Hawaii
bring one good thing to the Islands: beer. dent kingdom, that: the most remote state in the US, but it is
The first beer was brewed in Hawaii also the most remote island chain in the
in 1778—albeit not on land. As author Whoever shall sell, give, purchase, or world. This makes for several challenges.
Paul R. Kan explains in his excellent procure for, and in behalf of any native of “Supply chain is a huge problem,” as
book, Hawai’i Beer: A History of Brewing this kingdom, or for his use, any spiritu- Steve Haumschild of Lanikai Brewery told
in Paradise, it was brewed aboard HMS ous liquor, or other intoxicating drink or me. “Our islands only have enough gas on
Resolution while anchored off the coast of substance, shall be punished by a fine not hand for two days! So we have to hold tons
Gib Island. The beer was made to prevent exceeding two hundred dollars. of inventory in grain, hops, and other raw
scurvy, on the orders of Captain James materials, as well as equipment. If some-
Cook. The ship’s crew were disgusted by This applied to Native people. thing breaks in the brewery, we can’t always
the beer, which was made entirely from Considering that over 95 percent of the wait two to three weeks to get a part. If we
sugarcane and hops, and said that it had population was Native Hawaiian, this forget to order some grain, we can’t neces-
“an injurious effect on their health.” Many made brewing an unprofitable venture. sarily drive to the suppliers to get it!”
folks who tried my own grandpa’s sug- As a result, the first mass-produced beer Given that the nearest US port is more
ar-based homebrew in the 1960s said the in Hawaii was actually non-alcoholic! than 2,300 miles away, all costs shoot up
same thing. (See “My Grandfather’s Crock” Honolulu Brewery announced their new astronomically. Carbon dioxide costs four
in the Mar/Apr 2022 issue of Zymurgy.). beer in 1854 in the weekly newspaper, or five times more per pound than it does
The next beer brewed in Hawaii was The Polynesian, clarifying that “This beer on the mainland. It costs at least $400 to
made by Don Francisco de Paula Marín. is made of barley and hops only, contains ship a pallet of goods to Hawaii, and often
Known by the locals as “Manini,” he was no alcohol…” as much as $800. Eric Chang of Kona
a trusted advisor to King Kamehameha I The policy of prohibition persisted. Brewing told me, “We commonly find that
and taught him the technology of firearms, When the idea of lifting it was proposed we have raw materials ordered nearly four
which made it possible for the Hawaiian in 1865, King Kamehameha V stated, “I or five months in advance of our brewing
monarch to unify the islands under his will never sign the death warrant of my schedule, depending on the ingredients and
rule. Manini practiced horticulture in Pearl people.” It was not until the reign of King the location shipping from.” Brewmaster
Harbor and used his connections with David Kalakaua (1874–1891), that prohi- Joe Peay Lorenzen of the Waikiki Brewing
sailors and traders to bring in new plants: bition was ended. Known as “the Merrie Company described this as simply “the cost
coffee, guava, mango, and pineapple. He Monarch,” King David even had his own of doing business in paradise!”
established vineyards in Hawaii and began personal distiller! Alcohol had been legal- Shipping logistics are further complicat-
brewing brandy and wine. The royal family ized for good, and okolehao flourished, ed by the Jones Act of 1920. This federal
was so fond of his wine that Kamehameha even during the Prohibition ordered by the law requires “that all goods carried between
made it kapu (taboo) for anyone to touch United States government (1920–1933). To US ports be on US-built and flagged ships
the wine other than Manini, his workers, this day, locals recall relatives who prepared that also are mostly owned and crewed by
and the nobility. homemade okolehao during that time, and Americans. This makes it significantly more
Photos © Getty/coleong (landscape); Getty/mashuk (lei)

When the Spaniard decided to try his it is now distilled commercially. Beer brew- expensive to transport goods to Hawaii, not
hand at brewing beer, though, he came up ers, however, have not had such an easy go only because of how the act limits foreign
against a hurdle that has plagued brewers of it. The same difficulties that the Spaniard competition, but also because ships built in
ever since: hops won’t grow in Hawaii. Manini faced continue to beset brewers on the U.S. are at least four to five times more
Manini found it difficult to grow wheat the Islands. expensive than ships on the world market.
there as well and opted for corn and rice The real-world applications of this law
instead. All evidence suggests that Manini’s THE COST OF make it much harder for any businesses in
beer lacked hops or any other preserva- BREWING IN PARADISE Hawaii to operate. As Kihei Carroll of Maui
tives. It would have been very weak, about Many don’t realize that beer was first put Brewing Co. told me, anything coming into
2% ABV, and was served at room tempera- into aluminum cans in Hawaii, by Primo the Islands must first be shipped through a
ture. No thank you. Beer in 1958. Primo eventually moved to mainland US port. This goes against logic

48 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 when we consider that the island chain is
as close to New Zealand or Australia as it is
to California.
“Similarly, places like Puerto Rico or
the Virgin Islands wouldn’t be able to get
things directly from Haiti or the Dominican
Republic, or any South America country,
without first going to Florida. The Jones
Act causes a lot of headaches for all the
Islands under US control.”
Sometimes, the only way around this
headache is to open breweries on the
mainland as well, like the Kona brewery
has done. This is how Kona was able to
reach nearly 40 states and 15 different
countries. Even that brought a series of
difficulties, though: two mainlanders sued
the brewery in 2017, claiming that they
“were falsely led to believe the product is
produced in Hawaii.”
Despite all the challenges involved, the largest craft brewery in the state, told
however, Hawaii is still home to 18 dif- me how important local production is for Brehwis!
ferent breweries. They have managed to
infuse local flavor into their beer every
their Pineapple Mana Wheat: “All the pine-
apple is sourced directly from Maui Island,
T
step of the way. which helps us support our local ohana.
Plus, we get to make a great beer.”
THE LOCAL FLAVOR Likewise, Oahu’s Lanikai Brewing
OF HAWAIIAN BREWS Company made the first beer brewed with Liliko’i Pale Ale
Local culture permeates the world of brew- the quintessential combination of pineap-
ing in Hawaii, right down to the names ple, orange, and guava, known by the acro- Liliko’i is the Hawaiian word for “passionfruit.” If
of the breweries themselves. Some are nym POG. Anyone who remembers this you really want to get authentic, make sure to
named after geographical locations: specific game from the 1990s will be glad to know pronounce the apostrophe between the O and
islands (Kaua’i Beer Company), towns (Hilo that POGs are back… in beer form. the I: it’s a soft glottal stop, like a slight hiccup.
Brewing, Honolulu Beerworks), regions Of course, it isn’t always easy. “Coming This fruit is ubiquitous in the islands, present
(Kona Brewing Company), and beaches from a guy that has painstakingly in sweetbreads, ice creams, “shave ice,” jellies,
(Lanikai Brewing, Waikiki Brewery). Others hand-toasted hundreds of pounds of coco- soaps, and certainly beers.
incorporate the native Hawaiian language, nut at Honolulu Beerworks,” said Nick I’ve selected the grain, hops, and yeast for their
such as Kohola Brewery, named for the Riley, “let me assure you that this beer is neutral flavor and aroma profile to really allow the
humpback whale. There are poetic names a labor of love. I’d be lying if I said there natural flavors of the liliko’i to shine through.
like Hana Koa Brewery, which roughly weren’t times I wished this beer wasn’t so
translates as “continuously working towards damn delicious and popular, but, alas, we BATCH VOLUME: 5 US gal. (18.9 L)
our craft,” while others are more straight- keep winning awards for it.” ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1.044 (11°P)
forward, such as Inu Island Ales (inu is Local ingredients go far beyond fruit. FINAL GRAVITY: 1.006 (1.5°P)
simply the word for “drink.”) Breweries also use Hawaiian cucumbers, COLOR: 5 SRM
This is much more than mere com- kalo (taro root), cinnamon, cacao, coffee, BITTERNESS: 40 IBU
mercial gimmick or cultural window mango, and even desalinated sea water. ALCOHOL: 5% by volume
dressing. Ever since the Hawaiian Cultural Waikiki Brewing Company collaborates
Renaissance of the 1970s, the ‘Olelo Hawai’i with the local company Lion Coffee to MALTS
(Hawaiian language) has been increasingly incorporate coffee roasts in their imperial 8 lb. (3.63 kg) Briess 2-row brewer’s
present on the Islands. Even folks from the stout. Kona makes an amber ale named malt or Rahr 2-row malt
mainland refer to their ohana, their family, Purple Grain, brewed with locally grown
used in a broader sense than just blood lavender and grains of paradise, resulting in HOPS
relatives. The headlines of local newspa- a smooth and distinctive aroma and flavor 0.75 oz. (21 g) Magnum, 12% a.a. @ 90 min
pers make reference to keiki (children) and very similar to a chai tea. Kohola Brewery
kupuna (elders) without translation. The has a stout made with local Maui taro root YEAST
language is a natural part of daily life for all and macadamia nuts. White Labs WLP900 San Diego Super Ale Yeast
kama’aina (residents of the islands). Many local brews reflect the cultural
Photos courtesy of David Schmidt

This pride is present in the ingredients influence of Japan and other Asian nations ADDITIONAL ITEMS
of Hawaii’s brews, beginning with the use as well. Indeed, Many of Hawaii’s breweries Liliko’i (passionfruit) pulp, frozen or fresh
of locally-grown tropical fruits. Many beers even have a button on their websites with
involve such emblematic crops as coconut, the familiar characters 日本語 to translate BREWING NOTES
guava, lychee, dragonfruit, and liliko’i, pas- the text into Japanese. Hana Koa brewery Mash the grains at 158°F (70°C) for 90 minutes.
sionfruit. Kihei of Maui Brewing Company, does the Tokyo-Style Pilsner, made with Add the fruit pulp to the wort in the fermenter.

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 49

Yumepirika rice from the Hokkaido region along with all cooling systems and camping
of Japan. It has notes of lemon meringue, gear. It could hold roughly 5 barrels (5.9
orchids, and a slight mochi sweetness from hectoliters) of wort and could be flown
the rice. Likewise, Maui does a Karoshi rice out to any other island in the archipelago.
lager with rice sourced from a Japanese fac- The brewers would load it onto the back
tory located on Oahu. of a vehicle and head out in search of good
Lanikai Brewery took things a step fur- yeast collection sites. After filling it with
ther, using all the ingredients that were hot wort, they camped out around the
found in Polynesian voyaging canoes from coolship, had a few drinks and sat around
0 to 400 CE. Brewed with ki root (ti), ko chatting while the wort got down to cap-
(sugar cane), kalo (taro), niu (coconut), ture temperature.
olena (turmeric), and ’ulu (breadfruit), it “It’s like fishing,” Steve told me. “If you’re
is fermented with a native Hawaiian yeast going deep-sea fishing for ahi or mahi, you
strain harvested locally. They describe this use the right bait for each fish. Same here.
as “a tribute to the past, present, and future You have to use the correct wort to attract
of exploration.” The brew is named after the right fermenting yeast. It doesn’t guar-
Kahiki, an ancient Hawaiian word for “the antee that you’ll catch your ‘ahi,’ but you’re
ancestral lands.” more likely to. Of course, it’s been a lot of
And that’s all just the tip of the iceberg trial and error. When we started out, we
when it comes to local ingredients. Hops Brewers of Lanikai Brewing Company. had a 95 percent failure rate. Now, we’ve
and barley may not grow on the islands, got it down to a failure rate of one-third.
but this land still offers brewers a wealth of as a collection agent! Nearly all the samples That’s pretty good.”
resources—starting with the diverse strains fermented when added to wort. Two of Lanikai’s efforts to collect the wild yeasts
of native yeasts. them produced a good taste, but only one of Hawaii fascinated me, but I wondered
survived. This was used to ferment a whole if it was possible to brew something made
YEAST FROM SHARKS batch of beer, named “mano” (the word for exclusively from local ingredients. To
AND OUTER SPACE shark), a wild American ale of 7.1% ABV. answer that question, I would have to travel
One brewery that has harvested yeast from If that weren’t enough, the folks at to the island west of Oahu: to Kaua’i, “the
the wildest parts of Hawaii is Lanikai, Lanikai decided to brew with yeasts from Garden Island.”
located on the windward side of Oahu. I outer space as well. OK, not exactly outer
spoke with Steve Haumschild, CEO and space; they only went as far as our plan- KAUA’I MEAD:
brewmaster of Lanikai Brewing Co. and et’s stratosphere. In a collaboration with AS LOCAL AS IT GETS
a Certified Cicerone, who told me about NASA, they were able to collect cultures Kaua’i is a fitting setting for Hawaii’s first
their daring “bioprospecting” ventures. As from 70,000 feet above the earth’s surface. meadery. The island is home to some of
Hawaii’s first brewer of wild and sour beers, They searched for areas that contained Hawaii’s oldest cultural relics: ancient
they have collected yeast from the most storms rich in ice and dust, where yeast heiaus, fishponds, walls, and irrigation
unexpected of places, including the skins would naturally collect, and brought it ditches. Legend says they were built by the
of wild sharks. back to earth. menehune, mythical Little People who wan-
Steve told me how his friend was a biol- “At first, I didn’t know what I was der the countryside late at night.
ogist working on Coconut Island, off the looking at,” Steve said. He is always the It is known as “the Garden Island” for
coast of the Big Island. Only four people first to taste-test any new yeast culture. good reason. The wettest place in the
live there, all involved in scientific research. “We exercised extreme caution with that world—Mount Waialeale—is right there
The brewers’ initial idea was to collect yeast one… It took years of DNA sequenc- on Kaua’i. It is home to some of the most
in the forests of the island; however, Steve’s ing to see what it even was!” In the end, spectacular scenery, including Waimea
friend suggested a better idea: collecting though, this yeast resulted in the UFO Beer Canyon, “Hawaii’s Grand Canyon.” There
the yeast from local hammerhead sharks. Series (Unidentified Fermenting Object). is a laid-back, country feel here, an inde-
His friend worked with the University One brew named”U.F.O.: Unidentified pendent streak, and a fierce loyalty to the
of Hawaii’s marine program and was Fermenting Object (NASA X Space)” ’aina (land), keeping it pure and unsullied.
already studying the bacteria cultures on launched on the 50th anniversary of the In the face of developers who sought to
the skin of wild sharks. He invited Steve moon landing. build up the coastline, local building codes
to take some swabs of the sharks’ skin To collect other, more terrestrial, wild prohibited the construction of any building
Photo courtesy of Steve Haumschild, Lanikai Brewing Company

during feeding time in the bay. (This was yeasts in the Islands, they built a travel- taller than a coconut tree.
all PETA approved, and no animals were ing coolship. They consulted with a few When I checked into Kaua’i Shores
harmed.) After baiting the sharks, they brewers of wild beers on the mainland— Coral Reef Hotel in the sleepy town of
grabbed them by dorsal and pectoral fins Tillamook in Portland and Black Project in Kapa’a, it felt like visiting a relative’s
and swabbed their bellies, collecting a Denver—but the feedback was dishearten- home. A smiling older woman introduced
total of about 20 swabs. ing. “They said it would be impossible to herself as Auntie Peggy Sue, and told me
It was a long shot. Steve assumed they do a coolship in Hawaii, given the heat. It to sit on the couch and “rest a while” as
wouldn’t get any fermentable yeasts. After would just collect mold. But we realized all she waited for her daughter to come check
all, sharks have a layer of mucus on their we had to do was adjust it to our own con- me in. She offered me one of the pastries
skin, which he thought would push any ditions and climate.” that she’d just bought, and we chatted
yeast or bacteria away. As it turned out, that They developed a coolship that could to the sound of waves softly crashing in
mucus had the opposite effect—it worked disassemble and fit on a plane as cargo, the background. Once I had my room, I

50 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

dropped off my bags and walked down porates Kona coffee from the Big Island. “You have to ferment the fruit anyway,”
the road to Kapa’a’s meadery, just a cou- The semisweet Cacao Moon includes local- she told me, “to properly separate the seeds
ple miles away. A pedestrian walkway ran ly grown cacao and vanilla beans and was that are roasted and made into chocolate.
along the coast, past locals who leisurely made from macadamia nut blossom honey. So it was just logical that we should put
fished and waded in the warm water. Tiffany told me that her personal favorite that fermented cacao pulp to good use!”
The sun was hot even in November, and was the Winter Sun, which she described I asked what the fresh cacao fruit tasted
after hiking two miles, I had worked up a as the “anytime mead” that pairs versatilely like. “Very syrupy. I like to compare it to
sweat. I was ready for a drink. with many different foods. I asked if she’s Skittles: you taste the full rainbow! As is
I found Nani Moon Meadery in an unre- ever thought about going back to the main- the case with many tropical fruits, a broad
markable strip mall on the south end of land. “I don’t know. I’ve been here for 20 range of flavors come through: lychee,
Kapa’a, past the quaint wooden storefronts yeast, and I would really miss that sense mango, banana, and others.” These flavors
of the small downtown area. I walked of local community. Here, you know that came through in the wine as well, she said.
in and was greeted by Tiffany, a young everyone looks out for each other. And if It would have no cocoa taste, as all the
woman with fair skin and black hair. She anyone does something they shouldn’t, it seeds were removed from the fruit and pro-
was a friend of Stephanie, the owner. As gets out on the ‘coconut wireless,’ the gos- cessed into chocolate.
she poured me a flight of seven varieties of sip chain.” The folks at Manoa experimented with
mead, I asked if they were made with many As I came to the seventh mead on a few small batches of wine at first. When
local ingredients. She laughed. the list, I was starting to feel it. Tiffany they’d perfected the recipe, they froze the
“It’s all local. Every single bit of it.” explained that mead was so pure and fermented juice and pulp and shipped it
Not only are their honeys from Hawaii, natural, it had a way of affecting a drink- off to Paso Robles, in the heart of central
but most are from Kaua’i specifically. er beyond the reach of its 12% ABV. Of California’s wine country. A vintner there
This is the benefit of making mead versus course, it didn’t help that I enjoyed it on used his conventional winemaking tech-
beer—when you don’t depend on grain an empty stomach. When I left and walked niques to turn the materia prima into cacao
and hops, nothing needs to be shipped in down the dusty road at dusk, I had some wine. That year’s cacao harvest yielded
from the mainland. trouble taking voice notes on my phone. At enough fruit to make 54 cases of wine.
“The flowers and plants are just healthier one point, I recorded the following: “Not This wine was submitted to a tasting in
here,” Tiffany said, “which means the bees only is this mead from local honey, but… Napa Valley in spring of 2021. It received
are healthier, too.” The limited flight range Oh boy. I just… Damn. Them shits really high marks from the tasters, many of whom
of the bees—about four miles—means sneak up on you.” It’s not easy to be articu- described it as “something between riesling
that each batch of honey has a unique and late after drinking that much honey wine. and a pinot grigio.” It was a full-bodied
intensely local “fingerprint.” It absorbs While Nani Moon’s potent mead was one wine, with tropical notes of guava and lem-
the character of that location’s exact flora: of the most locally sourced libations I had ongrass, robust enough to be paired with
coffee plantations, macadamia blossoms, during my trip, it was not the most unique. spicy foods and red meats.
liliko’i fruit. That honor goes to the wine I found back I wondered out loud if anyone had
The honey produced in the south of on the island of Oahu. thought of doing the same thing with coffee
the island has a nuttier flavor, due to the pulp? Gracie wasn’t sure about the particu-
coffee plantations and botanical gardens, WINE FROM CHOCOLATE lars of coffee production. I later confirmed
while the north shore blooms with wild- Three of our world’s most important crops that the coffee cherry does contain sugar
flowers. Like many other traditional brews cannot grow in the continental United and is edible. As far as I know, however, no
I’ve tried the world over, from the t’ej mead States: coffee, bananas, and cacao. All three coffee growers have attempted this. I put it
of Ethiopia to the agave-based pulque of are mostly grown in developing nations on my own to-do list: a naturally caffeinat-
Mexico, mead is intimately connected to of the Global South, with one exception: ed coffee wine!
the land. I would later speak with the Hawaii. One of Hawaii’s chocolate manu- I bought a bottle as I was leaving the
owner, Stephanie, who told me, “I love how facturers had the novel idea to use the fer- chocolate factory and left it to chill that
extremely local it is. It’s sourced from 100 mented pulp of the cacao plant as well, and night in my cousin Whitney’s fridge. The
percent local ingredients. If the barges ever thus, the world’s first cacao wine was born. following evening, we took it out to share
stop coming, we know that we can still My cousin Whitney and I visited the with her neighbors on the driveway. As
continue to make mead.” factory of Manoa Chocolate, located in the soon as we pulled out the bottle, a hush
My flight started with Laka’s Nektar, town of Kailua on the windward (eastern) came over the crowd. Something about this
an off-dry, floral mead. This was the only side of Oahu. The company is named for entirely local drink inspired reverence. I
one made from single-flower honey: Ohia Oahu’s Manoa Valley, an ancient place of poured a couple of fingers into everyone’s
Lehua blossom. Since Kaua’i lacks the nec- ancient forts, fierce battles, and great mana glasses. The color was a sort of dark gold,
essary acreage for a single-flower honey (at (spiritual power). After taste-testing several lighter than honey and darker than most
least 3 square miles of the same crop), this different chocolates and roasted cocoa beans, white wines.
one is brought in from the Big Island. I asked the tasting room manager, Gracie We all took a deep whiff of it. The nose
Local fruits and crops are incorporated Thacker, about the cacao wine I had seen on was reminiscent of an oaky chardonnay,
into each mead as well. The mead named the shelf. She explained that they came up very woody, with an earthy strong aroma
Pineapple-Lime includes pineapple and with the idea during the lockdowns of 2020. to it, strong but pleasant. The aroma con-
Tahitian limes grown on Kaua’i; Winter They were looking to branch out, and some- trasted drastically with the taste, though: it
Sun is made with starfruit and liliko’i (pas- one suggested making wine out of the fruit was immediately sour, with lots of passion
sionfruit); Ginger Spice contains organic of the cacao plant. The cacao seeds grow fruit, guava, tropical notes to it, and citrus.
raw ginger; Deviant Beehavior includes inside a large, fruity pod, the fruit of which My cousin and I did not think it tasted
Hawaiian chiles; and Buzz Squared incor- is normally thrown away. Continued on page 60 >

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 51

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 SKEPTICAL
BREWING

Photos © courtesy of

54 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 This is the third in a series of articles called “Skeptical Brewing,” a deep dive into
commonly held brewing beliefs. In this series, we discuss their origin stories and
review the science and research behind them to reach a verdict on their plausibility.
We have chosen common brewing superstitions to try to challenge established
paradigms and shed light on many supposedly unquestionable truths. We hope this
helps foster the habit of questioning handed-down wisdom.
Always be skeptical!

By Leandro Meiners and Matias Cavanna

1
FIRST-WORT HOPPING PRODUCES
A SMOOTHER BITTERNESS

F
irst-wort hopping refers to the Pilsners brewed at two different German
technique of adding hops to the breweries.1 Both produced their standard
kettle at the beginning of lauter- recipe in two ways:
ing. It is said that this technique 1. Using their standard start-of-boil
produces a beer that has a smoother addition
bitterness compared to adding the hops 2. Adding a percentage of that addition
at the start of the boil. Some people also as FWH
state that it has a positive effect on the
aroma and its intensity. For the FWH addition:
According to a paper published by • Brewery A used Tettnanger and Saaz
BRAUWELT International in 1995, which T45 pellets. Close to 35 percent of the
“rediscovered” this practice, first-wort bittering addition was added as FWH.
hopping (FWH) used to be a common • Brewery B used only Tettnanger T45
practice in the late 1800s and early 1900s, pellets. More than 50 percent of the
with breweries across Germany, Belgium, bittering addition was added as FWH.
and England using this method to achieve IBU analysis revealed that Brewery A’s
higher bitterness efficiency.1 Apparently this FWH beer had an IBU increase of almost 5
technique was discontinued in the 1970s. percent, and brewery B’s FWH beer had an
The paper mentions that the rediscovery increase of almost 30 percent compared to
of FWH was an accident at a profession- the reference brew that used their standard
al brewery where hops were accidentally start-of-boil addition.
added to the kettle while lautering the first A triangle test was made for both brew-
wort. When they realized this mistake, the eries’ beers with trained tasting panels of 12
beer was fermented in a separate fermenter, and 13 tasters, respectively. In both cases,
and the finished beer had a different hop more than 99 percent of tasters were able to
aroma and bitterness profile. tell the beers apart. Tasters were then asked
to indicate their preference and a reason.
WHAT DOES SCIENCE HAVE TO SAY? Tasters who chose the FWH beer said their
BRAUWELT International’s 1995 publication two main reasons were “a more harmonic
includes a commercial test on two German beer” and “more uniform bitterness.”

Zymurgyy | MAY/JUNE 20222 | 55

 More recently, in 2017, Christina Hahn
and Tom Shellhammer at Oregon State
University tested this methodology on an
American pale ale using Cascade hops.2
They brewed the beer twice, once with a
standard start-of-boil addition, and again
with FWH.
The chemical results of both beers were TEST IT YOURSELF!
almost identical, except for a 10 percent Still skeptical and unwilling to let all this scientific research change your mind? Make this experimental
increase in total polyphenol content in the brew and challenge your and your mates’ taste buds!
FWH batch, most likely due to the extended
contact time. Foam stability was also mea-
sured; the FWH beer had a 6 percent lower
result in foam persistence, which could be
caused by the extra polyphenol content.
Brehwis!
T
OL’ NEW SCHOOL
From an organoleptic point of view, the WEST COAST IPA
study’s panel of 35 tasters indicated no per- This old/new-school IPA hybrid is bitter and malty. Its tropical aromas and
ceptible sensory difference between the two citrus, resinous flavor will allow you to compare first-wort hopping to start-of-
hopping methods. boil hopping. Or, just choose either method and enjoy!
Other anecdotal experiments are avail-
able online, such as at Brülosophy, where Batch Volume: 19 L (5 US gal.) WATER
FWH has been tested three times—in Original Gravity: 1.064 (15.8°P) Ca 100 ppm, Mg < 10 ppm, Na < 10 ppm, SO4 100
2015, 2017, and 2020.3 The first two Final Gravity: 1.014 (3.5°P) ppm, Cl 100 ppm, HCO3 < 10 ppm
experiments revealed tasters’ inability to Color: 24 SRM
distinguish the two beers. The third one Bitterness: medium-high ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS
had, due to COVID-19, very limited statis- Alcohol: 6.5% by volume 0.5 tablet Whirlfloc @ 10 min
tical significance; however, it is interesting ½ tsp. (1.5 g) yeast nutrient @ 5 min
to note that in two of the three experi- MALTS 110 g (3.9 oz.) corn sugar if bottle conditioning
ments, samples were sent to a commercial 5.5 kg (12.1 lb.) pale ale malt (88%)
lab for analysis. One test showed that the 400 g (14 oz.) Weyermann Carahell malt (6%)
FWH batch had a 15 percent increase in 400 g (14 oz.) Briess Carapils malt (6%) BREWING NOTES
IBUs, while in the other, the FWH pro- Mash at 67°C (153°F) for 45 minutes, targeting a
duced a 30 percent increase in IBUs. HOPS mash pH of 5.2–5.5. If sparging, do so at 75–78°C
15 g (0.5 oz.) Chinook hops, 12.7% a.a. @ 60 (167–172°F). Collect enough wort in the kettle to
VERDICT min OR 13.5 g Chinook hops, 12.7% a.a., yield enough wort to achieve 19 liters (5 gal.) after
The 1995 study published in BRAUWELT FWH (20 IBU) the 60-minute boil.
International, which revived the FWH 25 g (0.9 oz.) Chinook, whirlpool Boil the wort vigorously for 60 minutes, adding
practice, indicates with detail that tasting 25 g (0.9 oz.) Centennial, whirlpool the Whirlfloc and yeast nutrient as indicated. After
panels were able to recognize the difference 25 g (0.9 oz.) Chinook, dry hop when gravity is 60 minutes, add whirlpool hops and let steep for 10
in the FWH beers compared with the stan- between 1.015 and 1.025 minutes before chilling the wort. Chill the wort and
dard beers. However, no data are provided 25 g (0.9 oz.) Centennial, dry hop when gravity transfer to the fermenter. Aerate thoroughly and
about how many tasters indicated that it is between 1.015 and 1.025 pitch the yeast. Ferment at 20–22°C (68–72°F).
provided a “more uniform bitterness,” thus 70 g (2.5 oz.) Galaxy, dry hop when gravity Add the dry hops as per the indicated schedule.
we should not solely rely on that study is < 1.015 After 3 days with no yeast activity (no gravity
to support the claim that FWH produces 70 g (2.5 oz.) Vic Secret, dry hop when gravity change), cold crash and chill the beer to as close
smoother beers. is < 1.015 to 0°C (32°F) as you can. Keep chilled for a week
On the other hand, more recent studies before packaging with 2.4 vol. (4.8 g/L) CO2.
in the subject indicate no sensory difference YEAST
in the quality of the bitterness, which means Fermentis US-05, Lallemand BRY-97, White Labs
we can call this claim an outright myth. WLP001, Wyeast 1056, or other American West
This is not to say that FWH is detrimen- Coast Chico-style yeast.
tal for brewing, except for the potential
foam stability reduction. In fact, it is prob-
ably easier (and harder to forget) from a
process point of view to add bittering hops
at the beginning of lautering (FWH), and won’t have harsher bitterness. Most impor- re-discovery of first wort hopping,
one can probably get away with a smaller tantly, and regardless of whether or not you BRAUWELT International. 4, 310–311,
addition when doing so due to the higher use or do not use the technique, it is time 313–315.
isomerisation efficiency. this myth stop spreading. Use FWH solely 4. C. Hahn, T. Shellhammer (2017),
If you currently first-wort hop and you for improved efficiency and/or convenience! Evaluation of First Wort Hopping,
like how your beers taste, keep on doing ASBC annual meeting proceedings, 33.
it. If you currently don’t FWH, there is REFERENCES 5. M. Schott, Brülosophy.com, The First
nothing to worry about either—your beers 3. F. Preis, W. Mitter (1995), The Wort Hop Effect

56 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy

5 Z y HHomebrewersAssociation.org
 2
MID-FERMENTATION DRY HOPPING
ENCOURAGES BIOTRANSFORMATION

T
he brewing world began consid- What contributes to the perceived change biotransformation, we tend to think of
ering biotransformation in 2003 between mid-fermentation and post-fer- reactions that have a sensory impact and,
when King and Dickinson dis- mentation dry hopping? Let’s examine what more specifically, concern hop compounds.
covered the hop monoterpene current scientific knowledge has established Thus, we will limit ourselves to hop-related
biotransformation pathway.5 However, it in terms of (1) known biotransformation biotransformation reactions with a sensory
was not until 2014 when Takoi studied reactions, (2) their potential organoleptic impact. Two classes of reaction fit the bill:
the effect of hop addition timing on this impacts and the effects of hop addition tim- • Modification of a sensory-active
type of biotransformation.6 The NEIPA ing, and (3) other phenomena at play. compound from hops into a different
craze started soon after that, and brewers compound
increasingly sought ways to achieve trop- WHAT DOES SCIENCE HAVE TO SAY? • Release of an aromatic compound
ical hop profiles in beer. This led to the First things first, biotransformation is from a non-aromatic precursor
popularizing of Takoi’s research, at least understood as the conversion of a com- coming from hops
in the homebrewing community, through pound in wort or beer by a microorgan- Of the first class, we have biotransfor-
various blogs with a wide reach.1,2 ism. However, when brewers talk about mation of monoterpene alcohols and

TABLE 1: BIOTRANSFORMATION REACTIONS

Evidence timing
Evidence Evidence against Contribution of this
Biotransformation has an impact on
biotransformation biotransformation type of biotransformation
Reaction biotransformation
has a sensory impact having a sensory impact to beer flavor
result
Biotransformation of Established reaction for Timing of the addition does Low perception difference between Low to medium potential for flavor profile change
monoterpene alcohols5 multiple strains5 not have a marked impact on monoterpene alcohols and their from floral to citrus. Low potency potential due to
resulting conversion level6, as bio-converted counterparts low difference in perception threshold between
Biotransformation is on com-
biotransformation continues pre- and post-biotransformation compounds.
pounds known to contribute to
even in packaged products A significant amount needs to be converted to be
the “hoppy” profile of a beer.
noticeable, and even if this happens, timing has
little or no effect.

Glycoside hydrolysis Release of compounds, mainly No studies conducted to Depends on the type of aglycones None to very low: low conversion, low quantity of
(aglycone release) monoterpenes, known to con- determine impact of hop present precursors and significant quantity necessary due
tribute to the “hoppy” profile addition timing on this type of Low quantity of precursors to perception threshold make it difficult to have
of a beer biotransformation (glucosides) in hops7 a sensory impact regardless if timing makes a
difference on biotransformation efficiency.
Low conversion rates (regardless of
yeast)7, over 80 brewing strains tested
and none achieved more than 10%
glycoside hydrolysis
Moderate to high perception
threshold (10s or 100s ppm) of
monoterpene alcohols, i.e. significant
quantity needed to be noticeable)

Release of bound thiols Extremely low perception No studies conducted to Low to moderate level of precursor
threshold of thiols, thou- determine impact of timing of release, yields of 0.3–10%18 Likely: potentially high but unknown if timing
sandths or millionths of ppb hop addition on this type of affects quantity released
High level of precursors in biotransformation
some varieties of hops8
Esterification reactions of Documented bioconversion of Timing of the addition does Moderate to high perception threshold More research needed: estimated low to medium
hop-derived compounds hop-derived compounds9 not have a marked impact on in the 10s or 100s ppm for esters for biotransformation having an impact, although
resulting conversion level10 timing does not have a marked effect

HomebrewersAssociation.orgg Zymurgyy | MAY/JUNE 20222 | 57

esterification-related reactions. For the sec- Similar results were shown by Yuri ASBCJ2014011601
ond class, there are two documented exam- Tsuchiya at the ASBC Brewing Summit in 7. Sharp, D. C., Steensels, J., &
ples: hydrolysis of glycosides and release 2018.14 In fact, another researcher from Shellhammer, T. H. (2017). The
of bound thiols. We will not go into detail Kirin, Yoko Noro, had previously suggested effect of hopping regime, cultivar and
regarding the historical aspect of the study using non-viable yeast at the end of fer- ơ-glucosidase activity on monoterpene
of biotransformation in academia, but for a mentation to strip out “unwanted” herbal alcohol concentrations in wort
review, refer to Meiners and Cavanna, 2021.3 hop compounds in 2015, due to the result- and beer. Journal of the Institute of
Another important aspect is whether ing change in perceived aroma profile.15 Brewing, 123(2), 185–191. https://doi.
or not there is a change in the resulting org/10.1002/jib.418
profile related to dry-hop timing, or if this VERDICT 8. Dagan, L., Delpech, S., Reillon, F.,
is merely anecdotal from brewers’ expe- While it is clear that mid-fermentation dry Roland, A., Schneider, R., & Viel,
rience. Luckily, Sierra Nevada conducted hopping produces a different sensory profile C. (2016). Hops (Humulus lupulus)
a controlled study and presented it at the than end-of-fermentation dry hopping, it is provide important sources of thiol
American Society of Brewing Chemists unlikely that the major driver is biotransfor- precursors: A key ingredient to obtain
(ASBC) Brewing Summit in 2018.4 The mation reactions, although the jury is still fruity beers. Presented at the 2016
study analyzed the profiles obtained after out on the release of thiols. It is nevertheless World Brewing Congress.
performing three different dry-hop timings. important to note that when many brewers 9. Reyes, A. (2019). Biotransformation:
Researchers observed significant differences talk about biotransformation, they are think- Brewer’s Perspective. Presented at
between the sensory profile of beer dry ing of monoterpene alcohol bioconversion, the ASBC Annual Meeting. Retrieved
hopped at the beginning of fermentation in which case it is false that this has a major from https://www.asbcnet.org/events/
and that of one dry hopped during cold impact on the sensory profile. archives/2019meeting/proceedings/
conditioning. The former was described as “Mid-fermentation dry hopping promotes Pages/default.aspx
more “tropical” than the latter. a different dry hop profile” might be a bet- 10. Williams, S., & Alexander, J. (2019).
Table 1 summarizes the identified reac- ter way of stating the reality. The assertion The impact on hop-derived volatile
tions that could contribute to perceived as originally posed is at least misleading, compounds in beer by dry-hopping at
sensory changes of mid-fermentation dry as it places the onus on biotransformation, different points of fermentation using
hopping, evidence for and against its hav- when it is clear other factors are at play and different strains of hops and yeast. 2019
ing a perceptible impact, and an educated likely contribute more to the perceived sen- ASBC Meeting.
guess, pondering the available academic sory effects. Hence, we can argue that this 11. Haefliger, O. P., & Jeckelmann, N.
literature, of their respective contribution. belief is unfounded. (2013). Stripping of aroma compounds
Considering all the above, except for during beer fermentation monitored
bound thiols, the other biotransformations REFERENCES in real-time using an automatic
do not seem to be marked enough to favor a 1. Janish, S. http://scottjanish.com/blog cryotrapping sampling system and fast
change in sensory profile, more so when, for 2. Coffey, E. https://bisonbrew.com/ gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.
several of them, timing of the dry hop addi- homebrew Analytical Methods, 5(17), 4409. https://
tion doesn’t seem to have a significant impact, 3. Meiners, L., Cavanna M. (2021). doi.org/10.1039/c3ay40647d
or its impact hasn’t yet been investigated. Piecing Together What We Know and 12. Kishimoto, T. (2013). A new insight
What We Don’t on Biotransformation for controlling the hop aroma using
WHAT ELSE COULD BE AT PLAY? and Its Organoleptic Impact. MBAA hydrophobicity of yeast cell surface.
Given the academic results summarized Technical Quarterly, 58 No. 3. European Brewery Convention.
previously, it is worthwhile to consider 4. Moutsoglou, M. E., Cayler, W. F., Presented at the 34th European Brewery
other potential sources, for example, the & Reyes, A. R. (2018). Impact of Convention Congress, Luxembourg.
removal of the most volatile compounds, dry hopping at different stages of 13. Haslbeck, K., Bub, S., Schönberger, C.,
generally of a green/herbaceous profile, due fermentation on the physical and Zarnkow, M., Jacob, F., & Coelhan, M.
to the evolution of CO2 and carry-over or organoleptic quality of beer. Retrieved (2017). On the fate of ß-myrcene during
removal11 in yeast cell walls.12 from https://asbc.confex.com/asbc/2018/ fermentation- The role of stripping
Although generally ignored, factors such meetingapp.cgi/Paper/1720 and uptake of hop oil components by
as CO2 scrubbing and adhesion to yeast 5. King, A. J., & Dickinson, J. brewer’s yeast in dry-hopped wort and
cells help explain their decrease during fer- Richard. (2003). Biotransformation beer. Brew Sci, 70(11-12), 159-169.
mentation.13 This is important because ter- of hop aroma terpenoids by ale 14. Tsuchiya, Y., Ota, T., Yoshimoto, H.,
penes such as myrcene that exhibit a green/ and lager yeasts. FEMS Yeast Kobayashi, O., & Inadome, H. (2018).
herbal character can mask other fruitier Research, 3(1), 53–62. https://doi. Effect on fermentation of adding hops
compounds. In 2017, Haslbeck showed org/10.1111/j.1567-1364.2003. to the fermentation tank. . Presented
that fermentation at a lower temperature tb00138.x at the ASBC Meeting Brewing Summit.
leads to less loss of volatile hydrophobic 6. Takoi, K., Itoga, Y., Takayanagi, J., Retrieved from https://asbc.confex.com/
compounds such as myrcene.13 Kosugi, T., Shioi, T., Nakamura, asbc/2018/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/1482
Although not the aim of the study, T., & Watari, J. (2014). Screening 15. Noro, Y. (2015). Selective adsorption
Williams’s results from 2019 show that the of Geraniol Rich Flavor Hop and of hop derived aroma substances by
earlier the addition of dry hop, the greater Interesting Behavior of ơCitronellol nonviable dry brewing yeast. Presented
the removal of myrcene.10 This clearly indi- during Fermentation under Various at the ASBC Annual Meeting. Retrieved
cates that this is an important phenomenon HopAddition Timings. Journal of the from https://www.asbcnet.org/events/
in understanding why early dry hop addi- American Society of Brewing Chemists, archives/2015Meeting/proceedings/
tions alter the finished beer’s profile. 72(1), 22–29. https://doi.org/10.1094/ Pages/60.aspx

58 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy

5 Z y HHomebrewersAssociation.org
 3
THERE IS NO ISOMERIZATION AT HOP STAND
TEMPERATURES OF 150–175°F (66–79°C)

I
t is not possible to pinpoint a specific alpha-acid isomerization is a first-order • Approximately 50–60 percent increase
moment in time when this idea arose, chemical reaction, i.e. it depends only on in isomerization yield when knockout is
but it is common for homebrewers the concentration of its reactant,5 and that increased from 30 to 45 minutes
to think of isomerization as an on/off it follows the Arrhenius equation.6 • Approximately 30 percent increase in
reaction. After all, kettle hop additions are Given that they wanted to isolate the isomerization yield when knockout is
frequently referred to as bittering, flavor, behavior of the isomerization reaction from increased from 45 to 60 minutes
and aroma additions. At least until the lat- other interfering factors, such as loss of Hence, knockout times are an important
est releases, brewing software commonly iso-alpha-acids with trub, a model buffered factor to consider when understanding the
neglected a knock-out (zero-minute) addi- aqueous solution mimicking standard wort isomerization yield of different brewhouses.
tion’s contribution to bitterness. Taking this boil pH was used for their study, as was Matching experimental results were
reasoning to the extreme is also probably the case with previous studies.6 In practice, obtained by Malowicki and Shellhammer,
the source of the belief that dry hopping we will observe lower efficiencies, as these however their studies only analyzed boil-
does not add bitterness, even though bitter- losses are not accounted for, nor are down- ing and above-boiling temperatures.6
ing can come from compounds that do not stream processing losses that occur during Nevertheless, this supports the findings
require isomerization.1,3 Even non-isomer- fermentation or filtering. and, more importantly, the constants to
ized alpha acids contribute to bitterness, The graph below, based on the results use in the Arrhenius equation to under-
although at much lower levels.2 of the 2008 study, shows isomerization stand the behavior of the reaction at dif-
happening at different temperatures at and ferent temperatures both above and
WHAT DOES SCIENCE HAVE TO SAY? below boiling.4 below boiling.
In a 2008 study, Jaskula, Kafarski, Aerts, As a rule of the thumb, we can approx-
and De Cooman conducted a series of imate the drop due to temperature with
experiments to study the alpha-acid isom- the notion that isomerization halves for
erization reaction in detail, including every 10°C (18°F) drop in temperature.
the behavior of the analogs making up This gives us a rough idea of the effect of
the alpha-acid.4 They confirmed previ- lengthening the knockout time, assuming
ous results going back to the 1960s that the whirlpool retains heat well.

FIGURE 1: TOTAL ALPHA-ACID ISOMERIZATION YIELD AT BELOW-BOILING TEMPERATURES.

TEST IT YOURSELF!
Still skeptical? Make an experimental brew to
challenge your and your mates’ taste buds! Pick
your favorite bitter or pale ale recipe and brew
it two different ways:
1. Leave the recipe as is.
2. Double the bittering hop addition, but add
it to the whirlpool instead of at the start
of the boil.
Keep the rest of the recipe the same, and when
you finish, conduct a triangle test to decide
whether the second version tastes bitter.

Data source: Reference 4

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgyy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 5

59
 Continued from Brewing in the Aloha Spirit on page 51

VERDICT like a riesling; I’d say more like something calling it ‘Hawaiian.’ We feel one of the
It is evident from the results of the different between chardonnay and pinot grigio. The aspects of our brewery that gives us a
experiments that at brewing conditions, flavor was smooth and pleasant, light with ‘Hawaiian’ touch is our participation in
isomerization reactions occur even at tem- a lingering sourness, but not overbear- the local community: collaborating with
peratures cooler than boiling. Hence, we ing. We never would have guessed that and employing local artists and designers
must label this belief as outright myth. it wasn’t made with grapes. It could have for the art on our cans, beer donations to
been any white wine, with a lovely, fruity charity benefit events, and adopting needy
REFERENCES citrus flavor. Oahu families at Christmas.”
1. Maye, J. P. (2016). Dry Hopping and Its Whitney and her neighbors immediately Breweries are exercising their kulea-
Effects on the International Bitterness held their glasses up for a second helping, na toward the planet as well. Many craft
Unit Test and Beer Bitterness. MBAA then a third. A warm, convivial mood came breweries of Hawaii seek to be increasingly
Technical Quarterly, 53(3). https://doi. over all of us. There was a particular magic sustainable by using photovoltaic solar
org/10.1094/tq-53-3-0808-01 to this cacao wine, something different panels to reduce their carbon footprints.
2. Maye, J. P. (2018). Dry Hopping from anything we had drunk before. According to author Paul R. Kan, many
and Its Effect on Beer Bitterness, seek to eventually be completely off the
the IBU Test, and pH. BRAUWELT BREWING WITH ALOHA grid. Eric of Kona Brewery said, “Due to
INTERNATIONAL, 2018(I). One very Hawaiian concept is the idea of these challenges, we’ve designed our new
3. Algazzali, V., & Shellhammer, T. (2016). kuleana, the sense of social solidarity and brewery in Kailua-Kona to be sustainably
Bitterness Intensity of Oxidized Hop responsibility to the greater good. Ke Ola sufficient. We’re leveraging solar power,
Acids: Humulinones and Hulupones. Magazine describes it as “one’s personal water reclamation, and eventually planning
Journal of the American Society of sense of responsibility. It is a responsibility for CO2 reclamation as well. This can help
Brewing Chemists, 74(1), 36–43. https:// that we accept because we value it, and us to offset some of the costs in the long
doi.org/10.1094/asbcj-2016-1130-01 we treasure the person we become when run, while also just doing our part to mini-
4. Jaskula, B., Kafarski, P., Aerts, G., & De we fulfill it.” This sort of solidarity exists mize our carbon footprint.”
Cooman, L. (2008). A Kinetic Study between the 18 breweries that do business By practicing responsible stewardship of
on the Isomerization of Hop Ơ-Acids. on the Islands. the planet and its resources, Hawaii brew-
Journal of Agricultural and Food “Having a tight-knit community here eries teach us all a lesson in kuleana. We
Chemistry, 56(15), 6408–6415. https:// has been crucial to business in the past must follow their example to ensure that
doi.org/10.1021/jf8004965 when the boat doesn’t hit the port on places like Hawaii will remain pristine and
5. Spetsig, L. O. (1964). Die Kinetik time,” according to Nick Riley of Honolulu luxurious, fitting of Mark Twain’s descrip-
der Isohumulonumlagerung und die Beerworks. “There’s always peace of mind tion of an evening spent there:
Struktur der Isohumulone. Monatsschr. for neighbor breweries knowing that they
Brauwiss, 17, 131-134. can hit us up for a pound of Citra hops, a …it was tranced luxury to sit in the
6. Malowicki, M. G., & Shellhammer, few bags of base malt, or an odd seal, gas- perfumed air and forget that there was
T. H. (2005). Isomerization and ket, or clamp, and we know we can depend any world but these enchanted islands.
degradation kinetics of hop (Humulus on them as well.”
lupulus) acids in a model wort-boiling Mary Anderson of Kohola Brewery RESOURCES
system. Journal of agricultural and food echoed this sentiment. “We have a very col- 1. grassrootinstitute.org/2021/01/jones-act-
chemistry, 53(11), 4434-4439. laborative environment here in the islands, closed-loophole-that-could-help-hawaii
and it’s common that a local brewery will 2. eater.com/2017/3/2/14789010/
Leandro Meiners earned an MSc. in help us out if we are in a jam. That’s the kona-brewing-beer-lawsuit-hawaii
brewing and distilling at Heriot-Wat benefit of brewing in the land of aloha!” 3. Mark Twain in Hawaii: Roughing It in the
in Scotland. Having gained practical Kihei Carroll of Maui Brewing Co. Sandwich Islands, Hawaii in the 1860’s.
experience working at two breweries in told me how aloha is much more than Mutual Publishing; First Thus edition
France, he returned to his homeland of simply “the Hawaiian word for hello (January 1, 1994).
Argentina to start a brewery and taproom and goodbye.” It also embodies a phi- 4. Paul R. Kan, Hawai’i Beer: A History of
called PLACEBO (@placebo.brewing). losophy of mutual love and care. “We Brewing in Paradise, History Press, April
Leandro also has a blog in Spanish about truly do brew our beers with aloha, and 5, 2021.
brewing science called Zythologia, and we hope for that to come through. We
he is co-host of Birratecnia, a podcast strive to care about every person in our
in Spanish focused on sharing academic process and every detail of that process David J. Schmidt is an author, homebrewer,
research and putting it into context of day- and hope it carries through. We all know and multilingual translator who splits
to-day brewing activities. how important each other are and how his time between Mexico City and San
meaningful each of our interactions are Diego, California. Schmidt speaks twelve
Matias Cavanna is head brewer at because of how few of us there are. This languages and has spent the past fifteen
Dos Dingos Cerveza Independiente reinforces what aloha (love) and ohana years traveling throughout rural Mexico,
in Argentina and De Puerto brewpub (family) mean to the culture of Hawaii.” Latin America, and Africa in search of
and Rural barrel program in Uruguay. For many brewers in the islands, how- ancient folk brews, making him a veritable
Matias started homebrewing in Australia ever, being “locally minded” is a much Indiana Jones of homebrewing. (Think
and developed practical and technical broader concept. Harrison Ford with a beer gut.) He can be
knowledge in Australia, New Zealand, and Nick Riley of Honolulu Beerworks said, found on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter
Japan at Asahi’s small and large breweries. “I think there’s an important difference with the handle “Holy Ghost Stories,” or
Matias also co-hosts Birratecnia. between making something ‘tropical’ and via the website HolyGhostStories.com.

60 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 Editor’s Note:
This article originally appeared in Volume 3,
2021, of BRAUWELT International and is
reprinted with permission of Fachverlag Hans
Carl GmbH. Part 1 of this series may be found
reprinted in the Mar/Apr 2022 issue of Zymurgy.

Color
Calculations
and Part 2: Predicting beer color from recipes

Measurements

By Thomas Kraus-Weyermann and Horst Dornbusch

B
eer color While measuring color in the finished The photo shown in Figure 1 illustrates
beer is already a tricky business and thus this latter point. It was taken by the
equations .
only an imperfect science (see part 1 of authors during an unrelated project. At
This is the second arti- this article series, [1]), predicting it at the recipe design stage, one of the color
cle in a three-part series the beer design stage is fraught with even formulae explained below predicted that
about the challenges of specifying beer more uncertainty. Internationally, there the colors of these two Maibocks, mashed
are now several competing equations in with different grain bed compositions,
color at the recipe design stage, as well use for this purpose, but, unfortunately, would be mathematically similar, in the
as measuring it after the beer has been each of them produces a different beer range of roughly 22–23 EBC (11–12
brewed. It examines the most common color value if applied to the same grain SRM; the EBC and SRM units for mea-
bill (see Table 1). Likewise, on occasion, suring the color of liquids are explained
equations currently in use by brewers
these formulae also produce identical in part 1 of this article series, [1]). In
around the world for specifying beer predictive beer color values for finished reality, however, as can be seen even with
color before the brewing process begins. beers of different colors. the naked eye, these two beers are of very

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 63

different colors. When analyzed in the
laboratory, the color value of the beer on
the left was almost twice that of the beer
on the right. In fact, it was this acciden-
tally taken photo that was the starting
point for the research presented here.

SOURCES FOR BEER

COLOR CALCULATIONS
As a practical matter, when designing beer
recipes, many brewers nowadays use web-
based programs. Some of these are available
for free; others can be accessed only for
a user fee. Reference 2 lists a selection of
URLs for such programs [2]. Users can
enter a range of values into these online
platforms, including the extract efficiency
of their brew system; the beer’s desired
original gravity; the composition of the
grain bill by weight; and—most relevant for
this article—the color values of the malts
in the mash as provided by the maltster.
Unfortunately and surprisingly, however,
several of these online applications gener-
ate different outputs for identical inputs,
including for beer color; and the reasons
for these differences tend to be difficult to
discern because the algorithms embedded Fig. 1:
in these platforms often work only invisi- Spectrophotometric measurements show the color value of the left beer to be roughly double that of the right beer, even though one
bly, hidden behind the user interface. of the mathematical formulae used to calculate the two colors in advance suggested that they would be identical.

Congress, in EBC, or by the American

Society of Brewing Chemists, in degrees
Lovibond (°L). However, because of inter-
national measurement standardization,
there are simple mathematical relationships
between EBC units and non-EBC units that
allow for the conversion of all of them into
each other. The relevant equations are:
• 1 EBC = 0.377°L;
• 1 °L = 2.65 EBC;
• 1 SRM = 1.2992°L;
• 1 °L = 0.77 SRM;
• 1 EBC = 1.97 SRM;
• 1 SRM = 0.51 EBC.

THE MALT COLOR

MALT COLOR AS UNIT OF THE WORT
STARTING POINT The aggregate color value of a composite
The color values of the malts in the mash a standard wort from a single-malt con- mash is the result of the color values of
always serve as the starting point for pre- gress mash and the spectrophotometric each individual malt, expressed in EBC or
dicting the color of the beer made from measurement of the liquid’s color as proxy °L units, and of the proportional share of
a mash; and, nowadays, the measure- data for malt color (for detailed expla- each malt in the mash. Therefore, the wort
ment procedure used by maltsters for the nations of malt color measurements, see color—often called the “malt color unit”
determination of malt colors has become [1]). Maltsters report malt colors in units (MCU)—is a function of the aggregate
standardized. It involves the extraction of defined either by the European Brewing mash color and of the volume of liquid

64 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 TABLE 1: COLORS OF 20 BEERS CALCULATED BY 5 BEER COLOR FORMULAE
Weyermann® Spectrophotometer
Mosher formula Daniels formula Morey formula Krüger formula
formula value

% % % % %
Beer name Deviation Deviation Deviation Deviation Deviation
from from from from from
EBC SRM EBC SRM EBC SRM EBC SRM EBC SRM EBC SRM
spectro- spectro- spectro- spectro- spectro-
photome- photome- photome- photome- photome-
ter value ter value ter value ter value ter value

Hofbräu Export 23.6 12.0 143.3 26.0 13.2 168.0 25.9 13.2 167.0 11.7 6.0 20.6 14.2 7.2 46.4 9.7 4.9

Hofbräu Exquisator 31.0 15.8 -56.7 30.9 15.7 – 56.8 34.7 17.6 – 51.5 74.0 37.6 3.4 82.5 41.9 15.2 71.6 36.3

Hofbräu Lager 11.4 5.8 21.3 17.9 9.1 90.4 6.7 3.4 – 28.7 11.2 5.7 19.1 12.7 6.4 35.1 9.4 4.8

Hofbräu Pils 10.9 5.5 49.3 17.5 8.9 139.7 5.4 2.7 – 26.0 9.3 4.7 27.4 9.8 5.0 34.2 7.3 3.7

Hofbräu Rauchbier 17.0 8.6 – 52.0 21.6 10.9 – 39.0 16.8 8.6 – 52.5 31.7 16.1 – 10.5 32.4 16.4 – 8.5 35.4 18.0

Hofbräu Rotbier 18.5 9.4 – 55.7 22.6 11.5 – 45.9 19.1 9.7 – 54.3 37.4 19.0 – 10.5 36.4 18.5 – 12.9 41.8 21.2

Hofbräu Schwarzbier 25.5 12.9 – 60.6 27.2 13.8 – 58.0 28.3 14.4 – 56.3 61.9 31.4 – 4.3 54.6 27.7 – 15.6 64.7 32.8

Schlotfegerla® 30.9 15.7 – 60.3 30.8 15.6 – 60.5 34.5 17.5 – 55.7 82.8 42.0 6.3 91.3 46.3 17.2 77.9 39.5

No. 2 Black IPA 26.4 13.4 – 68.2 27.8 14.1 – 66.5 29.4 14.9 – 64.6 62.7 31.8 – 24.5 71.2 36.1 – 14.2 83 42.1

No. 3 Bohemian Pilsner 11.2 5.7 12.0 17.7 9.0 77.0 6.2 3.1 – 38.0 10.5 5.3 5.0 11.0 5.6 10.0 10 5.1

No. 4 Crazy Coriander 10.3 5.2 71.7 17.1 8.7 185.0 3.9 2.0 – 35.0 7.2 3.7 20.0 7.7 3.9 28.3 6 3.0

No. 5 Süßholz- porter 66.1 33.6 – 60.1 54.3 27.6 – 67.2 67.2 34.1 – 59.4 206.1 104.6 24.5 214.6 108.9 29.6 165.6 84.1

No. 6 Bamberg Rogg’t 18.9 9.6 – 55.9 22.8 11.6 – 46.9 19.6 10.0 – 54.3 37.6 19.1 – 12.4 46.1 23.4 7.5 42.9 21.8

No. 7 Rye IPA 25.3 12.8 – 59.1 27.1 13.8 – 56.2 28.0 14.2 – 54.8 59.0 30.0 – 4.7 67.5 34.3 9.0 61.9 31.4

No. 8 Oktober- weizen 13.2 6.7 – 35.6 19.1 9.7 – 6.8 10.5 5.3 – 48.8 17.8 9.0 – 13.2 22.3 11.3 8.8 20.5 10.4

No. 9 Willy Wonka Bock 20.6 10.5 – 61.0 24.0 12.2 – 54.5 22.0 11.2 – 58.3 42.2 21.4 – 20.1 50.7 25.8 – 4.0 52.8 26.8

No. 11 Pumper- nickel Porter 43.2 21.9 – 66.3 39.1 19.8 – 69.5 47.2 23.9 – 63.1 121.6 61.7 – 5.0 130.1 66.0 1.6 128 65.0

No. 12 Wheat Wine 14.5 7.3 – 72.6 19.9 10.1 – 62.5 12.7 6.5 – 76.0 21.0 10.7 – 60.4 28.5 14.5 – 46.2 53 26.9
Photos courtesy of Weyermann® Malzfabrik

No. 13 Oatmeal Stout 52.7 26.7 – 56.1 45.4 23.0 – 62.2 55.8 28.3 – 53.5 174.0 88.3 45.0 169.0 86.0 40.8 120 60.9

No. 14 IPA 13.0 6.6 – 40.4 18.9 9.6 – 13.3 10.1 5.1 – 53.7 16.3 8.3 – 25.2 20.8 10.6 – 4.6 21.8 11.1

Accuracy ranking (%) – 28.2 – 5.3 – 40.9 – 1.0 +8.9

Laboratory measurements
Accuracy ranking without
– 57.2 – 14.4 – 51.8 – 2.1 +6.9
Hofbräu Export (%)
Positive value = darker than laboratory spectrophotometer measurement; negative value = lighter than measurement

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 65

that is extracted from the mash, expressed The above MCU formula, however, has FORMULAE FOR BEER
either as in liters or gallons or as original one critical drawback: It is a linear func- COLOR PREDICTIONS
gravity. The MCU declines as the volume tion. As a practical matter, it is true that Several formulae for predicting beer color
of extracted wort increases, that is, as the 1 MCU is roughly (!) 1 SRM (or, precise- before the brewing process (rather than
original gravity decreases. Because the ly, 1.97 EBC), but only in a very narrow, measuring it after the brewing process)
MCU formula was first developed in the pale segment of the beer color spectrum, have evolved since the days of Brewmaster
United States, it was based on the follow- up to approximately 6 SRM (roughly 12 Lovibond [1]. Each relies on the MCU (see
ing inputs: malt colors in Lovibond scale EBC). Beyond this threshold, MCU val- formula above) and incorporates mathe-
(°L); beer colors in SRM; malt weights in ues become progressively less indicative matical correction techniques that account
U.S. pounds (lb.); and beer volumes in U.S. of the actual beer color, in part because for process variables. Perhaps the most
gallons (gal.). Please refer to Formula 1, several factors other than malt can con- comprehensive of these formulae has grown
whereby tribute to beer color. These interference out of the metric system. A fairly recent
• MC1–n = the color values (in °L) of the factors may include the effects of non-en- description of this formula appeared in the
individual malts in the grain bill; zymatic browning from the Maillard reac- spring of 2019 in an article by Jörg Krüger
• W1–n = the weight (in lbs. of dry weight) tion, the boil length, changes in pH, col- in Braumagazin [6]. Because this formula
of the individual malts in the grain bill; loidal instability, and beer hazes. These has no official name, it is simply referred to
• V = the wort volume (in gals.) extracted influences are discussed in greater detail here as the “Krüger formula.” It starts with a
from the mash. in part 3 of this article series. Therefore, calculation of the MCU of a given mash and
Rewritten in the metric system, formula 2 purely linear MCU predictions before then adds “darkening” corrections based on
is the analogous MCU formula, whereby the brewing process become essential- the length of the boil, the original gravity, and
• MC1–n = the color values (in EBC) of the ly useless as the beer color exceeds 10 the proportional amounts of pale malts in the
individual malts in the grain bill; SRM (roughly 20 EBC), unless the equa- mash. A similar, but slightly simplified ver-
• W1–n = the weight (in kg of dry weight) tion is adjusted by an “add-on” factor sion of the Krüger formula is also used at the
of the individual malts in the grain bill; (which is discussed in detail in part 3). Weyermann® Malting Company. It combines
• MW = total grist weight (dry in kg); Logarithmic ex-post-facto spectrophoto- the different add-ons of the Krüger formula
• OG = original gravity in °P (which metric measurements of beer color in the into a single, variable correction factor. Again,
incorporates the volume of wort laboratory, on the other hand, take these for simplicity’s sake, this formula is referred to
extracted from the mash). interference factors into account. here as the “Weyermann formula.” This for-

Fig. 2: The “real” colors of three Hofbräu beers featured in table 1 (from left): Rauchbier, Schwarzbier and Exquisator.

66 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

TABLE 2: AVERAGE PERCENT DEVIATION
BY FORMULA FROM SPECTROPHOTOMETER VALUES.

Ranking Average % deviation (ex-

Ranking Average % deviation (for all (excluding cluding
(for all 20 beers) Formula 20 beers) Hofbräu Export) Hofbräu Export)

#1 Weyermann –1 #1 –2.1

#2 Daniels –5.3 #3 –14.4

#3 Krüger +8.9 #2 +6.9

#4 Mosher –28.2 #5 –57.2

#5 Morey –40.9 #4 –51.8

mula is also used randomly as a reference for metric system) is expressed here as CEBC. The Daniels formula
comparing the results generated by the other Please refer to formula 3, whereby The “Daniels formula” is also a different
formulae in Table 1. • MC1–n = the color values (in EBC) of the linear scale with a constant correction fac-
In addition, starting in the 1990s, there individual malts in the grain bill; tor. Because the Mosher formula was found
have been several other attempts—all in • W1–n = the weight (in kg of dry weight) to perform poorly especially in color rang-
the United States and all based on the of the individual malts in the grain bill; es above roughly 10 SRM (20 EBC), Ray
MCU—to construct simple and easy-to- • Wtotal = the total weight (in kg of dry Daniels attempted to resolve this problem
use color prediction formulae for prac- weight) of the entire grain bill; by revising Mosher’s formula based on his
tical brewers. Most notable among these • G = the original gravity (in °P) of the own trial-and-error calculations derived
are three formulae developed by Randy wort as specified in the recipe; from a large number of homebrewed reci-
Mosher, Ray Daniels, and Daniel Morey, • BT = the boil time (in hours); pes [4, 5]. He developed his linear formula
who are well-known authors, brewers, and • D = the wort darkening per hour in in 1995/1996. It reads as follows:
recipe designers [3, 4, 5, 6, 10]. Because EBC (generally 1.5 EBC or 0.76 SRM
these equations, too, have no names, they per hour [7]); SRM = 0.2 × MCU + 8.4
are referred to here as the “Mosher formu- • CC = a color correction factor of 2 to 4
la,” the “Daniels formula,” and the “Morey EBC for very pale beers to capture the The logarithmic Morey formula
formula,” Of late, these formulae have proportionally greater darkening effect Recognizing the diminishing accuracy
become enormously important because, as of the kettle boil on these beers[6]. of both the Mosher and Daniels linear
mentioned above, most online beer spec- formulae for darker beers, Daniel Morey,
ification calculators have adopted at least The Mosher formula an avid homebrewer, developed an MCU-
one of them. Especially the Morey formula The first beer color formula for beer recipes based formula that takes the logarithmic
has become almost ubiquitous online; and to find wide acceptance among modern nature of light absorption as a function of
many modern home- and craft brewers rely home- and craft brewers in North America increasing darkness of the measured liquid
on it exclusively for their beer color predic- was Randy Mosher’s. It is a simple, linear, into account. Morey crunched malt color
tions. Here is how they work. MCU-based equation, obviously in USA values into a curvilinear rather than a linear
measurement units, which the author extrap- model and presented it for the first time
The traditional Krüger formula olated from commercial beers with known in a homebrew blog in 2000. An updat-
The Krüger formula is the most complex of recipes and color values. It consists of a fixed ed version of this blog can now be found
the five formulae considered here. Based on multiplier (0.3) for the MCU value and the online under the title “Approximating SRM
a version of the MCU, it takes into account addition of a constant (4.7). Mosher pub- Beer Color of Homebrew Based on Recipe
the largest number of factors that might lished this formula in 1994 [3]. It postulates: Formulation” [8]. Because humans cannot
play a role in determining a beer’s color. detect the differences in beer colors much
The Krüger color value (calculated in the SRM = 0.3 × MCU + 4.7 beyond roughly 40 SRM (80 EBC), Morey

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 67

limited the applicability of his analysis to This color correction factor is based on Second, the Weyermann formula comes
about 50 SRM (100 EBC). the beer’s original gravity as follows: closest to the laboratory measurements,
Although Morey developed his formula • 0 EBC with an original gravity up to with average beer color predictions that are
initially for homebrewers, it has since been about 7°P; only a few percent lighter than the actual
adopted by many (if not most) craft brew- • 3 EBC within an original gravity in the colors, whereas the Krüger formula pre-cal-
ers in the United States, in part because range of 7.1–10°P; culates color values that are on average 8.9
many brewing textbook authors have also • 5 EBC within an original gravity range percent and 6.9 percent, respectively, dark-
embraced it. Most prominent among these of 10.1–15°P; er than the laboratory measurements.
is John Palmer in his highly successful • 7 EBC within an original gravity range Interestingly, the Daniels formula, which
book How To Brew [9]. In fact, Palmer has of 15.1–20°P; generates the largest spread of deviations
become one of the most influential advo- • about 10 EBC with an original gravity from the measured values, from +185 to
cates of the Morey formula. In the May/ over 20°P. –67.2 percent, yields a fairly small devi-
June 2003 issue of Brew Your Own maga- ation of only –5.3 percent, once all the
zine, Palmer wrote that the “data for the full EVALUATION OF THE individual values are averaged. The Daniels
spectrum of beer color … may be better fit DIFFERENT FORMULAE summary deviation, however, increases to
by an exponential curve, such as the one Table 1 consists of a list of 20 beers that –14.4 percent, once the Hofbräu Export is
described by D. Morey’s equation” [10]. were produced on various occasions in the removed from the calculations.
With such support, the Morey formula 2.5-hectoliter Weyermann® pilot brewery in Next, the Mosher formula, which gen-
has become the almost universally accepted Bamberg with the color values predicted by erates a spread of values from +143.3 to
one in online recipe calculators for home- the Mosher, Daniels, Morey, Weyermann, –72.6, errs substantially (–28.2 and –57.2
and craft brewers, including in the popular and Krüger formulae. The table also shows percent) in the direction of lighter beers.
beersmith.com. Characteristically, this site the true spectrophotometric values (2 right Finally, the Morey formula, which has
justifies its choice by insisting (without columns) for each beer as measured in the become almost ubiquitously popular
proof) that the “Morey equation provides laboratory. In addition, it also shows the among modern home and craft brewers,
an excellent estimate of beer color through- deviations of each value from the spectro- is off by a significant average of –40.9 and
out the range from 1 to 50 SRM and is the photometer measurements expressed as –51.8 percent, respectively, in the direction
one used by most brewers today” [11]. In positive or negative percentages. Finally, of lighter colors.
other words, the proponents of the Morey the two bottom rows show the average
formula maintain that it can be applied deviations of the five formulae from the CONCLUSION
beneficially to any beer from a straw-yellow laboratory measurements. Today, many publications and online appli-
Helles to a pitch-black stout. Morey’s math- Table 1 suggest three conclusions: First, cations, including beersmith.com, “take
ematical formula reads as follows: not a single value generated by any of sides” by selecting a single, predictive color
the formulae agrees 100 percent with the formula (mostly the Morey formula) for
SRM = 1.4922 × MCU0.6859 corresponding laboratory measurement. color calculations, while other sites, such
Second, the pre-calculations sometimes as www.brewersfriend.com, avoid taking a
The Weyermann formula predicted darker and sometimes lighter position by featuring predictive beer color
Compared to the Krüger equation above, the beers than the actual results of the brew- calculations not just for the Morey formula
Weyermann formula combines the various ing process. Therefore, it is not possible to but also for the Mosher and Daniels formu-
add-ons of the traditional formula to the derive simple rules for the extent and the lae, as well as for the simple, “pure,” uncor-
beer’s MCU value into just a single value. The direction of the deviations from the true rected MCU scale. Many sites also allow
color value generated by the Weyermann values. Third, it is patently clear from the users to switch between standard metric
formula is expressed as CW, and the single summary in the bottom rows that some and United States units of measurement, as
add-on at the end of the equation as CC. The formulae produce much more reliable— for instance the site listed in [12].
CC value is in EBC units. It varies with the though not 100 percent accurate—forecasts Yet, the dilemma remains: Once applied
original gravities of the beers. Please refer to than others. to a given mash, each of these formulae
Formula 4, whereby Table 2 ranks the predictive strength of predicts, as Table 1 shows, drastically
• MC1–n = the color values (in EBC) of the the five formulae. different color values for the same beers
individual malts in the grain bill; First, the Mosher, Daniels and Morey and thus calls into question the practical
• W1–n = the weight (in kg of dry weight) formulae were unusually inaccurate in the applicability of any of these formulae. Part
of the individual malts in the grain bill; direction of dark in their predictions for 3 of this three-part article series, therefore,
• Wtotal = the total weight (in kg of dry the 9.7 EBC Hofbräu Export, whereas the will explore in greater detail the relation-
weight) of the entire grain bill; Krüger and Weyermann formulae were off ship between the variations summarized in
• G = the original gravity (in °P) of the by smaller amounts. Therefore, the summa- Table 1 and the actual spectrophotometric
beer as specified in the recipe; ry accuracy ranking of the formulae chang- color measurements. For this, the authors
• CC = a color correction factor (instead of es slightly, if the Hofbräu Export values are brewed three beers according to almost
the boil length as in the Krüger formula). eliminated as statistical outliers. identical specifications, using identical

68 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

processes. Only the types and amounts of BRAUWELT International no. 2, 2021, Beer Color of Homebrew Based
color malts differed. The grain bills were pp. 96–99. on Recipe Formulation”, https://
composed based on experience, with the 2. For instance: https://www.thebrewlist. babblehomebrewers.files.wordpress.
expectation that the three test beers would com/converter/beer-colour; http:// com/2015/06/estimating-beer-color.pdf
be easily distinguishable as blond, amber, brew-engine.com/engines/beer_ 9. Palmer, J.: How To Brew, 2001.
and dark. The final installment of this series color_calculator.html, https://www. 10. Palmer J.: “Raise the colors — How
featuring these analyses was published in brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/ to measure, calculate and control
BRAUWELT International no. 4, 2021, and calculator and http://beersmith.com/ the color of your beer”. In: Brew Your
will be reprinted in the Jul/Aug 2022 issue download-beersmith/ Own Magazine, May–June, 2003. Also
of Zymurgy. 3. Mosher, R.: The Brewer’s Companion, available online at: https://byo.com/
1994. images/28-33_Beer_Color.pdf
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 4. Daniels, R.: Designing Great Beers, 1996. 11. http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/04/29/
The authors wish to thank brewmaster 5. Daniels, R.: “Beer Color Demystified— beer-color-understanding-srm-lovibond-
Constantin Förtner of the Weyermann® Part III: Controlling and Predicting Beer and-ebc
Malting Company for his competent and Color,” in: Brewing Techniques, 1995. 12. https://www.brewersfriend.com/
dependable collaboration throughout this 6. Krüger, J.: “Strohgelb bis Pechschwarz,” srm-calculator
entire project. Braumagazin, Spring 2019, (https://
braumagazin.de/article/bierfarbe) Thomas Kraus-Weyermann is president and
REFERENCES 7. Narziß, L.: Die Technologie der CEO of Weyermann Malzfabrik in Bamberg,
1. Kraus-Weyermann, T.; Dornbusch, H.: Würzebereitung, 7th edition, 1992 Germany. Horst Dornbusch is founder and
“Color calculations and measurements (especially pp. 293–297). owner of Cerevisia Communications LLC in
(Part 1): Evolution of measurements”, 8. Morey, D.: “Approximating SRM West Newbury, Mass.

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 69

 IS CIDER
EDUCATION
THE KEY TO THE
INDUSTRY’S
GROWTH?

By Kristen Kuchar

T
here’s no denying that cider has increased in popularity in
recent years. At the start of 2019, there were an estimated
900 cider producers throughout the United States.1 Even
during the COVID-19 pandemic, cider sales still grew nine
percent in 2020, and the market was 10 times bigger than it had
been a decade earlier.2 Even regional cider producers saw a 15 per-
cent increase in sales from the previous year.
Despite that growth, cider still represents less than one percent of
the total alcoholic beverage market in the United States.3 Many con-
sumers haven’t yet discovered cider, and even those who have may
not recognize the wide variety of ciders available—not every cider
tastes like sweet apple juice!
 The American Cider Association (ACA) The Level One Certified Cider The Certified Pommelier exam must
aims to help the US cider and perry indus- Professional, or CCP for short, is designed be completed in person and is offered at
try flourish, and education plays a major for people who would benefit from a CiderCon. An online exam isn’t an option
role in that mission. The organization pro- deeper but still introductory level of cider since, in addition to the short-answer and
vides valuable resources, information, and knowledge. The CCP is offered online essay questions, there is a blind sensory
services to the industry and advocates on and consists of a 60-question exam with a evaluation portion.
its behalf. By further educating those in the passing score of 85 percent. Sample ques- “Without practice, it can be challenging
food and beverage community, the associ- tions include to evaluate a cider blind,” Dorsey says.
ation hopes to offer patrons the best cider • What are the flavors of an oxidized Candidates are required to identify the
drinking experience. cider that was improperly stored? best-known international ciders and be able
• Which gas should never be used in a to understand flaws and faults and how
Education and Certification draft system to push cider? they can be perceived, Dorsey explains.
Jennie Dorsey, cider education out- • True or false? France has a strong Feedback for the exam has been pos-
reach manager for the American Cider tradition of deliberately swirling the itive thus far, Dorsey says, and it has
Association, says there should be more bottle and pouring cider with sediment. helped many new cidermakers bring their
conversation about cider in the indus- “It’s really for everyone in the food and bev- ciders to the market using a language that
try. She points out that when a customer erage industry,” says Dorsey. She says any- everyone can understand. But benefits of
asks if cider is served at a restaurant or one serving cider—whether at a cidery or such training are not just limited to cider
bar, it’s often met with a simple yes or no aboard a cruise ship—could benefit from professionals. The ACA study guide notes
response. The same question about wine, such education. that anyone dealing with cider can benefit
however, may prompt a discussion in The second level, Certified Pommelier, is from such in-depth knowledge, including
which servers explain the various styles more in depth and often requires months retailers, markers, distributors, and journal-
and regions available. Ideally, the cider of study. While there are close to 2,000 ists. The end goal, according to the ACA,
response would be similarly detailed—yes, Certified Cider Professionals, there are is to “educate customers on the diversity
we have a fruited cider from this specific currently just 15 Certified Pommeliers. In and nuances of the vast but misunderstood
region, for example. order to sit for the Certified Pommelier cider category.”
Dorsey hopes that better consumer Exam, you must already be a Level One “We really want people to walk into any
understanding of cider will lead to more Certified Cider Professional. store, from a 7-Eleven to a high-end wine
dialogue and excitement. That’s why the Both exams cover seven key principles, shop, and be able to choose a cider for
American Cider Association launched with Certified Pommelier diving into each themselves based on a common language,”
two professional certifications for those topic more deeply. Dorsey says.
in the cider industry—the Certified Cider • Apples (Orchard and History)
Professional (first exam offered at CiderCon • Cidermaking Certification in Practice
2016) and the Certified Pommelier (first • Evaluation Sara Boyd, owner and cidermaker at
exam offered at CiderCon 2019). • Families and Flavor Loch Mór Cider Co. in Ontario, became a
• Keeping and Serving Certified Pommelier to help educate people
• Food and Cider that cider is a drink worthy of consider-
• Social Responsibility ation. Sara and husband Gary focus on dry
The exams, as well as any educational ciders at their cidery, using heritage and
content associated with them, were created traditional cider apples that are pressed at
by the education committee overseen by harvest and fermented slowly.
the American Cider Association, which “Our ciders drink much more like a
includes professionals committed to cider wine and pair beautifully with food,” she
and education. explains. Their ciders are well-received, and
the cidery’s offerings have won Best Cider
of the Year at the 2021 WineAlign awards
(Canada’s national wine awards) and
best-in-class rankings at the Great Lakes
International Cider and Perry Competition
(GLINTCAP) this year, along with other
“We really want people to walk gold, silver, and bronze medals.
“It’s about broadening people’s horizons
into any store, from a 7-Eleven to a on cider,” Boyd says. The cidermaker sees
it often in their tasting room: a customer
high-end wine shop, and be able to walks in and says they don’t like cider.
Then they give it a try and their mind is
choose a cider for themselves based blown, she explains.
The cidery is located in Prince Edward
on a common language.” — Jennie Dorsey County, a popular wine region in
Ontario, along with more than 40 nearby
wineries. Having the Certified Pommelier
title helps elevate the cider experience
and provides an education for wine

72 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 Jennie Dorsey of the American Cider Association leads a cider training group.

tourists visiting the cidery. Achieving the

rank of Certified Pommelier requires hard
work, reading, and studying, she says,
and adds that it is geared towards people
who want to use the title professionally
like a sommelier or Certified Cicerone.
She and the cidery have received increas-
ing media attention from local reporters
who often include her when mentioning
local female sommeliers.
Deepening the knowledge of cider means
exposing people to different varieties. Boyd
says it’s also about taking descriptive terms
Photos © Getty Images; courtesy of the American Cider Association and Loch Mór Cider Co.

that could be off-putting, such as barn-

yard-like or leathery, and showing what
these unique flavors can truly lend to an Sara Boyd and Gary Boyd of Loch Mór Cider Co.
interesting cider.
Boyd’s goal is to highlight stylistic diver-
sity and the many ways to enjoy cider. She
is particularly passionate about pairing the beverage and the meal. She explains Another approach is to match intensities,
cider with food. that pairing cider with food follows the she explains, as with a light-bodied crisp
“Broadly, cider and food pair well same principles as pairing beer. One dry cider paired with a meal that features
because cider tends to be a bit lighter on might choose a cider that complements light, delicate flavors. Boyd also points
the palate with refreshing acidity, so it the flavors in the meal (e.g., a smoky out the theory that what grows together,
doesn’t dominate a meal,” Boyd says. “It’s whiskey-barrel-aged cider with a flame- goes together—a cider from a particular
also lower ABV than a wine, so it never grilled steak), cuts through dominant region may pair well with foods grown
comes across as ‘hot’ and a 750-milliliter food flavors (e.g., a bright, acidic cider or produced there, such as a dry, tannic
bottle can easily be enjoyed over dinner.” to cut through the richness of cheese or West Country British cider matched with
Boyd strives to help consumers nav- charcuterie), or contrasts with the main a locally produced sharp cheddar from the
igate the many ways to pair cider with flavor (e.g., a dry-hopped cider paired same region.
food and how doing so elevates both with spicy tacos).

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 73

 Amie Fields, partner and sales director
at Botanist & Barrel in Cedar Grove, N.C.,
wants to change the idea that all cider
is the same as the mass-marketed sweet
ciders many consumers associate with fer-
mented apples.
“Cider’s resurgence has allowed it to both
be playful and serious, so it’s fluid and destination means even more visitors from Both Boyd and Fields stress the impor-
ever-changing,” she says. “It’s an exciting all over the country will have access to tance of preparing for the blind tasting,
time to learn about the old traditions as unique ciders. which can be a challenge even for those
well as the new innovators!” “It has given me more confidence to in the industry already making cider. It’s
The ciders and wines produced at mentor others,” she says of her certifica- helpful to taste as many different regional
Botanist & Barrel are unrefined and unfil- tion. “Having the accreditation and the styles of cider as possible, they both add.
tered, with no additives. The focus for the support of the ACA has also allowed cider Candidates should know how to evaluate a
ciders is on locally produced fruit, within to take a place on the worldwide stage cider on appearance, aroma, taste, mouth-
200 miles, including their own farm prop- which has brought new attention to this feel, and finish, and be able to identify vari-
erty, and organic whenever possible. historic beverage.” ous flaws such as cork taint, oxidation, and
Fields strives to educate consumers She says the Certified Cider Professional extreme acetification. It’s also vital to know
that cider isn’t always sweet, that it can could be beneficial to anyone in the indus- the various regional styles.
be serious, and that it offers a sense of try. “The Certified Pommelier exam is for “If possible, start a tasting group with
place in the beverage world. She wants those who want to take their beverage someone that has a background in wine
to debunk some misconceptions around programs to the next level or for those or with a cider or winemaker that knows
cider. “A lot of people believe cider is who are in beverage education and want the common faults and can show you
brewed. Cider is really a wine, just apple to delve deeper into cider pairings for the examples of them,” Fields suggests. She
based,” she notes. service industry,” she says. “Cider is really also points out that the ACA has a senso-
She wants to expose people to differ- in its own category and deserves its shine.” ry evaluation workshop you can take in
ent varieties of cider and create a better preparation as well.
understanding of the beverage, which How to Prepare Dorsey suggests that home cidermakers
led her to pursue becoming a Certified To prepare for the exam, the ACA provides preparing for either certification, in addi-
Pommelier to complement her knowledge a list of recommended books including: tion to seeking out the above resources,
as a Certified Sommelier. It also was part Cider Hard & Sweet (Ben Watson), World’s get involved with the local cider commu-
of the inspiration that led to opening a Best Ciders (Pete Brown and Bill Bradshaw), nity. “We encourage you to engage with
tasting room and bottle shop in Asheville Craft Cider Making (Andrew Lea), Tasting cideries and cider professionals in your
with more than 300 natural wines and Cider (Erin James), Ciderology (Gabe Cook), area to taste with them or even to join our
ciders. Asheville’s status as a busy tourist Modern British Cider (Gabe Cook) and online community to immerse yourself in
American Cider (Dan Pucci). There is also a the language of cider,” she adds.
dedicated Facebook group for those study- It’s not just about being able to say
ing for the exam. they’re certified but what that actually
The ACA provides various helpful docu- means, Dorsey says. They truly know about
ments, including a cider families guide, an cider, and it shows.
overview on cider cocktails, and a prac-
tice sensory worksheet. The study guide Resources
advises knowing the various regions and 1. statista.com/statistics/300775/
types of apples listed, different harvesting us-leading-cider-brands-based-on-
techniques and cider making by region, dollar-sales/
an understanding of pairing food and 2. beveragedaily.com/Article/2020/02/07/
cider, and the history of the apple, among US-consumers-shop-local-for-cider-as-
numerous other topics. The guide also regional-brands-grab-40-market-share
emphasizes an in-depth understanding 3. beveragedaily.com/Article/2019/02/15/
of cidermaking and the best practices for Cider-succeeds-with-men-women-
serving cider. and-millennials-but-faces-retention-
In addition to the resources already challenge
mentioned, Fields also recommends The
Big Book of Cidermaking: Expert Techniques
for Fermenting and Flavoring Your Favorite Kristen Kuchar has covered the food and
Hard Cider (Christopher Shockey, Kirsten beverage industries for the past 14 years.
K. Shockey). Cider podcasts, such as She has written for Brew Your Own,
CiderChat and Neutral Cider Hotel (led by BeerAdvocate, CraftBeer.com, The Beer
Ciderology author Gabe Cook), could be Connoisseur, DRAFT, All About Beer,
good resources, too, adds Boyd. VinePair, and many more.

74 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

American Craft Beer Week
(May 16-22) is your chance to
drink outside your comfort zone.
Try special beers. Flip your
brew-tine. Celebrate the
creativity of small and
independent breweries
who have turned the
beer world on its ear.

Anything goes.
Everything flows.

AmericanCraftBeerWeek.com
 HomebrewersAssociation.org/big-brew-gear-guide

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76 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

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HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 77

 HomebrewersAssociation.org/big-brew-gear-guide

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78 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 HISTORICAL
BREWING
TECHNIQUES
The Lost Art of Farmhouse Brewing

LARS MARIUS GARSHOL

“It’s not an exaggeration to say that Historical

Brewing Techniques is the most important book
on brewing in at least twenty years.”
—Jeff Alworth, author of
The Beer Bible

order today at BrewersPublications.com

 • TECHNIQUES FOR
BREWING WITH
THC AND CBD

• TERPENOID &
CANNABINOID
EFFECTS

• REGULATORY
COMPLIANCE

• CANNABIS BEER
RECIPES

• METHODS
FOR MAKING
NON-ALCOHOLIC
CRAFT BEER

NEW
RELEASE!

Keith Villa,, Ph.D.,, iss b

brewmaster
e as e aand
d co
co-founder
ou de
of Colorado-based CERIA Brewing g Company, y
a trailblazer in the rapidlyy g growingg market of
non-alcoholic,, cannabis-infused beers. After
earningg his Ph.D. in brewing g from the Universityy
of Brussels in Belgium,
g Keith began
g his 32-year
y
ca ee as founder
career ou de a and d head
ead b
brewmaster
e as e aat Blue
ue
M
Moon Brewing Company, an operating unit off MillerCoors. Since then,
this
hi beer
b doctor
d has
h gone
g on to brew
b severall award-winning
d i i g beers
b
and continues to set new standards and push the boundaries off flavor, f
styles,
sy and ingredients.
g Keith also is co-founder
f and head brewer off
family
f business Donavon Brewing Company based in Arvada, Colorado. B w
BrewersPublications.
bl t .com
 FERMENT
onThis

Engineering a Beer Competition

By Bethany Kersten, William Dean, and Drace Penley

C
hemical engineering essen- of these topics is “separations.” but most people’s first reactions ical engineering theories that
tially breaks down into This course is key to under- to the word distillation are in drive the process and attract
three fundamental subjects: standing all the unit operations reference to the production of those studying the subjects
reactions, thermodynamics, that chemical engineers oversee spirits. Unfortunately, distilla- to it. From extracting sugars
and transport. While these sub- across the world. For many tion of alcohol for consump- from grain and flavors from
jects are critical to understand- students, a large part of this tion is illegal to do without hops to the kinetics of yeast’s
ing the deep-rooted science and course focuses on distillation, proper licensing, but this is not conversion of sugar to ethanol
math that chemical engineers which is the most widely used the case for brewing beer. and the diffusion of carbon
do, it is the combination of the separation technique. Brewing may not involve dioxide into the beverage, the
three that drives many of the In industry, distillation is multiple-story towers that sep- list goes on. No matter your
processes we study. mainly used to separate organic arate chemicals based on their focus or specific interests, as a
The first undergraduate materials for use in applications boiling points, but there are chemical engineer, homebrew-
course that really combines all such as energy and plastics, still many fundamental chem- ing is exciting.
Photos courtesy of authors

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 81

QUARANTINE BREWING Our beer-brewing adventure began with This decision led to our brewing mul-
Our quarantine started like many others’ a campus-run meadmaking class, in which tiple beers at a time, testing recipes, and
did—bored at home, with not much to each registered person was given the mate- enjoying the fruits of our labor as we
do and few people to interact with. Many rials to make 1 gallon (3.8 liters) of mead. went. The more we brewed, the more
of my fellow students and I enjoy visiting The three of us had some prior brewing confident we became, and we allowed
new breweries and trying out all the excit- experience, having brewed with friends ourselves more creative freedom. This
ing seasonal creations of local brewers, on one or two occasions, but we’d enjoyed led to Dr. Christopher Wirth, assistant
but this was no longer an option. Luckily minimal success. With a renewed sense of professor of chemical and biomolecular
the student body of Case Western Reserve passion for fermentation and no option to engineering at CWRU, reaching out to
University (CWRU) offered us opportuni- visit breweries, we were left with a simple us about an opportunity to brew and
ties to find a new outlet during these times. choice: make good beer at home. compete at the annual American Institute

82 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Beer
Brewing Competition.
The first step was to decide on our
competition beers. We all have different
preferences when it comes to beer, so we
wanted to make sure our entries had char-
acteristics all beer enthusiasts could enjoy.
The two beers we ultimately decided on fell
on either end of the preference spectrum: a
very hoppy black IPA called Coraline’s Brew
and a sweeter, mild toasted oatmeal stout
we named Toasty Oat.
Our brewing process differed slightly
between the two beers. The IPA was pri-
marily extract-based because we were aim-
ing for a relatively high alcohol percentage,
and equipment limitations made it difficult
to achieve the required original gravity
using all-grain methods. Toasty Oat, on the
other hand, would be lower in alcohol, and
we were able to directly extract sugars from
a mixture of grains in a mash.
We used seven varieties of hops in our
black IPA, all of which worked together to
create a complex flavor profile that includ-
ed notes of pine, citrus, garlic, and pepper.
In addition to the interesting flavor profile
they contributed, the hops were also specif-
ically selected according to where they had
been grown.

HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 83

 Idaho 7 hops were chosen because early in the afternoon. Later, we set up our edge of extraction, separation, and fer-
Bethany did her undergraduate degree poster, which detailed the brewing process- mentation, topics we have learned through
in Idaho. Columbus hops were used as es for both beers and featured the logos we classes and projects, and apply them to
Drace had earned his his undergraduate designed, and reported the essential stats making a fun and satisfying product.
and master’s degrees at The Ohio State for the brews. We’ve also learned that a brewer does not
University. Mighty Ax hops were chosen Our brewhouse efficiency for the black have to be a chemical engineer or chemist.
because they are grown in Minnesota, IPA was 94.9%, with an ABV of 8.8%, As long as you are able to keep your equip-
which is where William is from. We also and original and final gravities of 1.074 ment clean and can read a recipe, almost
included two dry-hop steps—one during (18°P) and 1.005 (1.3°P), respectively. anyone can brew. We hope to inspire others
fermentation and one during condition- The oatmeal stout had 62.2% brewhouse to try this rewarding hobby and see where
ing—to add additional aroma. efficiency, measured 5.1% ABV, and they can take it, just as we have and hope
Despite the IPA’s high bitterness, it was had original and final gravities of 1.042 to keep doing.
still balanced by dark-malt sweetness. In (10.5°P) and 1.007 (1.8°P), respectively.
contrast, the Toasty Oat beer used very few During the competition, we stood by our Bethany Kersten is a PhD candidate in the
hops, which resulted in a much milder fla- poster and presented it to other competi- department of chemical engineering at Case
vor. Additional flavoring was used to add to tors and judges. In addition, anyone was Western Reserve University. Her research
the flavor profile, including vanilla, cinna- allowed to come to the competition and focuses on studying the electrochemistry
mon, cacao, and peanut butter to comple- act as a judge for certain awards like the of actinides for the recycling of nuclear
ment the sweetness of the beer. The result people’s choice award. fuel. William Dean is a PhD student
was an easy-drinking beer that almost any- Once the poster session was over, a whose research focuses on understanding
one would enjoy. blind tasting began. All the competition the bulk and interfacial properties of new
brews were defaced of any labeling and electrolytes for energy storage devices.
AICHE BEER BREWING COMPETITION categorized by beer style. Unlimited Drace Penley is a PhD student whose
We submitted our two brews—Coraline’s 4-ounce (118 mL) samples were given research focuses on developing electrolytes
Brew black IPA and Toasty Oat oatmeal out for every competitor, judge, and for lithium batteries.
stout—to the AIChE Annual Conference audience member of the competition to
Beer Brewing Competition. This was the try. After two hours of tasting, the award
fourth time the conference had held this ceremony began.
competition, in which any AIChE member We won best new team, which was a
over the age of 21 can compete. huge accomplishment, and highest bre-
The competition featured chemical engi- whouse efficiency for Coraline’s Brew. At
neers from all walks of life, including grad- the end of the competition, we felt proud
uate students, newly employed chemical of ourselves for trying something new and
engineers, chemical engineers who have prac- were thankful to have competed with the
ticed for 40 or more years, and professors. other amazing teams. In talking to other
We competed as a brand-new team, but there competitors and trying their beers, we
were teams that had competed all four years found ourselves even more excited to brew
and had used all-grain systems. However, we again and had a few ideas for new types of
were not intimidated. We were excited to get beers to try and new ways to brew.
a chance for our new hobby to take off and We hope to upgrade to an all-grain sys-
receive real feedback from other tem soon. In addition, we are currently
beer enthusiasts. mapping out plans to start our own brew-
The competition was split ery after we complete our PhDs. Through
into a few different parts. First, this process, we have learned that brewing
we dropped off eight bottles is really a bread-and-butter hobby for
per brew at the competition chemical engineers. We use our knowl-

Left to right: Bethany and Will brewing; Bethany bottling.

84 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org

 ADVERTISER INDEX
To advertise in Zymurgy, contact us
at [email protected]

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HomebrewersAssociation.org Zymurgy | MAY/JUNE 2022 | 85

MADE FROM
AMERICA’S
HOPS AND
DREAMS.
Our bottles and cans may not have the flag.
But our beer is made with everything it stands for.
That’s Independence You’re Tasting.

@indiebeer_
 LAST
Drop BY NORM RYDER

Arizona Brewing
allowed me to control the cool tempera-
tures at night with a temperature controller
and Rhino heaters in this foam cabinet.
We used ice from the rec hall to cool the
kegs when we bottled. The first time, we
bottled one keg and everything went fairly

My Most Out-There Brewing Adventure! smoothly, with 50 bottles capped. The next
time, we filled two kegs in two more brew
days, with a plan to bottle at 11 a.m. It sure
was funny when, after we had everything

G
old Canyon, Arizona, must be one of batch of drugs traveling south. Oddly ready to go, a large contingent of campfire
the strangest spots to brew when you enough, in all the time I have crossed the friends all showed up with beer mugs. We
consider I live in Ontario, Canada, border, they have only ever asked about ended up with only 50 bottles from two
and it takes 36 hours of driving to get spirits and wine. They also have standard kegs and a bunch of happy beer lovers.
there. It all started around a campfire in other questions. When I declare my wine, I I had donated all the ingredients and
Arizona at an RV park with a few couples usually say I have “some” wine. Once I heard couldn’t care less when the beer was con-
enjoying beer I had brought from Canada. “Some?” as a reply, and I said, ”Yes, sir, some.” sumed. I decided to make fast-turnaround
I usually travel with two Corny kegs of He did not pursue it further. “Some” is a great beers, as our normal stay was for two-and-
beer and about 50 plastic bottles—plastic answer, by the way! a-half months, even though we had paid
so they don’t burst on the road in subzero One of my brewing students camped for three. Two students said that brewing
temperatures. Two camper friends said they beside me and told me the neighbor behind was too much work and they would just
would like to learn to brew, so in a weak me was not a friendly person. I said that I stick to buying beer. The third student,
moment, I volunteered to bring a brewing usually get along with most fellow campers, Peter, was mostly interested in assisting,
rig down for lessons the next year. so I said, “Let’s see what happens.” I went but he was a super bottle cap operator. The
So what was the problem? Fifth wheels over to meet Peter, who had a very English other guys washed bottles, sanitized them
are big. I had a 32-foot Cedar Creek unit accent, and said he was probably wonder- with Star San, and deployed a Fast Rack to
that measured 37.5 feet stem to stern. But ing what all the stainless-steel equipment dry the rinsed bottles.
try stuffing in a converted keggle, a pro- was doing sitting behind my fifth wheel. One other problem was the javelina
pane brewing stand, a plate chiller, primary Promptly, I told him I was a brewer and (which resemble pigs) who entered the park
fermenters, CO2 tank, propane tank, bottle that some of the guys in the park wanted to to smell my spent grain one night while we
capper, and beer dispensing unit, as well as learn how to brew. I assured him I would were at our campfire. A whole family of ani-
freshly milled malt, Star San, yeast, hops, be quiet and would probably wait until 7 mals came in to investigate the new aroma
and so on. It was a trick. The mash tun was a.m. to start. He said that would be fine as of malted grain. You never know what can
another space grabber. Thankfully, my wife he would be up at 6:30. No problem! happen with these things. At least no rattle-
was on board with this crazy idea. Guess what? He became my third stu- snakes hid under my brewing equipment.
The plan was to serve the two kegs I trav- dent! His wife Linda even served the beer, We have camped in the same RV park for
el with to friends at two socials and fill them as she had not operated a beer handle 11 winters. Recently, we wintered in Texas
with wort from the primary pails in three since they had gotten married in England. near the Mexican border and in Madeira
separate brewing days. The primary pails They married in the pub and worked off and the Azores. I helped a craft brewery in
had holes with rubber grommets to install their wedding bill by serving beer and Madeira with recipes and processes, but that
the airlocks that I could stack to bring along. doing all the stuff you do to run a pub on is another tale for another time. I would
What could go wrong? weekends. She actually cried tears of joy never do that packing trick ever again, but

Photos courtesy of Norm Ryder

For one thing, I could not get an answer when I announced that she was my new it sure was fun to have my recipes enjoyed
from the local brew shop about obtaining “official” pourer. Brew days went smoothly, in the desert southwest. Dare to dream, and
the malt and having them mill it for me. So and the primary ferment buckets bubbled you can brew almost anywhere!
I decided to crush my own malt, put it in away in the one bay (storage unit in an
separate batches, and include the recipe in RV) that I made into a fermentation cabi- Norm Ryder lives in Ontario, Canada, and
case the border guard thought it was a bad net with ¾-inch foam and duct tape. This has been homebrewing for 50 years.

88 | MAY/JUNE 2022 | Zymurgy HomebrewersAssociation.org