Basic Brewing Radio: Recent Episodes
James Spencer
Basic Brewing Radio is a weekly chat about homebrewing - brewing the best beer and mead in the world in your own home.
Homebrewer Scott Housel answers the Mash Your Luck challenge with a great big Belgian-y beer and also shares a tart lambic with lots of ginger.
Bryan Evanson from the Bloatarian Brewing League in Cincinnati, Ohio, talks about a long-running keg-only competition with an unmatched sampling party.
Steve Wilkes and Detlef Koertge join James to sample their own beers that they aren't happy with for one reason or another.
The gang goes continental and samples three Hop Sampler small batches with hops from France.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin and Swim University shares the delicious beer behind his latest viral video.
Homebrew hero Randy Mosher talks about his latest book exploring the mechanics of sensory perception and strategies to improve our sensory skills.
Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing and James Bardeen of Far Field Beer Company talk about their trip to Philly for the Craft Beer Conference.
The usual suspects sample a small batch Hop Sampler with varying levels of dry hopping post-fermentation.
Author Peter Symons tells us how he used artificial intelligence to untangle a homebrew recipe for a favorite vintage beer.
Homebrewer Scott Housel shares his latest answer to the Mash Your Luck challenge - a low ABV, balanced bitterness, amber sour with Australasian influences.
Author Mika Laitinen talks to James and to Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing about Taari, a Nordic beer whose mash is fermented after baking in an oven.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin and Swim University shares three beers, one with a bunch of homegrown hops and two brewed with basic techniques.
John O'Donnell and Tim Webb from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) answer homebrewer Omar Al-Nidawi's cask serving questions.
Homebrewer Ron Miller shares a delicious country wine made with rhubarb. Steve Wilkes helps taste and adds his experience.
Most of the usual suspects gather to read brewing disaster stories from listeners and to sample Scott Housel's homebrew.
Author Peter Symons joins us to talk about his fifth book of brewing history and homebrew recipes and his use of AI to help put it together.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin heads to the mountains to go back to his roots of home brewing.
For the 27th Hop Sampler, the usual suspects compare three deliciously fruity hops: NZ Pacific Sunrise, Strata, and Comet.
Homebrewer Detlef Koertge is inspired to brew German lager style beers after a visit with a professional lager brewer in his home country.
Josh Secaur of Gambit Brewing in St. Paul, Minnesota, answers the Mash Your Luck challenge with a Black IPA nod to the Star Wars universe.
Homebrewer Scott Housel answers the Mash Your Luck challenge with a Graf, a cider/beer hybrid inspired by author Stephen King.
Dr. Scott Lafontaine from the University of Arkansas joins James along with Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing and author Chris Colby to sample James' rice lager and talk about the role of rice in brewing and its future.
Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing shares the second half of a tasting round featuring beers that are big and flavorful.
Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing shares a flight of three beers that are light in character and quick to produce.
Homebrewer Mitchel Jensen shares some of his hop freezer bounty as we compare Zappa, Bergamot, and Experimental 25.
We dig into the archives to find excerpts of shows that featured Jack McAuliffe, the founder of modern craft beer, who passed away this past month.
James heads to Tulsa to taste the results of the Mash Your Luck challenge with members of the Fellowship of Oklahoma Ale Makers.
Homebrewer Scott Housel answers the Mash Your Luck challenge with three beers that share common ingredients - two share the same yeast, and two share the same mash.
The usual suspects sample single-hop beers brewed with Crystal, US Delta, and Zythos hops.
The cast of characters from this past week sticks around to sample James' Canada Maple Lager and his Mash Your Luck UK Triple IPL.
After a long hiatus, James and Steve share a Hop Sampler (Nugget, Harlequin, Cryo Pop) with regulars from the Recipe Development and Mash Your Luck shows.
Steve Wilkes joins Detlef Koertge and James to evaluate the results of their experiment comparing different equipment and mash schedules to brew a Helles.
James is joined by Greig McGill of Brewaucracy and Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing as they share their thoughts about the Craft Brewers Conference.
James heads to Tulsa for a meeting of the Fellowship of Oklahoma Ale Makers (FOAM) as they spin the wheel for Mash Your Luck.
Homebrewer Detlef Koertge enlists James' help to design an experiment testing whether his elaborate step mashes are worth the effort.
Scott Housel meets the Mash Your Luck challenge with a big, hoppy American Amber Ale. He also rolls the dice again for another round.
James heads to his hometown of Hot Springs, Arkansas, to sample sake at a national gathering of sake brewers.
Homebrewer Allan Debertin talks to us about brewing a beer with maple sap and how he uses low-tech brewing techniques to deal with the chilly Canadian temps.
Chris Colby joins James to suggest some deliciously drinkable beer styles to take us into warmer weather.
James seeks help from Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin and Swim University and Josh Secaur from Gambit Brewing to formulate two lagers - one small and refreshing, the other giant and hoppy.
Dr. Scott Lafontaine and Dr. Christian Schubert from the University of Arkansas talk about their research using rice to improve the character and efficiency of non-alcohol beers.
James is joined by Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing and author Chris Colby as they taste a delicious bock and roll the next Mash Your Luck challenge.
Rob Brennan from Supermoon Beer Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, joins James and Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing to talk about mixed fermentation in barrels.
Gary Glass returns to talk about his job as head brewer at Left Hand Brewing in Longmont, Colorado, and founding board member of the newly-independent American Homebrewers Association.
Our good friend, Desiree Knott, introduces us to her new boss – Alex Long of Dancing Skeleton Meadery in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. We sample two of their delicious traditional meads.
Scott Housel shares his dark, tart, rhubarb and cherry beer with a bit of something extra. He also takes the Mash Your Luck challenge for another round.
James, Adam Ross from Twin Span, homebrewer Scott Housel, and author Chris Colby taste a tart Brown Forest Light and formulate the recipe for a big, malty Bock.
James and Steve finally get to sample delicious beers from Two Mile Brewing in Leadville, Colorado, with brewer Sean Terrill - including his Mash Your Luck challenge.
Our good friend, Bob Stempski, has a spirited conversation with James about taking his brewing to the next level.
James and Steve share beers and conversation with brewer Brian Brennfoerder, who comes to professional brewing having only started homebrewing less than a year ago.
Chris Colby helps James formulate the recipe for a small, brown beer with German influences.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin shares two dark and delicious beers on opposite ends of the ABV scale.
Homebrewer Scott Housel shares a series of tart and tasty hybrid beers made with wine kit must as an ingredient.
Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing shares a tart historical American beer style as his response to the Mash Your Luck challenge.
Author Chris Colby joins James to formulate a recipe for a Strong Belgian Golden Ale with notes of tropical fruity hops.
Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing, homebrewer Scott Housel, and author Chris Colby taste two beers James brewed to meet his Mash Your Luck challenge: a starter Pilsner and a huge, dark beer with south-of-the-border influences.
Four professional brewers from across the United States answer listener questions about going pro in today's craft beer world.
Members of the Inland Empire Homebrew Club pit six delicious beers against each other in the first ever Mash Your Luck competition.
In the second part of a conversation on Steve Wilkes' porch, we talk to native Bavarian Detlef Koertge about his homebrewing and more on German beer culture. Steve's son, Chase, also chats about beers in NYC.
We sit on Steve Wilkes' porch to have beers and conversation with Detlef Koertge, a homebrewer with roots in Bavaria.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin and Josh Secaur of Gambit Brewing help James compare his two Honey IPAs, and the group brainstorm on a recipe for Matt's holiday beer.
Chris Colby, author of the Homebrew Recipe Bible and Methods of Modern Homebrewing, helps James formulate a giant lager with advanced brewing techniques.
James shares his Mash Your Luck "Malt Liquor" with Chris Colby, Adam Ross, and Scott Housel. He rolls the dice again for another challenging beer.
Homebrewer Scott Housel shares his tart and smoky interpretation of a delicious Historical German beer.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin and Josh Secaur of Gambit Brewing join James to taste his Honey IPA and to plan the next version. Matt also takes the Mash Your Luck challenge.
Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing shares four beers brewed with terpenes – three with hop terpenes, and one with terpenes from hops' wacky cousin. Scott Housel helps James sample.
James is joined by Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing, Scott Housel, and Steve Wilkes as they taste Steve's Mash Your Luck braggot.
Sean Terrill of Two Mile Brewing Company in Leadville, Colorado, talks about serving tourists at the highest altitude brewery in the country and takes his chances at Mash Your Luck.
Scott Housel asks James, along with Adam Ross and Austin Wadkins of Twin Span Brewing, for advice on brewing two fun and obscure beers.
Peter Symons, author of True Blue Brews - The Origins of Australian Beer, seeks a looser definition of "lager."
Jason Dunn and Doug Walker from the Inland Empire Brewers homebrew club in California let fate choose the parameters for an upcoming competition.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin and Josh Secaur of Gambit Brewing Company join James to taste his Double IPA and formulate another hoppy kveik beer.
Chris Colby joins James to taste the Fruit Stout pasteurization experiment and to formulate a big American Malt Liquor.
Scott Housel shares two beers - one big and one small - based on the Mash Your Luck challenge of Steve Wilkes.
James is joined by Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin and Swim University and Josh Secaur of Gambit Brewing in St. Paul, Minnesota, as they compare their White IPAs.
Chris Colby and Steve Wilkes join James to taste Steve's Kölsch and to formulate an experimental beer using pasteurization to preserve fruit flavor.
Matt Giovanisci and Josh Secaur join James to formulate a big, hoppy beer and to sample homebrew from Matt.
James and Steve evaluate an experiment adding priming sugar to beers bottled from a keg.
Mike Tonsmeire, the Mad Fermentationist and co-founder of Sapwood Cellars, shares three hoppy sours and tips on working with hops, barrels, and blending.
Scott Lafontaine, flavor chemist and assistant professor in food science at the University of Arkansas, shares ground-breaking research in malting rice for brewing.
Homebrewer Scott Housell shares his experiment that split a wort into a Saison and a hoppy Pale Ale. Adam Ross of Twin Span also talks about CBC in Vegas.
James gets together with Matt from Brew Cabin and Josh from Gambit Brewing to formulate a 100% Wheat Raw White IPA.
Steve Wilkes joins James to formulate a recipe for a big, black, bitter British Braggot.
Chris Colby, author of the Homebrew Recipe Bible, joins James to taste the Hoppy Raw Ale and to formulate a Kölsch for Steve Wilkes.
Chris Colby joins James to taste their Belgian Single and to formulate a Hoppy Raw Ale.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin shares a whirlpool hopping experiment in his quest to brew the perfect hazy IPA.
Garrett Freeman from Man Made Mead shares a mead hop sampler with James and Steve that shows off five tasty hops.
Scott Housel shares his Mash Your Luck beer with Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing and James, and they talk about food safety with low- and non-alcohol beers.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin and Josh Secaur of Gambit Brewing join James to taste the Fresca Shandler and formulate a saison recipe.
Ben Bell of Origami Sake gives James a tour of the tasting tent at the annual gathering of the North American sake industry.
Haven Schultz joins James and Steve as they taste the beers of Bru Club members that met the Mash Your Luck challenge.
From Finland, Mika Laitinen, author of Viking Age Brew, tells us how to skip the boil to brew a delicious hoppy beer using historic techniques.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin and James get metal as they talk about canning your homebrew.
Chris Colby joins James to formulate the recipe for a delicious Belgian-inspired beer and to taste James' Oat Malt Stout.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin and Josh Secaur of Gambit Brewing join James to formulate a refreshing hybrid brew and to sample Matt's Gingerbread Wit.
Homebrewer Scott Housel helps James evaluate the Mash Your Luck beer from Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing - a UK-inspired high gravity lager.
James and Steve taste an experiment comparing dry hops floating on top of and sunk into a pale ale.
James talks to Andrew Burns of Dakota County Technical College in Minnesota about his course to bring homebrewers to the professional level.
James and Steve sit down with Desiree and Dave from High Gravity in Tulsa to sip delicious beers and talk homebrew past, present, and future.
James and Steve delve into stories of brewing gone wrong from homebrewers from around the world and sample tasty homebrew from Scott Housel.
Homebrewer Scott Housel shares five beers created from a single base saison with James and Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing.
James and Chris Colby are joined by beer author and historian Peter Symons to evaluate the Pre-prohibition American Lager from a previous episode and formulate a Stout using malted oats.
James and Steve visit with Kort Castleberry, who is now head brewer at New Province Brewing and Flyway Brewing's new Fayetteville, Arkansas, location about his dual responsibilities.
Special guest Josh Secaur from Gambit Brewing in St. Paul joins James and Matt to compare Kentucky Commons and help formulate a Winter Ale recipe.
James and Steve pit two traditional English favorite hops against each other and then blend them to see how they pair together. They also taste a listener-brewed beer with "Pink" hops.
Haven Schultz from The Bru Club joins James to talk about his organization and roll the virtual dice for a club challenge.
James is joined by Chris Colby of beerandgardeningjournal.com as they taste their Smoked Rotbier and formulate a recipe for a long lost American style.
James talks to Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin as they sample the Arkansas Porch Steamer and formulate a beer based on a trip to Canada.
The Hop Sampler is back! James and Steve sample three delicious hops from Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S.
We visit with Casey Letellier on the fifth anniversary of Ivory Bill Brewing and take a trip back in time to almost 18 years ago.
James and Steve are guests on Garrett Freeman's Man Made Mead show and sample some of his delicious meads.
Chris Colby of beerandgardeningjournal.com joins James to develop a recipe for a smoked version of a Nuremberg Red Lager. They also taste James' Porter.
James and Steve head to Fayetteville Beer Works to talk to Brian O'Connell about his new brewery with no hot side brewing equipment.
Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing joins James to put a random spin on recipe development. James and Adam also talk pressure fermentation.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin joins James to formulate a hot porch version of the famous steamy style.
Chris Colby of beerandgardeningjournal.com joins James to formulate a recipe for an old favorite style.
Homebrewer Scott Housel shares an experiment with James and Steve testing the effects of fermenting under higher pressure.
James, Steve and Tim Leber visit Lost Cause Meadery in San Diego to sample out-of-this-world meads and then get advice from founder Billy Beltz on making delicious meads at home.
James and Matt Giovanisci from Brew Cabin formulate a hoppy red ale and sample Matt's Cold IPA.
Alex Gruber, Tech Support Specialist at Imperial Yeast, gives us all the buttery details about diacetyl - what it is, where it comes from, and how to remove it from our beer.
Barrett Tillman of BlackMan Brewing talks about nomadic brewing and forming partnerships to share his story and build his brand.
Mead Man Tim Leber shares an experiment comparing three methods to extract fruit flavor for a beer or mead.
Chris Colby of beerandgardeningjournal.com joins us to sample the Texas Table Beer and formulate a big peachy IPA.
James and Steve meet new folks, catch up with old friends, and sample tasty things at San Diego Homebrew Con.
Steve Wilkes and Tim Leber share meads in this third recording of a day of meads from the breakfast nook.
James and Steve head to Schaumburg, Illinois, to sample local brews and try Ken Kazmierski's hot dog beer in its native environment.
Doug Hurst of Metropolitan Brewing in Chicago sits down with James, Steve, and Greig McGill to share samples and tips on brewing deliciously clean lagers.
James and Steve travel to Chicago to sample a vertical tasting of a homebrew with the flavors of an authentic Chicago Hot Dog.
Chris Colby of beerandgardeningjournal.com joins James to design a recipe for a small and satisfying session beer.
James and Steve visit Orthodox Farmhouse Brewing in Washington County, Arkansas, and sample delicious beers with co-founder Jesse Gagnon.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin joins James to formulate a trans-continental beer based on British Golden Ale.
Tim Leber and Steve Wilkes share some delicious meads they made with desert honey, spruce and cherries.
James along with Chris Colby of beerandgardeningjournal.com help Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin make sense of his competition feedback.
Mead Man Tim Leber shares an experiment comparing yeast strains in a strawberry mead and introduces us to steam juicing.
James heads to his hometown to meet with Ben Bell and Justin Potts, who are building Origami Sake to brew with Arkansas rice.
Matt Giovanisci from Brew Cabin joins James to formulate a delicious dark session beer and to taste James' Italian Pilsner and Vienna Lager.
Chris Colby, editor of beerandgardeningjournal.com and author of the Homebrew Recipe Bible, joins James to come up with a recipe for a big golden lager.
James and Steve taste a mead experiment with Tim Leber comparing white, red, and black currants. Also, they sample a delicious lychee blossom honey mead.
James and Steve finish their rounds at Frost Fest to talk to brewers about brewing hoppy beers, sour beers, and thriving as small-scale brewers.
James and Steve continue to brave the slightly chilly weather to sample delicious beers and talk to talented brewers at Frost Fest in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
James and Steve brave chilly weather and a bit of wind to sample delicious beers at the sold-out Frost Fest in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
James and Steve sample tasty beers with Matt Thompson and Daniel Stubblefield at their recently combined brewery and homebrew shop.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin joins James to formulate a recipe for a hoppy version of the traditional German Pilsner.
Chris Colby, author of the Homebrew Recipe Bible and editor of beerandgardeningjournal.com, walks us through formulating two delicious amber beers.
Mika Laitinen, author of Viking Age Brew and brewingnordic.com, tells us how to use every part of the birch tree to make delicious beers.
James and Steve sample beers with head brewer Jamie Conway, now of Social Project Brewing, and brewery founder Chris Spence.
James and Steve sample non-beer things they've made recently and experiment with ways to add sweetness and acidity at serving time.
James and Steve read tales of brewing gone bad from listeners, and they drink some delicious homebrew to pair with it from Scott Housel.
James visits with Marshall Schott, founder of Brulosophy, about the state of homebrewing and the advancements we've seen in the past several years.
Chris Colby, author of The Homebrew Recipe Bible and editor of beerandgardeningjournal.com, tastes James' winter ale and formulates a recipe for a raspberry wheat.
Adam Ross from Twin Span Brewing shares four delicious beers and a tasty seltzer that use a variety of brewing techniques.
Matt Giovanisci from Brew Cabin joins James to sample a Belgian Wit and plan a delicious Belgian Tripel.
James and Steve sample some seasonal tinctures in a holiday beer that James and Chris Colby formulated on this show last month.
Adam Ross from Twin Span Brewing in Iowa shares some beers with James and Steve that were fermented under higher pressure.
Mead man Tim Leber leads James and Steve through an experiment comparing American, French and Hungarian Oak in a simple mead.
James and some old friends join Rose Schweikhart in the Beer Park next to Superior Bathhouse Brewery to sample beers in a National Park.
Chris Colby of beerandgardeningjournal.com walks James through the process of formulating a recipe for a spiced holiday beer.
James and Steve sample a dark beer flavored with tinctures of five different flavors you probably don't associate with dark beers.
James and Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin taste Matt's American Amber Ale and collaborate on an unconventional Belgian Witbier recipe.
James and Steve head to the parking lot of High Gravity Fermentations to sample beers at the Tulsa Craft Beer Invitational.
Brian Welzbacher, Oklahoma beer historian, talks about the challenging history of beer and brewing in the Sooner State.
Chris Colby, author of The Homebrew Recipe Bible and Methods of Modern Homebrewing, walks us through formulating a recipe for a delicious dark beer.
Sherwin Santiano of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Center, who trains professional maltsters, gives us tips on malting our own barley at home.
Ricky the Meadmaker of Groennfell and Havoc meaderies joins James and Steve on Mead Day Eve to chat about their favorite honey beverages.
We continue our conversation with Malcolm Frazer of Hop Farm Brewing in Pittsburgh with two English Milds and a NEIPA.
Malcolm Frazer and Melissa Larrick from Hop Farm Brewing in Pittsburgh lead us through a delicious flight of lighter colored beers.
Matt Jannett of Fenn Valley Vineyards talks about his life as a winemaker and a recent experience judging a cider competition.
We hit the floor (not literally) at Homebrew Con Club Night in Pittsburgh to try delicious traditional and not-so-traditional beers and meads.
We join Dr. Matt Winans of Imperial Organic Yeast R and D at Homebrew Con in Pittsburgh to talk making sake at home and Imperial's work to combine different yeast strains into a new one.
Matt Giovanisci joins James to collaborate on formulating a recipe from scratch for a hoppy American favorite.
We head to Pittsburgh for Homebrew Con and collect a series of fun and informative interviews from day one of the conference.
North American transplants David Shotlander and Jonathan Klassen talk about brewing in Gland, Switzerland and taking their brewery to the next level.
We head to Charlotte, North Carolina, to celebrate the first anniversary of Vaulted Oak Brewing with brewer David Carey and co-founder Kiel Arrington.
James and Steve go dark as they test tinctures of toasted coconut, mint, and wild blueberries in a darker beer.
Our Italy correspondent, Tony Manzi of the UBeeRadio podcast, introduces us to the world of Italian Grape Ale – a sometimes tart and funky intersection of wine and beer.
Chris Colby, author of The Homebrew Recipe Bible, Methods of Modern Homebrewing, and How to Make Hard Seltzer, gives us an overview of using yeast in recipe development.
Casey Letellier of Ivory Bill Brewing in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, talks about brewing with Kernza – the first perennial grain. Casey also talks about his recipe development strategy.
Chris Colby, author of the Homebrew Recipe Bible and Methods of Modern Homebrewing, gives us an overview of adjuncts used in developing recipes.
Matt Giovanisci of the Brew Cabin blog and YouTube channel shares his simplified approach to brewing water chemistry.
Mike Tonsmeire, the Mad Fermentationist and co-founder of Sapwood Cellars, talks about his hopping strategies in modern hoppy beers.
James and Steve sample tinctures made with lime, Meyer lemon, and organic Minneola tangelo. We also sample Ivory Bill Meyer Lemon Wheat and talk to brewer Casey Letellier about it.
Chris Colby, author of the Home Brew Recipe Bible and Methods of Modern Homebrewing, walks us through the most commonly used specialty malts and grains.
Briony Liebich from flavourlogic.com give us some great advice on honing our senses when we taste our favorite beverage.
Matt Giovanisci of the Brew Cabin YouTube channel and brewcabin.com talks about his approach taking abstract inspiration onto paper and into the fermenter.
Chris Colby, author of The Home Brew Recipe Bible and Methods of Modern Homebrewing, gives us an overview of the most basic of beer ingredients.
James and Steve use tincures made from dark sweet cherries, strawberries and jalapeños to liven up a basic pale ale.
Chris Colby, author of The Homebrew Recipe Bible and Methods of Modern Homebrewing, explains the numbers related to writing recipes and brewing beer.
Mika Laitinen, author of Viking Age Brew and brewingnordic.com, talks about the challenges and rewards of brewing with rye.
Andy Coates brings us up to date on hazy beers, small batch blended barrels, and new gear at Ozark.
James and Steve play with tinctures made with dried chilis to dose into a tasty little pale ale.
Alex Gruber from Imperial Organic Yeast technical support walks us through the process of diagnosing troubled fermentations.
We get to know Julia Herz as she takes the reins as Executive Director of the American Homebrewers Association.
Adam Ross from Twin Span Brewing talks about his barleywine infused with Mexican punch along with a rosemary and spruce beer and brewing under pressure.
James attends a brew day at Fossil Cove Brewing to witness the recreation of a historic New Albion Brewing recipe with craft beer pioneer Jack McAuliffe.
It's the longest one ever! James and Steve sit on the porch and read a stack of stories about brewing gone wrong sent in by listeners from around the world.
Chris Colby, author of How to Make Hard Seltzer and the Homebrew Recipe Bible, talks about traditional Christmas beers from Norway.
James and Steve compare beers made with Active Dry and Rapid Rise bread yeast against one made with US-05.
Dow Scoggins and Michael Conger from the U. S. Open Beer Championship talk about their competition and give a bit of advice for competing and judging.
Sean Slape of Crisis Brewing Company catches us up on his work to expand his once tiny brewery into a successful small brewery through brewing delicious beers.
Johann the Brewer from Mountain Fork Brewery talks about brewing traditionally-inspired beers with river water in southeastern Oklahoma.
Dan Schreffler of Space Time Mead and Cider Works shares a mead made with yeast sent to the edge of space along with three other delicious meads.
Matt Giovanisci of the Brew Cabin YouTube channel walks us through how he built a keezer that is ideal for his home brewery.
Peter Symons, author of Guile Brews, talks about the process of using brewing software to design partigyle beers.
Steve shares a Belgian Wit chili pepper experiment and sums up his time as owner of Steve's Brew Shop.
We catch up with Mark and Ryan Smith at Natural State Beer following their taking GABF gold for their maibock.
We travel to Tulsa to sample beers from the Oklahoma breweries gathered for the festival in High Gravity's parking lot.
Scott Janish, author of The New IPA and co-founder of Sapwood Cellars, talks about his experiments adding hop oils to beer post-fermentation.
James and Steve brave the summertime hot porch to sample three Belgian-inspired beers brewed with offbeat dark sugars.
Father-son team Jeff and Matt Joseph are building on years of homebrewing experience in their brewery in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
Dr. Keith Villa, founder of Blue Moon and CERIA Brewing and author of Brewing with Cannabis, gives us tips on brewing non-alcoholic beers and adding THC.
Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing presents the pros and cons of a long list of different forms of fruit for use in brewing.
Dr. Matt Winans, R and D Scientist at Imperial Organic Yeast, answers questions about traditional Norwegian farmhouse yeast.
Steve shares three delicious meads he made this past year with different strains of yeast typically used for brewing beer.
Steve and James pay a visit to Core Brewing in Springdale, Arkansas, to sample some big barrel-aged beers, refreshing hard seltzers, and ready-to-drink cocktails.
We talk to Kim Welch of Creature Craft Soda in Joplin, Missouri, about her innovative kombucha, water kefir and other delicious fermented products.
James and Steve taste wheat beers with malty, bitter, and balanced water profiles. They also add a fourth with filtered tap water.
Matt Giovanisci of the Brew Cabin YouTube channel talks about his three-year quest to brew his perfect example of a New England IPA.
Scott Janish, author of The New IPA and co-founder of Sapwood Cellars, talks about new genetically-engineered yeast strains designed to unlock more hop flavor and aroma in beers.
Meadmaker Tim Leber takes James and Steve through a tasting of meads made with five honeys: sweet clover, coriander blossom, carrot blossom, quince blossom, and mustard blossom.
Keith Villa, founder of Blue Moon Brewing and author of Brewing with Cannabis: Using THC and CBD in Beer, talks about his latest venture bringing cannabis products to brewing.
Chris Colby, author of How to Make Hard Seltzer, says partial mashing is still relevant in today's homebrewing world.
James and Steve take another run at comparing malty, balanced and bitter water profiles. This time with reverse osmosis water and a bit of roasted barley.
Dave Knott of High Gravity in Tulsa (highgravitybrew.com) answers listener questions about kegging equipment and techniques.
Homebrewer Brent Langdon shares his experiment comparing hops added at 30, 20, 10 and zero minutes in the boil.
Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing in Iowa shares an Oyster Stout, a Brut IPA with Wine Must, a Hoppy Maibock, and a big Belgian-style Quad.
Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing in Iowa introduces us to two examples of beers that are inspired by brewing before prohibition.
Listener Dansey Nickel sent us three water profiles to try in the Malt Sampler recipe – malty, bitter and balanced. Can James and Steve taste the difference?
Jake Gorton, brewhouse manager and packaging director of Groennfell and Havoc Meaderies, shares five techniques to use wild microbes to ferment honey.
Jeff Hollander, CEO of Hairless Dog Brewing Company, talks about brewing a beer with craft character and no alcohol.
Chris Colby, author of How to Make Hard Seltzer and The Homebrew Recipe Bible, talks about his favorite beers to brew as the weather warms up.
Homebrewer Johannes Fahrenkrug ads a twist (or maybe a zip) to brewing with sous vide by mashing inside Ziplock bags.
Chris Hodge of Oregon Fruit Products answers listener questions about using fruit purees in beer and mead.
James sits down to sample a flight with Alton Huebner, brewer of the newly-reopened Apple Blossom Brewing Company.
Homebrewer Nick Johnson shares his ambitious experiment brewing graf with apple juice along with four malt extracts and five yeast strains.
James and Steve sample small batches brewed with specialty malts from Sugar Creek Malt Company – lavender smoke, crystal rye, and bourbon barrel aged chocolate malt.
James and Steve taste small batches with Swedish hops sent by listener Marcus: Svalof Mauritz, Korsta and Hulla Norrgard.
Caleb Michalke and John Beal from Sugar Creek Malt Company in Indiana talk about using traditional techniques to create some innovative malts.
Casey Helwig from Imperial Organic Yeast walks us through three standard procedures to test the quality of our wort.
Chris Colby, author of How to Make Hard Seltzer, addresses some of the factors in keeping yeast happy and healthy in fermentations.
Garrett from the Man Made Mead YouTube channel walks us through four experiments he's done challenging traditional wisdom in brewing meads.
James talks with Grant Heuer, Lucas Greta and Betsy Duffy from Gezellig Brewing in Newton, Iowa, about their recent extremely sucessful competition performance.
James and Steve taste individual examples and a blend of a traditional European hop and a relatively new American one.
James and Steve round out a disastrous year with two full hours of brewing disaster letters from listeners.
Glenn Cole, brewer at Hofbrauhaus in St. Louis, takes us through the elaborate decoction process he uses to brew Dunkel.
Homebrewer Matt Giovanisci talks about living the dream of turning a spare garage into a perfect spot to brew.
Longtime listener Greig McGill of Brewaucracy in Hamilton, New Zealand, collaborates with James on a deliciously hoppy low-gravity rye and wheat beer.
James and Steve sample three dark beers made with malts designed to contribute color over roastiness.
Homebrewer Bruce Hanley shares his version of a traditional Ethiopian mead made of honey with gesho leaves and stems.
Amahl Turczyn, author of A Year of Good Beer - a page-a-day calendar, joins us to talk about the process of turning beer in to vinegar.
In the 18th episode of the series, James and Steve taste a Hop Sampler with two very popular hops and a blend of the two.
Glenn Cole of Midwest Ale Works talks about a beer designed to raise money and awareness for farmers and communities devastated by this past summer's derecho.
Chris Colby, author of How to Make Hard Seltzer, gives us ideas to brew some tasty holiday beers and answers questions about flavoring seltzer and using potatoes in brewing.
Mike Tonsmeire, the Mad Fermentationist and co-founder of Sapwood Cellars, gives us tips on going back to the roots of the Imperial Stout style.
Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing talks about a German barley beer pretending to be a wheat beer and a traditional Mexican pineapple drink.
We head to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, to visit with Dave Hartmann and Wendy Reese Hartmann who decided to leave the big brewery life and get small.
James and Steve dive into the fourth malt sampler comparing two wheats and American two-row, and Steve gets on his soapbox.
Chris Colby, author of How to Make Hard Seltzer, talks about the challenges that come with brewing this fizzy brew.
We visit the farm of Caleb Hutcherson where he keeps bees that he has collected from wild swarms and invasive hives.
Sandor Katz, author of Wild Fermentation and The Art of Fermentation, joins us to talk about using lactic fermentation to preserve vegetables and make them more tasty.
Chris Colby, author of How To Make Hard Seltzers, goes back to basics about our favorite brewing gas.
Heurich House Museum in Washington DC collaborates with ANXO Cidery to revive a prohibition-era cider. Cider maker Sam Fitz walks us through the proces and talks about single-variety non-adjunct ciders.
James and Steve blindly sample small batches with two delicious and popular hops by themselves and a third batch that's a blend between the two.
Homebrewer Mark Stevens shares an experiment using extreme low and high mash temps to limit the alcohol on tasty pale ales.
Marcus Baskerville of Weathered Souls Brewing in San Antonio talks about his Black Is Beautiful Imperial Stout and the social initiative connected with it.
Mika Laitinen, author of Viking Age Brew - The Craft of Brewing Sahti Farmhouse Ale, walks us through the steps of harvesting, storing and reusing Kveik and other farmhouse yeasts.
Homebrewer Nick Tier sent some brewing yeast above the atmosphere and brewed a beer with it. James and Steve test the results.
James and Steve evaluate the third in the Malt Sampler series, which was more fun and informative than expected.
Dan Schreffler of Space Time Mead and Cider shares four delicious beverages – three based on honey and one made from maple syrup.
After a temporary move to neighboring Rogers, Arkansas, Bentonville Brewing now has a physical-distancing-friendly new location in their home town.
James and Tim taste the second round of meads. These are made with fruit – naranjilla, maranon, and a tropical fruit blend.
Mead maker Tim Leber joins James to share the first of a two-part series. James and Tim taste kveik mead (hopped and unhopped), ice cider, and a beet mead.
James and Steve taste the second round of the malt sampler, comparing three small batches brewed with different base malts. Also, Steve talks about his recent illness, and Gary Glass previews Homebrew Con Online.
Jonathan Ettlie from National Chemicals talks about the TACT WINS strategy of cleaning and whether homebrew sanitizers are effective against coronavirus.
Kristy Huff and Ben Folta from Norfork Brewing in Norfork, Arkansas, talk about big capacity, small town brewing and fermenting with a local native yeast.
Lars Marius Garshol, author of Larsblog and Historical Brewing Techniques – The Lost Art of Farmhouse Brewing, talks about his work documenting traditional beers and trying duplicate them at home.
Phil Nigash, formerly of My Life as a Foodie - now of cyclingoc.com, talks with James about smart cooking with beer during social distancing.
James and Steve practice social distancing while sampling three tasty hops from the Old World.
Adam Ross, head brewer at Twin Span Brewing, brings a counterpoint defense of Brown Ales in response to Chris Colby's previous rant.
Homebrew author Chris Colby gives us tips on brewing the best example of his least favorite style of beer.
Tricia and Joe Marshall of Lilly Belle Meads in Lancaster, New York, share five delicious honey-based beverages. Our friend, Paul Morstad, helps to sample.
James and Steve venture into the future with a new series, comparing three malts brewed in small batches.
Homebrewing author Peter Symons talks about his latest historical exploration of beers, Guile Brews, which contains more than a hundred years of recipes from the UK and Ireland.
Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association, joins us to preview Homebrew Con in Nashville in June and other AHA-related topics.
James travels to the old Fort Chaffee Army base that has a rock 'n roll history and talks to brewer Quintin Willard about his beers and Arkansas Craft Beer Week.
Steve and James sample another round of single-hopped small batches, adding some time in the boil to the recipe.
Homebrewers Adam Amdor and Roy Ventullo share their experiment comparing milk stouts with and without Count Chocula cereal and one beer with cereal added into the fermenter post fermentation.
In the second part of a chat with brewer Chris Nogy, James samples beers from Whistling Springs in southern Missouri.
James and Steve test the results of an experiment comparing different hop stand lengths in the Hop Sampler recipe.
Chris Nogy of Dark Hills Brewery talks about brewing gluten free beers on a farm in southern Missouri.
Scott Janish of Sapwood Cellars and author of The New IPA – A Scientific Guide to Hop Aroma and Flavor gives us tips on dry hopping delicious hazy beers.
Jim Laughren, author of A Beer Drinker's Guide to Knowing and Enjoying Fine Wine, gives us beer folks some tips on demystifying the wine side.
Brook Baber and Dave Bauter share their nine-part experiment using three different flavors of granola bar to brew beer.
Theresa McCulla from the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian describes collecting stories and objects of American craft beer and homebrewing.
Casey Letellier from Ivory Bill Brewing talks about his strategy to move away from plain two-row to more interesting base malts.
James talks to Mark Smith, alumnus of the Basic Brewing podcasts, and Head Brewer Will Sonneman about Natural State Beer Company, which opens soon.
Scott Janish, author of The New IPA - A Scientific Guide to Hop Aroma and Flavor, talks about hopping on the hot side for hazy, juicy beers.
James samples offbeat and delicious beers in Little Rock with Rebel Kettle founder John Lee.
James visits with Grant Chandler, quality manager of Lost Forty Brewing, and samples beer from Arkansas' largest brewery.
Author and historian Maureen Ogle talks about the revision of her book documenting the history of the American beer culture and industry.
Homebrewer Ryan Deaver tells us about Tchoukoutou, a fresh, sour sorghum beer he discovered while living in Benin.
Aaron Mayer of Pine Bluffs Distilling talks about the process of brewing beer for spirits with local malt from Wyoming Malting Company.
James and Steve taste the twelfth in their series of comparing a set of three hops brewed in small batches.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, takes us through the process of creating new hop varieties and putting them through the paces.
Matt Thompson tells us how he and his business partner went from novice homebrewers to professional brewers and brewery owners in a very short time.
Mika Laitinen, author of Viking Age Brew - The Craft of Brewing Sahti Farmhouse Ale, gives us tips on brewing this ancient Finnish beer.
Omar Al-Nidawi shares his club's English Bitter experiment comparing Caramunich 1, Dingemans Cara 45, Carastan and Opal 44. Also, there's a 100 percent Red X beer.
Scott Janish of Sapwood Cellars and author of The New IPA: A Scientific Guide to Hop Aroma and Flavor gives us tips on preserving hazy hoppy goodness.
James and Steve sit down with the Mad Fermentationist to talk hoppy beers, sour beers and Sapwood Cellars.
James and Steve sample some tasty beers at the Social Club of Providence Homebrew Con and talk to the brewers who made them.
James' son, Drew, joins the panel as they taste three beers made with low alpha acid European hops.
Casey Helwig from Imperial Organic Yeast leads James and Steve through two split-wort experiments at Homebrew Con that compare six different yeasts.
Members of the Rhode Island Brewing Society share their experiment comparing six different yeast strains in New England IPAs.
James and Steve explore Homebrew Con's incredible night of delicious brews and creative brewers.
James and Steve add a bonus round to the hop sampler as they taste three hops that you'd think would be easy to pick out.
Chris Colby of Beer and Wine Journal explores our favorite dark beers and gives us recipe tips. Also, Gary Glass of the AHA shares a homebrew legislation update.
We travel to the parking lot of High Gravity (Pippin's Taproom) to sample from commercial breweries and homebrewers across Oklahoma.
Homebrewer Steve Frank submits our first guest Hop Sampler ever, featuring African Queen, Southern Aroma, Southern Passion and Sabro.
Homebrewer and alumnus of Basic Brewing Radio, Jamie Conway, joins the team at Core Brewing, where they're refocusing their company's priorities.
It's Hop Sampler number nine, pitting three nicely fruity hop varieties against each other.
Homebrewer Doug Wawrzynski tells us how he's using kombucha to kick-start sour fermentations, such as sauerkraut, sourdough and kettle-soured beers.
Brad Coker is starting up a new craft malthouse in northwest Arkansas. He shares his techniques of malting small batches of grain at home.
James samples beers with Ben Mills of Fossil Cove Brewing in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and learns about the brewery's recent expansion.
James and Steve taste hops from New Zealand, and James faces a possible equipment contamination.
Omar Al-Nidawi shares beers from the DC Homebrewers Club experiment brewing different styles with Pilsner malt and Sterling hops.
Mad Fermentationist Michael Tonsmeire talks about the brewery he co-founded in Columbia, Maryland, and the challenges of scaling up from homebrew.
David Curtis of Bell's General Store in Kalamazoo talks about Select Centennial Hops and shares lab IBU tests of beers brewed for the Hop Sampler series.
Homebrewer AJ Hart took part in an experimental archeology project on bronze age brewing techniques in Cyprus and collaborated with her husband, Justin, to bring those ideas home.
Engineer Alex Roberts joins James again to test the effects on stirring a wort while it's being chilled by an immersion chiller. They also reverse the chiller's water flow.
Kyle Swallow of Twin Lakes Homebrew Club and Rapps Barren Brewing in Mountain Home, Arkansas, talks about an experiment fermenting one Golden Ale wort with 13 different yeasts.
Homebrewer Chris McKenzie shares his experience collaborating with five other homebrewers in a year-long experiment to design the perfect stout.
James talks to Bradley Riggs of Hawk Moth Brewing in Rogers, Arkansas - a brewery focused on small batch, old-world-style, wood-aged beers.
James and Steve sample an old American standby against a relative newcomer and a hop blend.
We sample a batch of five monster cereal beers brewed from Frankenberry, Boo Berry and Count Chocula.
Steve splits a batch of mead and pitches three different dry beer yeasts to test the effects of each.
We visit Ivory Bill Brewing in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, where long-time friend of the podcast, Casey Letellier, and his partner, Dorothy Hall, are serving up delicious open-fermented, gluten-reduced, English-inspired beers.
Steve and James read a ton of letters about homebrewing disasters from listeners across the globe.
Steve and James taste a batch of hops chosen by Steve's son, Chase, and introduce the concept of Hop Stand Bittering Units (HSBUs).
Casey Helwig and Jess Caudill from Imperial Organic Yeast help James and Steve evaluate an experiment fermenting a kveik strain at two different temperatures.
American Homebrew Association Director Gary Glass joins us to talk about four decades of the AHA, ongoing homebrew legislation issues, and the upcoming Homebrew Con and National Homebrew Competition.
In our fifth show of the series, we taste some higher alpha hops and get a surprise result.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, shares his strategies to take home more hardware from homebrew competitions.
Dr. Chris Hamilton of Hillsdale College in Michigan shares results of his experiments testing the effects of increased wort gravity and different hop stand temperatures on IBU measurements. He also updates us on his research with Clarity Ferm on gluten in beer.
Engineer Alex Roberts helps James conduct an experiment looking at the effect of varying the flow rate of water through an immersion chiller when chilling wort.
Ricky the Meadmaker from Groennfell Meadery in Vermont talks about an article detailing his techniques that was deeemed "too controversial" to print.
Homebrewer Tommy Caillouet introduces us to an easy-to-brew alcoholic rice beverage that has its roots in ancient Korea.
Homebrewer Brook Baber drew upon his background as a baker to brew beers using wheat and rye flour in the mash.
Homebrewer Caleb Buck of archaicpursuit.com shares some delicious sour beers and startling early results of his sour IBU experiment.
James and Steve taste the fourth in the series featuring single hops brewed into three small batches.
Anderson Valley Brewing Company brewmaster Fal Allen talks about his new book, Gose: Brewing a Classic German Beer for the Modern Era.
Steve shares an experiment fermenting a split batch of mead with three dry wine yeasts.
Home meadmaker Tim Leber shares his experiment using sous vide to pasteurize mead after bottling.
Homebrewers Joe Morris, Ed Golden and Bob Keifer join us to share their techniques and recipes for brewing delicious beers without gluten.
We visit Occidental Brewing in Portland, Oregon, to talk to brewer Sam Carroll about brewing delicious German-style beers.
Homebrewer Kevin McEvoy shares his experiment combining sake and beer fermentations into a single beverage with components of each.
Dr. Maitreya Dunham of the University of Washington joins us to talk about a new yeast hybrid her lab has isolated from an open fermentation beer. Tim Leber and Norm Kwasinski share mead and beer brewed with the yeast.
We join Imperial Organic Yeast and Everybody's Brewing to sample two split-wort experiments.
James and Steve taste the third in the Hop Sampler series, featuring hops from the UK and Germany.
We sample delicious sour beers at Cascade Brewing in Portland, Oregon, with Head Brewer Mike Mathis and Lead Blender Kevin Martin.
We roam the floor of Homebrew Con Club Night to sample delicious, and sometimes odd, beers and visit with their talented, sometimes odd, brewers.
Brewer and author Dick Cantwell talks about his book, Eclectic IPA: Pushing the Boundaries of India Pale Ale, which includes IPA recipes with fruit, vegetables, spices, and other tasty ingredients.
James and Steve go round two into comparing small batches brewed with single hops. This week increases the alpha acids with Apollo, Calypso, and Experimental 07270.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal and author of The Home Brew Recipe Bible and The Methods of Modern Homebrewing, introduces us to a new dry, sparkling version of our favorite style.
The former head brewer at Ozark Beer Company talks about why he shifted his career path toward a smaller place and shares beers and tips.
James and Steve break in a new feature to the podcast by sampling small batches brewed with Cascade, Cluster and Mount Hood hops.
Steve Wilkes of Steve's Brew Shop shares his latest round of meads, which include blueberry and cherry - one of them oaked. We also revisit a cyser to see how it's aging.
Homebrewer Joe Covey joins us again to share his split batch experiments comparing two yeasts in a brown ale and the effect of adding cherries to a gose.
Brewer Sean Slape has used his engineering background and elbow grease to build a small-scale electric brewery just opening in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and already has plans to expand.
Chris Colby, author of The Homebrew Recipe Bible and Methods of Modern Homebrewing gives us rants and tips for brewing beers with dark grains.
James travels to Paris . . . Arkansas, to visit with Liz Preston and her husband, Preston, about the brewery in their front yard and their efforts to bring good beer and organic farming to their region.
Jon Finch, author of Beer Craft - The No-Nonsense Guide to Making and Enjoying Damn Good Craft Beer at Home, talks about brewing in the UK, beer cocktails and using beer in food.
James and Steve sample a big bourbon-barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout that they contributed to and talk to barrel owner and project coordinator Reece Morrison.
Omar Al-Nidawi, education co-chair of the DC Homebrewers Club, talks about an experiment comparing a dozen different brewing adjuncts. James and Steve are joined by Reece Morrison to sample.
James and Steve sample and evaluate a small batch experiment comparing three beers brewed with hop stands set at different temperatures.
Brewer Zac Smith likes his beer like he likes his pizza and radio: local. James talks to Zac about his Reinheitsgebot-inspired approach to brewing quaffable session beers.
Homebrewer Chris McKenzie wanted to perfect a recipe for Red IPA, so he brewed nothing but that style for a whole year. Then, he sent his beer to a competition to see what the judges thought.
We visit American Solera in Tulsa, which was named Best New Brewery in the U.S. in 2016 by RateBeer, and talk to founder Chase Healey about hoppy, fruity, and funky beers.
John Palmer, author of How to Brew, shares brewing tips for one of the most controversial styles today - New England IPA.
AHA Director Gary Glass updates us on the National Homebrew Competition, HomebrewCon, and who homebrews nowadays.
James talks about the results of a trio of split batch experiments using different strains of yeast with homebrewer Joe Covey.
Homebrewer Brock Masters shares his experiment attempting to remove alcohol from a hoppy homebrew while preserving the freshness of the flavor and aroma.
Author Peter Symons shares his second book, "6 O'CLOCK Brews: Home Brewing More Old Australian Beers," which includes recipes for historic Australian beers and some of the British imports that influenced them.
James and Steve read stories of woe from listeners as they share brewing disasters from the past year.
We sip beers with Rose Schweikhart of Superior Bathhouse Brewery in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, and get some tips on brewing some tasty beers.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal and author of Methods of Modern Homebrewing, gives us advice on when and where to use interesting ingredients to bring some unique flavor to our beer.
Grant Chandler from Lost 40 Brewing in Little Rock shares some delicious beers aged in barrels and brewed with fun ingredients, such as honeysuckle, strawberries, and locally harvested yeast.
Butch Heilshorn, author of "Against All Hops: Techniques and Philosophy for Creating Extraordinary Botanical Beers," tells us how he brews new beers with roots to the past.
We visit JJ's Brewing Company in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to talk to Jennifer "Muck" Muckerman and Andrew Porter about brewing American Lagers and other beers to convert customers to local brews.
Homebrewer Joe Covey shares his Saison experiment comparing a split wort fermented with Safbrew T-58 and Danstar Belle Saison yeasts.
Homebrewer James Sandford talks about how he and his wife, Lucy, rose to the challenge to brew a beer with powdered pig's blood.
James and Steve take a break after shooting videos to share some of Steve's meads and talk mead making tips.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, tells us about the wine, honey, bread and beer beverage he brews based on the Hymn to Ninkasi.
We visit the taproom at High Gravity in Tulsa where Dave Knott, Amanda Schley and Tim Schley give us tips on brewing delicious beers under 4% ABV.
Brian Sorensen, author of Arkansas Beer: An Intoxicating History, joins James on the porch for a couple of beers and a chat on the history of beer in The Natural State.
Evan Sallee and Matt Hauck, two of the founders of Fair State Brewing Cooperative in Minneapolis, join us to talk about hoppy and sour beers and their business model.
Jennifer Talley, author of Session Beers - Brewing for Flavor and Balance, give us tips on brewing lower gravity beers that are tasty and satisfying.
Joe Pond, founder of Olvalde Farmhouse Ales, talks about brewing rustic beers based on local and native ingredients on a Rollingstone, Minnesota, family farm.
Owen Lingley, Jess Caudill and Jason Stepper from Imperial Organic Yeast talk about their fairly new company and answer questions from listeners.
Ozark Beer founder, Andy Coates, and head brewer, Jesse Gagnon, talk new building, yogurt-soured Berliner Weisse, Buckminster Fuller-inspired beer, and Bourbon Double Cream Stout.
Zack Taggart, lab manager at 42 North Brewing, continues his presentation on setting up a homebrew lab by talking about isolating and propagating yeast and bacteria.
Nick Chute, head brewer of 56 Brewing in Minneapolis, shares some delicious beers and some tips on how to brew similar ones at home.
Zack Taggart, lab manager at 42 North Brewing, tells us how to set up our own homebrew lab to analyze yeast health and count cell population.
Former meadmaker of the year Matt Weide joins us at HomebrewCon in Minneapolis to share meads made with walnuts, peanuts and ginger. He also shares a couple of bochet (burnt) meads.
Kevin Welch of Boom Island Brewing in Minneapolis has turned passion for music and Belgian beers into a commercial operation designed to carry on a long tradition.
We meet up with the Brulosophy crew at HomebrewCon in Minneapolis to evaluate two varieties of hops, and we chat with brewers and brewing experts on the Club Night floor.
Steve Wilkes and Casey Letellier help James evaluate an experiment comparing three beers with single hop additions at 60 minutes, 30 minutes and flameout.
Stuart Keating gives us brewing tips and explains why his brewery brews beers described as the "smallest and weirdest" in St. Louis.
Phil Nigash of the podcast My Life As a Foodie joins us to talk about restarting his show and getting into brewing kombucha at home.
Sean Terrill of Two Mile Brewing in Leadville, Colorado, talks about his study and article examining the effect of mash temperature on attenuation rates of three yeast strains.
Homebrewer Jamie Conway joins James and Steve as they taste beers and meads with different approaches to integrating fruit character.
Chris Colby of Beer and Wine Journal gets into the details about step mashing and how we can use it to control the character of our beers.
James and Steve sit down during a brew day to talk about how to calculate and predict starting and finishing gravity levels of beers.
Homebrewer Aaron Winey shares his experiment brewing an American blonde ale using water from four different sources.
Homebrewer-turned-pro Nathaniel Senff of Lightheart Brewing talks about being a part of the collaborative Callister Brewing in Vancouver, British Columbia.
In this second part of a two-parter, Casey Letellier, currently brewing at West Mountain Brewing Company, talks about his plans to open his own – Ivory Bill Brewing.
In this first part of a two-parter, Casey Letellier, currently brewing at West Mountain Brewing Company, talks about his plans to open his own – Ivory Bill Brewing.
Homebrewer Scott Koue shares his experience in fermenting beer in the same kettle that he used to boil the wort.
Homebrewers Ron Schmidt and Jamie Conway share their collaborative stout that was split to age on vanilla and a rye whiskey barrel.
James wanders around Frost Fest in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to sample beers and get some homebrewing tips from professional brewers.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal and author of the Homebrew Recipe Bible, talks about hop substitution and ways to change up the hopping of your beers.
Ricky the Meadmaker from Groennfell and Havoc Meaderies in Vermont talks about sharing his recipes online and shares his best meadmaking practices.
Homebrewer Ryan Deaver joins us to talk about spontaneously fermented palm wine he researched in the west African country of Benin.
Brad Ring and Betsy Parks from Brew Your Own magazine talk about their new Big Book of Homebrewing and share tips on coming up with your own homebrew recipes.
Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association, updates us on the state of our hobby, upcoming National Homebrew Competition deadlines and new events at the Minneapolis HomebrewCon.
Homebrewer Will Schumacher talks about his experiments brewing with spruce that he foraged from his time in Switzerland.
James and Steve take advantage of a beautiful day to sample three porters on the porch, all from the same batch.
James and Steve carry on the tradition of sharing stories from listeners of brew days gone bad.
Marshall Schott and Malcolm Frazer from Brulosophy.com share their experiments - the effect of keeping the lid on during the boil and not boiling a Berliner Weisse.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal and author of the Homebrew Recipe Bible, gives us tips on carving time out during the holidays for the important thing - brewing.
Steve Wilkes is now the owner of a shiny new local homebrew shop in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He talks about the process of starting the shop and plans for the future.
Mad Fermentationist Mike Tonsmeire shares his techniques for brewing tart beers with lots of hop character, and he samples three interpretations from James.
We continue the discussion with Gard Karlsnes, who runs the pilot brewery at Aass Brewery in Norway. This time, we sample a ginger beer and Christmas stout. Part two of two.
Gard Karlsnes runs the pilot brewery at Aass Brewery in Norway and is expanding its horizons beyond Reinheitsgebot roots. Part one of two.
Chris Gagne of Hermit Thrush Brewing in Brattleboro, Vermont, talks about brewing beer with only wild yeast he's harvested from the environment.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal and author of the Homebrew Recipe Bible, shares tips on how to make your cream ale stand out in a competition setting.
Homebrewer Jason Jackson shares four versions of his saison enhanced with vegetables from his garden. Steve Wilkes helps sample.
Our series on northwest Arkansas brewing continues with New Province Brewing in Rogers and a visit with owner-head brewer Derek McEnroe.
Author Stan Hieronymus talks about his latest book that takes a look at how American brewers are using local ingredients to put their stamp on our favorite beverage.
Josh Chapman, head brewer of Bluejacket in Washington DC, shows us around what Mike Tonsmeire describes as the "Disney World of Brewpubs."
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal and author of The Homebrew Recipe Bible, walks us through tannins: when they're good or bad and how to control them in our beer.
Ricky the Meadmaker returns to the program with his wife and business partner, Kelly Klein, to share some wonderful "beer-strength" meads and tips for our own meads.
Brulosophy team member Jake Huolihan shares two experiments comparing vitality vs viability starters and batch vs no sparging.
We join head brewer Nathan Zeender in 3-D at the production brewery of Right Proper in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington D.C.
Homebrewer and beer historian Dave Janssen talks about grisette, a tasty obscure Belgian style, and how it relates to saison.
Mike Tonsmeire, the Mad Fermentationist, shares an experiment around his dining room table splitting a funky beer batch and adding five different honey varieties.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, talks about the latest thing in IPAs - fruit!
We sample two delicious Mad Fermentationist beers from the source: a stout reinvigorated with specialty grain tea and a New England IPA.
We take part in sampling an experiment testing the effect of gelatin on a tasty, cloudy, hoppy East Coast pale ale.
Christian Layke, brewer at Gordon Biersch's Rockville Maryland location, and Mad Fermentationist Mike Tonsmeire work together on a tasty barrel-aged sour.
We roam the floor of Club Night at Baltimore Homebrew Con to find interesting brewers who brew delicious beers and get brewing tips.
Roving reporter Will Gallaspy picks the brain of Kelly Ryan, brewer at Fork and Brewer in Wellington, New Zealand.
Roving reporter Will Gallaspy catches pioneering New Zealand craft brewer Ben Middlemiss and talks to him about how good beer came to the Kiwis.
Denny Conn and Drew Beechum, authors of Homebrew All Stars, divine which category of brewer Steve and James fit into.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Jounal, dives into the details on foam – how it's created and the positive and negative factors affecting it.
John Palmer, homebrew guru, shares his top five brewing priorities in his keynote presentation at the New Zealand Homebrew Conference.
White Labs Yeast founder, Dr. Chris White, shares some yeast science and practical homebrewing advice at the New Zealand Homebrew Conference.
In this panel from the New Zealand Homebrewers Conference, pro and home brewers share advice and experience in brewing delicious sour beers.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, dives deeply into science as he describes how enzymes work on a microscopic level and how that applies to your mash tun.
Ray Found from Brulosophy.com shares two experiments: one on the effects of spent grains in the boil and another on sparging with room temperature water.
James moderates a panel from NZHC with Tasty McDole, Will Gallaspy and Nick Wiseman on brewing with common sense.
We head to New Zealand for the first homebrew conference in Nelson and take part in a brewing demonstration.
While James, Andy and Chris head to New Zealand, we celebrate our first 500 episodes with this look back.
Homebrewer James Sites shares another round of his tasty sour beer and wine hybrids fermented with his own house sour culture.
James Altwies of Gorst Valley Hops give us some excellent advice on making sure our homegrown hops get a good start on the season.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, talks about how time affects the levels of alpha acids in hops and how to slow their fading.
Mary Pelletieri, author of Quality Management: Essential Planning for Breweries, joins us to talk about how to bring quality management practices into our home breweries.
We continue our introductions to northwest Arkansas breweries as we visit with Katie and Beau Boykin of Bentonville Brewing.
Peter Symons joins us from Sydney to talk about Bronzed Brews, his new book exploring the history of Australian brewing.
Malcolm Frazer of Brulosophy.com shares his experiment comparing the results of adding sugar to the fermenter all at once vs staggered over time.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, shares tips on hitting original gravity if things go awry during the brew day.
Homebrewer Phillip McDaniel shares samples of crystal malt he made and his technique for making it.
Michael Tonsmeire, the Mad Fermentationist, shares his ten tips of what to consider when coming up with a beer recipe.
In their annual tradition, James and Steve read a collection of listener-submitted brewing disaster stories.
Homebrewer Dan McCarthy shares ten gruits, and James and Steve sample to find the perfect blend.
Brulosopher Marshall Schott talks about his Short and Shoddy brew day, where he brewed an all grain batch of beer in around sixty minutes.
Brewer Jason Corral shows us around his professional electric system based on his homebrew setup and controlled with an Arduino controller.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, talks about four favorite holiday spices for brewing and gives us some tips.
Homebrewer CJ Shamas returns to share beers from his small sour barrel program with James, Steve and Andy.
We get a behind-the-scenes look at the brewing of the collaboration Cream Ale, as Apple Blossom scales up James' homebrew recipe.
Homebrewer Dennis Pike returns with the results of his experiment testing the effects of different fermentation temperatures on hefeweizen.
Homebrewer Phil Proctor shares tips on setting up elaborate beer dispensing systems and on designing a homemade glycol chiller.
Homebrewer Ray Sykes brings mushrooms to homebrew for some really tasty and interesting flavors.
Homebrewer Nick Johnson shares four ciders brewed with ingredients inspired by the season of fall.
James sits down with Trey Holt from Black Apple Crossing Cidery to sample ciders and get homebrewing tips.
In part one of a two-part series, homebrewer CJ Shamas shares tips on using small barrels to produce sour beers.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, shares tips on brewing a delicious Trappist-inspired beer with a simple ingredient list.
Doug Wawrzynski unveils the most ambitious split batch experiment in BBR history: Will the numbing effect of Szechuan peppercorns tame the heat of Carolina Reaper peppers and bring out their flavor?
Father and son homebrewing team, Nick and Curt Kiest, share their experiment aging a series of beers in an eight gallon oak whiskey barrel.
Homebrewer Dennis Pike shares his experiment comparing the effects of three different yeast pitching rates on hefeweizen.
Tim Leber joins us with an experiment evaluating bread yeast in mead and shares burnt honey mead made in a Crock Pot. Also, a surprise habanero mead.
We visit Modern Times Brewing in San Diego to talk to Jacob McKean and Michael Tonsmeire about starting a brewery based on homebrew, roasting and brewing with coffee, and sour beers, of course.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, talks about the myths surrounding black malt and how versitile it really is. Also, do IPAs really give you "man boobs"?
We visit with Dr. Chris White of White Labs about their tasting room, new products, and general brewing industry topics.
We join Brulosopher Marshall Schott at the National Homebrewers Conference in San Diego to evaluate experiments on lager fermentation temperatures and first wort hopping.
We talk to Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River about spontaneous fermentation, a new hop exclusively for homebrewers, and brewing Pilsners. Also, homebrewer Holger Michaelis talks about brewing small batch lagers.
James, Steve, and a cast of BBR characters wander Club Night at the National Homebrewers Conference in search of great beers.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, talks about increasing alcohol content of beers by feeding the yeast added sugar in the fermenter.
Malcolm Frazer, contributor to Brulosophy.com, shares his experiment brewing a dry Irish stout with water chemistry suited for stouts and for pale ales.
Mark Jockers from Clean Water Services and Jeremie Landers from the Oregon Brew Crew talk about a challenge in Portland using treated effluent to brew beer.
Homebrewer James Sites shares two tasty brews that are blends of sour beers and ciders with fruit.
Three ginger-infused beers: Half-pound half-boiled ginger beer from Steve Wilkes, ginger-wasabi beer from homebrewer Dan McCarthy, and Soulless Ginger from Apple Blossom Brewing Company.
James and Steve sit on the porch and evaluate two experiments: US 05 vs Nottingham yeast and the effect of a 30-minute boil on an all grain pale ale.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, joins James to reveal the winners of our Homebrew Heroics contest.
Marshall Schott of Brulosophy returns to the podcast to share two experiments: brewing water chemistry and hybrid lager fermentation.
Nathan Traw, brewer and distiller at Core Brewing and Distilling, takes us through the distillation process, and Jesse Core talks about his company's progress.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, talks about how to assess suspicious beers, and Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association, helps us introduce a contest to give away two free registrations to this year's National Homebrewers Conference.
Homebrewer Ryan Leamy from Vermont talks about making maple wine and maple beers and gives us some background on where maple syrup comes from.
Marshall Schott of the blog Brulosophy shares two experiments: testing the effects of a 30-minute boil and the addition of Irish moss.
Brewery owner Rose Schweikhart gets advice from John Palmer on brewing with hot spring water from Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas.
Homebrewer Dan Kuczmarski joins us again to share his experiment fermenting a blonde ale with four different yeast strains.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, talks about why mashes for higher gravity beers can be more inefficient and what to do about it.
Douglas Wawrzynzki helps sort through listener feedback on what brewing software they're using around the brewpot today.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, brings us up to date on a favorite technique - a hybrid of extract and all grain brewing.
Joe Zucca, head brewer at Bike Rack Brewing Company in Bentonville, Arkansas, talks about brewing with the Speidel Braumeister system. Also, Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association, previews the National Homebrew Competition.
Matt Miller, AKA Dr. Lambic, explains his approach to fermenting lambics - with a fermentation step each for Lactobacillus, Saccharomyces, and Brettanomyces.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, give us some tips on brewing Maibock to enjoy in warmer times. Also, Chris answers a couple of carbonation-related mailbag questions.
SJPorr from YouTube joins us to talk about the YouTube brewing community and the ambitious competition that bears his name.
James and Steve read listener letters detailing homebrewing disasters from the past year.
Christopher Owen and Ted Doll from the Louisville, Kentucky, LAGERS club share their experiment using roasted specialty grains in the mash, hot steeping, and cold steeping.
Sean Terrill from Two Mile Brewing Company shares tips on how to brew with chilis in a way that will give flavor without burning off our taste buds.
Neil Walker from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) talks about his organization's efforts to promote and preserve traditional beer and pubs in the United Kingdom.
Mad Fermentationist Michael Tonsmeire shares beers fermented with "critters" harvested around his home and from bottle dregs. Also, a sour beer dry-hopped in the bottle.
Mad Fermentationist Michael Tonsmeire joins us to share homebrew Berliner Weisse brewed with rhubarb and lemon.
Julia Herz of the Brewers Association previews the Beer and Food Course that she has written with Chef Adam Dulye. Juila gives us advice on pairing beer and food and on aging craft beer and homebrew.
Kevin Mullen of Rare Form Brewing in Troy, New York, talks about working with homebrewers to bring their recipes to life on a larger scale.
Ryan Tockstein of Scratch Brewing in Ava, Illinois, talks about using local ingredients, including those foraged in the woods around his brewery.
Homebrewer James Sites shares his experiment blending sour beer and wine to create a new combination.
We go back to basics with Chris Colby of Beer and Wine Journal as we talk about proper carbonation in beers.
BIAB pioneer Pat Hollingdale makes an appeal for more standardized terminology when sharing brewing recipes.
Denny Conn and Drew Beechum share tips from their book, Experimental Homebrewing: Mad Science in the Pursuit of Great Beer.
Homebrewer Jeff Muse compares a pale ale recipe with extract that has been boiled for 60 minutes against another where the extract has only been boiled for 15.
Homebrewer Dan Kuczmarski shares an experiment trying to dry out sweet beers by adding Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus after bottling.
Dr. Chris Hamilton of Hillsdale College talks about his experiment attempting to make practically gluten free beers using Clarity Ferm from White Labs.
Brewer Nathan Traw of Apple Blossom Brewing Company shares some funky beers, including one fermented with sourdough starter.
Homebrewer Alex Baker shares his experiment brewing the same recipe with water from different springs across Michigan.
Home mead maker Tim Leber shares the result of his experiment comparing meads made with musts that have been boiled and have not.
Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, shares his successful weight loss plan that allows him to keep his favorite beverage, while losing pounds.
Homebrewer Bob Stempski shares his experiment comparing beers brewed with no-chill worts aged for eight and four months with a fresh batch.
Vaughn Stewart, brewing manager of Arcadia Brewing in Kalamazoo, Michigan, talks about open fermentation and repitching yeast for many generations.
We join homebrewers and pros to sample and talk about hops and malt grown and produced in Michigan.
We join homebrewer David Curtis in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to evaluate the second round of his experiment comparing different hopping techniques.
The Mad Fermentationist talks about his new book, "American Sour Beers," as we take a tour of sour homebrew at the National Homebrewers Conference.
We join Casey Letellier and members of the Brewers of Siloam Springs as they sample imperial stouts to go into a whiskey barrel.
Homebrewer Andrew Parr shares his experiment using six different yeasts to ferment a beverage made with pure, grade-A maple syrup.
American Homebrewers Association Director Gary Glass brings us up to speed on the National Homebrew Competition, Homebrewers Conference and legislative efforts.
Homebrewer David Curtis shares his experiment comparing mash hopping, first wort hopping and traditional 60-minute boil hopping.
Chris White, founder of White Labs Yeast, talks about a survey comparing the effect of different yeast strains on bitterness levels of finished beer. We also talk about safety issues and whether eating yeast will stave off drunkenness.
Brew in a Bag pioneer Pat Hollingdale and Brew in a Bag enthusiast Bob Stempski talk about the legacy of the technique and the myths surrounding it.
We go back to the basics with Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, who talks about adjunct grains.
Brian Sprague talks about his farm and brewery in Venango, Pennsylvania, where hops and barley are grown and turned into beer.
Sour homebrewer Gail Williams shares two experiments: testing whether Brettanomyces preserves hop character and whether pasta makes a contribution to a sour beer in the fermenter.
Chase Healey of Prairie Artisan Ales in Tulsa, Oklahoma, talks about his quickly up-and-coming funky brewery and some of his tasty beers.
Chris Colby of Beer and Wine Journal shares his multi-year strategy of brewing tasty sour beers at home.
In the final stop of introducing the new breweries of northwest Arkansas, we interview owners Evan McDonald and Sammy Stephenson along with brewer Nathan Traw.
Homebrewer Tyson Schindler shares his experiment splitting a stout into smaller batches and flavoring them differently.
Toxicologist Paul joins us for the third part of our exploration of whether our ingredients, processes, or equipment are hazardous.
Icelandic homebrewers Eyvindur Karlsson and Sigurdur Gudbrandsson talk about the brewing culture in their country and their method of stepping up BIAB.
Homebrewer Karl Kornfeld talks about his experiment brewing a beer using only sourdough starter for yeast. He also shares a Star Trek inspired beer.
Chris Colby of Beer and Wine Journal shares tips on scaling up and scaling down homebrew batches and recipes.
Homebrewer Dan Pixley takes us through an ongoing experiment brewing sour beers from commercial dregs. Also, Dr. Martin O'Neill talks about the new brewing program at Auburn University.
Homebrewer Matthew Jannette shares his experiment combining two of our favorite things: beer and cheese.
Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association, explains the new registration procedure for the National Homebrew Competition and looks forward to the National Homebrewers Conference in June.
Ken Schramm, author of The Compleat Meadmaker and owner of Schramm's Mead joins us to talk about his new commercial venture and answer your mead making questions.
James and Steve read listener disaster letters and taste some bottles of homebrew past from James' cellar.
Toxicologist Paul joins us again to follow up on your questions about possible toxic materials in homebrew.
Homebrewer Bryan Gold shares tips on brewing his award-winning saison and saisons with fruit.
James and Steve blend finished beers and honey beverages before bottling to find a tasty braggot.
Paul, a homebrewer and toxicologist, answers your concerns about materials and chemicals we use in our favorite hobby.
Chris Colby and Denny Conn join James to go over the results of adding increasing amounts of gypsum to an American IPA.
Home meadmaker Matt Weide shares meads that have been made from a split batch and bochet - a mead from burnt honey.
Desiree Knott of High Gravity in Tulsa talks about lessons learned in starting and running a successful LHBS.
Homebrewers Brook Baber and David Bauter share fruit beers inspired by Stephen King, brewed with apple and pineapple juice.
Homebrewer Ethan Tripp shares the result of his barrel project where he harvests sour beer every six months and replaces it with fresh beer.
James heads to formerly dry Benton County, Arkansas, with Andy Sparks to visit with Andy Coates of Ozark Beer Company and sample some homebrews.
Chris Colby of Beer and Wine Journal gives us details on brewing tasty German wheat beers and kicks off an experiment on brewing hoppy beers.
Dick Cantwell, author of The Brewers Association's Guide to Starting Your Own Brewery, talks about going pro.
Chris Lohring, brewer at Notch Brewing in Massachusetts, shares tips on brewing satisfying lower gravity beers.
James and Steve have a serious conversation with a very good friend who wants to share a cautionary tale.
Chris Colby from Beer and Wine Journal talks about his extensive series on brewing our favorites - hoppy American pale ales, IPAs, and double IPAs.
James sits down with Ben Mills of Fossil Cove Brewing in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to discuss the details of his sour mash beer. They also taste a mystery homebrew from James.
James and Steve head to Salt Lake City to help judge the Beehive Brewoff and celebrate five years of legal brewing in Utah.
Our audio tour of Philadelphia breweries concludes with a visit to Earth - Bread + Brewery in the Mount Airy neighborhood.
Homebrewer Jameson Parker shares his experiment exploring whether it makes a difference to run fruit through a juicer before adding to beer.
Our tour of the Philadelphia area continues with a visit to Ambler, Pennsylvania, and Forest and Main brewery.
Bob Stempski returns with another no-chill experiment. This time, how does storing unpitched no-chill wort for four months affect the final product?
Our tour of the Philadelphia area begins with tasty beers at the Maple Shade, New Jersey, location of Iron Hill and brewer Chris LaPierre.
Members of the Barley Legal homebrew club from Maple Shade, New Jersey, share their experiment comparing different aeration techniques.
James talks to Chris Colby about a new online resource for homebrewers and home winemakers.
Phillip Lamb interviews Jean van Roy, owner and brewmaster of historic lambic brewery Cantillon.
Paul Kavulak of Nebraska Brewing Company talks about barrel aging as we sample four of his tasty beers.
Brant Warren of Alabama's Right to Brew gives us a behind-the-scenes look at his state's new homebrew law and how it passed.
Gordon Strong, president of the Beer Judge Certification Program and author of Brewing Better Beer, joins us to talk about entering and judging competitions.
James talks to Andy Sparks about what he's been doing with his eight-gallon whiskey barrel since we talked to him last about it.
Joe Fisher and Dennis Fisher, authors of The Homebrewer's Garden, join us to answer your questions from Facebook and Twitter.
A conversation with the late David Conz, Arizona State University professor and friend to homebrewers and good beer. Introduction by Rob Fullmer, president of the Arizona Society of Homebrewers.
Homebrewer Kevin Ellis shares an experiment comparing a beer with zero calculated IBUs against a more traditionally hopped beer. Brad Sturgeon supplies lab results.
The Alabama homebrew bill is one step closer to becoming law after passing the state House of Representatives. We listen in on the debate.
Jason Cody, president of the Colorado Malting Company, talks about how his family farm went from being a grain supplier to becoming a maltster of craft malt.
Shawn Halstead of Mr. Beer talks about changes in his company and product line, and Craig Hendry from Raise Your Pints celebrates legal homebrew in Mississippi.
Andy Coates, brewer of West Mountain Brewing in Fayetteville, Arkansas, talks about his current position and plans for launching a new brewery.
Zot O'Connor joins us to talk about his experiment in adding specialty grains to a finished beer to taste the effects.
Homebrewer Lamel Moore tells the story of Peoples Brewery - the first African American-owned brewery. Lamel also shares recipes designed to mimic the original Peoples brews.
Jesse Core of Core Brewing and Distilling in Springdale, Arkansas, gives us a grand tour of the expansion that has happened since we first visited a year ago.
Kai Troester talks about his Mash Chemistry and Brewing water Calculator and walks us through using it to improve our water for brewing.
Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association, talks about the National Homebrewers Conference, homebrew legislation in Mississippi and Alabama, and changes to the National Homebrew Competition.
Brewers Nathan Zeender and Michael Tonsmeire, the Mad Fermentationist, bring us up to date on their pro brewing careers and talk about brewing lagers from the dark side.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, explains the basics of getting the best crush of your grain for all grain brewing.
Homebrewer Darnell Brawner shares his experiment looking at how Carastan, crystal 40, and crystal 60 affect the same recipe.
Author Stan Hieronymus joins us to talk about his latest book, For the Love of Hops: The Practical Guide to Aroma, Bitterness and the Culture of Hops.
Archaeologist Ian Hill describes an ancient brewing site in Cyprus and talks about his own homebrew experiment attempting to brew bronze age beer.
James and Steve share tales of woe from listeners in our annual Brewing Disasters episode.
Mitch Steele, brewmaster of Stone Brewing Company, talks about the history of India Pale Ale and shares tips on how to brew it.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, talks about filtering your beer to make it as clear as possible, and he shares his holiday cranberry wheat beer recipe.
Bob Stempski shares his experiment comparing hops added near the end of the boil with hops added in the keg.
Gordon Strong, author of Brewing Better Beer: Master Lessons for Advanced Homebrewers, shares his latest Christmas beer recipe and walks us through his creative process.
James and Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, join in an experiment at the Australian National Homebrew Conference to test chilling techniques.
Sam Adams is re-releasing New Albion Ale, recognized as the first American craft beer. We attend the announcement in Denver.
We hear from all the finalists and the winners of the annual Sam Adams Longshot homebrew competition.
We get a tour of sour and funky beers at the Great American Beer Festival with Michael Tonsmeire, the Mad Fermentationist. We talk to Chad Yakobson of Crooked Stave, Jason Yester of Trinity Brewing, Will Meyers of Cambridge Brewing, Patrick Rue of The Bruery, and Christopher McGarvey of Front Street Brewery.
Our series on the budding northwest Arkansas craft beer scene continues with Ben Mills of Fossil Cove Brewing Company.
Dan Dettmers of Gorst Valley Hops tells us how to properly harvest, dry and store our homegrown hops.
James and Andy brew up a recipe based on New Albion ale under the supervision of New Albion founder Jack McAuliffe.
We continue our series on the emerging craft beer culture in northwest Arkansas with Steve Rehbock of Saddlebock Brewing.
Beer guy Brad Magerkurth talks about getting a homebrew from the President and Chris Colby gives tips on brewing with seeds and nuts.
Home brewer Tyrone Harris shares his experiment adding a bunch of hops to a wort after the boil, then splitting it and fermenting with six different yeasts.
James pays a visit to the experimental hopyard of Gorst Valley Hops in Wisconsin to talk to horticulturist James Altwies.
James travels to Madison, Wisconsin to join Bob Stempski for one of the best beer events in the U.S.
Michael Fairbrother from Moonlight Meadery shares his experience in going from being a home brewer to the owner of a quickly growing meadery. He also answers your questions.
James, Andy Davison of the Australian National Homebrew Conference, and Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine launch a collaborative experiment to test the effects of different wort chilling methods.
Montreal home brewer Sean Coates turns a stinky mash into a refreshing, tart summer brew.
Zot O'Connor presents examples from a two-year continuation of our experiment on aging beers in different conditions.
Karl Vanevenhoven from Yakima Chief shares some experimental hops and tells us how new hop varieties are born and developed.
Home brewers Bob Stempski and Noam Shalev compare beers brewed with traditional chilling techniques with no-chill batches.
Home brewer Tim Leber shares his experiment comparing fruit added to a mead in the primary and in the secondary.
James takes a break from vacation to interview Kim Lutz, lead brewer of the Maui Brewing Company brewpub.
James and Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, take a look at the results of the BYO-BBR Collaborative Experiment testing the effect of racking to a secondary fermenter.
Mark Emiley of the Washington Homebrewers Association gives us a preview of the Seattle American Homebrewers Conference and tells us what Sasquatch would drink.
Craft brewing pioneer Jack McAuliffe shares the story of his founding America's first microbrewery - New Albion of Sonoma, California.
Kevin Cullen and Paul Mech of Discovery World in Milwaukee, Wisconsin tell us about their program to bring ancient brewing recipes back to life.
We continue our series on the emerging local beer scene in northwest Arkansas with a visit to Tanglewood Branch Beer Company and owner J.T. Wampler.
Andy Sparks talks about his new eight-gallon bourbon barrel and his plans for the first beer to go inside it.
Home Brewer Kim Odland from Norway has brewed a beer with an enormous amount of hops added at the end of the boil. Brad Sturgeon from Monmouth College puts it through his lab to look at its IBUs.
The Mad Fermentationist, Michael Tonsmeire, and fellow brewer Nathan Zeender share some more barrel-aged sour beers with blended ingredients. Also, Kyle Clark reports on Wisconsin homebrew legislation.
Brewer Sean Terrill joins us to share the results of his experiment comparing step mashing and reverse mashing in producing fermentable worts.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, joins James to launch the BYO-BBR Collaborative Experiment on secondary fermenters. They also talk about trimming time off your all grain brew day.
The Mad Fermentationist, Michael Tonsmeire, and fellow brewer Nathan Zeender share some barrel-aged sour beers with blended ingredients.
Home brewer Bob Stempski shares his technique for infusing vodka with hops to explore different varieties and add some punch to homebrew and commercial beers.
James and Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, go over the results of the BYO-BBR Collaborative Experiment on kettle trub in the fermenter.
Ottawa, Canada home brewer Pete Hickey joins us to tell us how he brews in the extremely cold Canadian winter.
It's a trifecta: We have a triangle test of a fermenter experiment, sample our Zombie Apocalypse beer, and hear about brewing on a frozen Wisconsin lake.
Home brewer Patrick Bresnahan shares his bourbon stout experiment, trying to find the proper amount of bourbon to add to the beer.
Home brewer Christopher Owen shares the Belgian yeast experiment he conducted with the Louisville, Kentucky LAGERS club.
Jesse Core of Core Brewing in Springdale, Arkansas, tells us about his jump into pro brewing.
Matt Becker of New Brew Thursday shares his experiment brewing and blending beers made with commercial and homemade sour culture blends.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, starts the year off with a new collaborative experiment and tips on tweaking your process.
James and Steve read letters from listeners about batches of brew that didn't go the way they had been planned.
Brewers Kasey Loman and Jen Royer invade the home of non-brewers and brew up a batch of beer.
Andy Sparks shows off his home brewery in progress: a remote-controlled, high-tech electric dream machine.
James and Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, go over the data from the experiment comparing different fermenter types.
James and Steve read listener recommendations about software designed to better your brew.
Sadhaka Rajanatha of Kauai's Hindu Monastery shares some 17-year-old mead and his experiences as brewer for his fellow monks.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, fills us in on the technique of mashing with all your brewing water and not rinsing.
A behind-the-scenes look at the Basic Brewing Video episode, where James and Steve brew a watermelon wheat beer using only watermelon juice as the brewing water.
Home brewer Ken Valley shares beer that he allowed Mother Nature to innoculate instead of pitching yeast.
James heads to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to cover the second annual Outlaw Homebrew Competition at the Keg and Barrel brewpub.
James and Andy enjoy good conversation, weather, and beer with Phillip Lamb, who shares information on French Brewing.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, helps us launch the next collaborative experiment comparing the performance of different fermenters. Also, the roots of lager yeasts.
Adam Draeger of the Yak and Yeti brewpub in Arvada, Colorado, joins us to talk about his journey going pro and his techniques of adding fruit to wheat beers in a weekly feature at his pub.
James sits down with Andy Sparks and Dave Johnson to talk about canning wort for starters as the pressure cooker steams in the background.
James and Steve catch up on email and find a missing gem from Club NIght at NHC - Chickenuts.
Michael Tonsmeire, the Mad Fermentationist, and Nathan Zeender join James and Andy to sample homebrew Saison and talk about how to brew it.
Brad Sturgeon is back to answer questions about his experiment to find the IBU ceiling and to unveil further results.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, shares his experiences touring breweries and beer places in Belgium.
Dr. Brad Sturgeon of Monmouth College shares an experiment to try to find the top limit of how many IBUs can fit into a beer.
James, Steve, and Andy are joined by Danny Seeton and Matt Anderson, who have brought a yeast experiment to San Diego from north of the border.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, and Sean Terrill, head brewer of Silverton Brewing Company, help James examine the results of the latest collaboration experiment.
Zot O'Connor shares his experiment priming cider with different priming sugars. Helping us to judge the results are members of WAHA and a special surprise guest.
Members of the Hangtown Association of Zymurgy Enthusiasts (HAZE) of Placerville, California share their experiment comparing three hop varieties' flavor and aroma characteristics.
Vinnie Cilurzo, founder of Russian River Brewing and inventer of the double IPA, takes us through his trek from home brewer to innovative pro.
Will glassware affect the character of your beer? Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, joins James and Steve to investigate.
James and Steve taste the results of home brewer Dave Scheuing's experiments with mead, cyser and different yeasts.
Home brewer Don Osborn shares two beers that were brewed only using Brettanomyces strains to ferment. Don also talks about mashing in the evening and brewing the next morning.
Desiree Knott of High Gravity in Tulsa tells us about her quest to brew the perfect gluten free beer.
Sean Terrill returns to share the results of his efforts to refine the post fermentation refractometer correction formula and tells about his new job, brewing in thin air.
Jan Halvor Fjeld, this past year's Norwegian home brewer of the year, talks about his home system and shares a pale ale experiment.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, helps James launch two new collaborative experiments and talks about Scandinavian beers.
Frank Clark of Colonial Williamsburg joins us to talk about the state of beer and brewing in Colonial United States.
Home brewer Paul English shares his experiment comparing beers brewed with five different base malts and no other grains.
Home brewer Kai Troester continues a two-part discussion on pH in brewing by taking us into the mash tun.
Home brewer Kai Troester begins a two-part discussion on pH in brewing by starting with the basics.
Andy Sparks and the Mad Fermentationist, Michael Tonsmeire, share their homebrew Berliner Weisse beers and talk about brewing the nicely tart ales.
James is joined by Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, along with home brewers Kai Troester and Zot O'Connor, as they look at the results of the starch test collaborative experiment.
James and BYO Editor Chris Colby get together to chat about different ways to keep your lagers chilly during fermentation.
AHA Director Gary Glass brings us up to date on legislation across the country dealing with our favorite hobby. Gary also talks about the upcoming National Homebrewers Conference in San Diego.
Home brewer Charles Hoffman and James conduct an experiment comparing the effects of different mash times on a single recipe. Chris Colby and Kai Troester help interpret the results.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, and James invite you to take part in Collaborative Experiment Seven. Also, Steve Wilkes joins James to talk cider, lagering, and other homebrew business.
Home brewer Darnell Brawner shares the results of an experiment testing whether preheating grain with strike water is beneficial.
James talks with Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, as they examine the data from the sixth BYO-BBR Collaborative Experiment.
Home brewer Adam Draeger shares his experiment comparing blueberry extract against real blueberries for flavoring a wheat beer base.
In a presentation recorded in Melbourne, Australia, Thomas Kraus-Weyermann from Weyermann Malts gives background on the malting process and its products.
James and Steve enjoy a vertical tasting of end-of-the-year holiday barleywines, starting with the present and ending in 2007.
Michael Tonsmeire, the Mad Fermentationist, and Nathan Zeender continue their visit with an update on their barrel aged beers.
Michael Tonsmeire, the Mad Fermentationist, and Nathan Zeender join us to talk about Kvass, a traditional beer brewed with bread.
The guys endure severe weather to evaluate the Brew Your Own - Basic Brewing Radio experiment aging beer in different temperatures.
James and Steve celebrate the release of their new Extract Brewing and Partial Mashing DVD with a couple homebrews and listener e-mail.
James heads to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma to observe members of the Fellowship of Oklahoma Ale Makers as they brew with hot rocks. He also samples an awesome Berliner Weisse homebrew.
James and Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, announce the new collaborative mashing experiment and talk about winter beers.
Home brewer Drew Filkins shares his technique of using alternative ingredients to put the bubbles in his brew.
James and Andy talk about the basics of kegging from Andy's article in the November Brew Your Own magazine.
Jeremiah Dillingham and Matt Reba from Open Source Control Systems talk about automating your brewday and their Brewtroller project.
Jesse Williams, brewer for New Albian Brewery in Indiana, talks about adventurous beers he's brewed without using hops.
We bring you interviews with all of the finalists in the Sam Adams homebrew competition and the announcement of the winners in Denver.
This week, a revisit of James and Andy's trip to Denver for the Great American Beer Festival.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, explains parameters surrounding the initial temperatures of all grain brewing.
James talks with John Neal and Sam Sorrells from the Keg and Barrel in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. They're carving a foothold for good beer on a small scale.
James has a pint or two with home brewer Sean Terrill as they discuss measuring specific gravity and ask for your help.
James heads to Salt Lake City to take part in the second annual Beehive Brew-Off homebrew competition, celebrating legal homebrew in Utah.
Steve Wilkes spends a few minutes behind the scenes of the National Homebrewers Conference banquet with Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton.
Five professional brewers answer questions from the crowd at the "Going Pro" panel at the National Homebrewers Conference.
Four professional brewers share their perspectives and tactics on starting a commercial brewery from scratch.
Mark Stutrud of Summit Brewing in St. Paul addresses the 2010 National Homebrewers Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
James and Steve profile the Prairie Homebrewing Companions of Fargo, North Dakota in front of a live audience at the National Homebrewers Conference.
James, Steve, and Blake Lyon evaluate the experiment that attempts to determine whether Irish Moss or other fining agents make a difference in homebrew.
James joins Steve for an attempt to brew a mead, a wine, and a beer on the same day on a holiday weekend.
Kai Troester joins us to give us his thoughts and techniques about the time-honored process of decoction mashing.
James enlists the help of Steve Wilkes, Andy Sparks, and Alex Roberts to answer items from the mailbag as the four sip rare beers.
Home Brewer Sean Terrill joins us again to follow up on his yeast starter aeration experiment. Also, Sean shares the results of his pitching rate experiment, recruiting dozens of home brewers to help evaluate.
James Altwies of Gorst Valley Hops joins us to tell us how his company is bringing commercial hops back to Wisconsin. Also, James answers your questions about growing hops at home.
Home brewer Jeff Karpinski gives us tips on going electric in our home breweries and how to build heat sticks.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, joins James to talk about Collaborative Experiments number four and five.
Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association, brings us up to date on legislation affecting home brewers across the country.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, tells us about a series of articles dedicated to breakfast foods we can use to brew.
Home brewer Mark Zap has been awarded a grant to create a work of art: a brewing sculpture.
Steve Wilkes is planning a charity beer dinner, and he takes a moment while things are in the oven to walk us through the process.
Author Stan Hieronymus joins us to talk about his book, Brewing with Wheat - The "Wit" and "Weizen" of World Wheat Styles.
Home brewer Sean Terrill shares the results of his experiment testing how aeration affects the amount of yeast cells generated in starters.
We bring in a panel of experts and data from home brewers to test the effects of a partial boil and adding extract late to the brewpot.
Mike Nealy, president and founder of Malt Munching Mash Monsters, shares the results of his club's experiment comparing nine sugars in Belgian Beer.
Les Howarth, author of The Home Brewer's Recipe Database, joins us to talk about his book that lists the ingredients of nearly 3,000 beers.
Home brewer Scott Mathis shares his experiment splitting a pale ale wort and fermenting it with six different yeasts.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, talks about conditioning malt for better milling and answers listener e-mails.
Ryan Thompson-Jewell walks us through some tips on creating or improving homebrew club Web sites. Also, Gary Glass, director of the AHA, brings us up-to-date on homebrew legislation.
Peter Hoey of Odonata Beer Company in Sacramento joins us to talk about launching a new brewery and gives tips for brewing Saisons, Chocolate Stouts, and hoppy Beers.
Jeff Britton, president of the Garage Brewers Society of O'Fallon, Missouri, explains his club's current contest centering around mystery ingredients.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, joins us to talk about factors affecting foam on beer. Also, we catch up on the BYO-BBR Collaborative Experiment.
James and Steve end out the year with a little vertical tasting of small-batch holiday barleywines from the past couple of years.
Home brewers Greg Pietsch, Scott Schluter, and Mark Glinski describe a partigyle brewday when they used two mashes to generate a lot of beer.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, talks about an experiment mixing yeast strains in homebrew. Also, we launch our third collaborative experiment.
Derrick Johnson of MrBeerFans.com shares advice on how Mr. Beer brewers should up their game. Also, listener feedback on pumpkin beers.
Does pumpkin really make an impact on beer flavor? Home brewers Joel Neal and Phil Saylor share the results of their pumpkin beer experiment.
Joe Bair of Princeton Homebrew talks about his groundbreaking experiments in using the heat of the sun to brew beer.
Chris Colby, Andy Sparks, and Mark Smith join James to evaluate the second collaborative experiment with Brew Your Own Magazine.
We talk with American Homebrewers Association Director Gary Glass about goings-on at the AHA, how to start a club, and the legal status of home brewing in Kentucky.
Live in an apartment or other small space? That's not a reason not to get into brewing.
Home brewer Kai Troester brings us a bit of insight into brewing techniques from 1860s Germany from texts that he has translated from that time.
In our final audio interview from our Portland trip, we visit Upright Brewing Company and talk to head brewer Alex Ganum.
Mad Fermentationist Michael Tonsmeire and fellow brewer Nathan Zeender talk about their experiments with solera brewing and barrel aging.
Jeff Bearer from Craft Beer Radio steps in to bring us interviews with the 2009 Sam Adams Longshot finalists and the results of the competition.
James and Steve head to neighboring Tulsa, Oklahoma, to help judge the FOAM Cup homebrew competition.
In our first show from Portland, we attend a meeting of the Oregon Brew Crew homebrew club. We talk to brewing legend Fred Eckhardt and also find out about a project to build the perfect APA.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, revisits his countertop partial mashing technique with some recipes that are a bit out of the ordinary.
Home brewer Greg Pietsch shares his efforts in raising a stable of yeast for use in his own brews and for sharing with friends.
Home brewer Matt Troutman describes the results of his experiment comparing adding strawberries at the end of the boil and into the secondary fermenter.
Home brewer Ricky Klein shares beers and his philosophy of brewing around the traditional style guidelines with ingredients found on hand.
Sean Paxton, The Homebrew Chef, sits down with James and Steve after his National Homebrewers Conference presentation to talk about the philosophy of beer and food.
Douglas Wawrzynski shares his observations and interviews following the first legal home brewing competition in Utah's history.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, sheds some light on the scientific workings and background of our favorite fungus. We also talk about the next phase of the collaborative experiment.
James and Steve taste a decoction experiment conducted by members of the Washington Homebrewers Association and get guidance from Michael Ferguson of BJ's.
The troubleshooting panel discussion at the National Homebrewers Conference, featuring Tomme Arthur, Vinnie Cilurzo, Michael Ferguson, John Palmer, and Ken Grossman.
The mead panel discussion at the National Homebrewers Conference, featuring Byron Burch, Charlie Papazian, Curt Stock and Harold Gulbransen.
In the first of our coverage of the National Homebrewers Conference in Oakland, Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada Brewing gives the keynote address.
James Spencer, Steve Wilkes, and Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, taste James' experiment beer and read the results from brewers around the world.
Home brewer Alex Roberts joins James in the studio to compare brewing applications and Web sites that work on mobile devices.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, tells us how his garden grows and gives us tips on corking Belgian beers.
Home brewer Joshua Smith joins us to tell us how to make our own candi syrup for our Belgian beers.
Jason Perkins, head brewer of Allagash Brewing in Portland, Maine, talks about his brewery's work in fermenting beer with the native local "critters".
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, shares tips to make the already-economical process of home brewing even more efficient.
Home brewers Jim Lewellyn and Darren Goad join us to share the results of their American Pale Ale experiment, playing with yeast and dry hopping.
James flies solo at the brewpot to test out the "Brew in a Bag" Australian technique of all grain brewing with a Maris Otter session ale.
Australian home brewers Dan Walker and Geoff Hammond explain the all grain technique of Brew in a Bag, which they advocate as a good way to get into brewing with grain.
James travels to Bastrop, Texas, home of Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine. James and Chris introduce an experiment that invites participation from home brewers everywhere.
Home Brewer Kai Troester explains how to analyze all grain efficiency going into the brewpot and beforehand in the mash tun.
James joins Mehmet Kadiev, head brewer, and David Mathews, assistant brewer, at the Hog Haus brewery in Fayetteville, Arkansas, as they brew two beers from one mash.
Mead maker Mike Lozano walks us through making a pyment using a wine kit as a shortcut. Also, Douglas Wawrzynski fills us in on the victory in Utah.
James talks to home brewer Sam Scott of Hamilton, New Jersey about a method he's using to harvest yeast from a carboy during primary fermentation. Also, we get another homebrew legislation update.
Andy and James join home brewers Kasey Loman and Jen Royer as they brew a batch of beer using maple sap as most of the brew water. We also learn how sap is harvested.
In this "extra" episode, Douglas Wawrzynski interviews Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association, on a victory for home brewing in Utah and on legislation efforts across the country.
Mead maker Mike Lozano joins James, Steve, and Andy as they take part in his experiment comparing six different honey varieties in mead.
Don't have space to plant hops? Don't be too sure. Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, brings us up to date on his efforts to grow hops in containers.
Home brewer Kai Troester shares some tips and techniques he's found while researching German brewing. Also, we get an update on beer-related legislation across the country.
Matt Brynildson, brewmaster at Firestone Walker Brewing, walks us through a vertical tasting of 10, 11 and 12. Matt talks about blending, wood aging, bottle aging and more.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, tells us how to ferment in Corny kegs . . . and why.
Bruce Swiecicki, senior technical advisor for the National Propane Gas Association, joins us to answer your questions about propane safety and getting the most out of your propane burner setup.
Our first episode of the year features the last brewing session of 2008: a barleywine with James, Andy and Casey Letellier. Casey gives us his perspective on beer and brewing in England and the U.S.
On the last episode of 2008, James and Steve help listeners air their frustrations with the remarks of the uninitiated.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, tells us about smoked beers and how to make our own at home.
Michael Tonsmeire, The Mad Fermentationist, leads James, Steve, and Andy through an exercise of blending beers together to create better ones.
We celebrate Thanksgiving week by remembering our beer dinner with the Brett Pack. Join James and Andy for dinner with Adam Avery, Vinnie Cilurzo, Rob Tod, Tomme Arthur, and Sam Calagione.
Home brewer Kai Troester joins us again to take us through his extensive experiments on the factors affecting attenuation in the mash tun.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, give us tips on how to build our own kegerator at home. Chris also updates us on the world hop situation.
A collection of short interviews from Denver: David Myers of Redstone Meadery, Pro-Am brewer David Schollmeyer, author Maureen Ogle, and Greg Koch of Stone Brewery.
We talk to home brewers Vickie Watson and Ken Dollar from Mississippi, where home brewing is illegal. We also talk to Mazen Hajjar, owner of the first brewpub in Beirut, Lebanon.
James and Andy get brewing tips from Jake O'Mara from Odell Brewing Company and Taylor Rees and Alan Johnson of Great Divide.
In our first episode back from the Great American Beer Festival, we talk to the winners and runners up in the Sam Adams LongShot competition.
James and Andy sit on the deck, talk about how to take care of homegrown hops at the end of the season, and answer some listener e-mail.
Steve Mazylewski, brewer at The Hog Haus in Fayetteville, Arkansas, sits down with James and Steve to sample his Oktoberfest, Pumpkin Spice Ale and IPA.
Andy Davison, chairman of the Australian National Homebrewing Conference, talks with us about preparations for their inaugural event. Also, Brett Joyce, president of Rogue tells us about their venture into growing hops.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, explains the process of sour mashing. Whether you're adjusting pH or making a sour beer, Chris says sour mashing is easy to do.
Home brewer Kai Troester explains the concept of attenuation, the factors that affect it and how we can test the attenuation potential of our wort.
Home brewer John Chubick of Bloomington, Illinois joins us to talk about his homebrew hop dryer, stir plate and temperature controller.
James and Andy try out one of the hop stretching methods explained by Chris Colby on the previous show: steeping hops in a French press coffee maker.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, explains some tips on how to get the most out of our precious hops. Also, how to use a French press coffee maker in the process.
Home brewer and coffee roaster Scott Koue of San Francisco joins us to talk about roasting our own coffee. Home roasted coffee can add more creative control into home brewed coffee beers.
This is Fred Johnson's paper comparing fermenter shaking vs aquarium pumps for wort aeration.
Scientist and home brewer Fred Johnson of Apex North Carolina shares his experiment comparing fermenter shaking against aquarium pumping for aeration. Also, advice for cleaning Better Bottles.
We sit down with Mike Dewey of Mt. Carmel Brewing Company in Cincinnati, Ohio - a commercial home-based brewery.
Chris Colby of Brew Your Own Magazine explains the Belgian technique of turbid mashing, which makes the most of limited mash tun space.
Our National Homebrewers Conference coverage from Cincinnati concludes with an interview from Randy Mosher. Randy talks about Belgian beer history and culture he found in a rare book.
Our National Homebrewers Conference coverage from Cincinnati continues. We have interviews with Ant Hayes, Greg Doss, Ray Daniels, Ken Schramm and Craig Ballenger.
Steve joins James as they begin their collection of interviews gathered from experts at the National Homebrewers Conference in Cincinnati. This week: Dave Wills, Michael Ferguson and Chris White.
Jim Koch, founder of the Boston Beer Company, gives an inspiring keynote address to the National Homebrewers Conference in Cincinnati.
James and Steve read letters from listeners with tips on how to brew greener and cheaper.
Mike Lozano, home brewer and mead maker from Aurora, Colorado, takes us through the basics of mead making from the ground up.
Michael Tonsmeire, the Mad Fermentationist, shares three beers that have had hops added in "non-traditional" schedules.
Tired of looking at those dandelions in your yard? Home brewer Don Osborn tells us how to put them to good use in the fermenter.
Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV brings the thunder to BBR and gives us his perspectives on the art of tasting as he samples homebrew.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, answers questions from listeners about growing hops in containers and other home growing issues.
James and Steve sit down with the head brewer of the largest brewery in Oklahoma to share beers and tips on how to brew better beers.
This is Brad Sturgeon's paper showing effectiveness of colored glass on absorbing light harmful to beer.
Chemistry professor Brad Sturgeon of Monmouth College explains the science behind beer skunking and what kind of glass is best to protect against it.
Matt Kirkegaard, editor of Beer and Brewer Magazine fills us in on the state of the hop harvest in Australia and tells us about the beer and brewing culture in his part of the world.
Dr. Andrew McMichael of Western Kentucky University tells us about his History and Science of Beer and Brewing course that incorporates home brewing.
John Palmer, author of How to Brew, shares information from a conference that challenged his concept of what defines an International Bitterness Unit (IBU).
The Mad Fermentationist Michael Tonsmeire leads us through the second round of his tasty experiments using different sugars in Belgian Beers.
Italian home brewer and beer podcaster Tony Manzi gives us a virtual tour of the beer and home brewing scene in his country.
Chris Colby from Brew Your Own Magazine gives some advice on hop substitution and tells us about a hybrid sparging method between batch and fly. Also, we get an update on the Utah home brewing legislation from Douglas Wawrzynski.
Steve Wilkes talks about the health effects of homebrew and beer in general with nutritionist Marjorie Fitch-Hilgenberg of the University of Arkansas. Also, we check in on Utah brewing legislation with home brewer Douglas Wawrzynski.
Charlie Papazian shares a bit of homebrew history 30 years after legislation legalizing home brewing passed Congress. Also, home brewer Robb Holmes talks about brewing when it was breaking the law.
Home brewer Anthony Fischer gives James and Steve an overview of advanced yeast storage and propagation techniques he uses in the lab.
James, Steve, and Andy reveal the winners of the "You know you're a home brewer when . . . " contest, read listener letters, and sip rare Belgian beers.
"How to Brew" author John Palmer helps us walk through mash tun efficiency - how to get the most out of our mash.
Ray Daniels introduces us to the Cicerone program, which is designed to educate beer servers and sellers. Also, Ray talks about education opportunities for home and professional brewers.
Home brewer and home baker John Owen talks about the similarities between baking and brewing and tells us how to make sourdough bread from scratch.
Andy Sparks and Steve Wilkes join James on the patio to brew a partigyle session with leftover ingredients.
In this low-maintenance holiday episode, we share your brewday mishaps to live, laugh and learn.
Peter Ausenhus of Worth Brewing Company in Northwood, Iowa talks to us about how he's running a professional brewery with homebrew-scale equipment.
Chris Colby of Brew Your Own Magazine fills us in on the hop situation and gives us tips to make it through to better, hoppier times.
Benjy Edwards of Columbus, Ohio teaches us about cask conditioning and how we can make Real Ale at home.
Bob Taylor of Anchorage, Alaska shares his knowledge of sake and how he makes it at home during long Alaskan winters.
Chris Colby of Brew Your Own magazine walks us through his process of making big beers by putting wort back through a second or third mash.
Garrett Marrero of Maui Brewing Company tells us about brewing in paradise and lets us in on how a couple of his wonderful beers are brewed.
Mead maker Mike Lozano shares his experiment making mead with beer yeast. We also salute the Mighty Carson Art Players.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, gives us tips on reusing all the good yeast we find in the bottom of our primary fermenter.
Jeff Bearer of Craft Beer Radio reports on the winners of the Samuel Adams LongShot homebrew competition at GABF.
We talk to Great American Beer Festival first-timers Jeff Bearer of Craft Beer Radio, Rick Sellers of Pacific Brew News Radio and Rick Hagerbaumer of Big Foamy Head.
Chemistry professor Brad Sturgeon walks us through the basics of using thermometers, hydrometers and refractometers.
Chris Colby of Brew Your Own magazine gives us an update on what he's learned about doing partial mashes with a countertop cooler.
We continue our tasting with Michael Tonsmeire, the Mad Fermentationist from Washington D.C. This week, all the beers are fermented with Brettanomyces.
Michael Tonsmeire, the Mad Fermentationist from Washington D.C., shares some of his beers made with other-than-normal yeast. In this episode: Kvass, Flanders Red, and a Strong, Dark Belgian.
We talk to home brewer and amateur bee keeper Ryan Wilson about how to get insects to make the sweet stuff for our meads and braggots.
Creative Consultants Bob Corscadden and James Gardner of jimbob give us tips on "selling" the idea of drinking homebrew and other good beers in this day of mass-marketed big-boy beers.
Matt Brynildson of Firestone Walker gives us advice on blending beers to create new brews and explains his brewery's system of oak aging.
Chris Colby of Brew Your Own magazine gives us some tips on brewing beer with another brewed beverage - coffee.
Thomas Larsen of Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver gives us his take on making wonderful beers with interesting ingredients.
John Legnard of The Sandlot at Coors Field gives us brewing tips and lets us in on what it's like to brew at a small brewery owned by one of the big guys.
We sample delicious meads and mead-based experiments with home meadmaker Mike Lozano of Aurora, Colorado.
This week, we have an assortment of sound from the National Homebrewers Conference in Denver. We talk to David Myers of Redstone Meadery, Tony Simmons of Pagosa Brewing and Vinnie Cilurzo from Russian River.
Our coverage of the National Homebrewers Conference in Denver continues with brewing tips from David Houseman and tasting tips from Lauren Salazar of New Belgium.
John Palmer, Rick Bobbitt and Scott Jackson talk about their experiment at the National Homebrewers Conference pairing beer styles with appropriate water chemistry.
Two chemistry professors, Bradley Sturgeon and Paul Charlesworth, join BBR veterans James Spencer, Andy Sparks, Steve Wilkes and Mark Smith to share the results of an experiment putting IBU prediction formulas through their paces.
Peter Bouckaert, brewmaster of New Belgium Brewery, addresses the National Homebrewers Conference in Denver and takes Charlie Papazian to task on beer styles.
Neva Parker, laboratory manager for White Labs yeast, explains her experiment putting three yeast strains through various temperatures and gravities.
Chris Colby from Brew Your Own magazine walks us through the process of designing experiments in brewing to get accurate, useful results.
We talk with members of Fayetteville Lovers of Pure Suds about their fancy fermenters and why they moved up from carboys.
Dan Carey, Brewmaster of New Glarus Brewing Company in New Glarus, Wisconsin, shares his tips on aging beer in oak chips and in oak barrels.
Gary Glass, Director of the American Homebrewers Association, joins us to talk about Big Brew, National Competition and National Conference.
We read listener reviews of brewing software, and Andy Sparks talks about the Boulder Strong Ale Festival.
Chris Colby from Brew Your Own Magazine takes us behind the scenes with the two personalities of one of our favorite styles: English and American IPAs.
Noted batch sparging advocate Denny Conn gives us his side of the batch/fly-sparging debate and answers listener questions and concerns about the process.
David Logsdon from Wyeast takes us through the life cycle of our favorite micoorganism and lets know how we can help our yeast thrive and make great beer.
Charlie Talley of Five Star Chemicals tells us best practices in using household bleach and Star San in sanitizing equipment.
Murl Landman of National Chemicals talks to us about sanitization in general and using Iodophor specifically.
Steven Pauwels of Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, Missouri lets us in on home brewing tips as he talks about some adventurous brews he has planned.
Ken Smith of the Boston Beer Company tells us about how he came up with his winning Boysenberry Wheat, which has been included in the Samuael Adams Long Shot six pack.
Chris Colby of Brew Your Own magazine tells how we can turn seed into malt in our own kitchens.
We travel to Kansas City, Missouri (actually Olathe, Kansas) to attend the 24th annual homebrew competition of the Kansas City Biermeisters.
Adam Avery from Avery Brewing in Boulder, Colorado lets us in on some of the behind-the-scenes details of brewing "Collaboration not Litigation Ale" with Vinnie Cilurzo of Russion River Brewing.
Amelia Slayton from Seven Bridges Cooperative joins us to tell us about brewing with organic ingredients and why we should consider it.
David Myers from Redstone Meadery gives us a preview of the upcoming International Mead Festival in Denver. David also has some advice for our upcoming multi-batch mead experiment.
Researcher Dr. Jay Gottfried explains how the sense of smell works and how a study he's conducting may help us to improve our brews by being able to smell more accurately.
Connie Rieper-Estes and Leigh Nogy from Dark Hills Brewery talk with us about brewing gluten free beer at home and their dream of founding a commercial gluten free brewery.
John Palmer, author of How to Brew, walks us through the potentially intimidating topic of pH. John tells us how to measure pH and what to do with our measurements to improve our beers.
We get input from our listeners on "home brewing" vs. "craft brewing" and extract vs. all grain.
James, Andy Sparks and Steve Wilkes collaborate to taste home brewer Michael Tonsmeire's experiment comparing six different sugars in Belgian beers.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, walks us through the hoops and hurdles home brewers have to go through to brew American Pilsner, the most maligned of all styles.
Ed Westemeier, communications director of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), gives us the history behind the organization and talks about its role in brewing today.
We continue our discussion about the history of beer in the USA with Maureen Ogle, author of Ambitious Brew - The Story of American Beer. Part two takes us from Prohibition to present day.
We learn about the history of beer in the USA from Maureen Ogle, author of Ambitious Brew - The Story of American Beer. Part one takes us from the Pilgrims to Prohibition.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own Magazine, walks us through the age-old process of decoction mashing.
John Palmer, author of How to Brew, joins us to answer frequently asked questions on home brewing. John also tells us the causes of common off flavors.
Andy, Brian and James spend some time chatting with Adam Avery of Avery Brewing. Adam talks about making the move from home brewer to brewery owner, dry hopping and making big beers at home.
Andy Sparks and James Spencer join Brian Warren and John Holder in Denver to taste the last round of samples in the Hot Side Aeration experiment. We also get feedback about the experiment from John Palmer.
Rick Sellers from Pacific Brew News Radio reports on a California brewing competition for women only. Also, Chris Colby from BYO explains high-end RIMS and HERMS brewing systems.
We travel to Fort Collins, Colorado to speak with Eric Salazar and Peter Bouckaert of New Belgium Brewing.
Thanks to a demonstration hosted by the Brewers Association, we see what happens behind the scenes in the judging of the Great American Beer Festival competition.
We cover two homebrewing competitions in connection with the Great American Beer Festival: the GABF Pro Am and the Long Shot competition from the Boston Beer Company.
We join homebrew guru Charlie Papazian near a beautiful stream at his house to share his homebrew and his thoughts about the hobby.
Randy Mosher, author of Radical Brewing, talks to us about fruit beers and getting the most out of them. Randy also gives us his favorite approach to pumpkin beers.
Ben Watson, author of Cider, Hard and Sweet: History, Traditions, and Making Your Own, introduces us to the world of homemade ciders. Also, Chris Colby of Brew Your Own magazine lets us in on his method of partial mashing using an unmodified two-gallon drink cooler.
Andy Sparks and Steve Wilkes join James to taste the results of homebrewer Michael Tonsmeire's single-hop small batch experiment.
Homebrewer Raj Apte lets us in on the long-lost process of brewing with the Ginger Beer plant. This way of brewing soft drinks at home was commonplace decades ago.
Bob Hansen, technical services manager of Briess Malt and Ingredients Company, shares thoughts on his presentation from NHC on making big beers.
Chris Colby of Brew Your Own magazine joins us to share his favorite strategies for getting the best beer out of a split-boil extract brewing session.
The last interview from Orlando: James talks to Matt Brynildson of Firestone Walker Brewing and John Mallet of Bell's Brewery about first wort hopping and dry hopping.
More interviews from the National Homebrewers Conference: Homebrewer Raj Apte on his "one-dollar homebrew barrel" and author John Palmer on wort fermentability.
NHC coverage continues as James and Steve interview professional brewers and other professionals connected wtih the brewing industry.
Steve Wilkes joins James as they play interviews with six homebrewers recorded at the National Homebrewers Conference in Orlando. Great tips and useful information.
Randy Mosher, author of "Radical Brewing," talks with Steve Wilkes about pairing beer with food and cooking with beer. Randy says beer is a much better partner with food than wine.
James sneaks away from the family during his vacation to post a quick interview between Steve Wilkes and Ray Daniels on a treat to taste while brewing.
We hear from two homebrew experiments: William Tope, a high school student from Houston, Texas, delves into whether alpha acid levels of hops affect fermentation rates, and the Hot Side Aeration experiment continues with Brian Warren and John Holder.
We talk brewing water with Greg Noonan, author of "New Brewing Lager Beer" and other noted brewing books. Greg is also owner and brewer at the Vermont Pub and Brewery in Burlington.
We preview the National Homebrewers Conference with Gary Glass of the American Homebrewers Association.
Steve Wilkes joins James to talk about flavoring the Great Mead Experiment from the video side of Basic Brewing. James and Steve also answer listener e-mail.
We continue our look at the foundation of making beer at home: good equipment. In this episode, Andy Sparks helps us look at gear that goes beyond the absolute necessities.
We take a look at the foundation of making beer at home: good equipment. In this episode, Andy Sparks joins James to start with what is absolutely necessary to make an extract batch.
Tess and Mark Szamatulski, authors of Clone Brews and Beer Captured, help us make sense of the wide variety of hops and give us tips on the most effective hop schedules.
Tony Simmons of Pagosa Brewing Company, creator of Poor Richard's Ale, joins us to talk about his historic brew and the challenges of getting a new brewery off the ground.
Stan Hieronymus, author of Brew Like a Monk: Trappist, Abbey, and Strong Belgian Ales and How to Brew Them, tells us about his book and gives us tips on how to brew wonderful Belgian beers at home.
From grain to glass in one week? Chris Colby from BYO magazine tells us how to brew a finished, drinkable beer in seven days.
Kevin DeLange of The Brew Hut and Drydock Brewing Company helps us clear up the process of mini-mashing and what makes it different from steeping in an extract batch.
Dave Wills of Freshops walks us through the process of planting, growing, and harvesting our own hoppy goodness at home.
We get help from Gary Glass of the American Homebrewers Association to answer a listener's question about putting too much of a good thing into our brews.
Gary Glass of the AHA joins us to talk about how and why to enter the National Homebrew Competition.
We travel to Austin, Texas to taste the results of Brian Warren's experiment on Hot Side Aeration.
Tess and Mark Szamatulski, authors of Clone Brews and Beer Captured join us to talk about making copies of our favorite brews.
Andy Sparks joins us to talk about adjuncts - those fermentable ingredients we add to beer in addition to water, yeast, barley malt, and hops.
Our man in the field, Brian Warren, recaps the recent mead festival in Boulder, Colorado, and bring us interviews with commercial mead makers.
We continue our night of bad beer tastes as we dive into part two of our trying the FlavorActive Enthusiast beer taste troubleshooting kit.
We talk to Chris Colby of Brew Your Own magazine about one of our favorite styles - American Pale Ales. Great taste and easy to brew.
David Myers, Chairman of the Mead for Redstone Meadery, joins us to talk about the beginnings of Redstone, the International Mead Festival, and brewing mead at home.
Andy Sparks, Steve Wilkes, and Chris Milum join James to take the FlavorActiv Enthusiast beer taste troubleshooting kit for a test run. The group tastes off flavors that could be found in homebrew and talks about how to prevent them.
John Palmer, author of How to Brew, joins us to talk about lagering at home. John also defends his choice of aluminum for brewpots.
James Spencer and Steve Wilkes brew an experimental six pack's worth of extract IPA on the stovetop.
Ray Daniels, author of Designing Great Beers joins us to talk about hop bitterness and the factors in brewing that affect it.
Chris Colby of Brew Your Own magazine introduces us to Vienna Lagers and how to make them at home.
Homebrew clubs are the topic this episode as we talk to Brian Ellis of Kuykendahl Gran Brewers, a Houston homebrew club.
We try our first test with video as we taste the results of our small extract batch hopping experiment. We also taste three different batches of the same recipe and read holiday wish lists.
In this episode, we're invited to a big brew at the house of Casey from Siloam Springs. Also, Casey shows us how to make an all grain starter in a French press coffee maker.
We continue our conversation about all grain brewing with John Palmer, author of How to Brew. This week, we cover lautering and sparging.
John Palmer, Author of How to Brew joins us for the first half of a discussion of all grain brewing. We cover from milling to mashing this week.
Chris Colby from Brew Your Own magazine goes over his list of ten difficult beers to brew at home. Also, Bob Hansen from Briess Malt and Ingredients joins us with extract brewing tips.
We finish our chat with Dave Logsdon of Wyeast as he answers listener questions. Also, we answer other questions from the mailbag and introduce our new T-shirts!
Our conversation continues with Dave Logsdon of Wyeast as we begin to answer questions from listeners on how to get the most out of yeast.
This week, we begin our three-part series on yeast based on our conversation with Dave Logsdon of Wyeast. We talk to Dave about the history of Wyeast and single-stage vs. two-stage fermentation.
We talk kegging with Andy Sparks. Andy walks us through the process of using Cornelius Kegs to serve up our favorite brews.
We complete our coverage of the Great American Beer Festival by talking to Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing about American Wild Ales, David Myers of Redstone Meadery about mead, and Ray Daniels of the Brewers Association about Poor Richard's Ale.
We begin our coverage of the Great American Beer Festival with an overview of the event, an interview on how professionals evaluate hops, and a peek behind the scenes of Utopias from Samuel Adams with one of its brewers.
Dr. Scott Herness of Ohio State University joins us to talk about the science of tasting and how that relates to beer. Also, we read listener mail.
We preview the Great American Beer Festival with Gary Glass of the Brewers Association. Also, we answer listener mail and get reaction from our sanitation show.
Steve Wilkes joins us for our sanitation show as we discuss sanitizing brewing equipment and read listener input.
We continue our chat with Gerard Lemmens of Brewers Supply Group as he gives us practical tips on using hops in home brewing.
Gerard Lemmens from Brewers Supply Group joins us to give us some background on hops and trends in the hop industry.
We talk to Bob Hansen from Briess Malt and Ingredients Company about how malt extract is made and how to buy the best extract and maintain its quality.
We talk to Bob Hansen from Briess Malt and Ingredients Company about the malting process and about how specialty malts get their flavors.
We continue our chat with Paul Gatza of the Brewers Association to talk about the American Homebrewers Association and brewing in the USA. Also, we hear the story of a homebrewer who decided to go pro.
Mead Day is the topic. We talk to Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association and sample homemade meads on the porch with Steve Wilkes.
We conclude our discussion on the basics of homebrewing with Andy Sparks, talking about hops, mostly. We also talk about a special offer for podcast listeners and look ahead to our show celebrating National Mead Day.
We continue our discussion on the basics of homebrewing with Andy Sparks, talking about the nuts and bolts of brewing, ales vs. lagers, and more.