Basic Brewing Video: Recent Episodes
James Spencer
Basic Brewing Video is about brewing great beers and meads at home and cooking up wonderful things to go with them.
James uses French hops from a past Hop Sampler to brew a delicious (and strong) Saison perfect for hot weather.
Steve started out to brew a Belgian Wit, but time and other distractions changed his recipe mid-stream.
James uses a lager with a lemony flavor as the base for a traditional Mexican-inspired beer cocktail.
James brews a refreshing lager for summertime with broken sake rice pieces and Lemondrop hops for flavor.
James adds a bunch of New Zealand hops after the boil along with a Belgian yeast for a tasty pale ale.
James puts an Asian twist on a Clamato-based Canadian favorite mixed drink. Look out, Bloody Mary!
Steve combines a burnt honey mead with a Belgian-inspired beer to create a big, delicious braggot.
Steve uses muscadine fruit and table sugar to make a deliciously light and drinkable country wine.
James and Steve compare a nicely hoppy Pale Ale from a force-carbonated keg and a sugar-primed bottle.
Steve uses corn masa to lighten up the body and flavor of a crisp and delicious cream ale.
James brews up a big, deliciously dark beer based on a recipe from a Norwegian brewery.
Steve takes a malty approach to an American IPA with toasty notes and a hint of brown sugar flavor.
James brews up a very quick and delicious extract beer with the flavors of the holidays coming from Belgian yeast.
James brings up a seven-year-old bottle of Boo Berry Tart from the basement to taste with Steve and see how time has affected it.
Steve brews up a delicious golden lager-ish beer as a salute to our Canadian neighbors up north.
James uses broken sake rice pieces along with yuzu and ginger flavors to craft a deliciously drinkable Japanese-inspired lager.
Steve has his hands across the waters as he puts a slight American twist on a traditional English-style Pale Ale.
James responds to the Mash Your Luck challenge by brewing a big double-mashed lager with almost a pound of UK Harlequin hops.
James and Steve taste a lager with a nod to our neighbors to the north, brewed with Canada pale malt and maple syrup.
Steve shares a delightfully drinkable session-ish mead made from New Mexico honey, tart cherry juice, cacao nibs, and saffron.
James overcomes a couple of brewing hurdles to make a deliciously hoppy Golden Ale with Belgian spice character.
James and Steve taste a low-alcohol tart cherry beer with chocolate notes that James brewed to meet the Mash Your Luck challenge.
James responds to the Mash Your Luck challenge with a big, black beer with south-of-the-border flavors.
James brews a very simple and satisfying lager beer to grow up the yeast he needs for a special high gravity end-of-the-year dark beer.
It's take two of a hoppy honey-infused beer as James and Steve taste a slightly modified recipe from a previous brew.
Steve takes the Mash Your Luck challenge and uses burnt honey to bring dark color and flavor to this big, delicious beer.
James and Steve taste the beer James brewed from characteristics randomly chosen from the Mash Your Luck Challenge. It's different, but tasty.
Steve avoids a brewing disaster by modifying a recipe through a challenging fermentation and produces a delicious honey-based beer.
James uses the heat of his summer porch and local honey along with a bunch of Centennial hops to brew up a deliciously drinkable Kveik beer.
James and Steve sample a fruit stout that has been primed in the bottle with fruit juice and heat pasteurized to preserve fruit flavor.
James and Steve sample a deliciously hoppy big beer fermented warm with Kveik on the porch.
Steve shares the most simple beer that he's ever brewed – a deliciously drinkable cold-conditioned Kölsch.
James shares a delicious Belgian-style Single brewed on the stovetop in a small volume batch.
James and Steve sample a hoppy raw beer inspired by traditional Scandinavian brewing techniques.
James and Steve blend a tasty extract pale ale with Fresca to get a light and very drinkable summer beverage.
James and Steve try a delicious mead made with an ingredient kit from Vermont meadery groennfell.com.
James and Steve taste a wonderfully spicy and drinkable wheat beer that features the flavors of winter celebrations.
Steve goes back to the old ways of homebrewing to brew a deliciously drinkable basic English Pale Ale.
Steve serves up a deliciously dark, sessionable Sweet Stout brewed with brown sugar and molasses.
James and Steve sample a beautiful and delicious beer meant to pay homage to older American recipes.
James and Steve sample a small batch of German Red Beer that was brewed with cherry smoked malt and lager yeast.
Inspired by a trip to Canada, James and Steve taste a classic beer style from Kentucky brewed with corn.
James and Steve go back to homebrew basics with a deliciously dark brew featuring balanced roast and bitterness.
James and Steve taste a salute to Anchor Steam Beer that has been fermented on the warm porch with a blend of Kveik yeasts.
Steve takes a shot at creating a Chicago hot dog beer using a tincture of ingredients added at bottling time.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin shares a deliciously hoppy beer that's part lager, part brut IPA and all tasty.
James and Steve taste a very hoppy pale ale made with local honey and peach juice from the steam juicer.
James and Steve taste two delicious examples of Steve's meads in the last show from the pond.
James and Steve sample a beer formulated with Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin that features cross-oceanic ingredients.
James and Steve sample a very low gravity small batch beer brewed from ingredients with Texas inspiration.
James and Steve taste a deliciously dark English-inspired session beer from Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin.
James and Steve taste the first beer featuring fruit juice collected in the steam juicer – a blackberry Cream Ale.
James and Steve taste an accidental experiment comparing a dark bock brewed with a wrong ingredient to a lighter one with the correct grain bill.
James brews a delicious amber lager from a recipe he and Chris Colby of beerandgardeningjournal.com developed on Basic Brewing Radio.
James and Steve taste a deliciously hoppy golden lager designed by James and Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin.
James and Steve sample a big and delicious Belgian Tripel made with honey from Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin.
James and Steve face off to see who can brew the tastiest spiced winter ale to take the chill off as the temps are falling.
James and Steve share apple-based beverages and try a way of backsweetening them at the time of serving.
Steve shares an experiment comparing the effects of wine conditioner and glycerine on a fairly low gravity simple mead.
James brews a Belgian Wit with only wheat and oats in the grain bill based on a recipe he and Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin formulated on Basic Brewing Radio.
Matt Giovanisci of Brew Cabin shares the beer he and James formulated on Basic Brewing Radio.
James uses jalapeño and strawberry tinctures to make a delicious mead from local honey.
Steve uses Imperial I22 Capri, a new hybrid yeast, to make a deliciously drinkable 10.5% ABV mead with a hint of citrus.
Steve shares a delicious partial-boil, short-length boil, no-chill kveik pale ale fermented at room temperature.
James uses Kveik yeast at basement temperature to brew a deliciously clean and drinkable Cream Ale.
James uses the intense summer heat to quickly ferment a hoppy beer with free stuff he got from Homebrew Con.
James uses a new hybrid yeast from Imperial Organic Yeast to brew a deliciously hoppy hazy beer.
James and Steve taste a beer from Ivory Bill Brewing in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, brewed with Kernza – the world's first perennial grain.
James takes up a challenge from Steve to brew a dessert beer inspired by a tasty lemony pie.
James makes a hop substitution in an IPA clone recipe to see how Simcoe differs from Centennial.
James works through a tricky kettle sour fermentation using Brettanomyces to jump start the process.
James toasts some malted rye in the oven to add some complexity to a malty lager style.
James and Steve add tinctures made with jalapeño, strawberry, and dark sweet cherries to a passion fruit pilsner.
Steve combines honey, maple syrup, cider, and spices to make a big, delicious holiday beverage.
James uses a starter to revitalize an eight-month-old packet of yeast to brew a simple and delicious beer.
James uses pancake syrup, which was a recent favorite of a BBR experiment, to make a dark and delicious Belgian-inspired beer.
Steve uses advanced techniques to brew a delicious braggot with lavender smoked malt and local honey.
James takes a second stab at making a hard seltzer using kveik yeast and blackberry puree.
James uses Imperial A46 Bartleby, a Norwegian Hornindal Kveik strain to ferment a big delicious beer on the hot summertime porch.
Steve shares a delicious kveik beer that spent a year in a chilled secondary fermenter.
James brews a Belgian-inspired brown ale and racks it onto dark sweet cherry puree in the keg.
James adds pineapple puree into the keg to bring delicious fruit flavor to a New England IPA.
James uses wind malt and lavender smoked malt along with Swedish hops to brew a complex and delicious saison.
James brews up a delicious Mexican-inspired lager with Imperial Que Bueno yeast and traditional German ingredients (and corn).
James uses craft malts from Sugar Creek Malting Company in Indiana to brew a complex Belgian-inspired strong brown ale.
Steve brews up a giant-but-drinkable Belgian-inspired strong ale in his second foray into tart territory.
James brews a delicious and simple dark beer with Midnight Wheat and toasted sweetened coconut.
Steve blends tart cherry juice into a beer with Imperial's Sour Batch Kidz to create a tart beer worth waiting for.
Steve steps up an ordinary apple cider into a big, delicious beverage using dextrose to boost the gravity.
James brews up a delicious, hoppy, low-gravity beer based on a recipe from a long-time Basic Brewing Radio listener in New Zealand.
James brews a tasty beer using a barley base with wheat beer yeast to bring wheat-ish flavors.
James brews up a delicious beer inspired by German ingredients and fermented warm with kveik yeast on the porch.
Steve shares an experiment looking at the effects of adding conditioning yeast to a dunkel at bottling time.
James uses delicious local honey and bread yeast to make a tasty mead with apple juice.
James brews up a delicious hoppy beer on his summertime porch with an old packet of Imperial Kveiking yeast.
James brews up a big, delicious, socially conscious beer based on a recipe from Weathered Souls Brewing in San Antonio.
James brews up an ale based on a traditional Lithuanian style that uses the oven to add flavor to the mash.
James brews up a very quick and easy Cream Ale with flaked maize and juicy Hallertau Blanc hops.
James and Steve continue to drink from a distance as they sample a Brown Ale brewed from a listener recipe.
James and Steve practice distant social drinking as they sample a SMASH beer brewed with Pale Ale malt and Cascade hops, only boiling for 15 minutes.
James and Steve celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a black lager paired with corned beef and cabbage from the Instant Pot.
James and Steve sample the first in their series of small all grain batches designed to evaluate malt characteristics. (Steve feels much better now.)
James brews up a tasty, malty lager and pairs it with shredded chicken tacos with salsa verde from the Instant Pot.
Steve shares an accidental split batch experiment comparing Imperial Dry Hop and Napoleon yeast strains.
James uses Amarillo Cryo hops to dry hop in the fermenter to brew a juicy and delicious IPA.
James updates a short-boil extract recipe with a bunch of leftover hops added into the fermenter.
James brews up a split batch of a very simple cider, spiking half of it with cinnamon whiskey.
James brews up a big, dark Belgian-inspired beer for the holiday season and pairs it with a special sweet surprise from the oven for Steve.
James uses Vienna malt from Wyoming to brew a simple, delicious SMASH beer with Kolsch yeast.
James uses bourbon from Wyoming to add a bit of flavor and depth to a tasty easy-to-brew stout.
James and Steve taste a beer that was bottled with brettanomyces six months ago to see how the flavors are developing.
James uses a Kveik yeast strain from Bootleg Biology to ferment a hoppy IPA at 90F (32C) on his front porch.
James uses kveik yeast to put a twist on an ancient style from Finland that uses no hops and no boil.
Steve steps into no-chill brewing with this dry-hopped amber ale brewed at his shop on Big Brew Day.
James brews up a tasty brown session beer based on a classic British style, using no-chill with dry hopping in the fermenter.
James ferments Kveik yeast from Bootleg Biology at high temperature to see if it ferments as cleanly as expected.
James brews up a no-chill, room temp. "lager" that's perfect for quenching summer thirsts.
James continues his experiments with no-chill brewing as he adds juicy hops at the end of the boil in a Belgian-inspired golden ale.
Steve brews up a deliciously drinkable black beer with hints of smoke, fermented at room temperature.
James brews up a very simple, but very tasty, style that's usually lagered. It's made even more easy by not chilling the wort after the boil.
James brews up a beer based on Bell's Two Hearted Ale with hops straight from the brewery. Will it measure up?
James uses the no-chill method to brew a golden ale that has Brettanomyces added into the bottling bucket for funky flavors.
For the first brew of the year, James brews a simple, tasty pale ale with low alcohol and calories.
James and his son, Drew, brew six-pack batches of single-hopped extract beers to compare Willamette, Amarillo, and Falconer's Flight.
Steve brews up a delicious high gravity beer in time for the holiday season and shows us the grains that make this beer special.
James and Steve sample a split wort batch of beer fermented at 68F (20C) and 90F (32C) with Loki from Imperial Organic Yeast.
James turns a collection of hops left over from hop sampling experiments into a super easy delicious pale ale with no boil time.
James tries his hand at brewing a 2,000 year old beverage and conducts an experiment comparing bread yeast with German wheat beer yeast.
James carries on the tradition of brewing a beer with a monster cereal. This one goes a little sour with Boo Berry and Rakau hops.
James uses enzymes in an attempt to lower the final gravity of a pale ale to imitate the dryness of "brut" beers.
James brews up a tart and tasty beer on his porch in the heat of the summer with yeast from Lithuania, by way of a listener in Denmark.
James puts a more modern twist on a recipe shared by Ed Nicholson four years ago using homegrown habanero peppers in a tasty hot sauce.
James and his son, Drew, share a beer they brewed together. Steve and his son, Chase, help sample on the patio.
Following success with his Rosemary IPA, James brews another eclectic IPA with cucumber and Meyer lemon.
In the heat of summer, James and Steve sample a big, dark beer that has been flavored with an oak spiral.
James brews up an "eclectic" IPA with rosemary from the garden and pairs it with pork chops in creamy mushroom wine sauce from the Instant Pot.
Steve turns a mistake in filling an order at his shop into a delicious, dark, beer-mead hybrid.
James and Steve sample a hoppy ale based on a previous short-boil, late-hopped beer. What will rye bring to the table?
James and Steve taste a homebrew Pilsner that features rice cooked in the Instant Pot as an adjunct.
James and Steve sample an extract beer that has been brewed with no boil – just a hop stand at pasteurization temperature.
James and Steve sample a Hazy IPA that was only boiled for thirty minutes and double-hopped with Simcoe and Denali during a 30-minute hop stand.
James and Steve power through a fun brew day full of missteps to make four beers out of a single mash. They also introduce a new feature: "Did I Ruin It?"
James and Steve taste the melomel (fruit mead) with flavors inspired by the country of Turkey that Steve started on the October 13, 2017 episode of the show.
James and Steve taste a tart and hoppy small batch experiment that was kettle soured using probiotics in an Instant Pot pressure cooker.
James and Steve taste a 15-minute, all grain, SMASH, hop stand pale ale brewed with American two-row and Cascade hops. Is it a New England IPA?
James shares a Belgian-inspired Golden Ale that he flavored with Lemondrop hops using a hop stand after the boil.
James and Steve sample an experiment of a 15-Minute Saison recipe comparing T-58 and Belle Saison dry yeasts.
James and Steve sample two Pilsners they brewed that were fermented at room temperature instead of lager temps.
James brews up a chocolaty rich stout using a family-sized box of monster breakfast cereal.
Steve walks us step by step through the process of making a delicious honey, fruit and spice beverage.
James and Steve sample a homebrew pale ale with hops added at a slightly chilled temperature post-boil. Plus, they try a bonus 100% wheat beer.
James uses the SCOBY mother from kombucha to kettle sour an experimental 100% rye session beer.
James and Steve show how to make kombucha from scratch using a commercial bottle and then step up the flavor by dry hopping it.
Steve responds to a challenge from James to make something tasty with some sweet sorghum syrup.
James uses Maris Otter liquid extract along with steeping grains and home roasted coffee to brew a chewy, dark coffee beer.
James and Steve sample two meads made from one small batch. One is plain and sparkling, while the other has natural peach flavoring added.
James and Steve sample a refreshing American Pale Ale brewed with a late-boil addition of grapefruit juice.
Steve adds a bit of beechwood smoked malt to a traditional English style to bring a little campfire to the party.
James brews up a Belgian-inspired beer with sweet sorghum syrup and takes us on a field trip to Cane Hill, Arkansas, to see how they make it.
James splits a batch of porter to add coconut and chocolate flavors along with ancho and cinnamon.
James and Steve taste tart low-gravity beers soured with probiotics and flavored with tart cherries, mango, and peaches.
James and Steve show their technique for ditching the bottling bucket when packaging small batches of beer.
James and Steve poach fruit in a blackberry beer, hoppy cyser and molasses mead using the sous vide technique.
Steve uses his High Gravity electric brewing system to cook up a delicious sous vide steak and pairs it with a very tasty hopped cyser.
James and Steve sample a kettle-soured beer made of malted rye and brewed to show off the flavor and aroma of Simcoe hops.
Steve helps James sample two English-inspired session beers brewed with malted rye to maintain mouthfeel while reducing alcohol.
James brews up another incarnation of his Rye Wit – this time with Nelson Sauvin hops. Steve puts his new High Gravity electric BIAB system to use for a tasty ESB.
James heads to New Zealand to check out the hop fields and production facilities in the Nelson region.
James uses his oven and some patience to turn Vienna malt into a homebrew version of crystal malt. Steve helps sample a beer made from it.
Steve answers James' challenge to make a cocktail out of a sweet mead by creating a tasty Manhattan.
Steve makes vermouth from his homemade wine and uses it to serve up a very tasty vodka martini.
James brews up the latest version of his tasty pale ale with the short brew day and takes us through the process. Steve samples.
James brews up an Oktoberfest to meet a tight deadline and accidentally brews a tasty session version of the style.
Steve shares a saison brewed with spices and Cointreau that is the small beer from a partigyle brew.
James and Steve taste a Belgian style ale brewed with brown sugar, and Steve offers a challenge based on Ozark molasses.
James and Steve sample two all grain pale ales that have only been boiled for thirty minutes. How will the shorter boil time affect the brews?
James and Steve taste a Maibock that has been fermenting and lagering for about three months. They also pair it with carrot cake.
James and Steve taste the results of a split batch experiment comparing US 05 vs Nottingham yeast.
James and Steve sample the second beer from their partigyle brew - a brown beer aged on ancho peppers and cherries.
We sample the first-runnings beer from our partigyle brewing session, along with a quick and delicious chicken dish that you can cook while brewing.
Steve brews up two beers from one mash. In the first installment, he addresses the first runnings.
James brews a tart session ale using a sour wort process, and Steve cooks up a blueberry and lavender syrup to add to the beer as a balance.
James and Steve don the least imaginative Halloween costumes to sample a pale ale brewed with pomegranate juice. They also revisit a 100% rye saison from a previous show.
James brews up a malty Scotch Ale, and Steve heads to the kitchen with special guest, Ed Nicholson, to cook up an amazing habenero hot sauce to pair with it.
James and Steve sample a pale ale fermented in a three-gallon plastic spring water jug.
James and Steve go camping with a Cream Ale bottled in aluminum bottles and fish tacos smoked on a grill.
Craft malting is on the rise. We visit a new craft maltster near Grand Rapids, Michigan, that uses very low-tech methods as a way to get into the business.
We explore Club Night at the National Homebrewers Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
James and Steve take two different approaches to using rye and saison yeast to create some tasty beers - one using only rye as the malt.
James and Steve sample an experiment that compares two non-traditional yeast selections for the stout style.
James brews up a very simple and tasty lager, and Steve pairs it with homemade sauerkraut and other German fare.
James and Steve taste a stepped-up version of the speedy small-batch all grain stout from the previous episode.
James and Steve sample the speedy Mosaic Pale Ale from last episode, and James shows a speedy way to brew a six-pack of all grain beer.
James and Steve brew up a delicious six-pack IPA in less than an hour, from start of brewing to end of cleanup.
James and Steve dissect a homebrew keg and talk about cleaning and replacing important parts.
James shares a pineapple saison that he brewed, and Steve cooks up a seafood stir fry to pair with it.
James and Steve taste a very simple mead made from local honey that would be great for first-time mead makers.
James and Steve scale up a favorite from the past - a strong beer made with fruit and spices from a fruitcake recipe.
James and Steve share a blended braggot, and Steve cooks up a creme brulee based on milk stout ingredients.
James and Steve celebrate Thanksgiving by tasting amazingly hot chili pepper jelly sent in by a viewer.
James steps up his small batch Mole Stout into a full size batch, and Steve uses it to cook up amazing chili with posole and rellenos.
James and Steve revisit two low alcohol session beers brewed with rye to make them satisfying and tasty.
James brews up a hodgepodge saison and packages it in an aluminum pint bottle-can thingy.
James and Steve sample some meads in progress in Steve's kitchen, some from previous episodes.
Ben Mills, owner and brewer of Fossil Cove Brewing in Fayetteville, Arkansas, scales up the sour mash Berliner Weisse recipe that James and Steve brewed on this podcast.
James, Steve, and Andy are shown around five Philadelphia breweries by Bryan Kolesar of thebrewlounge.com.
James, Steve, and Andy check out Club Night at the National Homebrewers Conference in Philadelphia.
James and Steve taste the starter Belgian beer from a previous episode and put its dregs to use in a bigger beer.
James shares a beer with Steve that he brewed with a very unusual ingredient: malted sunflower seeds from the Colorado Malting Company.
James and Steve taste their Mole Stout and start a small Belgian-style beer for use as a starter.
James and Steve dose a single malt and single hop beer with specialty grain teas to test their effect.
James shares his two molasses beers, while Steve whips up a pizza with bacon candied with molasses.
James and Steve rack a small batch stout onto cinnamon, ancho chili, cacao nibs, and vanilla to create a mole beer.
James and Steve taste their small batch New Albion clone and brew up another tasty pale ale for next month's tasting.
James and Steve brew up a six-pack of New Albion Ale - America's first craft beer. And, they challenge viewers to do the same.
James brews an experimental six-pack porter with Nutella, and Steve whips up a Nutella German apple pancake.
Steve walks us through the simple process to create a mead with fresh ginger, almond extract, and vanilla extract.
We visit Gorst Valley Hops in Wisconsin - a company that is reintroducing commercial hop growing to the upper Midwest.
James and Andy talk about their trip to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado. They also visit Prost Brewing, Vine Street Brewery, Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, and the Sam Adams Longshot brunch, where homebrewers are honored and New Albion Pale Ale is unveiled.
James brews a session beer based on Baby Ale from Hadubim Brewery while Steve bakes a pecan pie to pair.
In this episode recorded while we were in Seattle for the National Homebrewers Conference, we get a tour of Joe Rovito's awesome electric homebrew system.
James joins Bob Stempski in Madison, Wisconsin for one of the best beer events in the county.
James and Steve brew up a hoppy low gravity session beer and pair it with tasty pork tacos.
Zot O'Connor gives the guys a tour of Seattle, including stops at Pike Brewing Company, Two Beers Brewing, and Brouwer's Cafe.
Homebrew clubs show off their beers, creativity, and craziness at the National Homebrewers Conference in Seattle, Washington.
James, Steve, and Andy check out the offerings from the pros at the National Homebrewers Conference in Seattle, Washington.
James heads to Hawaii to visit with Garrett Marrero of Maui Brewing Company and tour his brewery and pub.
James and Steve deconstruct a traditional sandwich made with homemade ingredients and paired with a 100% rye beer. We also have a visit from the past.
James and Steve use a French press coffee maker to experiment with fresh flavors in two beer styles.
Andy Sparks shows off his new bourbon barrel and a cool stand he made for it out of scrap lumber.
James and Steve sample an experiment comparing a "stepped up" Mr. Beer kit against the original recipe.
Steve celebrates St. Patrick's Day by cooking up some corned beef and cabbage to pair with his smoked chili porter.
James and Steve celebrate Leap day on the patio and talk about how brewers can plan to brew on a moment's notice.
Steve prepares a special creme brulee Valentine's Day treat selected by our Facebook followers to pair with James' Belgian Amber.
James and Steve assist new home brewer Tim Hudson with his first batch and sample their doctored Mr. Beer American wheat.
James and Steve sample a sour beer cocktail that's a lighter take on our annual year-end tradition.
No sparging? No worries! James tries out a technique to put a bit more malt character in his American Mild.
James puts Steve on the spot as he tries to pick the odd, but tasty, sample in an experiment.
James and Steve salute veterans on Veterans Day by pairing awesome homebrew with less-than-awesome food.
James and Steve celebrate Halloween by brewing a watermelon wheat beer in a gruesome new way.
James travels to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to visit the Keg and Barrel brewpub, home of the Outlaw Homebrew Competition.
It's an extravaganza! Home brewed beer along with homemade pretzels and mustard made with beer.
Andy Sparks and Dave Johnson put Andy's new pressure cooker to work, canning wort for use in yeast starters.
James and Steve brew up some kombucha: tea fermented with a culture of bacteria and yeast.
James, Steve, and Andy visit Stone Brewing and Lost Abbey while in San Diego for the National Homebrewers Conference.
James, Steve, and Andy sample awesome homebrew at the National Homebrewers Conference in San Diego.
James, Steve, and Andy sample the wares of the pros at the National Homebrewers Conference in San Diego.
James and Steve sample a hoppy, quick Pale Ale with American hops and experiment with rehydrating dry yeast.
James and Steve bottle their 100 percent wheat Belgian Wit and reflect on a stormy week.
Steve shares his Vienna Lager recipe, and James serves up a tasty homemade sauerkraut dish.
After being snow-bound for most of the month, James and Steve emerge to sample a batch of apple jack.
James and Steve flashback to June when they visited Surly Brewing Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
James and Steve celebrate the end of the year by sampling a hoppy 100% wheat beer and this past year's holiday barleywine.
James and Steve pair the Zombie Belgian beer from Halloween with ginger snaps for Christmas.
James revisits Dry Dock Brewing in Aurora, Colorado - a brewery that has grown by leaps and bounds since we first visited in 2006.
Home brewing goes back to the stone age as brewers use lots of fire and rocks to brew tasty beer.
James and Steve use starters to bring the dregs of a Belgian beer back to life . . . again!
James and Andy relax on Andy's deck and report on their trip to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.
James and Steve visit Vine Park brewery in St. Paul, Minnesota - a place that's halfway between home and pro brewing.
James travels to Salt Lake City, Utah to give a behind-the-scenes look at the state's second legal homebrew competition.
Steve goes behind the scenes of the National Homebrewers Conference banquet to talk brining with Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton.
Club night is the most fun at the National Homebrewers Conference. Club members get to show off in Minneapolis.
James and Steve wander the floor at the National Homebrewers Conference Pro Night in Minneapolis.
James and Steve power up a new toy - an electric heat stick, and they put it to the test against natural gas.
Steve cooks up a delicious seafood bisque to pair with his homebrew Hefeweizen. And a side of anchovy butter toast.
Can you use 100 percent wheat to brew a beer without flirting with disaster? James gives it a shot.
Steve's building a menu for a beer dinner, and he's taking us step-by-step through the process. This episode: appetizers.
James and Steve sample a homebrew elderflower session beer and a commercial elderberry pyment.
Steve and James combine a cereal mash and the brew-in-a-bag method to brew up an American Pilsner with homegrown corn meal.
James shows off the most extreme small-batch holiday barleywine yet, and Steve makes ice cream with it.
In the second part of our tour of SakeOne, we go from the fermenter to the tasting room.
Steve's back in the kitchen, cooking up two Thanksgiving holiday treats: Sweet Potato Pie and Sweet Potato Beer.
In the first part of a two-part tour, we head to Forest Grove, Oregon and see how Sake is brewed at SakeOne.
We get into the Halloween holiday spirit as we introduce a new feature: "Will It Mash?" James creates a monster mash by adding Frankenberry cereal.
We tour the small and adventurous Upright Brewing Company in Portland, Oregon and talk to Head Brewer Alex Ganum.
Steve shares the results of his experiment comparing five different chili peppers in the same base beer.
James and Steve visit Firestone Walker Brewery in Paso Robles, California, where they use oak barrels for primary fermentation.
James and Steve mingle among the home brewers at the National Homebrewers Conference Club Night.
James and Steve bring together the yeasty cousins again for two takes on crusty deliciousness.
James and Steve create their own specialty grains by roasting Maris Otter pale malt for different lengths of time.
James travels to Bastrop, Texas, to the home of Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine. Chris shows off his barley field and potted hops.
James divides, transplants, and shares his prized Cascade hops with Steve. Steve takes a turn as director.
Steve whips up a delicious bread pudding to celebrate fat Tuesday, using Ice Barleywine sauce as a topper.
James and Steve reuse the yeast from a vanilla coffee porter to ferment a pumpkin spice ale.
James and Steve experiment with two different methods of using coffee in brewing porters.
James and Steve sip the barleywine from a year ago and break in a new one for 2008 . . . and beyond.
James and Steve brew up a Pumpkin Ale while enjoying a delicious Barleywine with Maple sent in by a viewer.
James and Steve enjoy a low-gravity session beer and theorize on the effect of thin mashes on efficiency.
James and Steve are outstanding in their field! Actually, they're sitting in a patch of barley, drinking Belgian Brunettes.
James and Andy sit on the deck and think back on the fun times at the Great American Beer Festival.
James challenges Rick Sellers of Pacific Brew News and Draft Magazine to take us on a tour of the best beer in the country.
Erin Von Feldt from Bordinos restaurant in Fayetteville, Arkansas mixes it up with Steve Wilkes as they make beer cocktails.
James and Steve roast their own coffee on the patio with a hot air popcorn popper from a bygone era.
Steve whips up a unique smoked duck Asian pizza recipe to pair with home brewed Sake from viewer Bob Taylor.
It's the final installment of the Base Malt Experiment as we use liquid yeast to ferment beers made with and without hops.
Steve Wilkes joins brewer Mike Dewey on a tour of Mt. Carmel Brewing Co. in Cincinnati - a commercial home brewery.
Homebrew clubs strut their stuff in Cincinnati at the National Homebrewers Conference. James and Steve sample their wares.
James and Steve work the crowd at the National Homebrewers Conference Pro Night in Cincinnati.
We get unexpected results when we compare unhopped beers made with three different base malts.
James and Steve risk their lives building a new trellis, and James gives a tour of his hopyard.
Steve pairs Ancho Chili Country-Style Braised Lamb Ribs with a pair of beers from a recent partigyle brewday.
Here are the recipies for our Ancho Chili Lamb Ribs and Leftover Brewday Partigyle Beers.
In the second part of our two-part holiday series, the small batch barleywine from James goes into making a fruitcake from Steve.
In the first part of our two-part holiday series, Steve makes wassail with a small batch barleywine that James brewed.
James and Andy pair beer with cheese, and Andy shows us how to make cheese - a fresh mozzarella.
James is flying solo, and he's in a hurry! The solution is a very quick and hoppy Amarillo Ale.
We turn beers skunky in the sun to test if brown glass really does protect beer from harmful light.
Steve goes wild in the kitchen and on the deck cooking up a big spread of barbeque, integrating beer as an ingredient.
We tour the small, experimental brewery at the home of the Colorado Rockies. Birthplace of Blue Moon.
Home brewing clubs get to show off their brews and their creativity at the second night of the National Homebrewers Conference.
We sample beers and talk to home brewers as they enjoy Pro Night at the National Homebrewers Conference in Denver.
We travel to Kansas City, Missouri to visit Boulevard Brewing Company and to see their brand-new brewhouse.
Two beers from one mash! James and Steve brew up a big beer and a small beer from the same grain.
James and Steve taste a peachy mead and a porter made with vanilla beans. Also, Steve insults a South American navy.
Adam Avery takes us around Avery Brewing Company in Boulder, Colorado. James is joined by Andy Sparks of The Home Brewery to introduce the tour.
James and Steve taste the results of the mead yeast experiment after one month in the fermenters to see how the five yeast strains worked.
We head to Fort Collins, Colorado to tour New Belgium Brewing - the home of Fat Tire, Sunshine Wheat, 1554, La Folie, and other great beers.
It begins again! We employ five different yeasts to see how they ferment and flavor five small mead batches.
We head to Boulder, Colorado for a tour and tasting at Redstone Meadery. You've seen us make mead, now see how the pros do it.
We talk about three ways to get a smoky flavor into your homebrews, and Steve whips up a smoked salmon pasta with a mouth-watering appetizer.
Dale Katechis, the "Dale" behind Dale's Pale Ale and other tasty brews, gives us a tour around Oskar Blues, the first American microbrewery to put beer in cans.
We check in one last time with the 2006 Mead Experiment and talk a bit about small batches.
Steve and James brew up a six-pack's worth of Robust Porter and talk about ten useful gadgets for home brewing.
We're invited to a group brew celebrating Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day, and we're treated to a tour of a cool homebrew system by Mark Smith, the event's host.
Steve spends a day in the kitchen using five homebrews as ingredients in a traditional holiday meal. James and Steve pair the wonderful dishes with an oyster stout and a spiced ale.
Homebrewing guru Charlie Papazian shows us around his home brewery. Then, we sit down to sip a couple of homebrews and chat about homebrewing and beer in general.
We travel to Denver to sample the goodness of the 25th Great American Beer Festival. Almost 400 brewers, more than 1600 beers, and three happy podcasters.
It's a sweet episode. James and Steve check in on the mead experiment. Steve also talks about brewing beer with honey, and the guys sample a couple of examples.
James and Steve sample a Harvest Ale made from Cascade hops grown in James' yard, and the guys talk about brewing with fresh hops right off the bine.
Beer's not just for breakfast anymore. Following Randy Mosher's advice, James and Steve pair up four beers with the sweet stuff, and Steve shows us his take on a New Orleans favorite.
Home brewers take center stage in Orlando at the National Homebrewers Conference Club Night. Follow James and Steve as they sample great homebrews and meet the folks who brewed them.
It's the first installment from our two-part report from the National Homebrewers Conference in Orlando, Florida. In this episode, James and Steve talk to homebrewers as they sample the work of professional brewers.
James and Steve conduct an experiment in late hopping to see how the bitterness, flavor and aroma are affected. They also taste the ancho chili mead to see how it's coming along.
The Great Mead Experiment continues as James and Steve split the mead into smaller batches and flavor each with wonderous things.
James cooks up an American Brown Ale, and Steve uses some of the brew in his New Orleans-inspired Gumbo Ya-Ya.
James and Steve embark on their great Mead Experiment - brewing up a big batch of this wonderful honey beverage.
James pops the top on the six-pack IPA, and Steve prepares a shrimp and scallop dish to go along with it.
James and Steve bottle their six-pack IPA experiment and decide a bet from the guys at Big Foamy Head.
James Spencer flies solo in this first stand-alone Basic Brewing Video episode. James dry hops the six-pack IPA.
Steve Wilkes joins James Spencer as they brew a little beer - literally. The guys brew up three quarts of IPA as a fun experiment.
James Spencer and Steve Wilkes taste the results of an experiment in hopping extract batches and also try three batches of the same recipe.