basic brewing: Recent Episodes
James Spencer
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.
Steve takes the Mash Your Luck challenge and uses burnt honey to bring dark color and flavor to this big, delicious beer.
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.
James and Steve taste the beer James brewed from characteristics randomly chosen from the Mash Your Luck Challenge. It's different, but tasty.
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.
Steve avoids a brewing disaster by modifying a recipe through a challenging fermentation and produces a delicious honey-based beer.
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.
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.
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.
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.
James and Steve sample beers with head brewer Jamie Conway, now of Social Project Brewing, and brewery founder Chris Spence.
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.
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.
Christian Layke, brewer at Gordon Biersch's Rockville Maryland location, and Mad Fermentationist Mike Tonsmeire work together on a tasty barrel-aged sour.
Can you use 100 percent wheat to brew a beer without flirting with disaster? James gives it a shot.
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's building a menu for a beer dinner, and he's taking us step-by-step through the process. This episode: appetizers.
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.
James and Steve sample a homebrew elderflower session beer and a commercial elderberry pyment.
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.
Steve and James combine a cereal mash and the brew-in-a-bag method to brew up an American Pilsner with homegrown corn meal.
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 shows off the most extreme small-batch holiday barleywine yet, and Steve makes ice cream with it.
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.
In the second part of our tour of SakeOne, we go from the fermenter to the tasting room.
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.
Steve's back in the kitchen, cooking up two Thanksgiving holiday treats: Sweet Potato Pie and Sweet Potato Beer.
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.
In the first part of a two-part tour, we head to Forest Grove, Oregon and see how Sake is brewed at SakeOne.
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.
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.
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.
We tour the small and adventurous Upright Brewing Company in Portland, Oregon and talk to Head Brewer Alex Ganum.
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.
Steve shares the results of his experiment comparing five different chili peppers in the same base beer.
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.
James and Steve visit Firestone Walker Brewery in Paso Robles, California, where they use oak barrels for primary fermentation.
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 mingle among the home brewers at the National Homebrewers Conference Club Night.
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.
James and Steve bring together the yeasty cousins again for two takes on crusty deliciousness.
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 and Steve create their own specialty grains by roasting Maris Otter pale malt for different lengths of time.
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.
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.
Home Brewer Kai Troester explains how to analyze all grain efficiency going into the brewpot and beforehand in the mash tun.
James divides, transplants, and shares his prized Cascade hops with Steve. Steve takes a turn as director.
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.
Steve whips up a delicious bread pudding to celebrate fat Tuesday, using Ice Barleywine sauce as a topper.
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.
James and Steve reuse the yeast from a vanilla coffee porter to ferment a pumpkin spice ale.
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.
James and Steve experiment with two different methods of using coffee in brewing porters.
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.
James and Steve sip the barleywine from a year ago and break in a new one for 2008 . . . and beyond.
Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, tells us about smoked beers and how to make our own at home.
James and Steve brew up a Pumpkin Ale while enjoying a delicious Barleywine with Maple sent in by a viewer.
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.
James and Steve enjoy a low-gravity session beer and theorize on the effect of thin mashes on efficiency.
Home brewer Kai Troester joins us again to take us through his extensive experiments on the factors affecting attenuation in the mash tun.
James and Steve are outstanding in their field! Actually, they're sitting in a patch of barley, drinking Belgian Brunettes.
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.
James and Andy sit on the deck and think back on the fun times at the Great American Beer Festival.
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 challenges Rick Sellers of Pacific Brew News and Draft Magazine to take us on a tour of the best beer in the country.
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.
Erin Von Feldt from Bordinos restaurant in Fayetteville, Arkansas mixes it up with Steve Wilkes as they make beer cocktails.
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.
James and Steve roast their own coffee on the patio with a hot air popcorn popper from a bygone era.
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.
Steve whips up a unique smoked duck Asian pizza recipe to pair with home brewed Sake from viewer Bob Taylor.
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.
It's the final installment of the Base Malt Experiment as we use liquid yeast to ferment beers made with and without hops.
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.
Steve Wilkes joins brewer Mike Dewey on a tour of Mt. Carmel Brewing Co. in Cincinnati - a commercial home brewery.
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.
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.
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.
We get unexpected results when we compare unhopped beers made with three different base malts.
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.
James and Steve risk their lives building a new trellis, and James gives a tour of his hopyard.
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.
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).
Steve pairs Ancho Chili Country-Style Braised Lamb Ribs with a pair of beers from a recent partigyle brewday.
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.
In the second part of our two-part holiday series, the small batch barleywine from James goes into making a fruitcake from Steve.
Peter Ausenhus of Worth Brewing Company in Northwood, Iowa talks to us about how he's running a professional brewery with homebrew-scale equipment.
In the first part of our two-part holiday series, Steve makes wassail with a small batch barleywine that James brewed.
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.
James and Andy pair beer with cheese, and Andy shows us how to make cheese - a fresh mozzarella.
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.
James is flying solo, and he's in a hurry! The solution is a very quick and hoppy Amarillo Ale.
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 turn beers skunky in the sun to test if brown glass really does protect beer from harmful light.
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.
Steve goes wild in the kitchen and on the deck cooking up a big spread of barbeque, integrating beer as an ingredient.
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.
We tour the small, experimental brewery at the home of the Colorado Rockies. Birthplace of Blue Moon.
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.
Home brewing clubs get to show off their brews and their creativity at the second night of the National Homebrewers Conference.
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.
We sample beers and talk to home brewers as they enjoy Pro Night at the National Homebrewers Conference in Denver.
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.
We travel to Kansas City, Missouri to visit Boulevard Brewing Company and to see their brand-new brewhouse.
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.
Two beers from one mash! James and Steve brew up a big beer and a small beer from the same grain.
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.
James and Steve taste a peachy mead and a porter made with vanilla beans. Also, Steve insults a South American navy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It begins again! We employ five different yeasts to see how they ferment and flavor five small mead batches.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
We check in one last time with the 2006 Mead Experiment and talk a bit about small batches.
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.
Steve and James brew up a six-pack's worth of Robust Porter and talk about ten useful gadgets for home brewing.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
The Great Mead Experiment continues as James and Steve split the mead into smaller batches and flavor each with wonderous things.
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.
James cooks up an American Brown Ale, and Steve uses some of the brew in his New Orleans-inspired Gumbo Ya-Ya.
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.
James and Steve embark on their great Mead Experiment - brewing up a big batch of this wonderful honey beverage.
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.
James pops the top on the six-pack IPA, and Steve prepares a shrimp and scallop dish to go along with it.
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.
James and Steve bottle their six-pack IPA experiment and decide a bet from the guys at Big Foamy Head.
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.
James Spencer flies solo in this first stand-alone Basic Brewing Video episode. James dry hops the six-pack IPA.
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.
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 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.
James Spencer and Steve Wilkes taste the results of an experiment in hopping extract batches and also try three batches of the same recipe.
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.