Tag Archives: home brewing

It’s Winter! What You Should Be Brewing Right Now

Home Brewing 2 Comments
Tom Ayres
Tom Ayres
Tom Ayres
Latest posts by Tom Ayres (see all)

It’s winter, well at least in the Midwest. For those living in colder climates, our palates scream for hearty, full bodied beers this time of year.  There are a range of beer styles to choose from to satisfy your desire for heavier beer.  My “go-to” beer for winter is a Foreign Extra Stout. I feel it’s a nice blend of  hearty, yet still easy drinking enough to enjoy a couple of pints.The Foreign Extra Stout has an interesting and long style history. The style dates…

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Worried About Oxidation in Your Homebrew? “Cold Crash Guardian” to the Rescue!

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Tom Ayres
Tom Ayres
Tom Ayres
Latest posts by Tom Ayres (see all)

Many professional brewers will tell you that the #1 shortcoming of homebrewed beers is oxidation.  Oxygen ingress, even in small amounts can spoil your beer, adversely affecting its flavor, clarity and shelf-life. When homebrewing, harmful oxygen is most often introduced after fermentation is completed. Opportunities to introduce unwanted oxygen occur when taking hydrometer readings, transferring to secondary vessels, dry hopping, when cold crashing and during packaging. Inventive  homebrewers have developed a variety process changes, methods and tools to limit oxygen in their beers. During my…

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CopyCat! Tips for Cloning Your Favorite Craft Beers

Home Brewing 2 Comments
Tom Ayres
Tom Ayres
Tom Ayres
Latest posts by Tom Ayres (see all)

For many homebrewers, the desire to clone our favorite beers was a primary motivation for starting our journey in beer making. I know it was for me. I didn’t just want to brew an IPA, I wanted to brew a Bell’s Two Hearted Ale. Clone brewing kits of the day were fine, but I found they were only distant approximations of the beer I really wanted to brew. Early in my brewing journey, I started scouring publications, online forums and brewer’s websites to look for…

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Beer Cloning

Debate & Commentary 1 Comment
Luke Henslick
Latest posts by Luke Henslick (see all)

How to make a clone of your favorite beer right in your kitchen. By Luke Henslick, Renegade Brewing Supplies in Turlock, California At Sommbeer we of course love craft beer, and enjoy exploring new beer styles and breweries that may be popping up in our local areas.  We may even wish to travel to breweries we enjoy, but have you ever thought, “Gee, I can clone my favorite beer style right in my kitchen?” The hobby of homebrewing has exploded in the last 20 years, and has…

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