Alitta

Ale and lager are the two great families of beer. Walk into almost any brewery, homebrew shop or beer bar and most of the beers you encounter can ultimately be connected to one of these two fermentation traditions. The difference, however, is not simply that ales ferment warm and lagers ferment cold. The yeast itself

When people first start brewing beer, malt and hops usually get most of the attention. Malt determines much of the colour and body, hops provide bitterness and aroma, and water makes up the majority of the finished beer. Yeast can easily seem like the ingredient with the simplest job: add it to the wort and

Building your own beer recipe can look complicated at first. There are dozens of base malts, crystal malts, roasted grains, specialty malts and adjuncts available, and it is easy to assume that a complex beer requires a complex grain bill. Usually, it does not. Some of the best beers are built from surprisingly simple combinations

When crushed malt is mixed with warm water, one of the most important processes in brewing begins. The starch stored inside the grain is converted into sugars. Some of these sugars can be fermented easily by brewing yeast. Others remain in the finished beer and contribute to body and mouthfeel. This conversion is driven primarily

Malt determines far more than simply how much sugar is available for fermentation. It is one of the main ingredients responsible for the: of a beer. A pale Pilsner and an almost black Imperial Stout may both be made primarily from barley malt, yet they look and taste completely different. Much of that difference begins

Specialty malts are some of the most useful ingredients available to homebrewers. A relatively small amount can completely change the character of a beer. They can add: But specialty malts are also among the easiest ingredients to overuse. Adding more does not automatically create a more complex or better beer. In many cases, the opposite

Pilsner Malt and Pale Ale Malt are two of the most widely used base malts in brewing. At first glance, they look very similar. Both are pale. Both provide the majority of fermentable sugars in a beer. Both contain enough enzymes to convert their own starches and support reasonable amounts of specialty grains. And in

Wheat is one of the most useful ingredients available to homebrewers. It can improve head retention, contribute protein, create a softer mouthfeel, support haze and, in the right beer style, provide a distinctive wheat character. But when building a recipe, brewers often encounter two apparently similar ingredients: Wheat Malt and Flaked Wheat. They both come

Choosing malt becomes much easier when you understand what each ingredient is actually supposed to do. Some malts provide most of the fermentable sugars. Others add bread, toast, biscuit, caramel, coffee or chocolate flavors. Some improve body and foam. Others are primarily used to adjust color. And ingredients such as oats, wheat, corn and rice

Malted barley may be the foundation of most beer recipes, but it is far from the only grain available to homebrewers. Flaked oats can make a beer softer and fuller. Wheat can improve foam and add a smooth grain character. Flaked barley can create a dense, creamy head. Corn can lighten the body and flavor