If you are  just thinking about kegging or are ready to keg your home brewed beer here is an article showing  how easy and helpful kegging can be.  Why keg?  Well to me coming up with empty bottles, cleaning them and having to wait two weeks before trying your beer was getting old quick.  Plus how cool is it to always have beer on tap at the house and cut bottle day to a 30 minute transfer session.  In the article below I will describe the equipment used in home brew kegging, how to sanitize the kegs, how to transfer your beer to kegs and how to serve your... [Read more]

Print Recipe Homebrew Oktoberfest Lager Recipe Traditionally brewed in Germany around the end of spring and stored in caves during the summer months to condition.  Then drank during the traditional Oktoberfest celebrations in early fall.  It is often brewed smooth, clean and malty.  An Oktoberfest (Octoberfest) Lager is often medium in body and has a darker gold to orange-red color.  Flavor is often characterized has having an initial malty sweetness and an overall dry finish.   Listed below is a 5 gallon All-Grain home brew recipe for a Oktoberfest lager. ... [Read more]

Print Recipe   Homebrew Belgian Dark Strong Ale Recipe A Belgian dark strong ale is traditional brewed very rich, malty, complex and strong.  The color is often a deep amber to amber, the dark in the title simply helps distinguish this ale from its golden counterpart.  Belgian dark strong ales are typically separated into two categories, Trappist versions tending to be drier and medium in body and Abbey version usually sweeter and full in body.  This recipe has a high grain bill, one crazy primary fermentation and should yeild something around 10%.   Listed... [Read more]

Adding weldless fittings to a brew pot be it a boil kettle, hot liquor tank or a mash tun can make brew day much easier.  After I noticed how much the typical homebrew shop charged for a hole in a pot, I took particular interest in doing it on my own.   Here is a basic guide to drilling a hole in a brew pot. Gather Necessary Equipment 1. Hole punch 2. Drill (corded perferred) 3.  Small sized metal drill bit (3/16 inch) 4.  Step bits (harbor freight has the best deal on them) 5. Metal file hole punch and step bit Measure and Punch First measure out where you want... [Read more]

   Calculating the percent alcohol in a homebrew beer is pretty easy and it requires two important measurements.  A beers alcohol level is measured in Alcohol by Volume (ABV), it is the calculated amount of the total volume of liquid that is alcohol.  The density of a liquid is often measured in unit of specific gravity, where water has an approximate density of 1.00 g/mL or a specific gravity of 1.000 at 60F.  The specific gravity of a liquid is a comparison of its density vs the density of water.  Gravity Readings During the fermenting process, yeast is added... [Read more]