home brew
You are not logged in. Access is limited. Login or see membership information. • Home Brew Today

join.gif

Featured Links
Featured Applications

Welcome to HomebrewToday.com!


Welcome to the Internet's First Dynamic and Interactive Home Brew Community!

  • Enjoy live audio and video networking with fellow homebrew masters from around the globe, while creating your own personal 'brewspace' within the community with your own 'brew blog' and custom webpage!
  • Show off your master homebrew skills by uploading video to the community video gallery, share photos in our image gallery, create audio and publish a podcast on your blog, or upload to the mp3 gallery!
  • Share recipes and anything else you like through the community file sharing network!
  • Create your own private 'masterbrew groups' with other community members, and communicate via audio/video postcards...AND...Live Audio/Video Chat! That's right, communicate with other members from all around the world via live voice audio and streaming video chat!
  • Enjoy the Community Forum, which is the heart and soul of the HomeBrewToday community, where unlimited topics related to your favorite hobby...or should I say PASSION...are discussed!
  • Finally, browse and review loads of valuable homebrew resources in our Review Center!
  • Oh Wait! I almost forgot. How would you like to make some serious cash? It's easy, just take part in our referral program and earn monthly, residual commissions for everyone that you refer, and that joins the community. You're automatically approved as soon as you join. Beer and Money...it just doesn't get any better than that!
HomeBrewToday is a community like know other in existence, created for you and by you. Don't get left behind...join the Hombrew Revolution today!

Featured Blogs / Podcasts / Articles

The All Grain Process (null)
posted Sat November 3rd 2007 @ 1:51 PM

All grain brewing starts with the Mashing process. All of your grains are crushed first, and the crushed grains are placed in your Mash Tun. Hot water is then added to the mash tun to raise the temperature of the mixture to between 148F and 158F. Typically water is mixed with grains at a rate of approximately 1.25-1.5 quarts per pound of grain. The temperature and amount of water for the infusion can be calculated using a tool such as BeerSmith. You then cover your mash tun and leave the mash for 45-60 minutes. During this time, complex sugars are broken down into simple sugars that yeast can easily consume. One typically stirs the mash every 10-15 minutes to prevent hot spots from developing in the cooler. Read More »

Moving to All Grain (null)
posted Sat November 3rd 2007 @ 1:48 PM

After you have some experience with Extract Brewing, you will inevitably find yourself wanting to make the move to All Grain. While the all grain brewing process does take 1-2 hours longer (for the Mashing and Sparging processes, it offers a much wider range of ingredients and better control over the brewing process. This article details some of the items you need to consider when moving from extract brewing to all grain brewing... Read More »

Tips for Better Beer (null)
posted Sat November 3rd 2007 @ 1:44 PM

This is a summary of some of the better tips I've collected over the years for making better beer. - BrewWiki Read More »

Drinking (null)
posted Sat November 3rd 2007 @ 1:35 PM

The blessed day has finally arrived to sample your creation. During the aging process excess yeast, tannins and proteins will settle to the bottom of your bottle. Get a clean glass, open your brew, and gently poor most of your beer into the glass leaving only the sediment and a small amount of beer in your bottle. Don't worry if... Read More »

Aging (null)
posted Sat November 3rd 2007 @ 1:33 PM

The most difficult part by far is waiting for your beer to come of age. While most beers are drinkable after a few weeks, the average homebrew reaches peak flavor anywhere from 8 weeks to 15 weeks after brewing. Read More »

Priming and Bottling (null)
posted Sat November 3rd 2007 @ 1:32 PM

The final step before bottling your beer is called priming. Priming consists of mixing sugar in with the beer to promote fermentation after bottling. A small amount of priming sugar will ferment and carbonate your beer. Read More »

Extract Brewing (null)
posted Sat November 3rd 2007 @ 1:24 PM

Brew day is my favorite part of the process. The smell of sweet wort bubbling away stirs something primeval in the human psyche. Since we are brewing a relatively simple extract beer, there is not much to set up. You need a clean pot large enough to hold 2 gallons of water plus the two cans (6 lbs of extract) and boil it (I recommend a 4-5 gallon pot if you can find one). Put 2 gallons of water into your pot and begin to heat it over your stove. Once the water has heated up a bit, open your cans of extract and slowly start mixing them into the warm water. The malt extract will have the consistency of heavy syrup, and you may need some hot water to get it all out of the sides of the can. The combined water and extract mixture is called "wort." Read More »

The Brewing Culture (null)
posted Sat November 3rd 2007 @ 11:37 AM

Sometimes referred to as craft brewing, the culture surrounding homebrewing has many strands. In the US, homebrew radio stations and brewpubs have become popular over the last 20 years; both have a tradition of promoting live, unpasteurised beers. Read More »

Process (null)
posted Thu November 1st 2007 @ 7:55 PM

The entire beer brewing process can be broken down into the following steps:
1. Making wort
2. Fermentation
3. Clarification
4. Conditioning
5. Packaging (in bottles, kegs or casks)
6. Consumption.
The principles behind the process of homebrewing beer are similar to commercial processes except in scale. A hopped wort is produced and yeast pitched into the beer to stimulate fermentation.... Read More »

Basic Homebrew Principles (null)
posted Thu November 1st 2007 @ 7:37 PM

Brewing relies on the conversion of sugars into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide by yeast through fermentation. Fermentable sugars are typically obtained by steeping malted grain (malt) in hot water during a process known as mashing. When malt is mashed at temperatures between about 60-70°C, natural enzymes in the grain break down large starch molecules into both smaller non-fermentable starch-like molecules known as dextrin and into fermentable sugar molecules. Read More »

Digest: showing activity in non-member only areas for the last 3 days
Customize your digest options

Basic Brewing Radio

03-04-10 BYO-BBR Experiment III - Basic Brewing Radio
(Thu, 4 Mar 2010 20:30:00 GMT)

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.

02-25-10 Mmmm Belgian Sugar Experiment - Basic Brewing Radio
(Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:30:00 GMT)

Mike Nealy, president and founder of Malt Munching Mash Monsters, shares the results of his club's experiment comparing nine sugars in Belgian Beer.

02-18-10 The Home Brewer's Recipe Database - Basic Brewing Radio
(Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:30:00 GMT)

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.

02-11-10 Pale Ale Yeast Experiment - Basic Brewing Radio
(Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:30:00 GMT)

Home brewer Scott Mathis shares his experiment splitting a pale ale wort and fermenting it with six different yeasts.

02-04-10 Malt Conditioning and Listener Questions - Basic Brewing Radio
(Thu, 4 Feb 2010 20:30:00 GMT)

Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, talks about conditioning malt for better milling and answers listener e-mails.

01-28-10 Homebrew Club Sites and Legislation Update - Basic Brewing Radio
(Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:30:00 GMT)

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.

01-21-10 Odonata Beer Company - Basic Brewing Radio
(Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:30:00 GMT)

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.

01-14-10 GBS Iron Brewer Competition - Basic Brewing Radio
(Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:30:00 GMT)

Jeff Britton, president of the Garage Brewers Society of O'Fallon, Missouri, explains his club's current contest centering around mystery ingredients.

01-07-10 Beer Foam - Basic Brewing Radio
(Thu, 7 Jan 2010 20:30:00 GMT)

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.

12-31-09 Holiday Barleywine Vertical - Basic Brewing Radio
(Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:30:00 GMT)

James and Steve end out the year with a little vertical tasting of small-batch holiday barleywines from the past couple of years.

Basic Brewing Video

02-24-10 Elderflower Ale and Elderberry Mead - Basic Brewing Video
(Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:30:00 GMT)

James and Steve sample a homebrew elderflower session beer and a commercial elderberry pyment.

01-16-10 Homegrown Organic Corn Pilsner - Basic Brewing Video
(Sat, 16 Jan 2010 23:30:00 GMT)

Steve and James combine a cereal mash and the brew-in-a-bag method to brew up an American Pilsner with homegrown corn meal.

12-31-09 Holiday Barleywine and Ice Cream - Basic Brewing Video
(Fri, 31 Dec 2009 23:30:00 GMT)

James shows off the most extreme small-batch holiday barleywine yet, and Steve makes ice cream with it.

12-11-09 SakeOne Brewery Tour Part Two - Basic Brewing Video
(Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:30:00 GMT)

In the second part of our tour of SakeOne, we go from the fermenter to the tasting room.

11-26-09 Sweet Potato Pie and Beer - Basic Brewing Video
(Thu, 26 Nov 2009 23:30:00 GMT)

Steve's back in the kitchen, cooking up two Thanksgiving holiday treats: Sweet Potato Pie and Sweet Potato Beer.

11-11-09 SakeOne Brewery Tour Part One - Basic Brewing Video
(Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:30:00 GMT)

In the first part of a two-part tour, we head to Forest Grove, Oregon and see how Sake is brewed at SakeOne.

10-31-09 A Real Monster Mash - Basic Brewing Video
(Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:30:00 GMT)

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.

10-19-09 Upright Brewing Company - Basic Brewing Video
(Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:30:00 GMT)

We tour the small and adventurous Upright Brewing Company in Portland, Oregon and talk to Head Brewer Alex Ganum.

09-30-09 Chili Beer Experiment - Basic Brewing Video
(Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:30:00 GMT)

Steve shares the results of his experiment comparing five different chili peppers in the same base beer.

09-21-09 Hop Madness! - Basic Brewing Video
(Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:30:00 GMT)

James and Andy head to Oregon to hang with home brewers and hop into the hops!


home brew

Copyright 2008 Homebrewtoday.com