Colin Kaminski started his professional brewing career in 1998 and since that time has written several magazine articles, including "Bring On The Heat" for BYO Magazine. Colin's articles have earned him the prestigious Beer Writer's Guild Feature of the Year Award and he also co-authored the...
As the Fall season approaches here in the Northeastern United States it brings with it the shorter days and cooler temperatures that signal the end of summer. In a few weeks the leaves of the deciduous trees in my neighborhood will start to change color. The same green leaves that provided...
Whenever I transfer my wort from the kettle to the fermentor or my beer from the fermentor to a keg or bottling bucket I also see it as an opportunity to clean it too. Reducing the amount of trub your finished beer contains before packaging it goes a long way in preventing the formation of chill...
I have been using my BrewsBySmith Fermentation Kit for about nine months now and it has undoubtedly become an integral part of my brewing process. I've grown so attached to the way I can set it to accurately control the temperature of my fermenting beer that I won't ferment another batch of...
Over the years I had read plenty of mixed reviews about the Blichmann Beer Gun before actually pulling the trigger and getting one for myself. It seemed that the two most common complaints brewers posted about had to do with how beer bottled using the Blichmann Beer Gun could be under carbonated...
When someone asks which style of beer is my absolute favorite I half-jokingly tell them that I like all styles of beer, which in fact I do. From the moment I take that first cold sip of beer I start to single out everything I like about it. Perfect color, good carbonation, a lingering head...
You just had a party, some friends came over and you shared your latest batch of homebrew with them. Suddenly someone lets you know the keg's been kicked. You realize how busy your schedule is but you're going to have to brew another batch of beer and soon. It's happened to all of us at some...
This is the third installment in the Brewing Water series. The links below will direct you to parts one and two if you wish to read them to.
Craft The Perfect Draft - Brewing Water Part 1
Craft The Perfect Draft - Brewing Water Part 2
Today we look at some of the easy to use tools that are...
This is the second installment in the Brewing Water series. The link below will direct you to part one if you wish to read it too.
Craft The Perfect Draft - Brewing Water Part 1
Today we wade a little bit deeper into what goes on in the mash and how our brewing water can influence efficiency...
Every successful brew day begins with a well thought out plan based on a recipe using the perfect combination of grains, hops, yeast and the brewer's preferred brewing process. Of course the goal of every brew day is to brew the best tasting style of beer possible and to brew it as consistently...
On a hot summer day in the late 1960s a friend of mine asked me to go for a ride and tour the Budweiser Brewery in nearby Newark NJ. I instantly agreed to go, what better way to spend a hot summer afternoon than cooling off inside one of Americas largest breweries. We had no idea then how beer...
About three years ago the brewing bug had bitten pretty hard, according to SWMBO beer was all I ever seemed to talk about. I'll admit that hasn't really changed over the years, but I was surprised to get an EdgeStar Deluxe Mini Kegerator as a gift that year. After all I had just bought a new...
As the seasons here in the Northeastern United States began to change and the temperatures started to fall I knew it was time to install an electric heater in the brew room. The brew room 'slash garage' is well insulated and the temperature inside managed to stay 10F degrees above freezing even...
It happened to me right at the end of a boil for a ten gallon batch of English IPA. I'd been brewing on this electric BIAB system for several months and loved how easy it was to connect and disconnect the silicone tubing whenever I needed to. But when the line connecting the kettle to the inlet...
Sooner or later a day comes when many homebrewers decide to add a pump to their brewing system. At first most probably buy a small inexpensive pond pump to help recirculate their chiller water through some ice. Pumping ice cold water through a chiller really cuts down on the amount of time...