Basic Brewing Radio

Homebrewer James Sites shares two tasty brews that are blends of sour beers and ciders with fruit.

Three ginger-infused beers: Half-pound half-boiled ginger beer from Steve Wilkes, ginger-wasabi beer from homebrewer Dan McCarthy, and Soulless Ginger from Apple Blossom Brewing Company.

James and Steve sit on the porch and evaluate two experiments: US 05 vs Nottingham yeast and the effect of a 30-minute boil on an all grain pale ale.

Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, joins James to reveal the winners of our Homebrew Heroics contest.

Marshall Schott of Brulosophy returns to the podcast to share two experiments: brewing water chemistry and hybrid lager fermentation.

Nathan Traw, brewer and distiller at Core Brewing and Distilling, takes us through the distillation process, and Jesse Core talks about his company's progress.

Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, talks about how to assess suspicious beers, and Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association, helps us introduce a contest to give away two free registrations to this year's National Homebrewers Conference.

Homebrewer Ryan Leamy from Vermont talks about making maple wine and maple beers and gives us some background on where maple syrup comes from.

Marshall Schott of the blog Brulosophy shares two experiments: testing the effects of a 30-minute boil and the addition of Irish moss.

Brewery owner Rose Schweikhart gets advice from John Palmer on brewing with hot spring water from Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas.

Homebrewer Dan Kuczmarski joins us again to share his experiment fermenting a blonde ale with four different yeast strains.

Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, talks about why mashes for higher gravity beers can be more inefficient and what to do about it.

Douglas Wawrzynzki helps sort through listener feedback on what brewing software they're using around the brewpot today.

Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, brings us up to date on a favorite technique - a hybrid of extract and all grain brewing.

Joe Zucca, head brewer at Bike Rack Brewing Company in Bentonville, Arkansas, talks about brewing with the Speidel Braumeister system. Also, Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association, previews the National Homebrew Competition.

Matt Miller, AKA Dr. Lambic, explains his approach to fermenting lambics - with a fermentation step each for Lactobacillus, Saccharomyces, and Brettanomyces.

Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, give us some tips on brewing Maibock to enjoy in warmer times. Also, Chris answers a couple of carbonation-related mailbag questions.

SJPorr from YouTube joins us to talk about the YouTube brewing community and the ambitious competition that bears his name.

James and Steve read listener letters detailing homebrewing disasters from the past year.

Christopher Owen and Ted Doll from the Louisville, Kentucky, LAGERS club share their experiment using roasted specialty grains in the mash, hot steeping, and cold steeping.

Sean Terrill from Two Mile Brewing Company shares tips on how to brew with chilis in a way that will give flavor without burning off our taste buds.

Neil Walker from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) talks about his organization's efforts to promote and preserve traditional beer and pubs in the United Kingdom.

Mad Fermentationist Michael Tonsmeire shares beers fermented with "critters" harvested around his home and from bottle dregs. Also, a sour beer dry-hopped in the bottle.

Mad Fermentationist Michael Tonsmeire joins us to share homebrew Berliner Weisse brewed with rhubarb and lemon.

Julia Herz of the Brewers Association previews the Beer and Food Course that she has written with Chef Adam Dulye. Juila gives us advice on pairing beer and food and on aging craft beer and homebrew.

Kevin Mullen of Rare Form Brewing in Troy, New York, talks about working with homebrewers to bring their recipes to life on a larger scale.

Ryan Tockstein of Scratch Brewing in Ava, Illinois, talks about using local ingredients, including those foraged in the woods around his brewery.

Homebrewer James Sites shares his experiment blending sour beer and wine to create a new combination.

We go back to basics with Chris Colby of Beer and Wine Journal as we talk about proper carbonation in beers.

BIAB pioneer Pat Hollingdale makes an appeal for more standardized terminology when sharing brewing recipes.

Denny Conn and Drew Beechum share tips from their book, Experimental Homebrewing: Mad Science in the Pursuit of Great Beer.

Homebrewer Jeff Muse compares a pale ale recipe with extract that has been boiled for 60 minutes against another where the extract has only been boiled for 15.

Homebrewer Dan Kuczmarski shares an experiment trying to dry out sweet beers by adding Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus after bottling.

Dr. Chris Hamilton of Hillsdale College talks about his experiment attempting to make practically gluten free beers using Clarity Ferm from White Labs.

Brewer Nathan Traw of Apple Blossom Brewing Company shares some funky beers, including one fermented with sourdough starter.

Homebrewer Alex Baker shares his experiment brewing the same recipe with water from different springs across Michigan.

Home mead maker Tim Leber shares the result of his experiment comparing meads made with musts that have been boiled and have not.

Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, shares his successful weight loss plan that allows him to keep his favorite beverage, while losing pounds.

Homebrewer Bob Stempski shares his experiment comparing beers brewed with no-chill worts aged for eight and four months with a fresh batch.

Vaughn Stewart, brewing manager of Arcadia Brewing in Kalamazoo, Michigan, talks about open fermentation and repitching yeast for many generations.

We join homebrewers and pros to sample and talk about hops and malt grown and produced in Michigan.

We join homebrewer David Curtis in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to evaluate the second round of his experiment comparing different hopping techniques.

The Mad Fermentationist talks about his new book, "American Sour Beers," as we take a tour of sour homebrew at the National Homebrewers Conference.

We join Casey Letellier and members of the Brewers of Siloam Springs as they sample imperial stouts to go into a whiskey barrel.

Homebrewer Andrew Parr shares his experiment using six different yeasts to ferment a beverage made with pure, grade-A maple syrup.

American Homebrewers Association Director Gary Glass brings us up to speed on the National Homebrew Competition, Homebrewers Conference and legislative efforts.

Homebrewer David Curtis shares his experiment comparing mash hopping, first wort hopping and traditional 60-minute boil hopping.

Chris White, founder of White Labs Yeast, talks about a survey comparing the effect of different yeast strains on bitterness levels of finished beer. We also talk about safety issues and whether eating yeast will stave off drunkenness.

Brew in a Bag pioneer Pat Hollingdale and Brew in a Bag enthusiast Bob Stempski talk about the legacy of the technique and the myths surrounding it.

We go back to the basics with Chris Colby, editor of Beer and Wine Journal, who talks about adjunct grains.