Basic Brewing Radio

Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own Magazine, walks us through the age-old process of decoction mashing.

John Palmer, author of How to Brew, joins us to answer frequently asked questions on home brewing. John also tells us the causes of common off flavors.

Andy, Brian and James spend some time chatting with Adam Avery of Avery Brewing. Adam talks about making the move from home brewer to brewery owner, dry hopping and making big beers at home.

Andy Sparks and James Spencer join Brian Warren and John Holder in Denver to taste the last round of samples in the Hot Side Aeration experiment. We also get feedback about the experiment from John Palmer.

Rick Sellers from Pacific Brew News Radio reports on a California brewing competition for women only. Also, Chris Colby from BYO explains high-end RIMS and HERMS brewing systems.

We travel to Fort Collins, Colorado to speak with Eric Salazar and Peter Bouckaert of New Belgium Brewing.

Thanks to a demonstration hosted by the Brewers Association, we see what happens behind the scenes in the judging of the Great American Beer Festival competition.

We cover two homebrewing competitions in connection with the Great American Beer Festival: the GABF Pro Am and the Long Shot competition from the Boston Beer Company.

We join homebrew guru Charlie Papazian near a beautiful stream at his house to share his homebrew and his thoughts about the hobby.

Randy Mosher, author of Radical Brewing, talks to us about fruit beers and getting the most out of them. Randy also gives us his favorite approach to pumpkin beers.

Ben Watson, author of Cider, Hard and Sweet: History, Traditions, and Making Your Own, introduces us to the world of homemade ciders. Also, Chris Colby of Brew Your Own magazine lets us in on his method of partial mashing using an unmodified two-gallon drink cooler.

Andy Sparks and Steve Wilkes join James to taste the results of homebrewer Michael Tonsmeire's single-hop small batch experiment.

Homebrewer Raj Apte lets us in on the long-lost process of brewing with the Ginger Beer plant. This way of brewing soft drinks at home was commonplace decades ago.

Bob Hansen, technical services manager of Briess Malt and Ingredients Company, shares thoughts on his presentation from NHC on making big beers.

Chris Colby of Brew Your Own magazine joins us to share his favorite strategies for getting the best beer out of a split-boil extract brewing session.

The last interview from Orlando: James talks to Matt Brynildson of Firestone Walker Brewing and John Mallet of Bell's Brewery about first wort hopping and dry hopping.

More interviews from the National Homebrewers Conference: Homebrewer Raj Apte on his "one-dollar homebrew barrel" and author John Palmer on wort fermentability.

NHC coverage continues as James and Steve interview professional brewers and other professionals connected wtih the brewing industry.

Steve Wilkes joins James as they play interviews with six homebrewers recorded at the National Homebrewers Conference in Orlando. Great tips and useful information.

Randy Mosher, author of "Radical Brewing," talks with Steve Wilkes about pairing beer with food and cooking with beer. Randy says beer is a much better partner with food than wine.

James sneaks away from the family during his vacation to post a quick interview between Steve Wilkes and Ray Daniels on a treat to taste while brewing.

We hear from two homebrew experiments: William Tope, a high school student from Houston, Texas, delves into whether alpha acid levels of hops affect fermentation rates, and the Hot Side Aeration experiment continues with Brian Warren and John Holder.

We talk brewing water with Greg Noonan, author of "New Brewing Lager Beer" and other noted brewing books. Greg is also owner and brewer at the Vermont Pub and Brewery in Burlington.

We preview the National Homebrewers Conference with Gary Glass of the American Homebrewers Association.

Steve Wilkes joins James to talk about flavoring the Great Mead Experiment from the video side of Basic Brewing. James and Steve also answer listener e-mail.

We continue our look at the foundation of making beer at home: good equipment. In this episode, Andy Sparks helps us look at gear that goes beyond the absolute necessities.

We take a look at the foundation of making beer at home: good equipment. In this episode, Andy Sparks joins James to start with what is absolutely necessary to make an extract batch.

Tess and Mark Szamatulski, authors of Clone Brews and Beer Captured, help us make sense of the wide variety of hops and give us tips on the most effective hop schedules.

Tony Simmons of Pagosa Brewing Company, creator of Poor Richard's Ale, joins us to talk about his historic brew and the challenges of getting a new brewery off the ground.

Stan Hieronymus, author of Brew Like a Monk: Trappist, Abbey, and Strong Belgian Ales and How to Brew Them, tells us about his book and gives us tips on how to brew wonderful Belgian beers at home.

From grain to glass in one week? Chris Colby from BYO magazine tells us how to brew a finished, drinkable beer in seven days.

Kevin DeLange of The Brew Hut and Drydock Brewing Company helps us clear up the process of mini-mashing and what makes it different from steeping in an extract batch.

Dave Wills of Freshops walks us through the process of planting, growing, and harvesting our own hoppy goodness at home.

We get help from Gary Glass of the American Homebrewers Association to answer a listener's question about putting too much of a good thing into our brews.

Gary Glass of the AHA joins us to talk about how and why to enter the National Homebrew Competition.

We travel to Austin, Texas to taste the results of Brian Warren's experiment on Hot Side Aeration.

Tess and Mark Szamatulski, authors of Clone Brews and Beer Captured join us to talk about making copies of our favorite brews.

Andy Sparks joins us to talk about adjuncts - those fermentable ingredients we add to beer in addition to water, yeast, barley malt, and hops.

Our man in the field, Brian Warren, recaps the recent mead festival in Boulder, Colorado, and bring us interviews with commercial mead makers.

We continue our night of bad beer tastes as we dive into part two of our trying the FlavorActive Enthusiast beer taste troubleshooting kit.

We talk to Chris Colby of Brew Your Own magazine about one of our favorite styles - American Pale Ales. Great taste and easy to brew.

David Myers, Chairman of the Mead for Redstone Meadery, joins us to talk about the beginnings of Redstone, the International Mead Festival, and brewing mead at home.

Andy Sparks, Steve Wilkes, and Chris Milum join James to take the FlavorActiv Enthusiast beer taste troubleshooting kit for a test run. The group tastes off flavors that could be found in homebrew and talks about how to prevent them.

John Palmer, author of How to Brew, joins us to talk about lagering at home. John also defends his choice of aluminum for brewpots.

James Spencer and Steve Wilkes brew an experimental six pack's worth of extract IPA on the stovetop.

Ray Daniels, author of Designing Great Beers joins us to talk about hop bitterness and the factors in brewing that affect it.

Chris Colby of Brew Your Own magazine introduces us to Vienna Lagers and how to make them at home.

Homebrew clubs are the topic this episode as we talk to Brian Ellis of Kuykendahl Gran Brewers, a Houston homebrew club.

We try our first test with video as we taste the results of our small extract batch hopping experiment. We also taste three different batches of the same recipe and read holiday wish lists.

In this episode, we're invited to a big brew at the house of Casey from Siloam Springs. Also, Casey shows us how to make an all grain starter in a French press coffee maker.