BIAB brewing stands for Brew In A Bag brewing method and it is a way to have a full grain brewing day using a single pot for the whole process (hence the name). BIAB is too often being looked down upon by "real" homebrewers who are using the multi-vessel brewing method that includes: Making a liquor in a first vessel (hot liquor tank) Pouring the liquor into a second … [Read more...]
Home brewing guidelines – beer at its simplest
When making beer at home, you usually find a good recipe for a known beer style (a great resource for these is at BeerSmith) and you get ingredients to match and try and replicate this. There is a slight problem with those recipes, however: it never actually comes out the same. There are too many variables when home brewing, so I prefer to instead go for guidelines on what … [Read more...]
What on earth is a wort?
What on earth is a wort? When I started brewing it took me a while to get the whole wort concept, what it is and how to do it right. So what is wort? The wort is probably the most crucial part of the brewing process, and if done right will make a great beer. The wort is the mix of malted water (from mashing using all-grain or BIAB, or from malt extract) and hops being … [Read more...]
All grain or malt extract?
I've mentioned in the past several times that I would like to go into all grain brewing, as I've been using malt extracts (syrup) so far. I truly believe that all grain is the holy grail of beer making (or maybe holy grain??), allowing the most control, and all you need is o look and some of the more advanced recipes out there to understand that - but I don't think I can do … [Read more...]