Good afternoon! We're open right now .. we close at 9pm.

Getting Started with Yeast Starters

By admin | Published: January 8, 2012

The best way to take your brewing to the next level is the increased care in cleaning and sanitizing your gear. That’s boring to read about though, so I’m gonna share with you another easy way to improve your homebrew. Make a starter!

Liquid yeast cultures advertise that they have 100 billion viable yeast cells in each tube or smack pack. That’s a big number. But how many yeast cells does five gallons of beer need? Sorry to get technical, but it depends on the gravity of your wort. You want 750,000 cells of yeast per millimeter of wort, per degree Plato of gravity. Now if you have a hydrometer, instead of degrees Plato you may substitute the number value listed for Brix as it appears on the hydrometer.

If you’re pitching into a wort of 1.040, or around 10 degrees plato, you need 150,000,000,000 viable, living yeast cells… and double that for a lager! I hate math, so let’s ballpark it. This is around 4 billion cells per point of gravity in around a five gallon batch (again, double that for a lager).

Now, is it essential that you make a starter for every batch? Absolutely not. But if you do, the yeasties can spend less time reproducing and more time doing the work of making your beer. Also, when the gravity is high and there are lots of fermentables to eat, it’s good to pitch at a higher rate to ensure all the stuff is eaten. This is why some clever brewers will start a stout or other high gravity beer on top of the leftover yeast from a recently racked batch of lighter beer. The first beer was a starter!

So, how do you make a yeast starter? Luckily it is easier to make than it is to explain why you should make it. One to three days before brewing prepare your yeast as you’re used to. As the pack is swelling or the vial is warming or the dried stuff is hydrating, take a little more than a pint of water and bring it to a boil. You’re gonna make a tiny wort for your yeastmen and yeastwomen to eat up! Boil a half cup of extra light malt extract for ten minutes. If you have yeast nutrient (a good idea), throw it in for the same amount of time. Cool this like you would any beer, pour it into a sanitized growler or bottle, aerate the wort by shaking, pitch your yeast, and affix a sanitized airlock and stopper. You’re just making a small beer. You’re used to this. After the one to three days, it’s ready to pitch. If you are worried about the starter affecting beer flavor, you can chill the starter in the fridge. The yeast will settle to the bottom of the bottle. You can easily pour out the beer, retain the yeast, and then pitch it all into your beer.

Do this and you’ll get quicker, cleaner fermentations. Really.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Brew Camp Field Guide to Beer: Porters and Stouts

By Dan | Published: November 4, 2011

Editor’s note: It is important that any beer enthusiast be able to properly identify different styles of beer as they are encountered in the wild. And more so, it is important for any novice brewer’s continued growth and success that he or she can distinguish between even closely related varieties as they endeavor to create them. It is with these noble goals in mind that we present the first in our series.

Whereas November 3, 2011 had been declared by parties of some authority to be International Stout Day, the purpose of which had been declared as “to celebrate the iconic beer style, Stout”, it is only fitting that the Field Guide turns it brief yet informative lens toward these dark treasures.

Porters and Stouts

The categories of dark beers commonly referred to as porters or stouts are quite similar, and in fact, the labels themselves have recent become essentially interchangeable.

The first recorded use of the name porter was in the early 1700′s to describe a dark beer that was popular with street and river porters of London.  The name stout was originally a casual term used to refer to the stronger, or “stouter” varieties of porter.  Eventually, in many circles, the word stout simply replaced the word porter and referred to any of the various dark beers now called either stout or porter.

Today, there is a great deal of disagreement amongst brewers regarding what, if anything, is the difference between stouts and porters.  In terms of appearance, flavor, and aroma, there is historically no difference between varieties that have been alternately labeled one or the other.  In regards to modern recipes, not even the original differentiation of strength seems to apply any more.

Indeed, the beer enthusiast will quickly note that all stouts and porters share certain qualities, the most notable being their rich brown color and malty and roasty flavors.

But even if the labels porter and stout are essentially interchangeable, there are a variety of styles that they both encompass, the most popular of which appear below.

Brown Porter

First discovered in the late 16th century, the common brown porter’s original habitat was southeastern England (specifically London), but the style has now spread across the globe and should be fairly easy to spot.

Known as a variety for its distinctive brown color, individual brown porters may range from light to dark brown in the body, and will feature an off-white head.

When studying a brown porter, the taster should expect a malty and mild roasted flavor, with nearly no distinct hop flavor and rather low hop bitterness.  More advanced drinkers will note a medium-bodied mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. Typical brown porters specimens will weigh in with an ABV between 4 – 5.5 percent.

OBSERVATION TIPS: In the wild, brown porters can be differentiated from brown ales by their richer substance and “roastier” qualities.  If a novice taster is unsure whether she is observing a common brown or a robust porter, she should note that brown porters are generally sweeter with a more “caramel” quality, and with lower alcohol content.

LOOK FOR:  Fuller’s London Porter

Robust Porter

The robust porter variety has many of the same qualities as the common brown, and can often be found sharing the same habitats.  However, it differs in that individuals will often feature a black patent malt character and will often be higher in alcohol content.

When seeking out a robust porter, keep your senses attuned for a moderately strong roasted and malty aroma and a darker brown body color, occasionally with ruby highlights.  Note that some individual robusts may approach black in body color.  This variety is known for having a full tan-colored head.

Tasting a robust porter will most often result in a strong malty sensation, with a lightly burnt and somewhat “sharp” character accompanied by rather high hop bitterness.  Some individuals may exhibit chocolate or coffee characteristics.

A typical robust porter will feature an ABV figure between 5 and 6.5 percent.

LOOK FOR: Sierra Nevada Porter, Bell’s Porter, Rogue Mocha Porter

Baltic Porter

The breeding grounds of the elusive Baltic porter are traditionally located in the Scandanavian nations and some areas of eastern Europe.  However, an intrepid brewer or enthusiast may be able to locate and identify a Baltic porter much closer to home.

To spot one, first look for a brew with a dark reddish copper to dark brown body and a thick tan-colored head.  The careful observer will note a rich, sweet aroma with malty caramel overtones, often punctuated with fruity ester notes that may recall plums or cherries.

Upon closer approach, the enthusiast will experience a complex blend of flavor sensations, with many reports of sweet, fruity flavors mixing with dark malty “goodness” and slightly spicy hops.  Some individual Baltics may exhibit roast coffee, molasses, or even licorice notes. The variety as a whole is well known for its higher alcohol content, most often between 7 and 9.5 percent ABV.

DID YOU KNOW?: Some experts may refer to the Baltic porter as an Imperial porter.

LOOK FOR: Zywiec Porter, Southampton Imperial Baltic Porter

Irish Stout

An enthusiast hoping to observe and enjoy the famed Irish stout (also known as the “Dry Stout”) should have little trouble, as this fairly common species, originally native to Ireland, is easily spotted in tavern and shops throughout the world.

By looking for a very dark brown to jet black body, with a thick, creamy tan or brown colored head, the amateur beer enthusiast is well on his way to nabbing an Irish stout.  He should expect a rich roasted barley and malt aroma, perhaps accompanied by a slight chocolate hint.

When tasting an Irish, one will note a moderately roasty and slightly sour taste with medium to high hop bitterness.  Some individuals may exhibit a bittersweet chocolate flavor as well as a moderate creaminess.  Carbonation is generally low across the breed.

A typical Irish stout will measure a standard 4 to 5 percent ABV.

LOOK FOR: Guinness Stout, Murphy’s Stout, Goose Island Dublin Stout, Brooklyn Dry Stout

Sweet Stout

Traditionally spotted mainly in England, the Sweet Stout can now often be found in North America, recognized mostly for its full body and sweet creaminess.

The sweet stout appears very dark brown or black in color, and features a creamy tan or brown head.  It often emits a mildly roast aroma with little or no hint of hops, and some individuals have been known to exhibit hints of chocolate or coffee notes.

Tasting a sweet stout is often a complex experience, with rich dark roasted grain and malt flavors offset with a medium or even intense sweetness.  The observer can expect a moderate hoppy bitterness to accompany the creamy texture.

A typical Sweet stout will register between 4 and 6 percent on the ABV scale.

DID YOU KNOW?: The sweet stout has also been historically called the “Milk” stout or “Cream” stout in many regions of the world.  These appellations refer to the distinct quantities of unfermentable sugars they contain (often lactose, the primary sugar in dairy products).

LOOK FOR: Mackeson’s XXX Stout, St. Peter’s Cream Stout

Oatmeal Stout

The proud oatmeal stout is another species that was originally discovered in England but has since found footholds in other parts of the world. As with other members of the stout family, an enthusiast seeking an oatmeal should keep their eyes open for a medium-brown to black body.  Oatmeal stouts are generally known to feature a distinctively thick and creamy head, dark tan or brown in color.

Upon approach, the observer will note an aroma of mild roasted grains and a distinct sweetness.  Despite the name, an oatmeal aroma is not necessarily present in all individuals, which can make identification difficult without drinking.

When obtained, the oatmeal stout indeed makes for quite a satisfying taste experience, as it delivers a complex mix of roasted grains and oats, which impart a nutty, earthy flavor.  An experienced brewer will note a nice malt sweetness, occasionally with chocolate, coffee, or cream notes, and a medium to low hop bitterness.

OBSERVATION TIPS: The amount of oatmeal flavor and aroma can vary quite wildly from one individual to the next, although a typical specimen would contain perhaps 5 to 15 percent oat grains.  Higher oatmeal concentrations may lend an intense flavor and an oily texture.

Look For: Young’s Oatmeal Stout, Goose Island Oatmeal Stout, Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout

We hope that this brief primer on this popular beer style has been useful to novice and experienced beer enthusiasts alike.  Happy hunting!

Recommended Additional Reading

So What is the Difference Between Porter and Stout?

 

Posted in Field Guide | Comments closed

Why Brew?

By Dan | Published: October 25, 2011

It is a question that is as old as the hills.  Rare is the brewer who is not, at some point or another, approached by someone outside our grand fraternity of beer craftsmen who has not experienced the joy of tasting a delicious brew he or she has made themselves, and been asked, simply:

Why?

They may furrow their brows and ask, “Why do you go through all that, just for beer?  Why, when you can just pop down to the supermarket or beer speciality shop and choose from dozens or even hundreds of beers, would you want to go through all that effort?  Why deal with the mess and the equipment and waste all that time?  Why?”

Even the most dubious beer enthusiast must admit that any pastime from which the end result is delicious beer is inherently superior to other hobbies.  Beer, of course, is good.  Yet the question persists.

The experienced brewer will note that the questioner is suffering from ignorance borne from a whole host of misconceptions – that brewing is difficult, or expensive, or tedious.  It is precisely these misconceptions that ought to be dispelled as quickly as possible.

The discussion points that follow are intended to enhance the home brewer’s response to the question of why.

Brewing is cheap.  Honest.

After a modest initial investment in the basic tools of the trade, the beginning brewer will shortly realize that the few ingredients needed to make beer are actually quite inexpensive. There are but four vital components of beer, none of which can be considered exorbitant: malted grains or malt extract, hops, yeast, and water.

Popular beer kits, containing all the ingredients apart from water that a beginning brewer needs to make five gallons of beer, can often cost as little as thirty dollars.  Such a yield is approximately equivalent to 53 regular 12oz bottles, or almost 9 six packs.  It should be evident that after only a few batches of brew, a home brewer can “come out ahead” when it comes to monetary expenses.  And, of course, he or she will be consistently enjoying a superior product.

At this point, if the doubting drinker mentions, in the way of a counter-argument, a particularly inexpensive brand of beer, often available in large and rather boorish packs of cans, it will be obvious to the brewer that a larger intervention is required to rescue the palate of the poor soul.  Whereas this is far beyond the purview of this discussion, we recommend enlisting the additional help of friends or relatives who may be able to help them see the error of their ways.

As for equipment, once a brewer has a few batches “under his belt” he can grow his setup as much or as little as desired.  Indeed, there are plenty of gadgets one can invest in, many of which are great and worthwhile, but the absolute basics are simple. Starting with a large pot, a large spoon, a few buckets, a thermometer, a hydrometer, some siphon hose, and the beginning brewer is well on the way to creating beer.

And, while not an ingredient and not exactly “equipment”, cleanser is also critical.  We have all heard the saying that cleanliness is next to godliness.  This is at least partially true because cleanliness results in better beer.

As for bottles, an enthusiast can actually just save empty beer bottles, and purchase new caps cost that cost just pennies. Of course, one will need to clean re-used bottles very well (see above).  An important tip: one should save only those bottles that originally had “pry-off” caps, as the “screw-off” bottles cannot be re-capped.

After a new brewer’s first few batches, she will come to realize that the  greatest investment is actually her time.

Brewing is fun.

Yes, when one applies themselves to the noble art of brewing, one is most often graced with beer.  With just a little practice, one achieves really, really good beer.  But that is only half the point.  The brewing process is actually a really enjoyable way to spend one’s free time, making it a great hobby for the right-minded people.

A couple of things to note straight away:

Brewing is not difficult.  Not anymore difficult than following a simple recipe step by step.  And, like cooking, it is something that you get better at with practice.

Brewing is not magic.  Not anymore magic than noodles and broth making soup.

If one has any kind of basic competence and reasonable control of one’s faculties, they are perfectly able make your their beer.

And, as it turns out, brewing is something that can be a ton of fun to do with friends. It doesn’t hurt that some steps, like bottling, for example, can actually be a little easier with a second – or third – set of hands.

Now, granted, unlike baking cookies, a brewer is not going to be enjoying the fruits of his or her labor right away.  But on that special day when the brew is ready, the experienced brewer knows that there is nothing quite like sharing it.  And when a novice is ready to dive into the creation of the second batch – and as any brewer will attest, he or she most certainly will want to, as in brewing as in many other facets of life, success breeds success -  enjoying the previous batch as one works makes it all the better.

Plus, the brewer knows the pure enjoyment of experimentation.  Because any single batch of beer doesn’t require a great deal of monetary investment, if a brewer is bold, she will make minor tweaks to recipes, both in ingredients and techniques. Yes, it is true that upon occasion, a brewer may experience a batch that doesn’t quite turn out exactly as expected.  However, one should never be discouraged with any results, since barring some major goof or spectacularly misguided idea, the result will always be beer, and therefore will always be good.

A brewer creates something unique.

As a novice brewer soon comes to realize, despite its simplicity, the brewing process contains a number of variables, and relatively minor tweaks can produce different results.  Boiling time, fermentation temperature, and of course, variations in ingredients along with a lot of other little things can all result in slightly different beers, with different colors, aromas, flavors.

The point is, when one makes her own beer, it is hers.  Nobody else in the world – not the guy who bought another six pack shipped from the mega-brewery in St. Louis, not even the guy who brews with the same equipment and ingredients – will be enjoying her particular brew.  Unless of course you she shares it with them, a decision that Brew Camp naturally whole-heartedly endorses.

And the brewer can always customize his beer to suit his particular tastes.  If he enjoys extremely hoppy pale ales, beyond what any sane person would consider reasonable, he is encouraged to create it.  If she wants something sweet and fruity, there is nothing preventing her from achieving it except her own limitations.  If a brewer truly believes that he can make a better stout than Guinness, then he almost certainly can, because…

Beer tastes better when one brews it at home.

Even if a brewer uses precisely the same recipe and the same ingredients and are successful in attempting to recreate a favorite big-brewery beer, the product from the home brewer will taste better.  Commercial brews are almost always pasteurized, which cooks the beer and kills off all the yeast.  Home brewed beer is “live” – meaning that is still contains that live yeast – and therefore tastes more natural, more pure.  In a word, better.  Plus, home brewed beer can actually “age” over time, changing slightly in texture and flavor.

So a home brewer will know that when she opens that beer and hands it to a friend, they’ll be impressed.  Which suggests the best reason of all:

There is a special pride a brewer takes in creating his own beer.

Any master brewer will attest: there is nothing like sharing one’s own beer with others.  They know the pride of watching skeptics turn into believers with the first sip, of passing their latest creation over to eager hands who can’t wait to see what they’ve come up with now, of , taking only a little pleasure from the disappointment groaned when the “good stuff” has run out, and of being able to smile and say, “Don’t worry, I’ll make more.”

Regardless of what else a home brewer accomplishes during her day, no matter what she does for a living, when she cracks open a beer that she made herself, she knows that she has produced with her own hands and her own knowledge something real, something wonderful.  Something delicious and good and satisfying.

That is home brewing.  That is real beer, and welcome to it.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments closed

Equipment Corner: Hydrometers

By Dan | Published: October 19, 2011

Here at Brew Camp, part of our mission is to help educate home brewers about the techniques and equipment used in the art of brewing.

One such piece of equipment is the hydrometer which, quite simply put, measures the density of a liquid.  And why, you ask, would you care much about the density of a liquid?  Well, read on, my friend.  Read on…

The Gravity of the Situation

If you’ve ever carefully perused a beer recipe, you’ve probably seen notations about the Original Gravity (OG) and Final Gravity (FG) listed in there somewhere.  This doesn’t refer to how the beer changes when you drink it on the moon (although we must admit, that’s something we’ve always wanted to try).  When brewers use the word gravity, it simply refers to the brew’s density.

On the gravity scale, the standard reference is pure water, which has a specific gravity of 1.000.  All other liquids are compared against this number.  Finished beers usually show up in a range between 1.005 (a little denser) and 1.015 (quite a bit denser).

Original Gravity refers to the density of your wort, which of course is going to be much higher, as it has all of that delicious sugar from the malted grains or malt extract dissolved into it (not to mention any additional sugars that the recipe may have used), making it somewhat “thick” or syrupy.

Final Gravity refers to the density of the finished beer, after it has been fermented.  You’ll find that the FG will be a lot less – usually about 20% to 25% of the original gravity.

And what is it that causes this dramatic reduction in the density?  Why, it’s the magic of fermentation!  The yeast busily converts the sugars in the wort into alcohol, which of course is less dense.  This conversion is called attenuation, and it is what makes beer, beer.

And therefore, while you may officially be measuring your brew’s density, what the figures can actually tell you is how much of your sugar has been converted, and therefore, how much alcohol content is in your beer.

And that, dear brewer, is why you care about liquid density.  And that is why you use a hydrometer.

Okay, so what is it, exactly?

The most common type of hydrometer is hollow glass tube, sort of like a thermometer, with a weight at the bottom end.  It works rather simply, by floating higher in a more dense liquid, and sinking down a little bit more in a less dense liquid.

There are a few scales that a hydrometer might include, but the most common for our purposes is the Specific Gravity.  Again, this is much like a thermometer, as noting where the liquid crosses the marked scale gives you the reading.

There are other instruments that can measure gravity and alcohol levels, but none are as cost-effective as the simple hydrometer.

 

When and how do I check?

Hydrometer readings should be recorded both before and after fermentation.

When your wort has cooled sufficiently to pour into the fermenter, grab a sample and perform your first test.  (Before pitching the yeast!)  This will give you your OG reading, which you will then compare to the reading when fermentation is complete.

You generally want to keep the fermenter closed as much as possible during fermenation, to keep foreign material and contaminating microbes out of the beer.  So check the gravity right before pitching the yeast, and then just… wait until fermentation is complete (you know – the bubbling stops) before checking again.  We know this can be hard, but be strong.

Always remove a small sample of the brew to perform the test.  You don’t want to stick your hydrometer into the whole batch.  Use a sanitized wine thief (basically a specialized sort of long turkey baster – a regular turkey baster can work as well) or siphon to move a sample into a testing jar.  You might want to use a special Hydrometer Jar.  It’s tall and narrow and ideal for the job. Make sure your jar and your hydrometer are all sanitized too!

Taking a sample helps to reduce the risk of contamination, and after the test you’ll really have no choice but to drink the sample to see how the batch is doing.

Lower your hydrometer into the jar and let it settle.  You’ll want it to be floating straight up and down and not touching the sides of the jar.  If you’ve got foam at the top or bubbles anywhere in the liquid, give it swirl and wait for them to dissipate.

When it’s steady, get down at eye level and read the scale where the water level crosses it.  You might recall from high school chemistry class that liquid can form a “meniscus” or curve, in the top surface as it adheres to the inside containers.  Traditionally, most folks read the measurement at the bottom of the curve, although some people disagree.

I was told there would be no math!

One more fact about a liquid’s gravity, and it’s a real important one: it changes with temperature.

Most hydrometers are calibrated to deliver accurate results at 59 degrees F.  If the liquid you’re measuring is warmer or cooler (which will probably be the case), you’ll need to adjust by adding or subtracting a few percentage points to the gravity.

Often hydrometers will come with a conversion table in the instructions, but there are plenty of online resource, including tables and calculators.

Therefore, once you’ve got your reading, pluck out the hydrometer and immediately take the temperature of the liquid.  Then use this temperature to adjust the gravity reading as mentioned above.

And now you can calculate your alcohol content by doing a little math.  Stop worrying… we said a LITTLE math.  Do not be afraid.  Use a calculator.

Your ABV (alcohol by volume) can be calculated with this formula:

(OG – FG) x 131.25 = ABV%

In English: subtract your final gravity reading from your original gravity reading, then multiply that number by the magical number 131.25.

So you can see that a hydrometer is an invaluable tool for the home brewer, delivering a lot of important information about the status of your brew.  Be sure to check the readings before and after fermentation, and you’ll be well on your way to enjoying the perfect batch from your favorite recipes.

Posted in Equipment | Comments closed

Red Meat and Dark Beer

By Dan | Published: October 13, 2011

If you like brewing and you like drinking delicious beer (and we’ll just go ahead and assume that) you know that nothing you can buy comes close to what you can make yourself with the right recipe.

You, like us, might also agree that this applies to food, too. From time to time, we thought it might be nice to highlight some recipes that use beer as a featured ingredient.

Refined individuals have been pairing brews with meat for centuries, whether it has been mead with mutton or light lager with hot dogs. (Although we’re told there is some argument whether those last two entries actually qualify as “beer” or “meat”.)

To our mind, one of the best things you can do today with a nice bottle of dark beer is lend it to a nice beef stew (so long as it isn’t your last bottle). When adding a rich, malty flavor to your meat, you really can’t go wrong. As the weather starts to get colder, there are few things more satisfying than a hearty beer-infused beef stew. Here is a nice variation.

By they way, whatever brew you end up using, be sure to save some and serve it extra cold with the meal. We also recommend that your menu includes that “other” use for yeast – a nice crusty bread.

Beef Stew With Brown Ale

This was originally adapted from a British recipe, and so it specifically called for using Newcastle which of course is tasty, but we’re hoping you’ll use whatever your favorite brown ale is… maybe one you’ve crafted yourself.

Also, the original recipe suggested using “beef shins”, which didn’t sound remotely appealing (or available in the supermarket), so we stuck with Ye Olde Stew Meat.  The rest of the ingredients:

 

  • Chunky stew meat – about 2 pounds
  • 3 Tablespoons flour
  • Olive oil
  • 3 red onions, peeled, halved and roughly sliced
  • 2 ounces pancetta or bacon, chopped
  • 3 sticks of celery, chopped
  • A few sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked from stem
  • 5 cups brown ale
  • 2 parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 4 potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper (if you’re snooty… plain salt and pepper, otherwise)

Combine the flour with a healthy dose of salt and pepper on a plate, and then toss the beef around in it until well coated.

Heat a little olive oil in a medium-high pan, and fry the chunks of meat on all sides until nice and brown. You may need to work in a couple batches to get it all done.

Transfer the meat to a big pot or dutch oven — whatever large pot you’ve got (with a lid) that can go on the cooktop burner. (We know what you’re thinking, but a 20 quart might be a little big for this job.) Toss in whatever extra flour you’ve got left.

Over medium heat, add the red onions and pancetta or bacon, and cook until the onions are translucent and the pancetta has a bit of color.

Next add your celery and rosemary, and then pour in the main event: the brown ale.

Next add about 1 and 1/2 cups of water, as well as the parsnips, carrots, and potatoes. (If you’ve got any other favorite stew veggies, go ahead and add or replace.)

Bring the whole deal to the boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Let it cook for 2 hours, checking now and then to make sure that it tastes good.

Enjoy!

Posted in Beer and Food | Comments closed

Know Your Ingredients : Hops!

By Dan | Published: September 28, 2011

Here at Brewcamp, we’re not just about selling you everything you need to make great beer.  We’re also very much about drinking large amounts of great beer.  And beyond that, too, we’re also about educating you, the brewer.

As important as it is to know the steps in the process (say them with us, now: Boil, Ferment, Bottle, and Enjoy), we think it’s also important to Know Your Ingredients.

A good cook doesn’t just grab different jars from the spice rack on a whim or because the recipe says so, he or she has a good idea of what they are and how they are going to affect the food.  Nor should any brewer worth his wort just dump in packages of ingredients without knowing what they are and how they’re supposed to work.

So without further ado, we present:

Hops!  What are they, and what do they want with us?

What are hops?  What a silly question!

Sure, every home brewer knows that hops are those little pellets that you boil with the grains or the malt extract to give beer it’s characteristic bitterness and aromatic qualities.  But where did they come from?  (And we don’t mean Oregon, although that’s actually a decent guess.)  How do they work?

To begin to answer these questions, let’s go back in time.  (Feel free to use Wayne’s World-style hand gestures and sound effects here, if you’re into that sort of thing.)

Ancient History

Since man first arose as a species, we basically wanted to start drinking as soon as possible, and so got to work straight away figuring out how to make beer.  For centuries, we did not consider the fine Humulus plant or seem to know about the rather magical aromatic and bittering properties of its cones.

(Sure, we were cultivating hops forever, but were short-sightedly using it only for things like making dyes and rope and other things that are decidedly not delicious and refreshing.)

Instead, brewers used other bitter herbs and flowers like dandelions and heather – basically whatever weeds and lawn clippings that were lying around got thrown into the pot.  It’s a wonder that anyone would drink it at all.

Luckily some time around the 9th century – that’s over a millennium ago to you and me – some intrepid brewer, possibly French or German, in the fine human tradition of just trying stuff and hoping it didn’t kill you, decided to pluck a flower of a nearby hops viney-looking plant and give it a shot in his brew.

Well, that’s how we like to imagine it, anyway.  At any rate, the first documented mention of use of hops in brewing beer appears in the year 822 in (where else?) an abbey in Northern France.

It must have been quite well-received, this first hops-based brew, because over the subsequent centuries hops became the predominant bittering agent in the most popular beers.  It didn’t hurt, of course, that hops are something of a natural preservative, and beer made with hops lasted much longer than brew made with any other plants.

Naturally it was the Germans who took this idea and ran with it, commercializing the cultivation of hops specifically for use in beer sometime around the 1100s.  (The timeline is a bit sketchy, as very few of the websites from that era are still active.)  The Hallertau region in Bavaria eventually became renown for its hops (perhaps you have heard of it?), and remains the world’s single largest hop-growing region.

Fast forward a thousand years to today and of course, there are now dozens of different hops varieties being actively cultivated all over the world, conveniently packaged in pellet form, and only weirdos still make beer with heather (you know who you are).

Germany remains the largest hop producers in the world.  Other prominent hops-growing regions including the Pacific Northwest US (Washington, Oregon, and Idaho) as well as parts of China, eastern Europe (Poland and the Czech Republic) and parts of the UK.

The Plant

Hops are the female flowers from Humulus plants, a small genus of flowering plants native to temperate regions of the northern hemisphere.  The Humulus plant is dioecious, meaning that the male and female flowers develop on entirely separate plants.  The male flowers are essentially useless when it comes to making beer, and so only the females are cultivated.

The lovely female flowers that we know and cherish are often referred to as “cones”,  and they do sort of resemble pine cones on the plant.

The Humulus is part of the Cannabaceae family, which makes it somewhat close relatives to both cannabis (hemp) and hackberries.  It’s a perennial herbaceous plant, which is a fancy way of saying that it sends up shoots every spring, which produces the hops cones, and in the fall it dies back to the rhizome or root stem which remains in the ground and is hardy enough to survive the cold of winter.

If you were the sort of person who was looking to grow your own hops, you could obtain your very own humulus rhizome and separate it into pieces to propagate a series of plants.

 

The Chemistry

Hops are dried before use in the brewing process, generally using hot air rather than directly roasting them.  These days, this is most often done in some giant shiny industrial kiln.  But in days of yore, folks dried their hops in a building especially designed for this purpose, called an oast or oast house.  Traditionally, the freshly picked hops were raked out onto the floor and then dried by hot air rising from a kiln underneath, and then raked back up to bag them.  A lot of work, to be sure, but I think we can generally agree that it was worth it.

At any rate, when hops are dried, their resins become readily available for use.  These resins contain two main types of acid, which the scientists have helpfully labelled as “Alpha” and “Beta”.  Both acids are important in the balance of bitterness and aroma that a particular strain of hops will impart to your beer.

While Beta acids help supply the aroma without affecting the taste, it’s the Alpha acids that create the bitter flavor in beer.  Hops are often measured by their “aabw” or “alpha acids by weight” – meaning what percentage of the hops is composed of the good stuff.  Hops from central Europe cultivators (so-called “noble” hops) typically range from 5-9% alpha, whereas American species typically range higher, from 8 – 19%.

The degree of bitterness imparted by a hops species depends on how much of the alpha acids come out in the boil, and this impact is described by their IBU (International Bitterness Units).  There’s a rather wonky mathematical formula you can use to calculate a beer’s IBU, but just know that higher numbers means more hoppy bitterness.  For example, a light american lager might be rated at just 5 IBU, while an Imperial Pale Ale might clock in at 70 IBU or more.

Hop strains referred to primarily as “bittering” hops generally contain higher concentrations of these alpha acids.  Bittering hops are generally boiled longer in the wort to maximize the isomerization (rearrangement of molecules to “release” the bitterness) of the alpha acids.

So-called “aroma” hops have lower alpha acids (often less than 5% aabw).  They are typically added to the wort later (during final 30 minutes or less) to impart the hop aroma.  Adding aroma hops added after the boil and during fermentation is called “dry hopping” and it can help achieve the desired hops aroma.

Varieties

There are dozens of popular varieties or strains of hops, and more hybrids are being cultivated all the time.

The unique characteristics that a specific hops plant impart will make it particularly suited to certain beer styles.  The variety of flavors and aromas that different hops plants can deliver to a beer is actually quite remarkable, from floral and citrus to spice and smoke, even pine and wood.

There is a particular subset of hops strains that are referred to as “Noble” hops.  This simply refers to four specific varieties that are low in bitterness but impart a distinct and cherished “noble” aroma, and so they are primarily considered to be aroma hops.  Each is cultivated in a particular region in Europe from whence it gets its name: Hallertau, Spalt, and Tettnang (all German) and Saaz (Czech).

The dozens of other strains of hops are not explicitly called “noble”, however, you should not hold that against them. There are a lot of excelent choices when selecting a hops variety for your brew.  Do your research and choose the strain that will deliver the flavors, aromas, and level of bitterness that will work for the recipe.  And if you can’t get your hands on the exact variety you’d like (which sadly can happen all too often), check out possible substitutions.  And don’t be afraid to experiment!

For additional reading:

A short history of hops:
http://zythophile.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/a-short-history-of-hops/

Hop Varieties:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hop_varieties

IBU:
http://beer.wikia.com/wiki/International_Bitterness_Units

Posted in Ingredients | Comments closed

Hops Substitutions

By jared | Published: August 26, 2011

It is a sad fact of life that sometimes you cannot get your hands on the exact strain of hops that your special recipe demands. Luckily there are dozens of varieties, and many can be substituted for in a pinch. Here’s a few lists of suggestions from people we trust.

Read More »

Posted in Ingredients | Comments closed

Chicago Breweries

By jared | Published: July 27, 2011
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments closed

Hops Availability

By jared | Published: July 26, 2011

Here’s a list of all the Hops we carry. (All are pellet hops.)

Variety Alpha/Availability
Ahtanum Unavailable
Amarillo Unavailable
Brewers Gold 9.3
Cascade 6.4
Centennial Unavailable
Chinook 11.8
Citra Unavailable
Cluster 7.6
Columbus 10.9
Crystal 2.8
Falconer’s Flight Unavailable
Fuggle 4.2
Galaxy Out of Stock
Galena 13.4
Glacier 5.6
Golding
Hallertau 4.3
Herkules Out of Stock
Hersbrucker Unavailable
Horizon Unavailable
Kent Goldings 4.9
Liberty 3.4
Magnum 14.1
Merkur Out of Stock
Millenium 17.4
Mt Hood 5.5
Mt Rainier 7.5
Newport Unavailable
Northern Brewer 8
Nugget 13.5
Opal Out of Stock
Pallisade 7.1
Perle 6.5
Saaz 7.6
Santiam 6.6
Saphir Out of Stock
Simcoe Unavailable
Sorachi Ace Unavailable
Spalt Out of Stock
Sterling 7
Striesselspalt Out of Stock
Styrian Unavailable
Summit 15.8
Tettnang 4.8
Tradition 5.7
Vanguard 4.8
Warrior 17
Willamette 6
Zythos Out of Stock

(“Unavailable” means that these hops are not currently available from any of our suppliers. We’ll get them in stock as possible.)

Posted in Ingredients | Comments closed

Beer Bottle Math

By jared | Published: June 21, 2011

How many bottles of beer does a 5 gallon batch make?  How many growlers can I get out of 3 gallons?  Here’s our handy little guide to making sure you’ve got enough glass:

These are all about equal:

  • 1 gallon
  • 12 regular-sized beer bottles (12oz)
  • 6 large beer bottles (22oz)
  • 7 small Grolsch-style bottles (18oz)
  • 4 large Grolsch-style bottles (1l)

A 5 gallon batch of beer will need:

  • 53 regular-sized beer bottles (12oz)
  • 29 large beer bottles (22oz)
  • 35 small Grolsch-style bottles (18oz)
  • 19 large Grolsch-style bottles (1l)
Posted in Brewing Tips | Comments closed