Owning and Operating a Brewery: Part 1 of 1000

I've stated in a few posts over the past few years on this blog that I started a brewery. That wasn't bullshit and it was on of the large reasons why I haven't had time to post to this blog as much as I wanted to. A few months back I decided that I didn't … Continue reading Owning and Operating a Brewery: Part 1 of 1000

Off Beat Yeasts #1: Kluyveromyces lactis

Forward This post represents yet another direction I want to push this blog...into the huge world of yeast and bacterial species you probably have never heard of. I think everyone that is serious about homebrewing eventually comes across a non-Saccharomyces species of yeast but 99% of the time, we are talking about Brettanomyces and now even … Continue reading Off Beat Yeasts #1: Kluyveromyces lactis

Beer Pedantry #3: Beer Flavor Pairings (science based rant)

In the ever increasing trend to treat beer more like wine, there are now dozens of suggestions online for beer / food pairings. There are some serious and useful (don't get me wrong, I like the food pairing stuff) graphics from places like craftbeer.com to help with this. As far as I can tell, the way to … Continue reading Beer Pedantry #3: Beer Flavor Pairings (science based rant)

Physiology of Flavors in Beer – Lactobacillus Species

Happy Spring everyone, it is finally spring and the long winter is over. Of course on the first day of spring here in D.C. we got some snow. Go figure. I've had a lot going on lately with home life and work life and sort of let this blog go to seed for more than … Continue reading Physiology of Flavors in Beer – Lactobacillus Species

Beer Microbiology – What is a pellicle?

I am a microbiologist by trade, I have a Ph.D. and have been brewing for over 10 years at this point. A large portion of this blog is dedicated to my own homebrew efforts but sprinkled throughout are articles like this one, where I isolate a biological or chemical aspect of the beer and explain … Continue reading Beer Microbiology – What is a pellicle?

Physiology of Flavors in Beer – Saccharomyces Species

As a working scientist, I really want to get deep into the science of brewing, especially the microbiology of brewing. Throughout the life of this blog, who knows how long that will be, I want to sprinkle in articles with high resolution details about the organisms that we, as brewers, work with on a daily … Continue reading Physiology of Flavors in Beer – Saccharomyces Species

Summary of My Experimental Hop Variety Saisons for 2014

I love hops. From my first Stone IPA back in 2001 to now I'm a devout hop head. This year, in order to increase my love and understanding of the dozens (hundreds?) of hop varieties available I decided to undergo a project and brew a series of simple saisons that highlight different hops and even … Continue reading Summary of My Experimental Hop Variety Saisons for 2014