Homebrewing For Dummies

by Marty Nachel

Overview

Get hoppin’ with this guide to microbrewing your own beer

Thinking of brewing your own beer or want to know how it’s done? Homebrewing For Dummies is for you. If you’re ready to take a crack at making your own brew, you’ll need this guide to the supplies, ingredients, and process of crafting the perfect beer. Follow our recipes for lager, porter, stout, and other brew types—or invent your own. When you’ve tasted your perfect creation (and after the hangover wears off), we’ve got you covered with ideas for entering your beer into homebrewing competitions and selling your beer.

This new edition keeps pace with the exciting world of small-batch beer, introducing you to new flavors and varieties that are popular on the microbrew circuit. We’ve also got the details on the latest at-home brewing equipment, software and apps, and resources you can tap (get it?) to make a better beer. Not an IPA person? Not to worry! You can also make your own hard seltzers, flavored malt beverages, and juice drinks with this handy how-to.

• Get recipes and instructions for brewing lagers, porters, and other beers at home
• Enhance the quality of your small-batch brews and make your operations more eco friendly
• Enter homebrewing competitions with your beer, hard seltzer, and malt beverages
• Discover new gadgets, apps, and resources that can make home brewing even easier

Homebrewing For Dummies is for anyone looking for a fun and easy-to-use guide to the exciting, rewarding, and refreshing hobby of beer brewing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781119891277
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	08/09/2022
Edition description:	3rd ed.
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	1,044,220
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Marty Nachel has been involved in the craft beer industry for over 30 years as a homebrewer, homebrew supply shop owner, book author, professional beer judge, brewery salesperson, corporate beer trainer, and beer educator. Few people have the same level of expertise and experience in the field.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 21
Troubleshooting

In This Chapter

• Fixing your fermentation
• Solving flavoring problems
• Correcting aroma woes
• Resolving appearance issues

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Just as everyone is a beginner once, everyone is likely to make a mistake at least once. Making mistakes is actually an inevitable part of the homebrewing process; the key is to learn from your mistakes and not repeat them. Identifying these goof-ups is the first step on the road to both quality and consistency in homebrewing.

Occasionally, adverse things happen to homebrewed beer that are difficult to understand and even more difficult to describe; this chapter is designed to help you troubleshoot any problems -- in standard homebrew lingo -- that may occur during your homebrewing adventures. It may even be a good idea to read this chapter prior to brewing a batch just to reacquaint yourself with the many pitfalls of homebrewing as well as to ready yourself with an appropriate reaction to any problem that may arise.

Fermentation Lamentations

Like naive and optimistic young parents, homebrewers sometimes have unrealistic visions of how perfect everything should be and often take for granted that things will happen exactly as expected. One good example is adding yeast to sweet, sugary wort. We assume the yeast hungrily consumes whatever we feed it, and that it finishes eating at an appropriate time and then takes its scheduled nap. Then reality strikes.

Fermentation problems occur quite frequently -- sometimes your fermentation gets off to a slow start, and sometimes it never wants to stop. Here's what you should do if you ever face one of these situations.

No fermentation

Your fermentation never started? First, make sure that this is true. Judging fermentation from the sight of bubbles (or lack thereof) coming out of the airlock can sometimes be deceiving. Look at the beer (if it's in a glass fermenter) or peek through the airlock hole in the lid (if it's in a plastic fermenter). Do you have any foam or a ring of brownish scum around the fermenter? If so, it means that the beer is fermenting or has fermented. Use your hydrometer to check the gravity. The beer is typically finished fermenting if the final gravity is ¹/₃­¹/₄ of the original gravity. For example: A 1.045 beer ferments down to 1.015­1.012 or below. If after 24 to 48 hours fermentation has truly not begun, try adding more yeast.

Situations like this one give you good reason to keep a packet of dry yeast in the fridge for emergencies.

Be mindful of sanitary practices; how or when the beer ferments doesn't mean a thing if you contaminate the whole batch in the process. (See Chapter 10 for more advice on sanitation.)

If, after you add more yeast, fermentation has still not begun, you may have made one of the following mistakes:

• You didn't rinse the sanitizer from the fermenter. Sanitizer residue can kill yeast, too.

• You put the fermenter in a place that is too cold. Leave it at 64°­72°F for Ales.

• You used old or dead yeast. The yeast contained in ingredient kits are often so old that most of the yeast is dead -- always buy fresh yeast that has been kept refrigerated.

• You rehydrated the yeast improperly by using water that is too cold (less than 90°F) or too hot (more than 110°F). Also, do not leave the yeast in the rehydration water too long; 30 minutes is plenty.

• You used good yeast but shocked it by sudden changes in temperature or by adding it to wort that was too cold (under 70°F) or too hot (over 90°F).

• You didn't use enough yeast. Pitch 10­15 grams dry yeast, or use a 1 pint starter for liquid yeast per 5 gallons of beer.

Slow starting or stuck fermentations usually mean under-pitching of yeast, underaerated wort, or both. To correct these problems in the future, pitch a larger volume of yeast and make sure that the wort is properly aerated before pitching. Here's a review of good yeast pitching practices, (for more-detailed information, see Chapters 5 and 12):

• Rehydrate dry yeast.

• Use a starter for liquid yeast cultures.

• Maintain constant and proper temperatures.

• Aerate cooled wort well.

High-gravity worts (those with a specific gravity of 1.056 or higher) need even more yeast and aeration for proper fermentation.

Stuck fermentation

What if the fermentation started well, but it seems to have become stuck? Again, looks can be deceiving -- use your hydrometer to find out if it's actually stuck or simply finished! Remember that you want the final hydrometer reading to be at ¹/₃­¹/₄ of the original gravity (see the section "No fermentation" for clarification on the fraction of original gravity that you want).

If the gravity is below 1.020, your brew has probably fermented out as much as it's going to. Some recipes contain lots of unfermentable sugars.

If the fermentation is truly stuck and the wort still has a high-gravity reading, do one (or more) of the following to help restart the fermentation process:

• Add more fresh yeast or a different strain of yeast.

• Try to rouse the yeast with a sanitized spoon. Mix the yeast off the bottom to wake it up and get it to start fermenting again.

• If all else fails, bottle or keg the beer (kegging being the safer of the two options). If you are bottling the beer, cut back the priming sugar to less than ¹/₂ cup to reduce the chance of exploding bottles. Chapters 17 and 18 have more information about bottling and kegging.

If the alcohol level is above 7 percent, the yeast may have reached its limit for alcohol tolerance. Try adding a yeast with higher alcohol tolerance like champagne yeast. Champagne yeast works the same way as beer yeast, but it has a higher tolerance to alcohol. (Champagne yeast also ferments more cleanly than wine yeast, with no off-flavors.)

Never-ending fermentation

If you have a beer that has been fermenting in the primary fermenter for more than 14 days, consider these possibilities:

• Is the temperature too low? (62°F for Ales and 40°F for Lagers may be too low.) Ale yeast works very slowly at these temperatures (if at all); try warming the beer up to get it to finish fermenting.

• Are you making a Lager? At proper lagering temperatures, Lagers typically take 10­14 days to ferment at proper temperatures (see the preceding bullet).

• You may have a wild yeast contamination. Rogue yeasts are capable of fermenting sugars that pure beer yeast can't, so fermentation can appear to go on forever. If your beer actively ferments for over 3 weeks, it's probably contaminated, and your brew may be doomed. You need to taste the beer and decide for yourself whether to keep it or toss it.

• If you are using a two-stage fermentation system, you may have racked the beer into the secondary fermenter too early. Never rack beer until vigorous fermentation is done. (This usually takes 5 days minimum.) By racking to a secondary vessel too early, you remove the beer from most of the yeast. What little yeast is left has to carry on the rest of the fermentation duties. Racking later is generally better than racking sooner. Try adding more yeast.

In Bad Taste (Off-Flavors and Aromas)

Flavor is a complex combination of smell and taste. Sometimes, it can be difficult to tell if the strange character of your beer is attributed to something you taste or smell. Pinpointing these flavors is the first step to fixing problems in your brew.

In the following sections, I give you a rundown of some common flavor and aroma defects, with possible causes and remedies. (Chapter 20 includes more evaluative information.) Also check out the quick-reference troubleshooting tables at the end of this section.

Butter/butterscotch flavors

Buttery or butterscotchy flavors indicate the presence of a compound called diacetyl. Diacetyl occurs naturally in most warm fermentations but also dissipates naturally throughout the course of a proper fermentation cycle. Very obvious diacetyl flavor may indicate other problems, such as extremely warm fermentation temperatures, unhealthy yeast, underoxygenated wort, or bacterial contamination.

Homebrewers can reduce diacetyl levels in their beer by allowing a "diacetyl rest" at the end of primary fermentation. It's a fact that yeast can reduce diacetyl levels in beer; the key is not to rack the beer over to a secondary fermenter for 2­3 days after initial fermentation has subsided to allow the yeast time to rid the beer of the diacetyl.

Many beer styles in the Ale family -- especially those from Britain -- are intended to have noticeable diacetyl flavors. The presence of diacetyl in any Lager beer, however, indicates a flaw.

It's sometimes difficult to distinguish between the caramelly flavors created by caramel malts (caramel is made by heating butter and sugar) and the butterscotchy flavor derived from diacetyl. Novice judges beware!

Sour/tart flavors

Sourness in the average beer is usually a sure sign of a bacterial contamination. These bacteria can produce lactic acid or acetic acid (vinegar), and these acids can range from the mild tartness of grapefruit to the mouth-puckering tanginess of lemons.

The bacteria that creates lactic acid is called lactobacillus, and the bacteria that creates acetic acid is called acetobacter.

This beer spoilage is something that you can prevent easily by increasing your cleaning and sanitizing efforts. Be especially suspicious of any scratched plastic equipment that may be harboring bacteria; you may need to replace the equipment. Also, be careful when handling grain around sanitized equipment -- grain dust harbors bacteria that can be carried airborne for long distances. All bacteria tend to multiply faster than yeast; this means that if bacteria are present in your yeast cultures, every time you repitch the yeast, bacteria can increase dramatically. In this case, replace your yeast culture. (This is the reason why I don't recommend repitching dry yeast.)

There are quite a few beer styles -- mostly limited to Belgian styles -- for which sour flavors are not only accepted, but expected. Even the most famous stout in the world (Guinness) undergoes a mild lactic fermentation (a small portion of the beer is soured and then blended back into the rest of the batch).

Mediciny/plastic/smoky flavors

These flavors comprise part of a class of compounds called phenols. Phenolic flavors can come from wild yeast. Again, the best cure is to improve your sanitation procedures and/or to replace your yeast culture.

Before knocking yourself out trying to eliminate all phenolic flavors, be aware that some beer styles actually include phenolics as part of their taste and aromatic profiles. These styles include Bavarian Weizenbier, some Belgian Ales, and Smoked Beers.

Chlorine can also give rise to these flavors. Always use dechlorinated water (preboiled or carbon filtered), and be sure that you thoroughly rinse any bleach off of your equipment after sanitizing.

Papery/cardboard/sherry-like flavors (oxidation)

Remember all the talk about being careful not to aerate finished beer when bottling (see Chapter 17)? Well this is why. Oxygen in finished beer is where these flavors come from. Remember the following:

• Be careful when siphoning to avoid splashing or foaming; stir priming solution very carefully.

• Don't aerate hot wort, either. The oxygen comes back later to haunt you (only aerate cooled wort at pitching time).

• If you keg, use CO₂ to purge all vessels of oxygen.

• If you top-up fermenters with water, use boiled and cooled water. This process removes oxygen from the water.

• Fill bottles to the highest reasonable level. This process minimizes air contact with the beer. Shoot for 1 inch from the bottle opening.

Oxygen-absorbing caps are available for bottles if you want to pay the increase in cost (ask your supplier). For all the good that these caps do, they are not a cure for sloppy beer/wort handling.

Dry/puckering mouthfeel (astringency)

Sometimes, you may experience a dry, puckering sensation in your beer's finish, similar to chewing on a grape skin. This is often experienced on the back sides of the tongue and on the back of the roof of your mouth. This astringency is caused by compounds called tannins.

The most common cause of astringency is improper handling of grains. If you're not careful, tannins can be extracted from the grains and washed into the wort.

Here are some steps that you can take to keep the tannin extraction from malt husks to a minimum:

• When milling malt, don't overcrack the grain; fine husk particles can easily get into the wort.

• Don't oversparge grains. By the time you extract the last bit of sugar, you have also extracted a good amount of tannins. Limit sparging to 2 quarts of water per pound of grain.

• Don't use sparge water over 168°F. Exceeding this temperature extracts tannins in large quantities.

• Try to acidify your sparge water (less than 7.0 pH). Alkaline pH (greater than 7.0) can also extract tannins from grains. You can also add gypsum to the sparge water to keep the mash pH and wort pH low.

Harshness/hotness

Occasionally, a beer may taste harsh or have a mouthfeel that is best described as "hot." Various causes can be attributed to harsh tasting beer.

• Excessive hopping rates can create a bitter harshness in your beer.

• Beers made with hard (minerally) or chalky water can taste harsh.

• High fermentation temperatures can produce fusel alcohol, which creates a hot, solventy sensation. Try not to exceed a fermentation temperature of about 75°F.

• Overcarbonated beers can have an unpleasant, prickly harshness on the palate. Contaminated and overprimed beers are usually excessively carbonated.

Metallic flavor

Sometimes a metallic taste in your brew is caused by oxidation, but typically it can be traced back to iron utensils or equipment. Try to use copper or stainless-steel vessels for boiling. If you use enamelware pots, make sure that the ceramic surfaces aren't chipped. Also, if you have iron in your water (you can taste it), it makes your beer taste metallic. So, if this is the case, you need to consider buying your brewing water.

Sulphury odors

Certain sulphury odors can emanate from yeast. These odors can smell like rotten eggs, burned matches, rubber, and so on. The source is usually yeast that is breaking down (autolysis). The key to keeping these odors from occurring is to rack your beer promptly after primary fermentation. Certain Lager yeasts also produce these odors; changing yeast strains or (in the case of Lagers) proper aging can sometimes correct the problem.

Vegetal flavors and aromas

Occasionally, you may taste or smell a corn-like character in your beer. This quality comes from a compound called dimethyl sulfide or DMS.

DMS comes from the malt; when you heat or boil the wort, DMS is created. (Pale malts also produce more DMS than darker malts.) Typically, DMS is driven off in the steam of the boil, but after you turn the heat off, DMS can still be created in the wort. If you cool your wort too slowly, you create large quantities of DMS that are trapped in the beer. So, the best preventative measure is to cool your wort as quickly as possible to keep DMS at a minimum.

You can buy or make a wort chiller to cool your wort quickly so that DMS and other off-flavors are minimized (and so that you can pitch your yeast as soon as possible). See Chapter 23.

One important thing to point out is that some DMS is part of the flavor profile of Lager beers. This Lager characteristic is due to the fact that Lager malts produce larger amounts of DMS. So, in Lager beers you can expect some DMS, but you certainly don't need to purposely create it. If you use Lager malts, you still have plenty of DMS in your beer.

Certain bacteria also create DMS. In this case, typically, very large amounts of DMS are present. These bacteria can also produce other flavors and odors that are reminiscent of vegetables, such as cooked cauliflower and broccoli. To minimize these off-flavors, cool the wort and pitch the yeast as soon as possible.

Flavor and Aroma Therapy Quick Reference

So your beer stinks, huh? Well, if you're speaking literally instead of figuratively, then the following table is for you. If your beer doesn't smell quite right, the problem can be any number of things. For this reason, I came up with Table 21-1, which gives you some symptoms, the corresponding jargony terms, and then (most important) some possible sources of the problem. Oh, and if your beer is stinking in the figurative sense -- it's bad all around -- then I suggest that you go back to square one and try again. Good brewing takes practice!

Table 21-1 Beer Aroma Troubleshooting List
If Your Beer Smells Like:	The Proper Term Is:	The Source May Be:
Apple cider	Acetaldehyde	Refined sugar in the recipe or bacterial contamination
Baby diapers	Enteric	Bacterial contamination
Banana	Banana esters	Certain Ale yeast strains, particularly Bavarian Weizenbier and Belgian Strong Ales
Band-aids	Phenolic	Bacterial contamination or residue from a sanitizing agent (also associated with certain beer styles)
Barnyard	Enteric	Bacterial contamination
Bubblegum (Juicyfruit)	Bubblegum	Certain Ale yeast strains, particularly Belgian Strong Ales and Bavarian Weizenbier
Butter/butterscotch	Diacetyl	Bacteria, certain yeast strains, warm fermentation, or short aging
Cardboard	Oxydized	Contact with air; old, stale beer
Cauliflower	Vegetal	Bacterial contamination
Cloves	Phenolic	Certain yeast strains, such as those in Bavarian Weizenbier
Cooked cabbage	Vegetal	Bacterial contamination
Cooked corn	DMS (dimethyl sulfide)	Poor grain quality or bacterial contamination
Cooking sherry	Oxydized	Contact with air or long and warm fermentation
Goat	Caprylic	Fatty acid by-product of fermentation or bacterial contamination
Green apple	Acetaldehyde	Refined sugar in the recipe or bacterial contamination
Leather	Oxydized	Contact with air; old, stale beer
Marker	Phenolic	Bacterial contamination or residue of sanitizing agent
Matches (lit)	Hydrogen sulfide	Natural by-product of fermentation that is normally flushed out with the production of carbon dioxide
Mold	Moldy	Sanitation problem; leaking package seal
Nail polish remover	Solvent-like	Esters produced during high-temperature fermentations
Olives (green or black)	Acetic	Vinegar-producing acetobacteria contamination
Paint thinner	Solvent-like	Fusel alcohols produced during high-temperature fermentations
Paper	Oxydized	Contact with air
Pickles	Acetic	Vinegar-producing acetobacteria contamination
Rotten eggs	Hydrogen sulfide	Natural by-product of fermentation that is normally flushed out with the production of carbon dioxide
Rubber	Hydrogen sulfide	Yeast autolysis
Skunk	Light-struck	Damage from light
Smoke	Phenolic	You likely used dark or smoked grains that evoke this aroma
Soap	Soapy	Residue of sanitizing agents
Sulphur	Hydrogen sulfide	Natural by-product of fermentation that is normally flushed out with the production of carbon dioxide
Vinyl upholstery	Phenolic	Bacterial contamination or residue of sanitizing agents
Wet dog	Musty	Bacterial contamination; lengthy aging of bottle-conditioned beer

If your brew tastes odd (or even bad), then check out Table 21-2. I designed it to help you discern the most common off-flavors, their correct terms, and their possible sources.

Table 21-2 Beer Taste Troubleshooting List
If Your Beer Tastes Like:	The Correct Term Is:	Possible Problem May Be:
Blood	Metallic	Iron in water supply or contact with metals
Butter/butterscotch	Diacetyl	Certain yeast strains or warm fermentations
Cardboard	Oxydized	Contact with air; old, stale beer
Cauliflower	Vegetal	Bacterial contamination
Chalk	Astringent	Overfermentation, misuse of grain
Cooked cabbage	Vegetal	Bacterial contamination
Cooked corn	DMS (dimethyl sulfide)	Poor grain quality or bacterial contamination
Cooking sherry	Oxydized	Contact with air, or long and warm fermentation
Green apple	Acetaldehyde	Refined sugar in the recipe or bacterial contamination
Harsh	Astringent	High hop bitterness or misuse of grain
Olives	Acetic	Vinegar-producing acetobacteria contamination
Pickles	Acetic	Vinegar-producing acetobacteria contamination
Powdery	Astringent	Lack of sweetness or grain astringency
Salt	Salty	Use of brewing salts, especially sodium chloride and magnesium sulfate
Smoke	Phenolic	The brewer likely used dark or smoked grains that evoke this flavor
Soap	Soapy	Residue of sanitizing agents
Sour milk	Lactic	The result of lactic fermentation (which is intentional in some beer styles such as Berliner Weisse)
Tin can	Metallic	Iron in water supply or contact with metals

Conditioning and Appearance Problems

Once your beer is finished fermenting, it needs to be conditioned -- an added aging process during which the beer is recarbonated. As simple as the process seems, things don't always work out as they should. The "appearance" of your beer may mean a lot to you; color and clarity can influence how it is perceived. This section addresses problems that may occur with the conditioning and appearance of your brew.

Flat out of gas

What if your beer is flat? If you can still feel the CO₂ bubbles on your tongue, but the beer is just not holding a head, your beer is not the problem: the dirty glass is.

If you can't even feel the carbonation, check these potential problems:

• Is the beer aged enough? Typically, it takes at least 2 weeks for it to carbonate properly in the bottle. Lagers take even longer because of the cold storage. Also, be sure (after you bottle your beer) to keep the bottles at 66°­70°F for 2 weeks for proper conditioning. Don't store your beer cold until after this conditioning period has passed.

• Did you prime the beer with the proper amount of corn sugar? Always use ¹/₂­³/₄ cup of corn sugar per 5 gallons of beer (but never more). And be sure that you thoroughly mix the priming sugar solution into the wort -- this is why you should pour the dextrose and water mixture into the bottling bucket before you drain the beer into it.

• Have you thoroughly rinsed your equipment? Make sure that you rinse all of the equipment of sanitizer. Any residue can shock or kill the yeast needed to carbonate the beer.

• Are your beers tightly sealed? Prior to bottling, check all your bottles and caps for cracks, chips, or imperfections. These flaws can let CO₂ escape from the bottles. Improperly seated caps can also be a culprit.

You can mix (blend) flat homebrew with another properly carbonated beer in a pitcher and serve it that way. Nobody will be the wiser!

Thar she blows! (overcarbonated beers)

Got beer that foams and gushes? Again, check the priming rate. (See Chapter 9 for more on the priming rate.) Also, be sure that your beer is fully fermented before you bottle it. Any residual unfermented sugar left in the beer causes your brew to become overcarbonated.

Another cause of overcarbonation can be infection. Certain wild yeasts and bacteria consume sugars that beer yeast can't. This occurrence produces copious amounts of CO₂. The excess carbonation comes out of solution quickly and produces gushing. Remember to sanitize bottles, caps, and so on, and always boil your priming solutions.

In a haze (cloudy beers)

The average beer drinker is accustomed to crystal clear, filtered beers. If your beer tastes good but has a haze, don't worry about it -- most of the time the haze does not affect the flavor. Some beers, like unfiltered wheat beers, are expected to be cloudy.

Eventually, most haze (especially yeast) settles out if given enough time. However, if you really need clear beer, you can try some clarifying products. Check out Chapter 8 to find out more about clarifying and fining agents.

Chill haze is a phenomenon caused by chilling your beer. A clear beer at room temperature becomes hazy when refrigerated. It does not affect the flavor and eventually settles out on its own. The beer also clears up if you allow it to warm up again.

Using fining agents does not come without drawbacks. Any time you remove something you want to remove (yeast, haze), you can also remove something you don't want to remove (body, head retention). Be careful about improper use or overuse of finings.

Poor head, bad body

Do you need better body and head retention in your beers? Proteins are what you need! Proteins in your beer are responsible for a great body and a head to go with it (and who doesn't want that?). How do you get such a body and head or improve them? If you don't use any grains in your beer, you need to. One-half to one pound of crystal malt or CaraPils malt (per 5-gallon batch) incorporated into your wort helps. (See Chapter 3 for more information about malts.) If you mash, you can also use wheat malt and oats, flaked barley, or flaked oats to improve head retention.

Flaked barley must be mashed with pale malt. These barley adjuncts contain starch that must be converted to sugar. However, flaked barley doesn't contain enzymes, so the enzymes from the pale malt are needed to accomplish the conversion of starch to sugar.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1: First Things First 7

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Wonderful World of Wort 9

Chapter 2: Setting Up Your Beeraphernalia 17

Chapter 3: Creating Your Own Department of Sanitation 35

Part 2: It’s in There: The Nuts and Bolts of Beer 43

Chapter 4: Malt: A Tale of Two Sources (Grain and Extract) 45

Chapter 5: Hop Heaven 55

Chapter 6: Yeast and Fermentation 67

Chapter 7: On the Water Front 79

Chapter 8: Adjuncts and Flavorings 87

Chapter 9: Making Your Brew Bionic: Additives, Preservatives, Finings, and Clarifiers 99

Part 3: Ready, Set, Brew! 105

Chapter 10: Beginner Brewing Directions 107

Chapter 11: Intermediate Brewing Directions 115

Chapter 12: Advanced Brewing Directions 127

Chapter 13: High-Tech Brewing 147

Part 4: Packaging Your Brew 155

Chapter 14: Bottling Your Brew 157

Chapter 15: Doing the Can-Can: Canning Your Beer 173

Chapter 16: Kegging: Bottling’s Big Brother 181

Part 5: BJCP Beer Style Guidelines and Homebrew Recipes 191

Chapter 17: Beginner Suggestions and BJCP Beer Style Guidelines 193

Chapter 18: Intermediate Recipes 209

Chapter 19: BJCP Beer Style Guidelines and Advanced Recipes 239

Part 6: Alternative Brewing 269

Chapter 20: In-Cider Information 271

Chapter 21: A Meading of the Minds 281

Chapter 22: Hard Seltzers 293

Chapter 23: Going Green: Being an Eco-Friendly Homebrewer 301

Chapter 24: Gluten-Free Brewing 313

Chapter 25: Barrel Aging and Souring Beer 321

Part 7: Putting Your Brew to the Test 337

Chapter 26: Storing and Pouring 339

Chapter 27: You Can’t Judge a Bock by Its Cover: Evaluating Beer 349

Chapter 28: Troubleshooting 361

Chapter 29: Homebrew Competitions 375

Part 8: The Part of Tens 387

Chapter 30: Ten (or So) Ways to DIGIBIY (Do It, Grow It, Build It Yourself) 389

Chapter 31: Ten (or So) Gizmos That Can Make Your Brewing Better and Easier 401

Chapter 32: Just the FAQs: Ten (or So) Frequently Asked Questions 407

Index 413