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1 week ago | 
beerandbrewing.com | Annie Johnson
For more on flavorful, session-strength porters and stouts that anyone can brew, see Brewing the Lighter Darkness.
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1 week ago | 
beerandbrewing.com | Annie Johnson
Lately, I’ve been struck by all the low-ABV and nonalcoholic beers appearing on shelves. I’ve also been surprised by how tasty many of them are. And yet most of them seem to emphasize hops rather than malt—which makes sense, considering hops add aroma and flavor but not fermentable sugar. Plus, IPA sells. Still, I’ve found myself wanting low-strength beers with more malty oomph.
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Dec 4, 2024 | 
beerandbrewing.com | Annie Johnson
For more about how to get smoky character into extract-brewed beers, see No Rests For The Wicked: Home-Smoked Beer.
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Dec 2, 2024 | 
beerandbrewing.com | Annie Johnson
Full disclosure: For most of my life, I was not a fan of smoked salmon, smoked meats, smoked cheeses—smoked anything. Thinking back on it, my dislike was probably based on some bad experiences with smoked foods in the past. So, the first time I enjoyed a smoked beer was only about six years ago. I was on a work trip in Germany in the summer of 2018, on our way to a trade show in Berlin.
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Oct 7, 2024 | 
beerandbrewing.com | Annie Johnson
For more on kettle caramelization, see Depth Charge! Boil Reductions for (Wee) Heavy Flavor.
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Oct 1, 2024 | 
beerandbrewing.com | Annie Johnson
To riff on the words of celebrity chef Anne Burrell, who says “brown food tastes good,” we can say with confidence that brown beer tastes great when done right. It’s all about those Maillard reactions. Melanoidins, incidentally, are brown—and delicious.
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Jul 8, 2024 | 
beerandbrewing.com | Annie Johnson
Subscriber ExclusiveMalt extract and hop extract join hands for this American pale ale recipe, which gets some aromatic bang from a potent cold-side addition. All Access Subscribers can download the Beersmith and BeerXML version of this recipe. Subscribe today.
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Jul 7, 2024 | 
beerandbrewing.com | Annie Johnson
Every year, when spring marches toward summer, I look forward to brewing and drinking one of my favorite summer beers: my Firecracker Pale Ale. It’s got a crisp mouthfeel layered with zesty hop goodness of classic citrus peel and pine—something I eagerly anticipate enjoying with some of my favorite warm-weather activities, like backyard barbecues, camping, and the Fourth of July picnic. For the most part, I’ve been brewing this same pale from the same base recipe for the past two decades.
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Jan 27, 2024 | 
beerandbrewing.com | Annie Johnson
All Access Subscribers can download the Beersmith and BeerXML version of this recipe. Subscribe today. About the enzyme: Glucoamylase is often available at homebrew shops and from brewery suppliers. You might see it under the trade name Ultra-Ferm, sold by White Labs in packages as small as 10 milliliters (or as much as 10 liters for commercial breweries). This isn’t a refined Czech or German lager; a long lagering phase isn’t necessary.
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Jan 21, 2024 | 
beerandbrewing.com | Annie Johnson
I like all beer styles, but there are some for which I have a particular fondness—the ones that evoke fun and flavorful memories from my past travels, my college days, or good times with friends. For me, one of those favorites is a good old-fashioned malt liquor. When I was a kid, it was the favored type of beer of Mr. Patterson, my friend’s dad. Mr. Patterson was a kind man, tall and gentle in his pale U.S. Air Force jumpsuit.
