Belgian Bombshell-Blond Ale – Extract homebrew recipe

You never forget your first blond… A first place recipe!

Similar strength as a dubbel, similar character as a Belgian Strong Golden Ale or Tripel, although a bit sweeter and not as bitter. Often has an almost lager-like character, which gives it a cleaner profile in comparison to the other styles. Belgians use the term “Blond,” while the French spell it “Blonde.” Most commercial examples are in the 6.5 – 7% ABV range. Many Trappist table beers (singles or Enkels) are called “Blond” but these are not representative of this style. Read the rest of this entry »

Making a yeast starter for home brewing

How to make a yeast starter for home brewing…

I had posted a previous article on yeast starters, but here is a more focused methodology (I hope) on the why and how.

The prepared liquid yeast you buy (Wyeast smack packets, White Labs vials) really don’t contain enough yeast to get a fermentation going as quickly as you would want it to, especially for high gravity worts and lagers. For low gravity brews (Lower than 1.058) the smack packs or vials are fine, but sometimes you just really want a vigorous fermentation that starts rapidly in a couple hours rather than the next day!

The benefits of a starter culture are several-fold: Read the rest of this entry »

Of Lagers and Ales – A how to lager overview.

I think of lagers as a polite, refined, gentleman to ale’s gruff, rough and tumble demeanor. A lager is in no rush and takes it’s methodical time to get ready, until it is very clean and their character is smooth and refined. Ales are known for it’s sometimes wild or fast and furious bursts out of the gate, finishing with a certain complex, deep and edgy personality. Lagers sit well among the wine sipping crowd, with their fancy imported Dijon cheeses in a fancy setting and such, while ale is fit to be swigged down in pewter mugs by knights in chain maille and Hobbits in a medieval pub.

Either are splendid to drink and relatively similar to make. Homebrewing a lager, however is not for the impatient! Making an ale is like flying in a jet cross country verses lagering which is akin to taking a train. I love ales; dark, pale, dry hopped, you name it. Though there is something wonderful about sipping a nice cold, lager in a tall, chilled glass on a summer’s day. Read the rest of this entry »

How long should it take for my beer airlock to bubble?

(i.e. how long should it take for my beer to start fermenting?)

A good and frequently pondered question! The answer however, is a moving target. There are a number of factors that will affect this, so I’ll give you the “nutshell” answer – within 24 hrs. In a good scenario, within the first 8. In a perfect world, 4-6 hours.

If you are using a bucket as a fermenter, looking for activity in the airlock as an indicator of fermentation can be misleading. As fermentation begins, any gap in in the seal between the lid and bucket will allow CO₂ to escape and may not build enough pressure to force itself out of the airlock. Usually, once full fermentation kicks in your airlock should be bubbling like mad.

If you are noticing a big lag time before fermentation is obvious, I can say that generally it is due to two main causes: Under pitching (not enough yeast), or Improper temperature (too cold).

Now the details… In theory, the sooner active fermentation begins the better your chances are of a higher quality beer in the end. Wort (unfermented beer) is full of sugars and other wonderful things that nasty bacteria and other microbes thrive in. If your yeast kick in quickly, they will inundate and take over, thus

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Yeast Starter – How and Why…

There are many different processes and methods that homebrewers use to make a yeast starter so I am going to tell you my method and some of the reasons why it works well and other tidbits that may help you understand what you are doing and why you are doing it.

First of all you will need some additional equipment that you may or may not have and you can choose what type you will want to invest in.

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