Homebrew Con—a weekend-long celebration of making beer, mead, and cider at home—is heading to Portland, Oregon in 2018 (June 28-30), and we’re looking for people to present during the educational sessions (seminars).

Whether you’re a professional in the homebrew industry or simply a self-proclaimed expert, Homebrew Con seminars are an opportunity to share knowledge on an array of beer, mead, and cider topics geared towards every level of homebrewer and beer enthusiast. AHA members also enjoy access to recordings of past Homebrew Con seminar presentations, making these seminars valuable educational resources beyond the magical weekend of Homebrew Con.

If you are interested in submitting a presentation proposal, visit HomebrewCon.org to review the guidelines/requirements and follow the links to the application form. Proposals must be submitted by Monday, December 18, 2017.

The post Submit Your 2018 Homebrew Con Seminar Proposals appeared first on American Homebrewers Association.

Add the crushed black malt to 2 gallons (7.5 L) of water and let steep at 150–160°F (65–71°C) for 30 minutes, then remove the grains with a strainer. Add the malt extracts and boiling hops and boil for 60 minutes. Add Irish moss for the last 10 minutes of the boil. Add the aroma hops for the final few minutes of the boil. Strain, sparge, and transfer immediately to 2 gallons (7.5 L) of cold water in the fermenter. Top off with additional water to make 5 gallons (19 L). Add the yeast when cool and ferment to completion. Bottle when fermentation is complete.

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Test yourself on beer service in this week’s Tuesday Beer Trivia.

Maintaining clean draught lines is key to making sure that your homebrew flavors are preserved just the way you intended. Secondary to that is knowing proper beer serving and pouring techniques so that your homebrewed beer gets the respect it deserves! Learn a little bit about beer service in this week’s Tuesday Beer Trivia.

After you take the Beer Trivia quiz below, scroll down to “Beer Trivia Answer Explanations” section to learn more about beer service.

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Beer Trivia Answer Explanations

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The following explanations were taken from the Brewers Association Draught Beer Quality Manual.

Question 1: You want to hold the glass at 45° so that the beer will initially flow down the side of the glass. To prevent the transfer of bacteria, in no instance should the faucet nozzle touch the inside of the glass.

Question 2: One of the tests for ensuring that glassware has been cleaned properly is the formation of lacing on the glass. If the glass is not properly cleaned, foam will adhere in a random pattern, or may not adhere at all.

Question 3: If you keep your draught system well-maintained (routine cleaning every two weeks), you should only have to do an acid cleaning every 3 months.

Question 4: Two percent (2%) is the recommended concentration, but if you are cleaning older or more problematic lines, 3% is recommended. Contact your chemical manufacturer to determine how much chemical is needed to achieve these recommended concentrations.

Question 5: False. Frozen glassware is NOT a recommended presentation for draught beer. Not only do frozen glasses make beer aromatics more difficult to detect, but freezing the glass can also leave residual water or sanitizer on the glassware.

The post Tuesday Beer Trivia: Beer Service Pt. 2 appeared first on American Homebrewers Association.

For your convenience, all links mentioned in the November/December 2017 issue of Zymurgy magazine are listed below.

About Zymurgy

Zymurgy is the bi-monthly journal for members of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA). All issues of Zymurgy magazine through the year 2000 can be accessed digitally online or with your smart phone device.

Join the AHA for a subscription and other member benefits.

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Zymurgy Online Extra

• Session Science by Adam Ronchetti

AHA Links In This Issue

• Zymurgy reader survey
• Submit your homebrew gadget
• Imperial Rice Pilsner
• SMASH Bohemian Pils
• No Fail Stout
• No Fail Extract IPA
• Squatters Full Suspension Pale Ale
• Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower Beer
• Siebte Flashe
• Squeeze the Day
• Boeing Smoked Apple Lager (all-grain)
• Boeing Smoked Apple Lager (extract)
• Hofter Blanc Pale Ale

Links to merchants in Zymurgy‘s 2017 holiday gift guide (in order of appearance)

• How to Brew
• Atlas of Beer
• Miracle Brew
• Lager
• Session Beers
• A Year of Good Beer
• The Carboy Bumper
• EasyDens
• Jumpstart MT10008 Seedling Heat Mat
• Ferrari Colt Strong Bench Capper
• AHA Membership Gift Card
• Pico Model C
• 99 Bottles of Craft Beer on the Wall Scratch-Off Poster
• Old Wood Signs
• SRM T-Shirt
• The Sixer
• Laser-Engraved YETI Rambler Mugs
• AHA Belgian Snifter
• BottleLoft
• The Oak Bottle
• Personalized Wooden Mug
• Brew Guru Beanie
• Colorado Wild Sage Pickles
• Cryo Hops

The post November/December 2017 Zymurgy Magazine Links appeared first on American Homebrewers Association.

Using soft water, begin the infusion mash with 4 gallons (15.1 liters) of brewing liquor and rest at 145°F (63°C). Stir in 3 g gypsum and rest for 20 minutes. Add 1.5 gallons (5.7 L) of boiling liquor to step the mash up to 155°F (68°C). Rest for 40 minutes.

Take first runnings, and add 0.5 ounces (14 g) of whole-cone Hallertau Blanc hops as first wort hops (FWH). Batch sparge with 4.5 gallons (17 L) of 170°F (77°C) liquor, adding 2 g calcium chloride.

Boil for 90 minutes, adding whole-cone Hallertau Blanc as listed in the hop bill. Whirlpool for 5 minutes after flameout, and run off wort into fermenter.

Cool the wort to 65°F (18°C), then rehydrate an 11 g packet of Safale US-05 in warm water for 15 minutes and pitch. Add about 10 ppm of pure oxygen to the wort.

Ferment to completion (6 to 8 days) and keg. Dry hop with 1 ounce (28 g) of Hallertau Blanc for three days at 60°F (16°C), then transfer beer to a clean keg. Force carbonate and enjoy!

The post Höfter’s Blanc Pale Ale appeared first on American Homebrewers Association.

Note: You’ll need a 6-gallon (22.7-liter) or larger fermenter for this brew!

Core apples by removing centers. A grill designed for smoking food is self-explanatory. If you use a charcoal grill, use enough charcoal to provide a low and even heat. Add pieces of fruitwood, maple, oak, hickory, mesquite, or your wood of choice atop the charcoal. Place apples on grill and cover with lid to enable wood to smolder. Leave vents open to keep the charcoal lit and alive. Don’t char the apples, but rather slow cook and smoke them. Remove when soft and lightly browned, yet firm enough to remove from grill. Set aside to cool. Refrigerate for later use, or add to the wort as instructed later in this recipe.

Add malt extract and 60-minute hops to 2 gal. (7.6 L) of water. Bring to a boil. The total boil time will be 60 minutes. When 20 minutes remain, add smoked apples and the 20-minute hops. When 10 minutes remain, add Irish moss. After total wort boil of 60 minutes, turn off the heat. Immerse the covered pot of wort in a cold water bath and let sit for 15–30 minutes or the time it takes to have a couple of homebrews.

Strain out and sparge apples and hops, and direct the hot wort into a sanitized fermenter to which 2.5 gal. (9.5 L) of cold water has been added. If necessary, add additional cold water to achieve a 5.25 gal. (19 L) batch size. Aerate the wort very well.

Pitch the yeast when temperature of wort is about 70° F (21° C). Once visible signs of fermentation are evident, ferment at about 55° F (12.5° C) for about one week or until fermentation shows signs of calm and stopping. Rack from your primary to a secondary and add the hop pellets for dry hopping. If you have the capability, “lager” the beer at temperatures between 35 and 45° F (1.5–7° C) for 3 to 6 weeks. Prime with sugar and bottle or keg when complete. Let condition at room temperature for about a week before storing at colder temperatures.

The post Boeing Smoked Apple Lager (extract) appeared first on American Homebrewers Association.

Note: You’ll need a 6-gallon (22.7-liter) or larger fermenter for this brew!

Core apples by removing centers. A grill designed for smoking food is self-explanatory. If you use a charcoal grill, use enough charcoal to provide a low and even heat. Add pieces of fruitwood, maple, oak, hickory, mesquite, or your wood of choice atop the charcoal. Place apples on grill and cover with lid to enable wood to smolder. Leave vents open to keep the charcoal lit and alive. Don’t char the apples, but rather slow cook and smoke them. Remove when soft and lightly browned, yet firm enough to remove from grill. Set aside to cool. Refrigerate for later use, or add to the wort as instructed later in this recipe.

Add the crushed malt to 10.5 qt. (10 L) of 143° F (61.5° C) water and mix well. The temperature will stabilize between 130° and 135° F (54.5–57° C). Add heat if necessary and hold the temperature at about 133° F (56° C) for 30 minutes. Don’t worry about a 3–5° F (2–3° C) temperature drop during this time.

Then add 5 qt. (5 L) of boiling water to this mash. This will raise the temperature to about or just below 155° F (68° C). Hold at about 155° F (68° C) for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Complete conversion by raising the temperature to 158° F (70° C) and holding for 10 to 20 minutes or until an iodine test indicates complete conversion. Then add more heat to raise the temperature to 167° F (75° C). Then pour mash into your lauter tun and sparge with 2.5 gal. (9.5 L) of water at 170° F (76° C). The volume of the wort before boiling should be about 5.5 gal. (21 L).

Bring the sweet wort to a boil, add the 60-minute hops, and boil for 40 minutes. Then add the smoked apples and flavor hops and boil for another 10 minutes. Then add the Irish moss and boil for a final 10 minutes. Cool the wort to about 70–75° F (21–24° C). This can be done simply by immersing the brew pot (with lid on) in a bath of cold running water for about 30 to 45 minutes. Other means of chilling can be used if desired.

Strain, sparge, and transfer immediately to your primary fermenter. The final primary batch size is 5.25 gallons (20 L). If necessary, add additional cold water to achieve this volume. Aerate the wort very well.

Pitch the yeast when temperature of wort is about 70° F (21° C). Once visible signs of fermentation are evident, ferment at about 55° F (12.5° C) for about one week or until fermentation shows signs of calm and stopping. Rack from your primary to a secondary and add the hop pellets for dry hopping. If you have the capability, “lager” the beer at temperatures between 35 and 45° F (1.5–7° C) for 3 to 6 weeks. Prime with sugar and bottle or keg when complete. Let condition at room temperature for about a week before storing at colder temperatures.

The post Boeing Smoked Apple Lager (all-grain) appeared first on American Homebrewers Association.

Mash at 154° F (68° C) for one hour. Sparge, running 7.9 gal. (30 L) of wort into kettle. Boil down to 6.6 gal. (25 L). After mashing, collect the wort in the kettle, cool to around 110° F (43° C), and add either probiotics with lactobacillus or yogurt with active cultures. Purge kettle with CO₂ and seal. Allow wort to sit for 5 days at room temperature (the warmer the better) or until pH falls to 3.4. Bring to a boil and add hops. After primary fermentation is over, add the citrus zest and dry hops. Dry hop for 7 days before kegging or bottling.

The post Squeeze the Day appeared first on American Homebrewers Association.

If you are conducting a cereal mash, begin that first. Add the rice and 1 lb. (454 g) milled Pilsner malt to a heavy-bottomed stockpot on the stove. Slowly raise the cereal mash temperature to at least 154–155° F (68° C). After a 15-minute rest at this temperature, add heat to slowly ramp up to a boil, and continue boiling for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, mash in with the remaining 9 lb. (4.08 kg) of Pilsner malt, starting with a protein rest at 122° F (50° C), monitoring pH if necessary.

After 20 minutes, add the hot cereal mash to the main mash and blend well to stabilize at 149° F (65° C), then hold for 50 minutes. (If you are using flaked rice, skip the cereal mash directions and simply mash everything together, beginning with the protein rest, then raising the temperature to 149° F for the main rest.) Mash out at 168° F (76° C) and hold 10 minutes, then commence sparge. Run off and add first wort hops. Boil and add Whirlfloc and hops at stated intervals.

Chill wort to 48° F (9° C) as quickly as possible, run off into fermenter, oxygenate, and cold-pitch yeast slurry from your previous Pilsner batch. Fermentation should be allowed to free-rise from 65° F to 68° F (18–20° C) during the first 2–4 days. Ferment at 48° F (9° C) until signs of fermentation are evident (usually within 36 hours). Ferment at 50° F (10° C) for the next two weeks, allow temperature to free-rise to 55° F (13° F), and ferment until activity slows. Conduct a long diacetyl rest at 60° F (16° C) until terminal gravity is reached (7 to 14 days) before crashing the beer to lagering temperature. Cold condition for at least 1 month at 35° F (2° C) before packaging, although 3 months is better.

The post Imperial Rice Pilsner appeared first on American Homebrewers Association.

Mash in at 122° F (50° C) and hold for 20 minutes, monitoring pH if necessary. Hold for at least one hour. Mash out at 168° F (76° C), and sparge at 170° F (77° C). Sparge enough volume for a 90-minute boil and add first-wort hops.

Add 1 Whirlfloc tablet at 15 minutes and then the 5-minute hops.

After the boil, stir wort vigorously to create a whirlpool and precipitate out the trub, adding the whirlpool hops and continuing to stir to keep the hops in suspension. Chill wort to 48° F (9° C) as quickly as possible, run off into a fermenter, oxygenate, and cold-pitch yeast starter.

Ferment at 48° F (9° C) until signs of fermentation are evident (usually within 36 hours). Ferment at 50° F (10° C) for the next two weeks, and then allow temperature to free-rise to 55° F (13° F) and ferment until activity slows. Conduct a diacetyl rest at 60° F (16° C) until terminal gravity is reached (3 to 7 days) before crashing the beer to lagering temperature. Rack beer and harvest yeast from primary to use for Imperial Pilsner. Cold condition for at least 1 month at 35° F (2° C) before packaging.

The post SMASH Bohemian Pils appeared first on American Homebrewers Association.