
Baltic Porter is a very strong, robust Porter brewed to fight off the harsh winters of thriving 18th and 19th Century Baltic trade routes. Though the style originated in England, it was subsequently brewed throughout Northern Europe. This week we take a look at the Baltic Porter beer history, style, recipes and how to brew [...]

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Porter beer recipes and brewing Porter is the subject of this week’s interview with Grandmaster Beer Judge Gordon Strong. Beer author and BJCP President Gordon shares some of his top tips for brewing an award winning Porter beer at home. Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to download this mp3 file [...]
by Brad Smith on November 3, 2011 · 1 comment

Sweet stout and milk stouts are increasingly popular beers that form a counterpoint to Dry Irish Stouts. This week we take a look at the history of Sweet Stout, how to brew it and recipes for making it. History of Sweet and Milk Stout Milk Stout (also called Cream or Sweet Stout) traces its origins [...]

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This week my guest is “The Homebrew Chef” Sean Z. Paxton. Sean is arguably the most famous beer chef in the world – and has been the chef for the last several National Homebrew Conference banquets. He is also an active author, has a new podcast on cooking with beer and cooks for major beer [...]

Irish Red is an refreshing, popular beer style closely related to English Bitters. This week, we’re going to take a look at Irish Red ale recipes and how to brew this beer at home. The style has quite a few variants, but is known most for its deep red color and mild flavor. History The [...]

After my earlier post announcing BeerSmith 2, I received a lot of email asking when it would be available and how much it would cost. I’m pleased to announce both the BeerSmith 2 release date, pricing and also open up the preorder for those who wish to get a great discount on the next generation [...]

Old Ale is a English beer with a dark, malty profile also called “Winter Warmers”, “Stock ale”, “Keeping Ale” or “Dark Ale” in Australia. It was traditionally served along with mild ales, and sometimes blended with mild at the tap to suit a customer’s preference. This week, we’re going to talk about how to brew [...]

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Just in time for St Patrick’s day, John Palmer is back as my guest and we go into depth on the Irish Stout beer style. Irish Stout is a favorite of mine, so I pulled in the co-author of “Brewing Classic Styles” to talk about this famous beer from Dublin. Download the MP3 File – [...]
by Brad Smith on January 27, 2011 · 1 comment

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This week I feature a trio of brewers with expertise in historic brewing techniques – including Chris Bowen, Dan Morey and Mike Tonsmeire. We cover a range of historic brewing topics including why we brew historic beers, traditional equipment, ingredients and various historic styles. Download the MP3 File – Right Click and “Save As” to [...]

Schwarzbier (which means “black beer”) is a dark lager from Germany that has its origins in the middle ages. It is a medium bodied dark beer, nearly opaque in color and soft and mild despite its dark appearance. Today Schwarzbier is popular outside Germany as well, with a number of US breweries and micro-breweries producing [...]