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Homebrew

All Grain Brewing: Step Mash vs. Single Infusion

April 17, 2018 by fifthseason Leave a Comment

-Ryan Blankenship- All great beer begins with the mash. So what actually happens when we’re mashing grain? In a nutshell, the mash is a process in which malted grains are mixed with water at a specific ratio, temperatures, and pH in order to activate the enzymes in the malt and convert the starches in the grain into fermentable sugars. If grain goes unmalted, then the starches bound in the grain are inaccessible to yeast due to the size of the molecule. This can sometimes be desirable, … [Read more...] about All Grain Brewing: Step Mash vs. Single Infusion

Filed Under: Homebrew Tagged With: beer, brewing, brewing beer, craft beer, grain, home brew, homebrew, mash, summer

Intro to Kegging Beer

March 20, 2018 by fifthseason Leave a Comment

-Tyler Newman- In this blog post, I will address the basic steps of kegging, so that you can safely and properly keg your delicious beer! Before I get to the specifics, it’s good to remember that brewing is mostly cleaning. Every piece of your brewing equipment needs to be cleaned AND sanitized before each piece’s involvement in brewing your beer. First, we clean! I suggest using a product called PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash) to clean all the organic and inorganic material that has built … [Read more...] about Intro to Kegging Beer

Filed Under: Homebrew Tagged With: beer, brewing, brewing beer, home brew, homebrew, kegging

Coffee Porters

February 20, 2018 by fifthseason Leave a Comment

Hello! My name is Tyler Newman and I’m a beer lover and brewer. While in Seattle, I was privileged to work for some of the best breweries in the United States, but I have since moved to Charlottesville where I am currently loving my “late 20’s retirement.” Here in Charlottesville, at Fifth Season, I have continued to pursue my love of beer and brewing. I feel blessed to be a part of a great work crew and community, which leads me to one of my favorite topics – coffee porter! To start, I … [Read more...] about Coffee Porters

Filed Under: Homebrew Tagged With: beer, brewing, brewing beer, coffee, craft beer, homebrew, Porter

Jun: Kombucha’s Softer Side

February 13, 2018 by fifthseason 2 Comments

-Kristin Weeks- By now, most folks have heard of the popularized health tonic, kombucha, but fewer people are familiar with its less-known relative, Jun. Also known as the “champagne of kombucha” for its lighter, more effervescent profile, Jun (rhymes with fun) provides a nice alternative to those turned off by some of the more undesirable, not to say offensive, notes associated with kombucha. Within the history and lore of Jun lie some obscurities. Stories tell of the sacred elixir … [Read more...] about Jun: Kombucha’s Softer Side

Filed Under: Homebrew, Urban D.I.Y. Tagged With: homebrew, Jun, kombucha, kombucha recipe, probiotics, recipe, SCOBY, urban diy

Brewing with the Mash and Boil

December 27, 2017 by fifthseason Leave a Comment

-Ryan Blankenship- I have used several different types of brewing setups throughout my life, starting with the extract kits on the stove and moving my way to all-grain brewing. At one point I had a Sabco system, which is a self-automated system with its own pumps and built-in heaters. I also built my own recirculating system using some old kegs and a chugger pump. We recently started carrying the Mash and Boil Unit, and I wanted to put it to the test. This system is designed to make a … [Read more...] about Brewing with the Mash and Boil

Filed Under: Homebrew Tagged With: brewing, brewing beer, home brew, homebrew, kettle

Festive Fall Homebrewing (Without Pumpkin!)

October 3, 2017 by fifthseason Leave a Comment

-Kristin Weeks- When it comes to seasonal beers, there’s no time quite like fall. The light, easy-drinking beers typically associated with warm weather, sunshine, and yardwork give way to heavier-bodied, maltier, and more complex styles that pair perfectly with cool nights and campfires. Historically, beer has always been seasonal. Before the days of refrigeration, the brewing season lasted from the onset of fall through early spring (March), where lower temperatures kept beer fermenting with … [Read more...] about Festive Fall Homebrewing (Without Pumpkin!)

Filed Under: Homebrew Tagged With: beer, brewing, brewing beer, craft beer, fall, home brew, homebrew

Reinheitsgebot

September 5, 2017 by fifthseason 2 Comments

Last weekend we had a brew demo in which we brewed a German Hefeweizen. I followed the Reinheitsgebot, which is the German Purity Law. What this consists of is a set of regulations limiting you to certain ingredients when brewing a beer in Germany. The only ingredients a brewer is allowed to use are grain, hops, water, and yeast. This law was instated in 1516 to prevent price competition with bakers for wheat and rye. The restriction of grains to barley was meant to ensure the availability of … [Read more...] about Reinheitsgebot

Filed Under: Homebrew Tagged With: beer, brewing, brewing beer, home brew, homebrew

Beyond Grapes: Elderberry Wine

August 8, 2017 by fifthseason 1 Comment

-Kristin Weeks- While grapes are, by far, the most commonly associated fruit with making wine, they certainly aren’t the only option. Here in the Southeast, where the terrain isn’t so ideal for growing grapes, we can instead turn to what is already growing right around us. One such plant that grows easily and in abundance in our region is the American elder (Sambucus canadensis), which bears purplish-black berries that come into season from July to late September, depending on where you … [Read more...] about Beyond Grapes: Elderberry Wine

Filed Under: Homebrew, Urban D.I.Y. Tagged With: elderberry, elderberry wine, homebrew, urban diy, wine, winemaking

Simple and Delicious Ginger Beer

July 11, 2017 by fifthseason 2 Comments

-Pam Scott- When I first started working at Fifth Season in Charlottesville, we had a wonderful landlord who would stop by and tell us amusing stories about the "old" Charlottesville and the car business he ran in our sprawling, funky building. He would bring us delicious treats to perk up our workday, and he always had a good word about how much fun it was to come into our store and see all the new and exciting projects and products. He was not just our landlord, he was our dear friend. … [Read more...] about Simple and Delicious Ginger Beer

Filed Under: Homebrew, Urban D.I.Y. Tagged With: ginger, ginger beer, homebrew, Organic

Kettle Sour vs Barrel Sour

June 13, 2017 by fifthseason Leave a Comment

-Ryan Blankenship- Over the past 3-5 years I have noticed there have been a large number of breweries putting out sour beers. Sours have actually been around since the early 1800s when brewers would use open vats to ferment, and wild yeast, or Brettanomyces, would enter the wort creating a sour taste. A sour ale is an ale that is made intentionally acidic by adding either Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, or Brettanomyces. The pH is extremely low, usually between 3.3-3.5. In order to create … [Read more...] about Kettle Sour vs Barrel Sour

Filed Under: Homebrew Tagged With: barrel sour, home brew, kettle sour, sour beer

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