With fall on the horizon this week we decided to re-feature one of our most popular brewing posts focused on successful brewing from kits. Our kits are fantastic for people looking to get into brewing, for people with a few brews under their belts, and even for experienced brewers. Learn how to dial your kit brews up a notch or two without going to whole grain brewing and you'll have batches of beer ready to go by Oktoberfest. -Gabrial House- With fall in full swing, why not start a batch … [Read more...] about UPDATED: Making Beer Kits at Home with Brewer’s Best
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Three tricks for improving the Mash and Boil
This week’s blog post is from long-time Fifth Season customer and expert brewer, Eric Ginsberg, and includes a few hacks to improve the performance of the Brewer’s Edge Mash and Boil electric brewing system. -Eric Ginsburg- I’ve had my Mash and Boil now for about 2 years, and I love what it has done for my brew day and for my brew quality and consistency. That said, I discovered several areas for improvement that I want to share with other users. Grain Basket Feet – The original feet … [Read more...] about Three tricks for improving the Mash and Boil
The Art of Making Absinthe
-Ryan Blankenship- Absinthe is a drink that is made from a distilled spirit and has the herbs wormwood, anise, and fennel added to it post-distillation. Absinthe was first created by the ancient Greeks for medicinal purposes, starting around 1550 BCE, by soaking wormwood leaves in wine and making a tincture with it. This tincture was called absinthites oinos. Absinthe made using distilled spirits instead of wine can be dated back to the 18th century. Its use became more popular during the … [Read more...] about The Art of Making Absinthe
Home(brewing) for the Holidays
-Dan Toot- Let’s talk about Hygge. Translated from Danish it roughly means: a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being. Folks, I think we’ll need quite a bit of Hygge as we enter this fast-approaching, still-weird Holiday season. Hard to believe we’re already talking about it, but for a homebrewer, thinking about the process of making a beer, it’s practically here! So I’m here to help the homebrewer plan their gift-giving options … [Read more...] about Home(brewing) for the Holidays
Elizabethan Style Mead
-Ryan Blankenship- Mead could possibly be one of the oldest styles of alcoholic beverages known to humanity. Pottery vessels discovered in northern China that dated back to 7000 BC had chemical signatures consistent with honey, rice, and organic compounds associated with a fermented beverage. Fast-forward to the 16th Century, and we find that most of the meads created during Elizabethan times usually contained honey, herbs, fruits, and even hops. The majority of the alcohol content in this … [Read more...] about Elizabethan Style Mead
My First Wine From A Kit
-Mike Weeks- I recently decided to venture into the world of winemaking because, like many of you, I enjoy pairing a nice glass of wine with dinner and had heard from folks that the kits we carry can make some really nice wine. A customer shared with me that she and her husband once made wine from one of our kits and when her wine connoisseur brother visited, they conducted a test and he named the kit wine as the most expensive and best one in the lineup! I have to say, I was surprised at how … [Read more...] about My First Wine From A Kit
Sanitation in Brewing and Why It’s Important
-Ryan Blankenship- When I attended beer school, the first lesson we were taught is sanitation is the key to happiness. The reason for this is microorganisms, bacteria, and fungi can start to grow in any little nook or cranny they can stuff themselves into. These bacteria will cause an infection in your brew and create an off-flavored brew or a completely undrinkable product. The first thing I do before I make any type of beer, is fill my kettle up to the top with water and add the … [Read more...] about Sanitation in Brewing and Why It’s Important
Blonde Stout
-Ryan Blankenship- Over the past few years, I’ve been seeing more and more Blonde Stouts being brewed, and I finally got the chance to brew one myself. If you are not familiar with this style, it is an ale with the color of an IPA that has the characteristics of a Stout. The first time I tried one was at one of our Homebrew for Hunger events about four years ago. My brain and taste buds were on totally different pages that day. Traditionally, stouts have an opaque black color to them with … [Read more...] about Blonde Stout
Calculating Your Potential ABV
-Ryan Blankenship- As a home brewer at Fifth Season Gardening, I get fairly frequent requests about how to properly calculate the ABV (Alcohol By Volume) of beer/ wine. In this blog, I’ll walk through the measurements and calculations necessary to determine ABV of your brew. First let’s take a look at what these numbers mean on a standard hydrometer (an instrument used to measure the density of liquids). One side of the hydrometer shows Specific Gravity, which is the ratio of the density … [Read more...] about Calculating Your Potential ABV
Grain Crush
-Peter McMindes- It’s not the size of the crush; it’s how you use it. The crush of the grist results in different size particles that give the brewer the range between the speed of sugar extraction and the ability to extract overall. A small or fine crush will allow sugars to be converted faster by enzymes but can create a stuck mash or unwanted husk tannin extraction. A coarse crush will allow for a better flow of wort and lauter but will not be converted as quickly. While the degree of … [Read more...] about Grain Crush
