-Peter McMindes- Norway has been using kveik for centuries, passing it down through generations of brewing families, providing unique characteristics to farmhouse ales. Kveik (pronounced “kwike”), means “yeast” in Norwegian, and the strain has remained relatively unchanged in areas that engage in traditional farmhouse brewing. The name kveik refers to the yeast itself, not the style of beer, and it is extremely genetically diverse while exhibiting characteristics not typical in other brewing … [Read more...] about Kveik: A Hot New Yeast Trend in Homebrewing
IPA
New England IPA Part 2: How Do I Make It?
-Ethan Johnson- I think that my favorite thing about the Hazy IPA style (aside from drinking it…) is the fact that its origin is a function of the desire to create a very, very specific product. Thus, every aspect of the recipe formulation has intent and purpose. Previous IPA styles rose from a more simple drive; make them stronger, make them more sessionable, make them dark, make them sour, etc. At a certain point, it seemed like breweries were making IPA styles because they represented … [Read more...] about New England IPA Part 2: How Do I Make It?
New England IPA Part 1: Clarifying a Murky Style
-Ethan Johnston- The saying goes that a rising tide lifts all boats, and the rise in craft/artisan beer has certainly had a similar impact on the various beer styles. Styles like Gose and Grätzer, which were bordering on extinction until recent years, are enjoying exponentially more of a market share than they ever have. However, no style has been lifted to the height of India Pale Ale and its various sub-styles. IPA has been the hottest craft beer style on the market since the most recent … [Read more...] about New England IPA Part 1: Clarifying a Murky Style
How to Balance a Beer
-Ryan Blankenship- After going to beer school at Siebel Institute you learn a few things about brewing that perfect beer. One of the keys to designing that great beer is balance. Without the correct bitterness your beer could be either too sweet or too bitter. Today we will focus on the correct IBUs for the style of beer you want to create. IBU stands for International Bittering Units. Let’s start with stouts and porters. These styles typically have lower IBUs than your IPAs and pale … [Read more...] about How to Balance a Beer
