Brew
The process, without the mystique.
Six stages, the lever that matters most in each, and the ingredient science underneath.
Milling & mashing
Crush consistency and mash temperature set fermentability. A 63°C rest gives a dry beer; 69°C leaves body behind.
Lautering
Runoff speed governs tannin extraction. Slower is almost always cleaner, especially with husk-heavy grists.
Boil & hopping
Isomerisation needs time; aroma needs the opposite. Whirlpool below 80°C to keep volatile thiols intact.
Fermentation
Pitch rate, oxygen and temperature ramp decide ester and phenol production more than the strain alone.
Conditioning
Cold time resolves diacetyl and drops haze. Lagers reward patience; fresh-hop ales punish it.
Packaging
Dissolved oxygen at packaging is the single biggest predictor of how a beer will taste in three months.
Water chemistry
Same recipe, different city, different beer.
Sulphate sharpens bitterness; chloride rounds body. The ratio between them explains why Burton pale ale and Bohemian pilsner could never have swapped hometowns.
Brettanomyces bruxellensis
YeastConsumes long-chain dextrins primary yeast cannot, driving attenuation upward for years after packaging.
Kveik
YeastFarmhouse yeast families that ferment cleanly at 35–40°C, collapsing fermentation time without off-flavours.
Burton Water Profile
WaterHigh sulphate accentuates hop bitterness perception — the chemistry behind the historic dominance of Burton pale ale.
Brew log
Track a batch from grain to glass.
Record gravities, temperatures and timings, then compare batches side by side. Logs sync to your account once sign-in is enabled.
- Batch 041 · Fresh Hop PaleDay 6 · 1.014 · 19°C
- Batch 040 · Rauch MärzenLagering · day 22
- Batch 039 · Maize AlePackaged · 12 Aug