5 Books Every Home-brewer Should Own

5 Books Every Home-brewer Should Own

Justin Jackson
Brewing Resources, Practical Home Brewer

While there is a plethora of information on homebrewing (and just about everything else) available for free on the internet, including online calculators, discussion forums, and clone recipes, I’m a bit of an old-fashioned student that prefers referencing printed textbooks.  To me, I prefer to thumb through the pages of a well-worn brewing book that is peer-reviewed rather than scour the forums for the answers to my questions, often wondering if those well-intentioned responses are trustworthy. I also like to have comprehensive information all bound under one cover rather than consulting six different websites to cover my daily ponderings.

Brewerism - Hobart, Tasmania

Brewerism - Hobart, Tasmania

Justin Jackson
Brewerism

Australia is a place with no shortage of great beer and since Tasmania accounts for majority of the hop supply, it’s no wonder that there would be a handful of breweries putting out some excellent craft beers in the state’s capitol of Hobart. We spent a week in Tasmania, using Hobart as a base, and since we never made it up to Launceston (home of James Boag’s and also close to Van Dieman’s) I decided to focus this post on the breweries of Hobart.

Lessons Learned in Organising a Homebrew Competition

Lessons Learned in Organising a Homebrew Competition

Justin Jackson
Craft Beer Asia

I recently had the opportunity to help organize the annual home-brew competition held by the Hong Kong Homebrewers' Association (HKHA) at the beginning of June.  It wasn't really my intention to fill that role, as I'd much rather just brew and enter beers, but sometimes things just turn out that way.  On the bright side, there's always something to be learned from a new challenge so in this post I'd like to point out a few things that I have gleaned from this experience.

Brewing Session Beers

Justin Jackson

"Session Beer" is a relatively recent term that is entirely made-up, but refers to beer that is of a lower alcohol content (typically under 5%) that allow for drinking more than one in a single "session".  The challenge with brewing beers of lower alcohol strength is in ensuring that they have enough flavor to keep them interesting, and enough balance to invite multiple rounds.  In this blog post I'll cover some takeaways from Jennifer Talley's new book Session Beers​​​​​​, including relevant styles and brewing tips.  Talley has spent majority of her brewing career in Salt Lake City, Utah where she was restrained to brewing low-alcohol beers due to state laws.  Out of necessity she has learned to brew great beer under 5% ABV and shares her tips (and recipes) in this 2017 publication.

Brewerism - Boston and North Shore

Brewerism - Boston and North Shore

Justin Jackson

This past holiday season I spent a few weeks along the Eastern coast of the USA visiting friends and family.  Although we experienced some abnormally frigid weather for late December, my wife and I were still able to make our rounds to visit some of the breweries around Boston and the surrounding suburbs to the northeast.

Gluten-Free Brewing Basics

Gluten-Free Brewing Basics

Justin Jackson
Practical Home Brewer, Brewing Resources

Gluten is a troublesome protein found in cereal grains such as barley, wheat, and rye.  Approximately 1% of the world population is affected by celiac disease which is an autoimmune disorder that damages the small intestine and affects nutrient absorption.  Gluten sensitivity is a recognised condition affecting about 6% of the US population, and involves other, less serious reactions from ingested gluten.  Since the primary source of sugar in brewing comes from cereal grains, most people with celiac disease and gluten intolerances avoid beer altogether, but craft brewers have gotten creative over the years in trying to offer gluten-free options that still taste great.  This post will introduce you to the basics of gluten-free brewing.

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