basic brewing

We cover two homebrewing competitions in connection with the Great American Beer Festival: the GABF Pro Am and the Long Shot competition from the Boston Beer Company.

We travel to Denver to sample the goodness of the 25th Great American Beer Festival. Almost 400 brewers, more than 1600 beers, and three happy podcasters.

We join homebrew guru Charlie Papazian near a beautiful stream at his house to share his homebrew and his thoughts about the hobby.

Randy Mosher, author of Radical Brewing, talks to us about fruit beers and getting the most out of them. Randy also gives us his favorite approach to pumpkin beers.

Ben Watson, author of Cider, Hard and Sweet: History, Traditions, and Making Your Own, introduces us to the world of homemade ciders. Also, Chris Colby of Brew Your Own magazine lets us in on his method of partial mashing using an unmodified two-gallon drink cooler.

It's a sweet episode. James and Steve check in on the mead experiment. Steve also talks about brewing beer with honey, and the guys sample a couple of examples.

Andy Sparks and Steve Wilkes join James to taste the results of homebrewer Michael Tonsmeire's single-hop small batch experiment.

James and Steve sample a Harvest Ale made from Cascade hops grown in James' yard, and the guys talk about brewing with fresh hops right off the bine.

Homebrewer Raj Apte lets us in on the long-lost process of brewing with the Ginger Beer plant. This way of brewing soft drinks at home was commonplace decades ago.

Bob Hansen, technical services manager of Briess Malt and Ingredients Company, shares thoughts on his presentation from NHC on making big beers.

Chris Colby of Brew Your Own magazine joins us to share his favorite strategies for getting the best beer out of a split-boil extract brewing session.

The last interview from Orlando: James talks to Matt Brynildson of Firestone Walker Brewing and John Mallet of Bell's Brewery about first wort hopping and dry hopping.

Beer's not just for breakfast anymore. Following Randy Mosher's advice, James and Steve pair up four beers with the sweet stuff, and Steve shows us his take on a New Orleans favorite.

More interviews from the National Homebrewers Conference: Homebrewer Raj Apte on his "one-dollar homebrew barrel" and author John Palmer on wort fermentability.

NHC coverage continues as James and Steve interview professional brewers and other professionals connected wtih the brewing industry.

Steve Wilkes joins James as they play interviews with six homebrewers recorded at the National Homebrewers Conference in Orlando. Great tips and useful information.

Home brewers take center stage in Orlando at the National Homebrewers Conference Club Night. Follow James and Steve as they sample great homebrews and meet the folks who brewed them.

Randy Mosher, author of "Radical Brewing," talks with Steve Wilkes about pairing beer with food and cooking with beer. Randy says beer is a much better partner with food than wine.

It's the first installment from our two-part report from the National Homebrewers Conference in Orlando, Florida. In this episode, James and Steve talk to homebrewers as they sample the work of professional brewers.

James sneaks away from the family during his vacation to post a quick interview between Steve Wilkes and Ray Daniels on a treat to taste while brewing.

We hear from two homebrew experiments: William Tope, a high school student from Houston, Texas, delves into whether alpha acid levels of hops affect fermentation rates, and the Hot Side Aeration experiment continues with Brian Warren and John Holder.

James and Steve conduct an experiment in late hopping to see how the bitterness, flavor and aroma are affected. They also taste the ancho chili mead to see how it's coming along.

We talk brewing water with Greg Noonan, author of "New Brewing Lager Beer" and other noted brewing books. Greg is also owner and brewer at the Vermont Pub and Brewery in Burlington.

We preview the National Homebrewers Conference with Gary Glass of the American Homebrewers Association.

The Great Mead Experiment continues as James and Steve split the mead into smaller batches and flavor each with wonderous things.