basic brewing

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.

Steve Wilkes joins James to talk about flavoring the Great Mead Experiment from the video side of Basic Brewing. James and Steve also answer listener e-mail.

We continue our look at the foundation of making beer at home: good equipment. In this episode, Andy Sparks helps us look at gear that goes beyond the absolute necessities.

We take a look at the foundation of making beer at home: good equipment. In this episode, Andy Sparks joins James to start with what is absolutely necessary to make an extract batch.

James cooks up an American Brown Ale, and Steve uses some of the brew in his New Orleans-inspired Gumbo Ya-Ya.

Tess and Mark Szamatulski, authors of Clone Brews and Beer Captured, help us make sense of the wide variety of hops and give us tips on the most effective hop schedules.

Tony Simmons of Pagosa Brewing Company, creator of Poor Richard's Ale, joins us to talk about his historic brew and the challenges of getting a new brewery off the ground.

Stan Hieronymus, author of Brew Like a Monk: Trappist, Abbey, and Strong Belgian Ales and How to Brew Them, tells us about his book and gives us tips on how to brew wonderful Belgian beers at home.

From grain to glass in one week? Chris Colby from BYO magazine tells us how to brew a finished, drinkable beer in seven days.

Kevin DeLange of The Brew Hut and Drydock Brewing Company helps us clear up the process of mini-mashing and what makes it different from steeping in an extract batch.

James and Steve embark on their great Mead Experiment - brewing up a big batch of this wonderful honey beverage.

Dave Wills of Freshops walks us through the process of planting, growing, and harvesting our own hoppy goodness at home.

We get help from Gary Glass of the American Homebrewers Association to answer a listener's question about putting too much of a good thing into our brews.

Gary Glass of the AHA joins us to talk about how and why to enter the National Homebrew Competition.

We travel to Austin, Texas to taste the results of Brian Warren's experiment on Hot Side Aeration.

James pops the top on the six-pack IPA, and Steve prepares a shrimp and scallop dish to go along with it.

Tess and Mark Szamatulski, authors of Clone Brews and Beer Captured join us to talk about making copies of our favorite brews.

Andy Sparks joins us to talk about adjuncts - those fermentable ingredients we add to beer in addition to water, yeast, barley malt, and hops.