Basic Brewing Radio

James and Steve round out a disastrous year with two full hours of brewing disaster letters from listeners.

Glenn Cole, brewer at Hofbrauhaus in St. Louis, takes us through the elaborate decoction process he uses to brew Dunkel.

Homebrewer Matt Giovanisci talks about living the dream of turning a spare garage into a perfect spot to brew.

Longtime listener Greig McGill of Brewaucracy in Hamilton, New Zealand, collaborates with James on a deliciously hoppy low-gravity rye and wheat beer.

James and Steve sample three dark beers made with malts designed to contribute color over roastiness.

Homebrewer Bruce Hanley shares his version of a traditional Ethiopian mead made of honey with gesho leaves and stems.

Amahl Turczyn, author of A Year of Good Beer - a page-a-day calendar, joins us to talk about the process of turning beer in to vinegar.

In the 18th episode of the series, James and Steve taste a Hop Sampler with two very popular hops and a blend of the two.

Glenn Cole of Midwest Ale Works talks about a beer designed to raise money and awareness for farmers and communities devastated by this past summer's derecho.

Chris Colby, author of How to Make Hard Seltzer, gives us ideas to brew some tasty holiday beers and answers questions about flavoring seltzer and using potatoes in brewing.

Mike Tonsmeire, the Mad Fermentationist and co-founder of Sapwood Cellars, gives us tips on going back to the roots of the Imperial Stout style.

Adam Ross of Twin Span Brewing talks about a German barley beer pretending to be a wheat beer and a traditional Mexican pineapple drink.

We head to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, to visit with Dave Hartmann and Wendy Reese Hartmann who decided to leave the big brewery life and get small.

James and Steve dive into the fourth malt sampler comparing two wheats and American two-row, and Steve gets on his soapbox.

Chris Colby, author of How to Make Hard Seltzer, talks about the challenges that come with brewing this fizzy brew.

We visit the farm of Caleb Hutcherson where he keeps bees that he has collected from wild swarms and invasive hives.

Sandor Katz, author of Wild Fermentation and The Art of Fermentation, joins us to talk about using lactic fermentation to preserve vegetables and make them more tasty.

Chris Colby, author of How To Make Hard Seltzers, goes back to basics about our favorite brewing gas.

Heurich House Museum in Washington DC collaborates with ANXO Cidery to revive a prohibition-era cider. Cider maker Sam Fitz walks us through the proces and talks about single-variety non-adjunct ciders.

James and Steve blindly sample small batches with two delicious and popular hops by themselves and a third batch that's a blend between the two.

A longtime friend shares his journey of recovery.

Homebrewer Mark Stevens shares an experiment using extreme low and high mash temps to limit the alcohol on tasty pale ales.

Marcus Baskerville of Weathered Souls Brewing in San Antonio talks about his Black Is Beautiful Imperial Stout and the social initiative connected with it.

Mika Laitinen, author of Viking Age Brew - The Craft of Brewing Sahti Farmhouse Ale, walks us through the steps of harvesting, storing and reusing Kveik and other farmhouse yeasts.

Homebrewer Nick Tier sent some brewing yeast above the atmosphere and brewed a beer with it. James and Steve test the results.