One of the most well known styles of wheat beer is German weizen, but that’s not the only kind there is. Unlike weizen, American-style wheat beer uses a relatively clean fermenting American ale yeast instead of the banana/clove German weizen yeast. It may be a case of personal preference, but the American wheat beer recipe offers a wheaty flavor without the phenolic overtones.
American wheat beer is a great beer for summer, typically light in color and light to medium-bodied. While hop bitterness and flavor are certainly present in this style, they’re generally not the main feature in American wheat beer. The American ale yeast tends to be somewhat neutral, but may present some mild fruity characteristics. Popular examples of American wheat beer include Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat and Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale.
The BJCP Style Guidelines for an American wheat beer recipe call for the following specs:

• OG: 1.040 – 1.055
• FG: 1.008 – 1.013
• IBU: 15 – 30
• SRM: 3 – 6
• ABV: 4 – 5.5%

When brewing an all-grain American wheat beer, rice hulls are recommended to help avoid a stuck mash. John Palmer recommends rinsing the rice hulls before use.
The American wheat beer recipe below makes a fairly straightforward beer. Sparge with hot water (possibly hotter than normal) to help avoid a stuck sparge. If you’re a fan of hops flavor and aroma, consider adding some hops additions later in the boil.
Good luck!
American Wheat II, from Brew Your Own magazine
(5-gallon batch, all-grain recipe)
Specs
OG = 1.051
FG = 1.012
ABV = 5.1%
IBU = 21
SRM = 3.5
Ingredients
5.8 lbs. malted wheat
4.6 lbs. two-row brewer’s malt
8 oz. rice hulls
1 oz. Cascade hops at :60
Wyeast 1010: American Wheat Beer yeast
Directions
The day before brewing, prepare a 2L yeast starter from one packet of liquid yeast, or plan on using two packets. Mash crushed grains at 150˚F for 60 minutes. Sparge with hot (~190˚F) water to collect 5.75 gallons of wort. Boil for 60 minutes, adding one ounce of Cascade hops at the beginning of the boil. At end of boil, cool wort to 70˚F or below and transfer to a clean, sanitized fermenter. Ferment at 70˚F. Bottle or keg and carbonate to 2.3-2.5 vols CO₂.

Easy Extract Option: Replace the malted wheat and two-row malt with 7.3 lbs. of Wheat LME and omit the rice hulls.
Looking for an American wheat beer recipe kit? Try the Steam Freak: Amber Waves American Wheat Beer kit!
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described “craft beer crusader.” He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.

As I’ve mentioned before, my significant other has a gluten allergy. She actually cried when she called to tell me the diagnosis, upset that we wouldn’t be able to share beer experiences anymore. Fear not, I told her. We’ll find a way.
This has led me to experiment with gluten free homebrewing and a number of unusual gluten free beer recipes. The latest: a sweet potato buckwheat ale. Allow me to share with you how it went.
Malting the buckwheat
In my other life as an artisanal maltster, I came into a substantial amount of buckwheat, and I did what any artisanal maltster/homebrewer would do: I malted it to make beer out of it!
After a few small germination tests, I steeped the buckwheat in water three times for a total of about 30 hours. Around the end of the steeping process, small white shoots starting growing out of the pointy end of the buckwheat kernel. When making malt from any grain, this is a sign that changes are starting to take place within the kernel, breaking down the cellular structure and activating valuable enzymes. Though only about 40% of the buckwheat actually germinated, I made a note and proceeded.
After four days of germination, I washed the buckwheat and allowed it to dry, then placed it in the oven on the lowest temperature setting I could (170˚F). It took several hours to dry completely. It might have dried faster with regular stirring or a perforated dish that would allow the air to circulate.
Mashing the buckwheat and sweet potato
Once the malted buckwheat was dry, it was time to brew. From my other experiences with gluten free beer recipes and cooking, I knew that combining multiple starches tended to produce the best results. I’d heard of sweet potatoes being used in beer before, so I thought I’d give the combination a try.
Now I had read that sweet potatoes have a fairly high gelatinization temperature, so combined with the low germination of the buckwheat, I decided to use a three-step decoction mash to maximize my fermentable sugars. After milling the buckwheat and roughly chopping the sweet potatoes, I covered them with water and brought the temperature up to 120˚F. I removed about 1/3 of the mash, brought it to a boil, and then mixed it back in to the mash. I repeated this a total of three times. I then strained out the wort and lautered to collect about two gallons of wort.
I was a little disappointed to find my pre-boil gravity was only 1.020. I believe this was in part due to the low germination of the buckwheat, and partly due to a lack of extraction from the sweet potatoes. If I were to repeat the experiment, I would probably bake the potatoes and mash them before adding them to the buckwheat mash. To compensate for the low gravity, I added eight ounces of molasses to the wort that I collected in the kettle.
The boil
To get a good sense of the buckwheat/sweet potato qualities, I decided to moderately hop the beer with Willamette hops. They’re a good go-to hop for pale ales, brown ales, and a number of other beer styles, without being over the top in any one particular flavor quality. I did equal hop additions at :60, :20, :10, and :5. Because it’s generally good policy, I also added Irish moss and yeast nutrient at :15.
Fermentation
For yeast, I chose a dry American ale yeast for this particular gluten free beer recipe. It’s what I had on hand, easy to use, and fairly neutral in flavor. Again, the point was to allow the sweet potato and buckwheat come through.
So how did it turn out?
I had one today and it actually came out pretty tasty! Most importantly, the girlfriend likes it!
The beer pours a burnt amber color, somewhat cloudy, with a full, creamy head. To be sure, it doesn’t taste like a normal amber ale or pale ale. It has a distinctive buckwheat/sweet potato profile. The buckwheat flavor is somewhat sweet, somewhat nutty. (If you’ve had buckwheat pancakes before, you know what I’m talking about.) The hop bitterness is well balanced. There is the slightest tang on the finish, which I’m guessing comes from the molasses.
Here is the recipe the way I brewed it. Again, I’d recommend baking the sweet potatoes in advance, then mashing them before adding them to the buckwheat mash. Diatase enzyme may also be beneficial. Have some molasses (or if you’re not gluten-free, DME) on hand to adjust your gravity as needed.
Gluten Free Beer Recipe: Buckwheat Sweet Potato Ale
(1-gallon batch)
Specs 
OG: 1.043
FG: 1.012
ABV: 4.1%
IBUs: 40
SRM: 12-16
Ingredients
20 oz. malted buckwheat
28 oz. sweet potato
8 oz. molasses
.25 oz. Willamette hops at :60 (4% AA)
.25 oz. Willamette hops at :20 (4% AA)
.25 oz. Willamette hops at :10 (4% AA)
.25 oz. Willamette hops at :5 (4% AA)
1/2 pack Safale US-05
3 tablespoons honey for priming
So would I brew it again? Absolutely! Given enough time and buckwheat, I’d step this recipe up to a three- or five-gallon batch.
What do you think? Are you ready to give a gluten free beer recipe a try? Have you ever made a beer with sweet potato or buckwheat? Share in the comments below!
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described “craft beer crusader.” He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.

The Beer Judge Certification Program lists 23 different categories of beer styles, most of which have two or more subcategories. Almost every category name is fairly descriptive, but the last one stands out as rather broad. What is a “Specialty Beer”?
The specialty beer category covers any beer that does not fall cleanly in another category. This might include Rye IPAs, malt liquor, various “imperial” styles, indigenous style like Sahti, or beers made with unusual fermentable ingredients or techniques. Gluten-free beers fall into this category, as do variations on styles that bring them “out of spec.”
So what is not Specialty Beer?
It’s important to point out that there are several kinds of beer that you might think belong in the specialty beer category but don’t. These include Christmas/Winter Spiced Beer, Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer, Fruit Beer, and Smoked/Wood-Aged Beer, among others. Be sure to check the guidelines before submitting your beer for competition to make sure it doesn’t belong in a different category. Also, keep in mind that the most important thing about brewing specialty beer is the balance. No single ingredient should overpower all the other flavors; drinkability is key.
Here are five examples of beers that fit into the specialty beer category. Which would you like to brew?

• Imperial Black IPA – This Uinta Dubhe clone recipe yields a rich, hoppy black IPA at more than 9% ABV and with IBUs that are off the charts.
• Poor Richard’s Ale – Is it a brown ale? A Scottish ale? A porter? Aside from English base malt, a heaping of flaked corn and molasses bring some interesting adjuncts into the mix. It’s modeled after what might have been brewed in the colonial era.
• Brewers Best Gluten Free Sorghum Ale – This recipe kit from Brewers Best uses Briess sorghum syrup as the primary fermentable, adds Belgian candi syrup for an extra punch, then mixes in some Cascade hops and spices for extra flavor. Your gluten free friends will love you for it!
• Peanut Butter Jelly Beer – Don’t knock it til you try it! This recipe uses a powdered form of peanut butter called PB2, which can be found at the grocery store, usually in the aisle with powdered protein shake supplements and the like.

So as you can start to see, what is a specialty beer? is a question with many answers. Do you have your own specialty beer you’d like to share?
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described “craft beer crusader.” He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.

Experience is key. Network, volunteer, get some education. Take biz classes too. Check out Sam Adams program. Get financed.
It’s not uncommon for home brewers to dream of taking their passion to the next level. Just look at these four homebrewers who went pro.
But making the jump from a home brewer to a professional brewer is no easy task. If you want to start working in the craft beer industry, you’ll need to get your foot in the door and gain some experience. Here are just a few tips for making the leap.

1. Network – You’re much more likely to hear about that golden opportunity from someone you know than from an online job board. Plus, being in the know automatically sets you apart from droves of other competitors searching the online ads. Get out to every beer event in your town and start meeting people. You may be surprised how a relationship you build today can turn into an opportunity one, two, or several years down the road.
2. Volunteer – If you don’t have any brewery experience, your best shot may be to volunteer or intern at your local brewery. Give your local brewery a call during business hours and ask about opportunities. Keep an eye on Facebook and Twitter. Also watch the ProBrewer classifieds for entry-level jobs and internships (but don’t forget about #1 above!).
3. Get educated – If you’re starting out with little to no brewery experience, taking some classes will help put you on the right track and demonstrate your level of commitment to the craft beer career path. More and more local and community colleges are adding fermentation sciences classes. Are there any near you? The classic brewing programs like Siebel, UC Davis, and Doemens fill up fast, so go ahead and get booked. To expand on the topic of education, don’t forget about other courses that might be beneficial. In addition to brewers and cellar people, breweries need marketers, graphic designers, accountants, sales people, sustainability managers, IT technicians, and HR specialists. Making yourself valuable in these other areas may be your ticket into your dream job.
4. Want to start your own brewery? Don’t quit your day job. – If your dream is to open your own brewery, get ready for some serious work. Plan on a year or two, maybe even longer, of business planning before you can start your own company. Check out the Siebel Start Your Own Brewery Course. You’ll learn that there’s a lot more that goes into running a brewery than making the beer. Once your business plan is put together, you’ll have to get financed. Consider the Sam Adams Brewing the American Dream program. Any way you cut it, make sure you have all your ducks in a row before you leave your regular job and take the dive into entrepreneurship.

Jumping into the craft beer business is something that a lot of people dream of, but don’t think that it’s all about drinking beer. If you’re serious about working in the beer business, buckle down, study up, and start working relentlessly towards those opportunities.
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described “craft beer crusader.” He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.

The heat of summer, the sting of sweat in your eye, the smell of fresh cut grass. After mowing the lawn, everyone needs a good “lawnmower beer” to cool down! The perfect remedy: an American cream ale.
A cream ale is a very lightly colored ale with low to medium bitterness, a subdued malt character, and a dry finish. After all, you don’t want anything too heavy or bitter after cutting the lawn, you just need something cold with a bit of booze.
To lighten things up, a cream ale beer recipe will often be brewed a small proportion of adjunct grains, typically corn or rice. Flaked rice or flaked corn is an easy way to incorporate those ingredients. Sometimes, the addition of simple sugar as an adjunct can also be used to achieve the dry finish that’s characteristic of this style.
The BJCP Style Guidelines for Cream Ale call for the following specs:

• OG: 1.042 – 1.055
• FG: 1.006 – 1.012
• IBU: 15 – 20
• SRM: 2.5 – 5
• ABV: 4.2 – 5.6%

The American cream ale beer recipe below uses a majority of American pilsner malt for a light flavor, with a decent proportion of Vienna malt for a little color and a husky flavor. The flaked rice helps contribute a lighter body and a dry finish. Contrary to what the name might suggest, a cream ale has no dairy – the name refers more to the smooth mouthfeel than anything else.
Classic American ale yeast strains work well for this beer style. I’ve chosen Wyeast 1056: American Ale Yeast and Safale US-05 as two options. You may also use a Kolsch yeast or any other clean, neutral, well-attenuating ale yeast that you may have on hand. One key to this style is a cold conditioning period. It’s not absolutely essential, but it will help smooth things out.
I hope you enjoy the American cream ale beer recipe below through the heat of the summer! Look below the all-grain directions for a partial mash variation.
Gringo’s Cream Ale
(5.5-gallon batch, all-grain recipe)
Specs 
OG: 1.050
FG: 1.011
ABV: 5.1%
IBUs: 18.5
SRM: 4
Ingredients 
6 lbs. American pilsner malt
3 lbs. Vienna malt
1 lb. Flaked rice
.5 oz. Cluster hops at :60 (3 AAUs)
.25 oz. Willamette hops at :30 (1.125 AAUs)
.25 oz. Willamette hops at :15 (1.125 AAUs)
1 oz. oz. Willamette hops at :5 (4.5 AAUs)
Wyeast 1056: American Ale Yeast or Safale US-05
Directions
If using liquid yeast, prepare a 2L yeast starter. Mash crushed grains at 150˚F for 60 minutes. Sparge to collect seven gallons of wort. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops according to schedule above. At end of boil, cool wort to 70˚F or below and transfer to a clean, sanitized fermenter. Ferment at 65-70˚F for two weeks. If possible, cold condition at 35-40˚F for three weeks. Carbonate to 2.4 vols CO2.
PARTIAL MASH VARIATION: Change the grain bill to 6.6 lbs. Pilsen liquid malt extract, 1 lb. Vienna malt, and 1 lb. flaked rice. Mash the crushed Vienna malt with the flaked rice, strain, then mix in the LME and add water to reach the desired boil volume. If boiling less than five gallons of wort, increase the first hop addition to 1 oz. Cluster hops and top off with clean water to make 5.5 gallons in the fermenter. Proceed as above.
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described “craft beer crusader.” He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.

As homebrewers, we spend lots of time thinking about all the ingredients that we put into our beer. But what about the things that come out of our brew day?
Whether you’d like to save some money or shorten your brewing time, there are lots of benefits that can come from taking a more sustainable approach to your homebrew. Even if being an environmental steward isn’t at the top of your list when you brew, consider these steps that can save you in the long run.
Reduce
The easiest way to stay sustainable from the start is by focusing only on what you need. Don’t buy sensitive items in excess if you’re not going to use them. Grain and hops have eventual shelf lives, so be specific in the amounts you want and when you’ll use them.
It can also be fun to add a touch of personal flair to your beers by using ingredients you grow yourself instead of buying them. In addition to growing hops at home, herbs from backyard gardens can make for great additions. Rosemary, for example, can provide complementary pine aromas to IPAs and basil adds layer of complexity to farmhouse ales, wheat beers, and one of my favorites – honey basil ale.
You can also choose to make lower ABV session beers, which mostly require fewer ingredients, or even harvest and reuse yeast to reduce the amount of ingredients you use.
Reuse
Water plays such a pivotal role in the beer making process, but while the quality of water is important, I often find myself thinking in terms of quantity. Aside from the water we put into our beer, we use a lot of it for cleaning and cooling.
One way I like to save on water use for sanitizing is by using Star San. The commercial-grade sanitizer only needs 60 seconds of contact time to prepare items for use, but its healthy foaming action also offers additional sanitizing that doesn’t require a ton of water to create. By measuring out the amount of Star San you’ll need – a ratio of one ounce per five gallons – you can properly sanitize your equipment. Try using a spray bottle with of the sanitizer solution and even keep the Star San-water solution to use again later.
When it comes to cooling your wort, many homebrewers like to use an immersion wort chiller to prep their wort for yeast. If you’re hooking your chiller up to an outside hose, consider that the average amount of water that could pass through may average up to 10 gallons per minute. If you’re concerned about wasting water, either opt for an ice bath – you can make the ice in your freezer and store it for brew day – or capture the water running out of the chiller to reuse for laundry, watering the plants or grass, or other household chores.
Recycle
Here’s a neat project that combines recycling with energy efficiency. If you’ve got some extra sheet metal or aluminum and you brew outside with a propane patio stove or pressure cooker, it’s easy to make a propane fryer outfit much more efficient for boiling your wort.
If you’ve got the tools to manipulate the metal, create a heat reflector that also blocks wind. Make sure it’s tall enough to cover the legs and heat shield of the burner and also bend the material wide enough to place safely around your burner. It can also double as a windscreen to keep your flame burning. Having a heat shield in place will trap heat around the kettle, potentially allowing for faster boil times. For one homebrewer, it was as easy as recycling a galvanized trash can.
*If you create a heat reflector, make sure to only use it outside in properly ventilated areas. Always take care around burning flame and keep a safe distance from anything flammable.
As you prepare for your next homebrew, stop and give some thought to how you can be more sustainable in your actions. You’ll be able to produce the same quality beer you expect, but may find new approaches to make your homebrewing hobby both more efficient and more fun!
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Bryan Roth is a beer nerd and homebrewer living in Durham, North Carolina. You can read his thoughts on beer and the beer industry on his blog, This Is Why I’m Drunk, and send him suggestions on how to get his wife to drink craft beer via Twitter at @bryandroth.

The Beer Judge Certification Program classifies six kinds of stout: Dry (or Irish) Stout, Sweet Stout, Oatmeal Stout, Foreign Extra Stout, American Stout, and Russian Imperial Stout. Probably the least descriptive of these is the Foreign Extra Stout. What makes a stout “foreign” and how is it different from the other types of stout?
The Foreign Extra Stout is born from a variety of stouts that were traditionally brewed for foreign markets, especially those in the tropics. You may encounter this type of stout as a “tropical” stout. Examples of Foreign Extra Stout include Guinness Foreign Extra Stout and Dragon Stout from Jamaica, both a 7.5% alcohol by volume.
A foreign extra stout beer recipe may produce a beer that is sweet or dry. The main defining characteristic is that foreign extra stouts are brewed to a higher gravity than sweet or dry stouts, presumably to make them easier to ship. They may also have more hop bitterness (as high as 70 IBUs), which would have helped with shelf-life as well. Keep in mind that foreign stouts should have little to no flavor or aroma hop character. Hoppier stouts fit better in the American stout category.
Another characteristic that may be present in foreign extra stouts is esters. Esters are a fruity aromatic produced during fermentation, primarily by ale yeast. Between the fruity esters, and the high gravity, some foreign-style stouts may come across as fairly sweet and rum-like, making them especially deserving of the name “tropical” stout.
Below are the BJCP stats for Foreign Extra Stout:

• OG: 1.056 – 1.075
• FG: 1.010 – 1.018
• ABV: 5.5 – 8%
• IBUs: 30 – 70
• SRM: 30 – 40

The Foreign Extra Stout beer recipe below comes from the book Homebrewing for Dummies. It won a first place award at the American Homebrewers Association National Competition.
New Stout II, by David and Melinda Brockington
(5-gallon batch)
Specs
OG: 1.071
FG: 1.019
ABV: 6.8%
IBUs: 38
SRM: 40+
Ingredients 
9 lbs. English pale malt
3 lbs. Roasted barley
.5 lb. Crystal 40L malt
.5 lb. Black patent malt
2 oz. Kent Goldings hops at :60
Wyeast 1084: Irish Ale Yeast
Directions
The day before brewing, prepare a 2L yeast starter (or just use two packets of Wyeast 1084). Mash crushed grains at 155˚F for 60 minutes. Sparge to collect 6.5-7 gallons of wort in your brew kettle. Bring to a boil and add Kent Goldings hops. Boil for 60 minutes. Whirlpool, chill wort, and transfer to a clean, sanitized fermenter. Aerate well and pitch yeast at 72˚F or below. Ferment at 65˚F for two weeks. Bottle or keg for 2.3-2.6 vols CO₂.
If you’ve never brewed a foreign extra stout beer recipe now is the time to do it. This is a killer recipe that has become very popular among many homebrewers.
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described “craft beer crusader.” He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.

While malt is responsible for fermentable sugars and flavor, hops balance the sweet malt flavors with bitterness. Hops also contribute unique flavors and aromas to your homebrew. In some of America’s favorite beer styles (pale ale, IPA, and Double IPA), hops are the star of the show. The following terms are often used when discussing hops and the role they play in your homebrew beer:

• Humulus lupulus – This is the botanical name for hops. Lupulus refers to the voracious, wolf-like speed at which hops grow.
• Bittering hops – Sometimes called early addition hops, bittering hops are added early in the boil and are responsible for most of the beer’s bitterness.
• Aroma hops – Aroma hops, also called finishing or late addition hops, contribute most of the flavors and aromas of the beer.
• Noble hops – Noble hops are a group of hops of European origin, prized for their aromatic qualities. Many old world beer styles use noble hops.
• Alpha acids – Alpha acids are the bittering resins in the hop flower. They must be boiled to extract their bitterness.
• Bracteole – On an individual hop flower, each “petal” is called a bracteole. Lupulin glands (see below) are located at the base of the bracteoles.
• Lupulin glands – Lupulin glands contain the alpha acids, resins, and essential oils that provide bitterness, flavor, and aroma.
• IBUs – IBUs, or International Bittering Units, are a measurement of a beer’s bitterness. IBUs are determined by the weight and alpha acid percentage of the hops being used, the length of time that they’re boiled, and the gravity of the wort in which they are boiled.
• Hop utilization – Hop utilization is a figure (a percentage or decimal) used to calculate IBUs. As boil time increases and wort gravity decreases, hop utilization increases. However, maximum hop utilization occurs after about 90-120 minutes of boiling.
• HBUs/AAUs – These abbreviations stand for Homebrew Bitterness Units and Alpha Acid Units; both mean the same thing. These units are an easy method for homebrewers to measure bitterness, but keep in mind that they are not the same as IBUs. To calculate HBUs/AAUs, multiply the weight of the hops in ounces by the alpha acid percentage of the hops. For example, a recipe calls for 1 oz. of hops with 4% AA (4 HBUs) to be boiled for 60 minutes. If you happen to have hops with 8% HBUs, you can use half an ounce of these hops in their place to get the same amount of bitterness (0.5 oz. * 8% = 4 HBUs)
• First wort hopping (FWH) – First wort hopping is an alternative method of extracting aroma from your hops. In FWH, hops are adding to the first runnings from the mash tun as the brewer collects wort for the boil, as opposed to being added at the end of the boil.
• Dry hopping – Dry hopping is another method for improving the aroma of your homebrew. Hops are simply added to the beer during secondary fermentation. Read these tips for dry hopping.

Are you a hop-head? What are some of your favorite hops?
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described “craft beer crusader.” He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.

As with most of the popular homebrew debates, there are many different ways to make good beer. Your choice of equipment however has a significant impact on the quality of beer that you make. It’s not that you can’t make decent beer with just the basic homebrew kit – you can – the point is that by continuing to invest in your home brewery, you can make beer as good as or even better than what you can find at the bar or grocery store.
Part Three of this series covers…
Equipment to Make Better Beer
Grain mill – A grain mill like the Barley Crusher gives you the opportunity to grind your own malt. Not only does this give you the most freshly crushed grains possible, but it allows you strict control over the coarseness of the grind, a key factor in improving your systems mash efficiency.
Propane burner – The propane burner was listed in Part One of this series as a tool for saving time. But the propane burner can also help achieve a more vigorous boil, which will help to coagulate proteins and avoid off-flavors from DMS.
Wort chiller – The immersion wort chiller was also listed as a time saver in Part One of the series, but it can also help you make better beer. The rapid chill time when using a wort chiller helps protein settle to the bottom of the kettle and reduces the chance of infection.
Fermentation chamber – A dedicated fermentation chamber is the best way to control the temperature of your homebrew fermentations. Search craigslist or your local classifieds for a used refrigerator or freezer. You can even modify it into a kegerator with a beer faucet or beer tower. Use the next item on this list to maintain strict temperature control.
Temperature controller – The temperature controller is a device that keeps your refrigerator or freezer set to a particular temperature. It essentially tells your appliance when to turn on and off. Fermentation temperature control is crucial to making the best beer possible – the controller is a worthwhile investment.

Magnetic stir plate – More and more I’ve found that fermentation quality is the primary factor in the quality of a homebrewed beer, especially the pitch rate and fermentation temperature. A magnetic stir plate is the great tool for quickly building a large, healthy colony of yeast for your yeast starter.

So what are your priorities for your next home brewery upgrade? Do you want to make brew day easier or do you want to make it faster? Or do you want to focus on improving the quality of your beer? Are there any key upgrades I’ve missed?
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THERE’S MORE! This is part 3 of a 3 part series on home brewing equipment. See part 1 to learn about home brewing equipment that makes brewing easier. See part 2 to learn about homebrewing equipment that saves time!
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described “craft beer crusader.” He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.

One of the main reasons people quit home brewing is that it can be a very time-consuming activity. For those of us who enjoy home brewing, we consider it a good use of time. But even those of us who love to brew have other commitments and things to do. After all, time is money, right?
After a recent 10-hour brew day, I got to thinking about some home brewing purchases that would save me time in the home brewery.
Home Brewing Equipment That Helps Save
Gas burner – When it comes to heating water and boiling wort, you can save a lot of home brewing time by using a propane burner. As you start to brew bigger batches, an outdoor propane burner is the only way to go.

Immersion wort chiller – When cooling 3-4 gallons of wort from a partial mash recipe, an ice bath in the kitchen sink will get the job done, but it still takes a good 30 minutes or longer. An immersion wort chiller will reduce your chilling time by half – maybe even more depending on the temperature of your ground water. Added benefits include a better hot break (reducing haze) and a decreased chance of infection (due to air exposure).

Large capacity brew kettle – I recently brewed a high gravity beer with my five-gallon brew kettle. Since I wanted to end up with a full five gallons of beer, I had to brew the beer even stronger than intended and condense all of the needed sugars into a four-gallon boil. It took over an hour of boiling to condense the wort before I could even start adding hops. I could have saved an hour or more with a larger brew kettle. A 42-quart pot provides ample room for the 6-7 gallons of wort needed for a five-gallon batch of all-grain homebrew. (It’s on my list!)

Keg – Anyone who makes beer can tell you how time consuming it can be to remove labels from, to clean, and to sanitize 50+ beer bottles. Eliminate that struggle with your own homebrew keg. Over several batches of beer, the cost of the keg will be balanced out by the time you save.

Larger CO₂ tank – Enjoy fewer trips for a refill – and sometimes a discounted rate – when you buy a larger capacity CO₂ tank. Again, this investment will pay for itself over time.

Keg/Carboy Washer – While the Keg/Carboy Washer definitely makes cleaning your kegs and carboys easier, it also saves time on clean-up duties allowing you to do other things while the washer is running.
What methods have you figured out to save time when homebrewing? What home brewing equipment do you have that saves you time?
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THERE’S MORE! This is part 2 of a 3 part series on home brewing equipment. See part 1 to learn about home brewing equipment that makes brewing easier.
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described “craft beer crusader.” He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.