Episode 7 - A New Faction

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In Episode 7 - Denny and Drew take a spin through listener reactions to the first experiment results unleashed online and in the podcast. Then it's off to the pub where they discuss the rise of homebrewing around the globe (focused on an article about Indian homebrewers), Denny wields the eraser of correction about the beers he tried from Barrel of Monks and Drew talks up Lew Bryson's Session Beer Day project.

Comparing First Wort Hopping to 60 minute Bittering Additions

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Some studies have shown that First Wort Hopping (FWH) actually produces about 10 percent more measureable IBUs than a 60-minute addition, but it tastes less bitter. Is this true? Should we all be First Wort Hopping our beers. Wait a tick - what's First Wort Hopping? Simple - it's a process of adding a hop addition into the boil kettle immediately as you begin running off from the mash tun. The hops stay in and you boil them for the full time of the boil.

Subject: 

How does the bittering from FWH compare to the bittering from a 60-minute addition?

Writeup: Yeast Comparison of the "same" strain - Wyeast 1056 / WLP001

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The Subjects Under Question (courtesy Bob) For our very first experiment we asked our IGORs to tackle a fairly simple experiment. Can tasters detect a difference between the same wort fermented with the classics Wyeast 1056 American Ale (nee Chico) and White Labs WLP001 California Ale? See the link above for the full writeup on the parameters of the experiment.

Episode 6 - What's Your Faction?

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In Episode 6 - Denny and Drew look to even more listener feedback. In the pub we promulgate a public service announcement near and dear to Denny's heart, investigate rumors of nefarious hop dealings and reminisce about Denny's time in the big snowy territory of Vail. And then we go to the lab where we discuss the first ever results delivered by our IGOR crew. Is there a discernable difference between Wyeast 1056 and WLP001?

Episode 5 - Whirlpooling Around the Yeast Bay

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In Episode 5 - Denny and Drew look back at the Brew Year's Resolutions where we've had a bunch of feedback from listeners. We talk in the pub about the latest in acquisitions with the sweet spicy addition of hypocrisy - throw in a little competition and Denny's soon to be appearance in Vail. After that we return to the lab to present our second experiment.

Hop Whirlpool - Does steeping at lower temperature improve final hop character?

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If you're gunning for big hop aroma to your beer without the grassiness of dry hopping, traditional practice calls for a large dose of hops after the boil has concluded. These "whirlpool" hops, so called because properly the wort is cycled to create a whirlpool, are thought to give a big dose of aromatic hop oils that aren't volatilized by the high heat and action of a boil.

Subject: 

Does steeping at a reduced whirlpool temperature (~120F) provide more robust hop character from the same hop charge compared to more traditional brewing practices of adding whirlpool hops just post boil

The Dangers of Brewing with Grapefruit

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TLDR - BIG TAKEAWAY - A quick plea to brewers everywhere - for the love of all of everyone - label if your beer uses grapefruit in it. Turns out there's a chance of it causing some nasty side effects. (Actually for that matter - be kind to everyone and label your beers with anything outside the core four.) Edited to add - Taking feedback from various parts of the community and adjusting language to be less hyperbolic Not that long ago, grapefruit was an American breakfast staple.

Episode 4 - Brew Year's Resolutions (A Meditation on Possible Failure) and the Best Amendment

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In Episode 4 - Denny and Drew reflect on the feedback we received about our discussion of the decline of homebrewing before we head to the Pub to talk about socially conscious brewing projects like Lady Justice Brewing in Denver and we talk about the Brew Tube community and how they're coming together after a loss.

Episode 3 - Over a Barrel, Experimentally

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PROFANITY WARNING - There are a few unbleeped blue utterances in this podcast - if you're sensitive to blueness, please wear headphones! In Episode 3 - Denny and Drew start out in the Pub talking about a distressing topic - the possible decline of homebrewing, the causes and what all of us can do about it. Then we get into the real meat of our whole show as we head into the Experimental Brewing Labs in Casa Verde - it's experimentation time!

Yeast Comparison of the "same" strain - Wyeast 1056 / WLP 001

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We've all heard over the years - "oh yeah, Wyeast 1056 and White Labs WLP001 are exactly the same". Well, are they? Is it true that they're close enough that we can just freely substitute or do they bring something different to the party?

Subject: 

Experiment Status: 

Are there detectable differences between Wyeast 1056 and WLP001 when fermented in the same wort at the same temperature?

The Beer World (from an East Bay View)

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This past weekend Denny and I were invited to roam around the Bay Area by one of our podcast sponsors, Craftmeister. Craftmeister was in town to demonstrate their cleaning line to customers and employees at the Bay Area More Beer retail locations and brought us along to autograph copies of B3's latest catalog offering - Experimental Homebrewing!

Carbon Credits

Submitted by Saccharomyces on

Fermentation is an incredibly complex process that can be mind boggling at times. Brewers like to think of yeast as a microscopic lifeform that transforms the sugars found in wort into alcohol, carbon dioxide gas, and metabolic byproducts that add flavor to the final product. However, in reality, yeast cells do not consume sugar. Yeast cells consume carbon, which they attempt to transform into energy. Alcohol and metabolic byproducts are the results of an inefficient metabolic pathway. The topic of this blog entry is how yeast cells transform compounds collectively known as carbohydrates into energy.

Episode 2 - The Rise of the Robots

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In Episode 2 - Denny and Drew talk about the rise of the brewing robots and what they mean for us homebrewers. Are our "jobs" about to be farmed out to a microchip that can make better beer than we can before we've have our morning coffee? Is it really still brewing if a computer is doing all the watching? Also, what does it mean to be Craft Beer?

Table of Contents:

00:00:00 - Our sponsors

00:01:16 - Theme and Intro!

00:02:30 - Our Sponsorship Pledge and Patreon

Episode 1 - Of Triangles and Pumpkins

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Holy Schnikes Batman - it's the first ever episode of Experimental Brewing with Denny and Drew. In this episode, you'll hear Drew actually be right (according to Denny) about the recent spate of craft beer mergers, the absolutely fundamental bedrock technique of triangle testing, Guinness, statistics and math (wait did that survive the edit?

Episode 0 - The Podcast Approacheth

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Listen to the dulcet tones of one Mr. Denny Conn as he explains to you what Experimental Brewing with Denny and Drew will be all about! That's right two of your "favorite" authors - Drew Beechum and Denny Conn are bringing you a new show about the wackiness of beer science and the science of beer wackiness!

Where's Drew? Why isn't he in the trailer? Has he turned to the Dark Side of the Force? You'll just have to wait and see for when the podcast drops on November 11th (or the 18th - things are a bit wishy washy in the world of the Internet)!

Meet Denny and Drew in the Bay Area! 11/20 - 11/21

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Denny & Drew hanging out with the fine folks at Craft Meister - sponsors of our Bay Area Hangout Ever wanted to meet Denny and Drew? Ok, maybe you haven't, but... Now's your chance to come and see us as we tour 3 different MoreBeer locations in the Bay Area on November 20th and November 21st! We'll have books to sign, stories to tell and details of our new efforts.

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There’s Gold in Davis, California

Submitted by Saccharomyces on

On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall found gold at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California. That discovery set into motion the 1849 California Gold Rush. Over 300,000 people migrated to California to seek their fortune, many traveling all of the way from the East Coast in covered wagons. Today, there is a different kind of gold in California. It is a type of gold that is precious to brewers, a microscopic gold. The topic of this entry is the wealth of Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeast species held by the University of California, Davis.

The Great Yeast Culture Adventure

Submitted by Saccharomyces on

First off, I would like to take a minute to thank the Experimental Homebrewing team for extending the opportunity to blog on their site. I have considered creating my own blog since re-entering the hobby a few years ago. However, seeing that my hiatus was due to severe burnout, I wanted to avoid having home brewing become the obsession that it became during my first pass through the hobby. Blogging here will allow me to share what I know with others in one convenient place without having to maintain my own site.

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