Basic Brewing Radio

We get input from our listeners on "home brewing" vs. "craft brewing" and extract vs. all grain.

James, Andy Sparks and Steve Wilkes collaborate to taste home brewer Michael Tonsmeire's experiment comparing six different sugars in Belgian beers.

Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own magazine, walks us through the hoops and hurdles home brewers have to go through to brew American Pilsner, the most maligned of all styles.

Ed Westemeier, communications director of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), gives us the history behind the organization and talks about its role in brewing today.

We continue our discussion about the history of beer in the USA with Maureen Ogle, author of Ambitious Brew - The Story of American Beer. Part two takes us from Prohibition to present day.

We learn about the history of beer in the USA from Maureen Ogle, author of Ambitious Brew - The Story of American Beer. Part one takes us from the Pilgrims to Prohibition.

Chris Colby, editor of Brew Your Own Magazine, walks us through the age-old process of decoction mashing.

John Palmer, author of How to Brew, joins us to answer frequently asked questions on home brewing. John also tells us the causes of common off flavors.

Andy, Brian and James spend some time chatting with Adam Avery of Avery Brewing. Adam talks about making the move from home brewer to brewery owner, dry hopping and making big beers at home.

Andy Sparks and James Spencer join Brian Warren and John Holder in Denver to taste the last round of samples in the Hot Side Aeration experiment. We also get feedback about the experiment from John Palmer.

Rick Sellers from Pacific Brew News Radio reports on a California brewing competition for women only. Also, Chris Colby from BYO explains high-end RIMS and HERMS brewing systems.

We travel to Fort Collins, Colorado to speak with Eric Salazar and Peter Bouckaert of New Belgium Brewing.

Thanks to a demonstration hosted by the Brewers Association, we see what happens behind the scenes in the judging of the Great American Beer Festival competition.

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