Thursday, 27 February 2025

Understanding the BU:GU Ratio in Homebrewing

When it comes to homebrewing, achieving the perfect balance of flavors is key. One essential tool for brewers is the BU:GU ratio, which helps balance bitterness and sweetness in your beer. Let's dive into what this ratio is and how you can use it to enhance your brewing recipes and processes.

Wednesday, 26 February 2025

FermZilla - All Rounder (30L) - Review

Introduction

As part of our continuous journey in the pursuit of brewing better beer at home, we recently purchased the Kegland Fermzilla - All Rounder (30L) fermenter. Our first 12 brews were done using the basic Coopers PET fermenter, which served us well. However, we're now exploring pressure fermentation and closed pressure transfers to move our beers from the fermenter to a keg, which isn't possible with a basic Coopers fermenter. Oxidation has been impacting our beers, so we're looking for ways to eliminate it.

Tuesday, 25 February 2025

Efficient Homebrewing: How to Clean Keg Beer Lines

Introduction

When using a kegging system at home, it's important that beer lines are kept clean to ensure no infections or off flavours develop within the lines themselves. One of the problems many home brewers face when cleaning lines is they need to waste alot of gas - filling a 19L keg with cleaning solution then pressuring it to force the cleaning solution through the beer lines is inefficient - requiring alot of water and gas to do so.

Sunday, 23 February 2025

How to Set and Adjust a CO2 Regulator for Your Kegging System: A Step-by-Step Guide


A CO2 regulator is a critical part of any kegging system. As the name suggests, the regulator is responsible for regulating or controlling the flow of gas from your gas cylinder into your keg. The pressure inside the the CO2 cylinder is much higher than what is required to pressurise kegs, or dispense beer from them, so the regulator helps us set and control the pressure.

Wednesday, 19 February 2025

The Current State of Homebrewing: A Hobby in Flux

Homebrewing, the age-old practice of crafting beer at home, has experienced significant shifts over the past few years. While some enthusiasts argue that the hobby is in decline, others highlight the unprecedented access to advanced technology and more affordable equipment that makes homebrewing more accessible and enjoyable than ever. Let's delve into the current state of homebrewing, examining the factors contributing to its perceived decline and the counterarguments showcasing its resilience and growth.

Tuesday, 18 February 2025

How to Check & Test CO2 Gas Lines for Leaks: A Comprehensive Guide

One of the greatest fears for many home brewers using CO2 tanks and kegs for carbonating and dispensing their beer is the possibility of a leak in their gas lines. Even the tiniest of leaks can empty a full CO2 bottle overnight, causing unnecessary inconvenience and expense.

Sunday, 16 February 2025

Exploring the LalBrew Pomona Yeast Strain by Lallemand

When it comes to brewing modern hop-forward beers, the choice of yeast can make a significant difference in the final product. One such yeast strain that has been making waves in the brewing community is LalBrew Pomona by Lallemand. Named after the Roman goddess of fruit trees, this hybrid yeast strain is celebrated for its unique flavor profile and robust fermentation performance. Let's dive into the details of what makes LalBrew Pomona a game-changer for brewers.

Sunday, 9 February 2025

Understanding Acetaldehyde: The Green Apple Off-Flavor in Beer

Acetaldehyde is one of the most common off-flavors encountered in beer, often described as having a green apple or freshly cut pumpkin aroma and taste. In this article we will delve into the causes, prevention, and remedies for acetaldehyde, as well as how to identify it in your own brews.

Saturday, 8 February 2025

Essential Brewzilla Accessories: Tips and Tricks for a Perfect Brew Day

If you're a proud BrewZilla owner like us, you know how versatile and efficient this brewing system can be. After many brews and countless hours of research, we've compiled a list of essential accessories and tips to enhance your BrewZilla experience.

Friday, 7 February 2025

How to Perform a Closed Transfer from Fermenter to Keg: A Step-by-Step Guide for Homebrewers

Introduction to Closed Transfer in Homebrewing

Closed transfer is a crucial technique in homebrewing that ensures your beer remains free from contamination and oxidation. This guide will walk you through the process of transferring your brew from the fermenter to the keg while maintaining its quality.

Wednesday, 5 February 2025

The Ultimate Guide to Grain Crush Size for BrewZilla Brewing

In order to ensure complete control over your recipe, efficiency and brewing system, you really need to be crushing your own malted grains. After several years of brewing on our 35L BrewZilla 3.1.1 using pre-milled grains from our local home brew shop, we decided to invest in a grain mill and begin crushing our own grains for each recipe and brew day. This lead us to the question as to what the ideal crush size is to use on a BrewZilla system?

Tuesday, 4 February 2025

Juice Boost 2.0 - Hazy IPA - Tasting Results/Review

Our second iteration of the Juice Boost Hazy IPA (previously NEIPA) with a slightly tweaked grain bill and hop schedule compared to the original. It's a decent hazy in our opinion, but there's still some things we'll look at tweaking for version 3...

Sunday, 2 February 2025

Redemption - West Coast IPA - BrewZilla Brew Day

Read on to see all the details about our latest brew day on our 35L BrewZilla 3.1.1 where we brought our Redemption West Coast IPA recipe to life.