Chico Home Brew Shop

Haezset Coast Does the world really need another variety of IPA? What if it were already here? Connor Casey, cofounder of Cellarmaker Brewing in San Francisco, sketches out what may be the next inevitable evolution of the style. WHEN WE CONSIDER THE MANY IPA subcategories that have flourished in the past decade, I find it surprising that some hybrid of West Coast and New England...Continue reading

The Origins of Pumpkin Beer 09/07/2020 By: Josh Weikert I don’t know that there’s a beer more pathologically, frequently and substantively misunderstood than pumpkin beer. I’m not talking about the perennial debate over when is too early for pumpkin beer to hit the taps and shelves (for my money it can’t come soon enough, so I can at least pretend the heat of summer is behind us). No, I’m talking about the general lack of light shone on the origins of pumpkin beer, how it h...Continue reading

Recipe: Aprikose Apricot Pale Want to brew a fruit beer greater than the sum of its parts? To show how one might match a fruit to a particular style, here is Josh Weikert's recipe for an apricot-flavored American pale ale. In Case you have stock piled your summer fruit, here is a tasty way to use it! JOSH WEIKERT Jul 6, 2020 - 3 min read... Recipe: Aprikose Apricot Pale Primary Image There are plenty of ways to skin a cat (or an apricot, in this case), but the advantage of canned puree is that it’s a known quantityliterally and figuratively. You know the precise weight of fruit being used, and it’s commercially sterilized, so there’s low risk of contamination. I add it directly to the primary fermentor. One last note: This is a pale ale, not an IPA. The hops should complement the fruit, not overshadow it. ALL-GRAIN Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters) Brewhouse efficiency: 73% OG: 1.053 FG: 1.013 IBUs: 17 ABV: 5.3% MALT/GRAIN BILL 9 lb (4.1 kg) pilsner malt 8 oz (227 g) Victory malt 4 oz (113 g) British Crystal 45L HOPS & ADDITIONS SCHEDULE 0.5 oz (14 g) Crystal [5% AA] at 60 minutes 0.5 oz (14 g) Crystal [5% AA] at 5 minutes 0.5 oz (14 g) Amarillo [15% AA] at 5 minutes 0.5 oz (14 g) Crystal at whirlpool 0.5 oz (14 g) Amarillo at whirlpool 3 lb (1.4 kg) canned apricot puree to primary YEAST Wyeast 1007 German Ale DIRECTIONS Mill the grains and mix with 4 gallons (15.1 liters) of 163F (73C) strike water to reach a mash temperature of 152F (67C). Hold for 60 minutes. Vorlauf until runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge the grains with 3.3 gallons (12.5 liters) of water and top up as necessary to obtain 6 gallons (22.7 liters) of wort. Boil 60 minutes then whirlpool, following the hops and additions schedule. Chill to 65F (18C), aerate the wort, and pitch the yeast. Ferment at 65F (18C) for 1 week, then add the pureed apricots (optionally, add pectic enzyme to promote breakdown of haze-producing proteinsor don’t!). Let the temperature rise to 68F (20C) for an additional 2 weeks. Once fermented, cold crash to 35F (2C), then bottle or keg and carbonate to about 2.25 volumes of CO2.

Pale Lager: The Pleasures of 'Beer-Flavored Beers' Randy Mosher, author of Radical Brewing, delves into the decidedly un-radical character of the world’s most unassumingyet arguably most rewardingswath of the beer spectrum. RANDY MOSHER Aug 2, 2020 - 10 min read Golden lagers don’t pounce on you like a needy puppy, humping your leg and looking for approval. You have to come to them, meet them on their own terms, and live with them for a while. Slow down and pay attention. O...Continue reading

Belgium’s Funky New Wave Joe Stange, managing editor of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine and co-author of Good Beer Guide Belgium, explores how that country’s wilder-side beers have continued to evolve. JOE STANGE Jul 7, 2020 - 8 min read In Belgium, for the most part, that thing called saison has not followed the same wild path taken by American craft brewers, who have driven it down some increasingly acidic and horsey roads....Continue reading

LOOKING FOR CORNIE KEGS? CHICO HOME BREW SHOP HAS COKE STYLE FIVE GAL. CORNIES, CLEAN & PRESSURE TESTED. YOU PICK OUT WHAT YOU LIKE. ONE/$45, TWO/$80, FIVE/$175

Style + Fruit: Let’s Play Matchmaker Want to add fruit to your beer? Okay. But first ask yourself this important question: Why? JOSH WEIKERT Jul 5, 2020 - 12 min read...Continue reading

HOME BREW SHOP HOURS FOR ```THE 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND``` FRIDAY: 10:00-6:00PM SATURDAY: 10:00-3:00... CLOSED SUNDAY AND MONDAY OPEN AS USUAL ON TUESDAY See more

Water: The Stuff of Life (and Beer) Drew Beechum demystifies the chemistry, boiling water down to all you really need to know to make better beer. DREW BEECHUM Jun 5, 2020 - 13 min read...Continue reading

The Prestige of Kwak STORY BY: JIM DYKSTRA EDITOR'S NOTE: PUBLISHED SPRING 2018, ISSUE 35...Continue reading

Fewer Yeasts, Better Beer Consider that you might be better served and produce better beer by choosing from a curated selection of go-to yeasts. Josh Weikert explains the how and why. JOSH WEIKERT May 8, 2020 Less is more. Keep it simple. Don’t gild the lily. The better the fish, the lighter the sauce. There seems to be no end of proverbs (clichés?) that advise us to avoid over complication, and I’m going to add one to the list: fewer is better, at least when it comes to yea...Continue reading

REMINDER: WE HAVE POTTED SECOND YEAR HOP PLANTS & RHIZOMES TOO. IT IS A GREAT TIME TO GET THEM IN THE GROUND.

The Theory of Lupulin Threshold Shift STORY BY: STEPHEN STAPLES What is Lupulin Threshold Shift, does it change your palate preferences, and can the phenomenon be reversed?...Continue reading