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It was once said by a very wise person that no one is ever wrong when they taste a beer. Everyone tastes beer differently. Someone’s flavor masterpiece is another person’s drain pour — that’s just the fact of genetics and sensory science.

There has been a general agreement amongst brewers over a class of flavors that indicate that something went wrong with the brewing process or fermentation, however — most beer people know them as off-flavors. Getting to know and recognize off-flavors is somewhat difficult for the average homebrewer without significant monetary resources, but it’s definitely not impossible. With some guidance, even the casual beer geek can set up an affordable off-flavors tasting panel with friends. Let’s talk about some sensory basics first before getting into the nitty-gritty of off-flavors.

Sensory Basics

There are some bigger breweries out there that can use expensive pieces of equipment to precisely measure attributes of off-flavors in their beer. However, most craft and homebreweries have to utilize the most precise, cheap, and fickle instrument of all — the human palate. It’s a fact that we humans can detect thousands of flavor and aromatic chemical compounds to such a degree that the fanciest gas chromatograph with mass spectrometry can’t hold a candle to our ability to detect off-flavors. The only thing that gets in our way is bias.

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It’s a day or two after the yeast was pitched in your most recent homebrew and there are signs of fermentation in the form of foam called krausen. A few days later, the rocky froth nearly fills the headspace of your fermenter as the yeast work through their busiest period, known as high-krausen.

German lager brewers traditionally took high-krausen wort from a newly fermenting batch and added it to a fully-fermented batch of the same recipe. This process, known as krausening, introduces healthy, new yeast to pick up where the primary yeast—which went dormant due to the layering temperatures—left off.

The Uses of Krausening

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It’s that time of year again, when the post-holiday, mid-winter blues turn to anticipation and excitement about all the amazing craft beers on the horizon in the coming year.

To celebrate, we once again present our picks for the biggest beer releases of the year. For 2016, we’ve introduced a six-pack of brews that includes some fresh new faces that may not have been on your radar, though we did include an old familiar friend, Pliny the Younger. Hey, you can’t leave out a beer that requires a two-week release party!

So get your plane tickets or plan that road trip, and get ready to savor some of craft brewing’s most dynamic and sought-after beer releases.

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Among homebrewers, President Jimmy Carter is best known for signing H.R 1337, which contained an amendment sponsored by Senator Alan Cranston creating an exemption from taxation for beer brewed at home for personal or family use.

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One of the world’s oldest, continually-brewed styles of beer is the Finnish farm-style sahti. Rich with Nordic tradition, this centuries-old style has overcome many twists and turns throughout its history to remain a prevalent yet ancient style.

The Story of Sahti

The earliest written records of sahti only date back a few hundred years to the late 18th century, but casks of the traditional Finnish style were found aboard a sunken Viking ship dated back to the 9th century. Some historians even claim ancient beer styles like sahti were the motivation behind developed agriculture in Scandinavia.

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Just this morning, I was reading a list of tweets and a couple of comments from a person who shall remain anonymous. The comments and tweets leaned heavily on this theme:

“Dear US Craft Beer: You are trying too hard.”

“The reason for calling something “craft beer” is an additional $2 – $4 a six-pack.”

“@GABF In terms of German styles, not winning a medal would appear to be more of a badge of honor than winning one. Embarrassing.”

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Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

Coke or Pepsi. Bud, Miller, or Coors. Many a craft beer aficionado has railed against brand loyalty, criticizing the consumption of advertising over what’s in the bottle. And rightly so.

But a specter haunts the craft beer world –– the specter of style loyalty. A chicken in every pot and an IPA in every fridge is one thing. Entire lineups of IPAs?

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Chris Swersey and Chuck Skypeck currently serve as technical staffers at the Brewers Association (BA). Both had long careers as craft brewers before joining the BA staff. As brewers at Mickey Finn’s (Libertyville, Illinois), Leinenkugel’s Ballyard Brewery (Phoenix, Arizona), and Boscos (Tennessee and Arkansas), Swersey and Skypeck racked up 14 Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup medals in various German-style wheat beer categories ranging from the light Leichtes style through Bavarian Hefeweizen and on to Dunkelweiss.

Consider these tips from the (former) pros next time you fire up your burners to brew a traditional tasting German-style wheat beer.’

1) Pick the Right Yeast for the Job

Select your yeast strain carefully to develop the flavor profile you desire. Different stains produce varying amounts of the esters and flavor compounds associated with German-style wheat beers. Choose a strain that emphasizes the characteristics you desire.

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