Brewing Tips

By Callan O’Neill This article was originally written as part of our “alternative fermentables” education night. What is kefir? Kefir is soured, tart, fermented milk with similar consistency to thin yoghurt. It originated in eastern Europe & Russia and is made from kefir grains – small clumps that are jelly like in consistency (see below) …

In part one we discussed how to describe the beer in the middle section covering: Aroma, Appearance, Flavour, and Mouthfeel. Now we turn our attention to scoring. It’s common to score each section as you go, once you have described each aspect. You can always go back and adjust scores later. Note that the sections …

In our BABBs mini-competitions we collaboratively judge beers according to the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) standard. We use the BJCP 2021 scoring guidelines, download them here, or get an app on your phone. This is guide for beginners to help you make sense of the BJCP process and the score sheet. You can download …

By Dion Clark Notes from one of our sensory training education nights held on September 2023. We used Siebel fault kits with tasters blind to the faults at first. Only common beer faults were discussed. Notes feature the talking points of the night including the perception of the faults, how the occur, and how they …

The table below table shows the full results of laboratory water analyses commissioned by BABBs in November 2022. Several areas of Brisbane are represented, but be aware that there is some variation in sources over time. These samples should definitely get you in the ballpark. A reminder that Brisbane water is treated with both Chlorine …

Taking a look at some lesser known IPA sub-styles with Tony Van Der Linden When you think of IPAs these days, where does your mind normally go? Is it hazies and the (these days) ever-present NEIPA, or the revival of “proper” West Coast IPAs? Perhaps you’re reminded of that one good Brut IPA you ever …

By José Perez If you got served the two beers below, which one would you choose to drink? If you picked the one on the right, then you can already instinctively recognise a beer poured in a “beer-clean” glass compared to one poured in a not so beer-clean glass. But what is a “beer-clean” glass? …

By Dion Clark Reaching your proper final gravity is something that newer brewers in particular worry about a lot. Here are some tips. Learn your tools Whatever tool you are using for your gravity readings, be sure that it is calibrated. Either a refractometer or hydrometer should read 1.000 when reading distilled water (the stuff …

By Nick Holt Are your beers scoring low 30’s and fault free, but your not getting those competition wins? Take heart, these scores are a sign you are really a good brewer. When a judge says a recipe needs some work or tweaking, this indicates that the beer does not meet all the style parameters …

with Anthony “Ziggo” Zigenbine Sour beers have been around since beer was invented, and this new trend of fruited sours is just their latest incarnation. You can impress your friends by telling them that they’re often known as Catharina Sours, as brewers in the Santa Catherina region of Brazil were the first to popularise the …