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In this inaugural episode of "Chop & Brew," host/producer Chip Walton brews two very different red ales in tribute of homebrew legend Charlie Papazian on his birthday.
In this episode of Chop & Brew, our buddy Drew shows us the basic steps of how to make your own bacon. These include curing/brining, rinsing, dry-rubbing, smoking, slicing and cooking. Oh, and of course -- eating!
In this episode, we're making homebrew inspired by music. Come along as we brew a few beers in tribute of one of Chip's favorite all-time bands -- 311. And what Dre Day would be complete without hand-crafted malt liquor to get the party started? We got that, too! There's all kinds of awesomeness in store for you.
We've had a lot of requests for a how-to on washing yeast. Your wish is our command. In this episode, Chip and his buddy Don Osborn walk through the steps of washing yeast for the purpose of reusing it for brewing more beer at home. This easy process should yield healthy, clean yeast that's ready to rip into your next batch of wort. It's a great way to save a few bucks and, more importantly, keep a unique yeast strain around for a few generations.
This episode has some Chop AND Brew. First, we make an Irish Beef Stew to celebrate St. Patrick's Day (also good for any random chilly evening). Then Chip is joined by Bryon Adams, Chris Paynes and Don Osborn for tasting notes on The Nazz Session IPA and Golden Sunlight Belgian Tripel IPA brewed back in Episode 03. The discussion includes some thoughts on late-addition hops, mid-fermentation sugar additions and mash temperatures.
Another spring, another hop crop gets underway. In this episode of Chop & Brew, we look at the basic steps to planting hop rhizomes in containers and in the yard. Ted and Paul help new hop-growers with tip and techniques for the start of the growing season. Chop & Brew will do several episodes over the coming months on maintenance, harvesting, drying and of course a fresh-hop brew day episode.
The Nordeast Brewers Alliance is on an epic mission: to fill four 59-gallon French oak wine barrels with some big batches of homebrew. Chop & Brew rides shotgun on barrel fill day and checks in for a three-month taste panel to see how the beers are progressing.
Welcome to your front row seat for a lesson on cooking with beer from the one-and-only Sean Z. Paxton a.k.a. The Homebrew Chef. Paxton is a frequent contributor to Beer Advocate, Zymurgy and The Brewing Network. He is not only one of the world's most well-known beer cuisine experts, but also an avid homebrewer. Chop & Brew is proud to bring you this presentation Paxton delivered at a recent class of the Better Beer Society University. Grab a notepad, a beer, and something to nosh on because some epic science is about to be dropped.
Crawfish. Crayfish. Mudbugs. Whatever you call them there is nothing like a crawfish boil! Chef Tim Glover from Cajun 2 Geaux shows us how to prepare a crawfish boil for a crowd of 10 or a crowd of 100. This is a family tradition that Louisiana native Chef Tim is proud to bring the Great North.
It's summer in the city and we're in need of a low-alcohol, yet high-flavor beer. Enter Wyeast Brand Manager Michael Dawson with the cure: Boat Bitter. Dawson has some great advice for crafting a superb session-strength British Bitter utilizing a limited edition yeast strain, Wyeast 1026 British Cask Ale. And if you know Dawson, you know you'll want to grab a beer and a notepad for this episode. Brew Small!
You asked for a home hop progress report, Chop & Brew has one for you. With only a few weeks left in the hop-growing season -- Chip, Dawson and Ted have late-summer updates on their home hop-growing efforts. (Well, Dawson and Ted do anyway.) We talk a bit about how to know when your hops are ready to pick, the easy way to dry the cones, and how to store them. Coming soon: a fresh-hop brew day episode.
Chop & Brew is joined once again by Wyeast brand manager Michael Dawson for a backyard brew session. The goal: a high-gravity Belgian Dark Strong Ale. We discuss what it takes to create a successful "big beer" while sampling a high-octane brew from Dawson's homebrew cellar. Brewers, we'd love to hear your tips and techniques to high-gravity brewing. Leave a comment below this video.
'Tis the season for Oktoberfest! But not everyone has the temperature-controlled facilities to produce a truly and traditionally lagered Marzen-style beer. That's okay. Chop & Brew found a workaround thanks to mother/son brew team Judi & Ryan Schenian. They had the great idea to brew an Oktoberfest beer, but to ferment it with a German Ale yeast. Come along for the brewday and tasting notes that will have you wanting to brew your own Aletoberfest (or Mocktoberfest, Altoberfest, Fauxtoberfest, etc.).
The Krewe of Chop & Brew gathers for a wet-hop brew day to wrap up this year's series on "Growing Hops at Home." We pick hops straight off the bine and stuff more than 10 pounds into a double-size batch. Thanks to Ted W. for hosting this motley bunch for a great brew day. Let us know about your experiences with fresh/wet hops in the comments below.
It's time for pie! And not that store-bought nonsense. Elsa and her mom come from a long line of amazing pie makers. In this episode, Elsa and Mommers reveal some of their family's secret tips and techniques for making a perfect pie crust and filling from scratch. Eat it for desert, eat it for breakfast; forget the cake, it's Pie Time!
In this Chop & Brew Roundtable episode Chip, DonO and Dawson taste and discuss several IPAs fermented with Wyeast 1217 West Coast IPA (Private Collection strain for Sept-Dec 2013). The conversation focuses on the characteristics and usage of Wyeast 1217, but also includes discussion of the new high-alpha German hop Polaris and American hop EXP 5256; as well as the importance of malt bills to and general techniques for hop-forward (and malt-balanced) IPAs.
We got the band back together from Episode 14 (minus King & Rainville) to give our tasting notes on the epic Fresh Hop Ale brewed in C&B 14. You'll remember that beer was brewed and hop-blasted with more than 30 lbs of fresh and dried homegrown hops. Join us as we finally taste the beer. Plus, bonus tasting notes on a Fresh Hop Ale from Bryon Adams that we serve off a HopRocket. Hops for hops!
What begins as a tasting notes session for a can of Green Apple JOOSE quickly evolves into a discussion about the booming kraft joose moovement.
In this episode of Chop & Brew: it's the NYC Homebrew Tour! We join beer journalist Joshua M. Bernstein and dozens of beer tourists as they visit three homebrewers and their homebreweries in Brooklyn.
Chip hangs out with his buddy and brew-mentor Don Osborn during a Hopstand Double IPA brewday to discuss their shared fascination with homebrew videography and beer karma.
Meet award-winning fermentologist Mino Choi. In just three years of making beer, cider, wine and mead at home Mino has earned dozens of medals and awards -- his most recent victories for the Chop & Brew Homebrew Club. We sit down with Mino for a gold-medal flight of beer, cider, icewine and melomel to discuss his experience, process, and fermentation philosophies. And we sweeten the deal for other C&B homebrewers to enter competitions as well.
Discussion with Q&A from John Kimmich, head brewer at The Alchemist in Vermont, famous for his Double IPA - Heady Topper. In this hour-plus of footage, John discusses not only his personal journey through brewery, but offers homebrewer-friendly tips and advice on all elements of brewing specifically as it relates to brewing hoppy beers. Footage shot in October 2013 while visiting Nashville, TN for the Music City Brew Off (which will be the focus of a entirely separate future episode of C&B).
We're off to Nashville (aka Music City) for the Music City Brew Off! In this episode, Chop & Brew gets an inside look at the inner-workings of this homebrew competition hosted by the Music City Brewers homebrew club. MCB president John Malone shares his experiences and gives some advice to other clubs that may be interested in coordinating a competition of their own.
Three dudes, two stouts, one basement. Chip, Chris Paynes and Michael Dawson enjoy two very different homebrewed stouts -- Dawson's Beamishish and Paynes' Imperial Irish Cream Coffee Stout -- both made with the fairly new high-extract MCI Stout malt. Join us as we discuss the tips and techniques involved in brewing these dark beauties.
Chip visits homebrewer/C&B superfan Keith Ciani and his baby girl Nola during a roadtrip to Colorado. The adults in the room discuss small-space brewing, the joys of making sour beers and some DIY methods of lagering at home even without larger freezers or coolers.
Gordon Strong, president of the Beer Judge Certification Program, updates the 2014 BJCP Style Guidelines at the 2014 National Homebrewers Conference in Grand Rapids, MI. Public feedback will be taken on the new proposed guidelines when they are released at the BJCP website and forum.
Chip Walton, Abstract Artimus & Charlie P. Beagleston sit down to enjoy the entries in the inaugural "My Best Impression of the Chop & Brew Theme Song" Contest, then announce the winners. The entrants represent everything from the simple to the surreal.
Chip is joined by a krewe of Chop & Brew All-Stars to taste four different beers made from the same Double Black IPA wort. The wort was brewed for and given to them by Lucid Brewing Company at the American Homebrewers Association Wort Rally on Big Brew Day 2014. The discussion includes tips on dry hopping, yeast strain selection, and fermentation temperatures.
We head into the Bad Ass Brewery to discuss the brewing and barrel conditioning of an Imperial Porter in a Woodinville Rye Whiskey barrel. Our tasting notes discussion includes tips and techniques on barrel-conditioning (barrel-aging) and maintenance, last-minute yeast starters, and using the Wyeast Ringwood Ale yeast strain.
In this episode, we put a unique twist on a saison with the help of some rhubarb! Chip sits down with C&B fan Robert Cone for tasting notes on his Rhubarb Saison. They discuss Robert’s brewing technique including how he used four pounds of rhubarb throughout all parts of the process to craft this effervescent, crisp, tart homebrewed saison.
In this special episode of Chop & Brew, we visit long-time homebrewer P. Berry Dove and hang out while he brews his 1,000th batch of homebrew. P. Berry tells about his experiences in a hobby that has spanned more than 40 years including why he prefers partial mash brewing, bottling his beer and keeping the beers fairly boozy. Grab a pint, sit back and enjoy!
Full-length “Brewing with New Hop Varieties” presentation by Nathan Smith (DOZE, Brewing Network) from NHC 2014 in Grand Rapids, MI. Nathan introduces us to some of his favorite new hop varieties, discusses his split-batch process for test-brewing with new hops, and shares some of the tasty results.
Chip, Dawson and Don O. meet up for basement tasting notes on four different variations on the theme of Belgian Dark Strong Ale – 10 gallons split four ways and experimented upon during secondary fermentation. Among topics and techniques discussed are fermentation, fruit-based candi syrups, black tea infusion, buggy oak sticks, and the unique (and somewhat rare) yeast strain Wyeast 3822 Belgian Dark Strong Ale.
We’re heading into the Bad Ass Brewery with one bad ass guest host and co-brewer – Nathan Smith! Nathan is an award-winning Bay Area-based homebrewer, a member of the DOZE and Brewing Network homebrewing clubs, a Minnesota native. During a recent trip home, we invited Nathan to take the helm of the Bad Ass Brewery alongside Bryon Adams and Chris Paynes. The result: a split-batch of saison and lessons on mash efficiency, making brew day changes on the fly, and some schooling on farmhouse ales.
It’s homebrew for a good cause! This episode takes us to Pittsburgh, PA for the annual Brewing Up A Cure homebrew sampling event. BUAC is a fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation that features dozens of homebrews and some awesome serving stations. Chop & Brew goes behind the scenes to learn more about the event, the brewers, beers, and heartfelt goodwill mission of Three Rivers Underground Brewers.
Chop & Brew celebrates National Homebrew Day with a Big Brew Day at Summit Brewing Company. Hang out with homebrewers as they brew extract, brew-in-a-bag and all-grain batches of beer in Summit’s parking lot.
Full-length presentation from NHC 2014 “Influence of the Mash on Sour Beer Production” by Michael Tonsmeire. Tonsmeire is popular for his Mad Fermentationist blog about his homebrewed adventures with sour beers and is the author of the book American Sour Beers. In this presentation, he discusses the importance of the mash as it relates to sour beer production, and also includes advice on fermentation as well as yeast/bacteria strains.
Homebrewing with tea adds new and complex flavors to your homemade beer. In this episode, Chip and tea-minded homebrewer Jessica Hanley look at different methods for using tea in beer while tasting several examples from Jessica’s homebrewery and a commercial example from Summit Brewing Company.
It’s Chop & Brew on a stick! Chip, Elsa & Mommers head out to the Minnesota State Fair for all things food-on-a-stick, a few MN brews, seed art and more!
Chip visits Don Osborn’s basement for a tasting notes session on three gold medal homebrews – one from the U.S. and two from Ireland. Nerdery ensues.
Chop & Brew teams up with members of TRASH (Three Rivers Alliance of Serious Homebrewers) homebrew club in Pittsburgh for an epic brewday that yields a gold medal doppelbock! Join us and learn about the joys of decoction mashing and brewing a lager meant to age for one year before drinking and entering into competition.
Chop & Brew goes inside the kitchen and smokehouse of C&B Homebrew Club member Paul Fowler to learn how to make spicy snack sticks at home.
We’re in the Chop & Brew kitchen making turkey stock from the bones of your leftover Thanksgiving dinner turkey.
Chip and Bad Ass Bryon Adams get together for a quick tasting notes session on their Pig Out Smoked Blonde Ale brewed during the summer of 2015 at Bryon's 3rd Annual Pig Out BBQ Competition and Homebrew Festival.
Chip, Don O and Dawson gather on a subzero Minnesota day for Canoe Cam tasting notes on a home brewed Munich Madness, hopped-out TVR Pale Ale, well-aged Belgian Quad and a Quad Berry Mead.
Chip is joined by Kristen England (aka Fat Proper) to homebrew a celebratory Rye Stout + Espresso for Rhymesayers Entertainment's 20th Anniversary. Episode includes notes of recipe development and tasting notes plus some conversation on general recipe formatting, over-yeasting, and some hints at future chop- and brew-related episodes involving Kris.
We step in the kitchen and out to the grill with Chef Zander Dixon for a taste of his unique twist on the classic Juicy Lucy aka Stuffed Hamburger. Zander’s lessons include a stripped-down approach to making burger patties and creating jazzed-up fillings including The Popper and Garlic Fiend.
En route to Florida from Minnesota with his family, Bryon Adams stops by the Tennessee home of C&B fan and friend Benjamin Valentine. The guys do a quick tasting notes session on a beer that Benjamin has been sitting on for a while – a split batch fermented with wine yeast and brett.
Homebrew icon and guru Charlie Papazian delivers a homebrew history lesson of epic proportion tracing the early days of the homebrew hobby and culture in the United States. This presentation is nothing short of essential knowledge for homebrewers and craft beer geeks alike.
We celebrate Chop & Brew’s 50th episode with a homebrew worthy of Carnival season! Chip collaborates on a King Cake Ale recipe as tribute to one of the most famous foods of Mardi Gras.
Autumn is here and we have comfort food on our minds. Irish comfort food! We cook a batch of Irish Coddle to share with our friendly Irishman Damian McConn and discuss the tradition of the dish in his mother country.
The Krewe of Chop & Brew takes the One Chip Challenge with Paqui Tortilla Chips’ Carolina Reaper Madness! Self-proclaimed to be the world’s hottest pepper chip, it is made with Carolina Reaper, Ghost, Cayenne and Chipotle Peppers. When they say it’s HOT, they ain’t lying! See what happens when we take the fiery challenge.
Tis the season for a high-gravity doppelbock treat called Samichlaus. Join Chip, Don O. and Michael Dawson as they tell the tale of this wonderful super-lager, and enjoy examples from the Austrian brewery and our Minnesota homebreweries.
We learn to homebrew a Swedish style of beer called svagdricka with the advice and help of our friend, Swedish homebrewer/craft brewer Mikael Holmlund. Think of it as an even more sessionable version of an English dark mild. It’s a fun beer to brew and drink.
We’re back in the basement homebrewery of Cody Myers-Miller, tasting and learning about the unique brewing process for his Gotlandsdricka Style Ale and Christmas Wit.
The Krewe of Chop & Brew visits Bad Weather Brewing Company to collaborate on a new beer called Solar Wave Golden IPA. BWBC head brewer Andy Ruhland introduces the beer and provides a homebrew-scale version of the recipe. [Original postdate: February 4, 2017] Related Links Solar Wave Golden IPA Homebrew Recipe Bad Weather Brewing Company BWBC
Chip, Don O., and Dawson discuss the regional beer style known as Northeast Ohio Style Holiday Ales by way of tasting notes and input from two craft brewers in Cleveland, OH — Andy Tveekrem from Market Garden Brewery and Vaughn Stewart from Portside Distillery & Brewery
We’re back at Bad Weather Brewing Company to taste Solar Wave Golden IPA, the pro-am style collaboration beer we brewed there a month ago. The discussion includes some thoughts on the new Idaho 7 hop, filtering hoppy beers, and some advice for homebrewers making Solar Wave at home.
Chop & Brew visits Dublin, Ireland for BrewCon, the country’s annual homebrewers conference and party. The event and competition is organized by the National Homebrew Club. Come with us to learn more about BrewCon and about homebrew culture on the Emerald Isle.
Spring is here, and so are the dandelions. Don't let them get you frustrated. Put them to good use by making them into dandelion wine. Chip and Don Osborn discuss the how to make dandelion wine at home and give their tasting notes on three different versions from their cellars.
Chip and Don go to work on a short flight of Irish craft beer presented by Brian Condron from the Irish Craft Beer Show. Beers include Yellowbelly Lager, Yellowbelly Castaway Passionfruit Sour, and Whiplash Brewing Company’s Surrender to the Void (Beoir Beer of the Year 2017). We discuss the Irish craft beer scene.
Steve Fletty (Meadmaker of the Year 2007 and 2016) hosts a flight of three meads and a discussion of his mead making process.
Chip & Meadmaker of the Year Steve Fletty continue their conversation about mead making. Topics include fruit meads, yeast health, ageing, and blending.
Quick tasting notes on two mini-meads from Bad Ass Bryon Adams and Chip Walton on National Mead Day 2017. The meads were made with honey from Bare Honey of Minnesota. Shout-out to Mino Choi for the recipe and process help!
Quick tasting notes from the garage on two beers Chip brewed for this summer’s Homebrew Con event in Minneapolis, MN. He, Don Osborn and Paul Fowler taste and comment on Pedal Pusher Lavender Wit and Rye Stout + Espresso 2.0.
Our friend Nate Beck — the man behind Natedogs artisan hot dog cart — shows us how to make beer mustard and bacon jam. These beer-soused condiments are a perfect accompaniment for hot dogs, but they can also be used in a wide range of other recipes.
Some brew days just don't go as planned, but still yield an enjoyable beer. Such was the case with a hazy pale ale that Chip brewed for a Fox 9 Morning News segment while promoting this summer's Homebrew Con. Jeremy King joins Chip to sample and discuss the brewing process and tasting notes.
Join us for a flight of homebrew sent to us by a homebrewer with a great story. Will Watson is a nomadic homebrewer, taking his brew gear with him and brewing in different cities across the country. We taste three of his homebrews: Mexican Lager, Norwegian Farmhouse Ale, and Imperial Coffee Stout.
The Waltons suffer from full-blown salsa mania! We like to make it year-round, but nothing beats summertime garden fresh salsa, when the tomatoes, hot peppers and herbs are fresh. Chip & Elsa share their basic recipes and process for making three different salsas: red, green, and smoked.
Chip and Bryon enjoy the 2017 release of Surly Darkness -- the Twin Cities's legendary Russian Imperial Stout -- while sharing Darkness Day history and memories. Cheers to Surly Brewing Company for more than a decade of Darkness!
The Upside Down (Cake) is a deliciously dark treat and Chop & Brew food tribute for Stranger Things. Think of it as gingerbread meets a pineapple upside-down cake. While we made it for the upcoming premiere of Stranger Things 2, it would also make a nice addition to the dessert table at any holiday get-together, or house party or potluck any time of year.
We explore a wide range of use for Weyermann® Barke® Vienna Malt in multiple homebrew styles including Vienna Lager, Oktoberfest, Saison, Vanilla Honey Coffee Lager, and a Doppelsticke Alt. Thanks to BSG HandCraft and Nordeast Brewers Alliance for their parts in making this episode happen.
Brewing and tasting notes on a coffee dark mild. This homebrew was inspired by Chief Hopper from the Netflix series, Stranger Things. Because he’s got a dark, mild personality. And he’s all about coffee and contemplation.
Paul Fowler celebrates a big milestone with a big beer. He homebrews the historical recipe of Courage Imperial Stout for his Fowler House Batch #100. Join him for the epic brew day and two-month tasting notes.
Chip and Paul Fowler taste their way through three different variations of a strong stout brewed with whey. Yes, whey! Shout-out to C&B fan Kent Erickson for sending us the beer.
This video of a panel discussion from Homebrew Con 2017 includes five international homebrewers discussing the hobby from their very unique perspectives. Chip Walton moderates the panel that includes: Brian Condron (Ireland), Lai I Jai (Taiwan/China), Miguel Loza (Mexico/SoCal), Gaston Rivera (Chile), and Peter Symons (Australia). They discuss equipment, raw materials and some processes unique to their home countries.
Video of live “Homebrew Disrupts American Beer” session from Homebrew Con 2017. Chip Walton (Chop & Brew) and Tom Dalldorf (Celebrator Beer News) interview Charlie Papazian about his storied career in homebrewing and craft beer. Papazian is the founder of both the American Homebrewers Association and Brewers Association, organizations from which he announced just today that he will be leaving next year on his 70th birthday.
Black tripel – is that even a thing? Sure, it is; Charlie Papazian said so. Homebrewer/musician Jimi Cooper sent us a few bottles of his Paint It Black Tripel for tasting notes. His Belgian specialty ale was inspired by Black is Back, a recipe by Papazian.
Dawson presents a truly unique homebrew and recipe he concocted in collaboration with The Growler magazine and actor Erik Stolhanske of Broken Lizard comedy team to celebrate the upcoming release of Super Troopers 2. We're talking dry hops, lacto kettle souring, fruit in primary and, of course, we're talking about GLITTER! (Glitter optional, but highly suggested.)
Chip and Don are gifted two coffee beers from Trillium Brewing Company by C&B superfan and Trillium mega-supporter Jeff Roach. We sample Day & Night Blonde Barleywine and PM Dawn American Stout - both made with cold brewed coffee.
Chop & Brew visits the Pacific Northwest Homebrewers Conference 2017 in Vancouver, Washington. This two-day event is a small-scale version of the larger annual Homebrew Con event, but with a focus on local PNW region. It includes educational seminars, a pro brewers night, vendor expo hall, and of course – Club Brews! Meet the people that helped make the event a reality, as well as some members of homebrew clubs in the region.
Chip and Kris England sample “Minnesota’s Famous” Grape Salad, a sour ale fermented with white grape must brewed by Kris at Bent Brewstillery in Roseville, MN. This leads to broader conversation about sour ale production and the nature and marketability of session ales.
Chip visits with Jeremy Jalabert, the 2017 Oregon State Home Brewer of the Year and host/producer of the online beer show Grist & Mash. They share a bottle of Scottish Light Ale while discussing Jeremy's competition brewing strategy and why he decided to start producing his own beer interview show.
Paul Fowler and Chip sample two versions of Wheaty Brown, a Southern English brown ale homebrew recipe from Michael Dawson's homebrew book, Mashmaker.
Where the Wild Beers Are started as a small bottle share event in to highlight sour, wild, farmhouse and mixed culture fermented beers. Over the last 10 years, it has grown to a series of full-on sour beer fests including some of the country’s best sour ale producers pouring and discussing their beers with bottle share participants.
Belgian Abbey Style Christmas Ales are a lovely holiday treat for beer lovers. They are big, dark and spicy. The key is homebrewing your holiday beer with enough time for the alcohol and spice to mellow out and come into balance. Join homebrewers Carl Allen and Zachary Newman for a brew day and tasting notes on their variation that includes gingers, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom.
Chuck Gosnell swept the American Wild Ales category at the 2018 Minnesota Mashout homebrew competition. So we asked him to bring the three winning beers over to Chop & Brew HQ for a tasting and conversation about his process for making sour, wild and mixed culture beers. Sampled in this episode are Chuck's Golden Sour with Apricots, Sour Red with Blueberries, Blackberries and Raspberries, and Dark Sour with Raspberries.
Smoke mead everyday! Mead master Steve Fletty takes a random joke and makes it into a wonderful mead made from smoked honey. Fletty, Chip and Bad Ass Bryon Adams talk about the process of making a smoked mead and have fun sampling the first bottles off the line.
Join the Primary Fermenters homebrew club as members press thousands of pounds of apples to make their own hard cider, then get together to taste some of the ciders made from the must.
Ice cider is like hard cider meets wine, but so much better than both! The process involves freezing apple cider, slowly thawing it and collecting the high-gravity must to ferment. We learn how to make this decadent dessert drink from award-winning ice cider maker Jeremy Olsen.
Paul "Snack Stick" Fowler serves up two versions of an Oktoberfest. The main wort was split and fermented with two different yeast strain - Imperial Yeast Harvest and Wyeast Bavarian Lager. And you can definitely taste the difference!
Our Norwegian friend Ivar A. Geithung sent us a box of farmhouse homebrew (haimabrygg) brewed in the old style and fermented with rustic house strains of kveik. We unbox and sample three of his unique, historically brewed ales.
Professional brewer and C&B fan Denny Boor sent us two beers from his Battle Street Brewery in upstate New York. We sample his Chocolate Raspberry Porter and NEIPA.
We sample a flight of beers from Tree House Brewing Company sent to us by power fan Jeff Roach. Shout-out to Jeff for keeping us Minnesotans in fresh Massachusetts beer!
Episode 95 | Learn to make the most addictive substance on the face of the planet – home snack mix! Chip shares his family recipe for their Straw Mix, a perfect snack for parties, holiday gatherings, food gifts, or really important football games.
The first in an ongoing series of videos related to Basic Water Chemistry for Homebrewing. Paul Fowler tells us about his methods for adjusting the chemical profile of his brewing water based on what style of beer he's brewing.
We celebrate another 311 Day with a hazy, hop bomb of a beer featuring flaked maize, flaked oats, and spelt malt in the mash with a whole lot of Cluster and Mosaic hops in the kettle and dry hop. Paul Illa is in the house for tasting notes on our From Chaos NE (Nebraska) IPA, a beer that started out as an April Fool’s Day joke – but there’s nothing funny about how good this beer tastes!
The Krewe of Chop & Brew gather for an epic flight of crowlers from our buddy Keith Ciani, six beers from his brewery Headless Mumby Brewing Company in Olympia, WA. Headless Mumby (Keith's and his cohorts Alex Maffeo and Stacey O'Connor) brews only lagers using solely whole-leaf hops. We sample their German Pils, NW Amber, IPL, Smoked Rye Lager, Dark Czech and Cascadian Brown Lager.
Paul Fowler is back with a new smoked meat project for the Krewe of Chop & Brew. This time we’re talking about (and enjoy our share of) home smoked beef jerky!
For Chop & Brew's 100th episode, it seemed only fitting to present a multi-beer brew day that includes our good friend Barry Salem's 100th brew. Join us for a snow day homebrew house party of epic proportions! Thanks to everyone for their support of Chop & Brew over the years. It means the world to us!
Chip homebrews a unique session beer from a recipe in Dawson's Mashmaker book: Wild Rice Mild, a dark mild elevated by the addition of wild rice to the mash. Don O and Bad Ass Bryon Adams join him for tasting notes. And a preview of an upcoming barleywine episode.
Ride shotgun with Chip on a brew day with The Grainfather all-in-one all-grain brewing system, and see how the first two beers off the system turned out.
Chip sits down to chat and share some beers with brewer Omar Zamora, head brewer at Mother Bunch Brewing in Phoenix, AZ. Omar talks about coming up as a homebrewer in Mexico, building a brewing career in Arizona, and how learning to make beer saved his life. [The first in a three-part video series from Phoenix.]
Chip, Bad Ass Bryon Adams and Leif gather in the Bad Ass Kitchen to sample four holiday-themed beers sent to us by brewer James Carlyle from Ingenious Brewing Company in Humble, TX. With brewer’s notes from James to guide our sleigh, we proceed to get lit up like a Christmas tree!
Epic mead episode ahead! Chip sits down for a flight of fantastic mead and enlightening conversation with mazer Jared Ro Bear of Superstition Meadery (Prescott, AZ). Topics include blending, dry-hopping, and working with unique ingredients.
We’re invited to go behind-the-scenes at Imperial Yeast to learn about the brewing and lab processes that go into creating brewer’s yeast for homebrewer and craft brewers.
It’s a berry mead of epic proportions! We sit down with Paul Fowler to sample his Berry Bomb Mead and learn how he reversed-engineered a blended mead to create this award-winning mead in one single batch.
There’s nothing like a high-gravity brew day with the boys! Chip and Dawson gather to help… errr… watch DonO brew an epic barleywine recipe from Dawson’s Mashmaker book. Brainstorming, good times, and never-ending wort ensues!
We have a fun and informational socially distant Q&A with two friends from Falling Knife Brewing Company in Minneapolis, Tom Berg (Chief Brewing Officer) and Robbie Denaway (Head Brewer). We sample and discuss the process of brewing their Neon Midnight India Pale Lager and FWB Fruited Sour with raspberries, blackberries and boysenberries. We tackle beer nerd topics like dry-hopping lagers, making a kettle soured mash, and fruit additions. We also talk more seriously about building a strong brewing team, and what it’s like to run and operate a brewery during the current coronavirus crisis.
Chip brings together the original Brewing TV crew -- Jake Keeler and Michael Dawson -- to discuss the webshow, their favorite moments from production, the lasting effect on their careers, and present BTV 0: The Lost Episode. Huge thanks to Northern Brewer Homebrew Supply for allowing us to share the 2010 footage.
Forgot the malts and hops, we're making Spruce Tip Wine! Chip ferments a beverage from homemade spruce tip simple syrup for a wonderfully refreshing and citrus-y summer slammer.
Black is Beautiful is a worldwide beer collaboration and social initiative powered by a big imperial stout. Chip talks with Marcus Baskerville, head brewer and founder of Weathered Souls Brewing Company in San Antonio, about the recipe and social justice cause behind this beer. Marcus also gave us some tips to homebrewers who want to brew the beer for themselves. Below we have two different homebrew-scale versions of the beer: both 3- and 5-gallon volume brews of OG 1.074 and 1.095 versions of the beer. If you brew the beer post pics from your brew day and beer with #BlackIsBeautifulBeer on Twitter and Instagram and tag us @chopandbrew. Also, let us know what sort of improvisations you make and what additional flavors you use if any.
Opening a brewery is a marathon, not a sprint. And that marathon is full of unexpected potholes and hurdles along the way. We share a beer with and talk to two of the guys working to start Arbeiter Brewing Company in South Minneapolis about their experience planning and building out a brewery in the time of crisis, and their "Bavarican" brewing interests.
Bad Ass Bryon Adams had an idea: one wort, nine different saison-friendly yeasts. What could go wrong? Turns out, not much actually. BABA and Chip deliver tasting notes on some of the beers. Chip finally got around to editing this from video shot in summer 2018, but with ambient temps skyrocketing this week all across the U.S. it's a perfect time to be thinking about saisons once again!
The Mustard Beer has arrived! We taste the eagerly awaited (by us anyway) collaboration between French's Classic Yellow Mustard and Oskar Blues Brewing. And, it is quite pleasant!
We talk with Niko Tonks, head brewer at Fair State Brewing Cooperative in Minneapolis about his Black is Beautiful variant, which is a blend of the suggested imperial stout recipe blended with a previous batch of barrel-aged Pecan Pie Stout. Niko shares his process ideas for brewing big imperial stouts. He also talks more in general about collaborations both virtual and in-person, and a bit about how his brewery has pivoted in the time of the pandemic. Hoping to release a brew day video and follow-up interview with Marcus Baskerville soon as part of this series.
NanoCon is an awesome conference for nanobrewers and homebrewers looking to upgrade into the nanobrew space. In this episode, we go behind the scenes to see what the conference is all about and to talk beer gadgets and equipment with vendors, and about the motivation to start a nanobrewery with attendees from the U.S. and abroad.
Brian Huntley (Short Circuited Brewers) shows us the ways of homemade sausage made using a marble-y cut of pork shoulder and some of his favorite spices.
In this Chop Episode, we get down with a special dog-friendly birthday burger for Charlie P. the Dog... and grill-smoked burgers for humans.
Norwegian Kornølfestival is like the Homebrew Con and GABF of Norwegian farmhouse ales fermented with kveik. In this episode, Chip talks with two festival organizers -- Lars Marius Garshol and Stig Seljeset -- about this year's virtual version of the festival and they discuss more widely the global interest in and appreciation of kveik yeast strains. Stig is also the family-owner of Kveik #22 Stellja; we learn a bit about his family history with farmhouse brewing.
Our buddy Leif Neilson shows us how to make his favorite recipe for green chili, inspired by a childhood trip to Colorado and that state's signature chili dish.
Barry Salem sent us a care package with two varieties of homemade smoked venison jerky and a SMASH homebrew. We talk about both of his marinade recipes for jerky as well as the smoking process, with tips for people without smokers who might need to dehydrate jerky instead. The SMASH was brewed with Munich malt and Mandarina Bavaria hops, then fermented with Omega Sundew yeast.
Smoked beer meets hard apple cider in this episode of Chop & Brew. Chip shares the story of his rauchgraf or smoked graf, a hybrid beverage fermented from a blend of rauchbier wort and orchard fresh apple cider. The result is something delightfully smoky and slightly tart with a bit of malt and apple sweetness.
Chip talks with pro brewers Aaron Herman (Arbeiter Brewing Co.) and Nick Walby (Fair State Brewing Cooperative) about the exciting technique of dip hopping, which involves making a hop tea with a portion of brew day wort in the fermenter before filling completely and fermenting. Check out the May/June 2021 issue of Brew Your Own magazine for an article by John Holl that includes a homebrew-scale recipe for Aaron and Nick's collaboration beer Bibbidy Drippidy Hop DDHDDH!
The Krewe of Chop & Brew got together to brew seven different takes on the popular Janet’s Brown Ale homebrew recipe, created and popularized by the late, great Mike “Tasty” McDole. The American Homebrewers Association selected Janet’s Brown Ale as one of the suggested homebrew recipes for this year’s Big Brew for National Homebrew Day. Join us for a tasting notes session of epic proportion as we sample seven versions of Janet's Brown Ale including variants brewed with smoked malt, honey, kveik, wood in primary, and English ingredients. Stay Tasty, y'all!
