Ashton Lewis - The Homebrewers Answer Book

THE
HOME
BREWERS
ANSWER BOOK

Solutions to Every Problem, Answers to Every Question

Ashton Lewis
Columnist for

The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Margaret Sutherland and Dianne M. Cutillo
Art direction by Mary Winkelman Velgos
Cover and text design by Vicky Vaughn Design
Text production by Jennie Jepson Smith

Front cover photograph by Jeff Shaffer/Shaffer Smith Photography
Back cover and photograph by Suto Norbert Zsolt/Shutterstock
Illustrations by Randy Mosher, except for pages 12, 109, 307, and 357 by Mary Rich

Indexed by Susan Olason, Indexes & Knowledge Maps

2007 by Brew Your Own magazine

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other without written permission from the publisher.

The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information. For additional information please contact Storey Publishing, 210 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247.

Storey books are available for special premium and promotional uses and for customized editions. For further information, please call 1-800-793-9396.

Printed in China by Regent Publishing Services
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lewis, Ashton.

The homebrewers answer book / Ashton Lewis.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-58017-675-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. BrewingAmateurs manuals. 2. BeerAmateurs manuals. 3. BrewingMiscellanea.

4. BeerMiscellanea. I. Title. II. Title: Home brewers answer book.

TP570.L469 2007
641.873dc22

2007022269

To my parents,
Diane and Greg,
who have always encouraged me in my pursuits.

Looking back, it would have been pretty easy for them to discourage me from exploring beer and brewing during the three years preceding my 21st birthday.

Thank you for understanding that I was serious about pursuing brewing as a career.

I would like to thank the Brew Your Own editorial staff I have worked with over the years who helped make my column possible: Craig Bystrynski, Chris Colby, Garrett Heaney, Gailen Jacobs, Carl Landau, Kathleen James, Betsy Shaw, and Susan Walton. A special word of gratitude goes to Brad Ring, who successfully pitched the idea of this book to Storey Publishing, compiled all of these questions into chapters, and edited the questions and answers into manageable sizes from the originals.

None of this would be possible without a referral from Scott Ungermann back in 1995, when Carl Landau phoned the brewing lab at UC Davis looking for a technical editor for a new magazine he was looking to launch. I also must thank Dr. Michael J. Lewis, my friend, brewing mentor, and former business partner, for admitting me into his graduate program in 1991 and giving me the opportunity to do so much while at Davis.

Thanks go to Bob Maslar, father of my friends Andy, David, and Patrick, who loaned his homebrewing equipment to Tommy Flores and me. Tommys parents, Janice and Dr. Felix Flores, were patient enough to allow Tommy, his cousin Billy Kelly, and me to commandeer their kitchen for some of our early brewing adventures.

The one thing I can count on as publisher of Brew Your Own magazine is that my e-mail in-box will have questions each day from homebrewers asking for help and looking for answers. Brewing beer is an incredibly fun and fulfilling hobby, but it definitely comes with a host of questions. Some questions are obvious ones we all face in our brewing pursuits; others pop up only when something has gone horribly wrong with our latest batch. Then there are the questions that are just plain strange, such as the one about making beer from acorns. But all of these questions are important to ask and answer because they help build a greater base of knowledge among brewers, which results in a more successful and more satisfying hobby for each of us.

When Brew Your Own magazine launched in 1995, we realized the value and importance of seeking out reader questions and answering them in each issue. We were lucky to bring Ashton Lewis on board for that first issue as our Mr. Wizard and technical editor. Fresh out of the University of CaliforniaDaviss renowned graduate brewing science program, Ashton brought a wealth of wisdom and a sense of humor to his answers. He has since answered literally hundreds of questions spanning the world of brewing. Homebrewers cant get enough of his Q & A department. Every year, we send out a reader survey. Every year, readers tell us their favorite department in the magazine is Mr. Wizard, because of the variety of questions and the depth of the answers it provides. The Brew Wizard Question of the Week section of byo.com is among the most visited areas of our Web site. Simply put, homebrewers have lots of questions and love reading Ashtons answers.

The funny thing is that few people knew Ashton was Mr. Wizard. We decided it would be fun to keep Ashtons identity as Mr. Wizard a secret, as with superheroes whose real names remain mysteries. So for 10 years, Ashton shared his wisdom anonymously with readers, on top of his daily duties as a professional brewer in Missouri. Not even many of his coworkers and friends in the craft beer industry knew of his double life as brewer by day and wizard by night. Now the secret is out, and Ashtons best work over the years has been collected here in this book for you.

More than 11 years of the best questions from small-scale hobby brewers follow in these pages. These are real questions from real brewers like you, many of whom made mistakes I hope you will learn from. Ashtons answers will help your understanding of beer and brewing, whether you are a first-time brewer or a knowledgeable veteran.

So, enjoy as the Master of Mash, the Sultan of Suds, the Hero of Hops, the one and only Mr. Wizard answers common and some not-so-common brewing questions. You will definitely learn more about making super beer from this superhero.

Brad Ring, Publisher, Brew Your Own magazine

This book is a compilation of the many questions about brewing and the answers I have given over the last 11 years and counting. As a youngster, I was labeled the question guy, and I have been thrilled to be the answer guy for Brew Your Own magazine in my adult years. Brewing is an avocation spanning thousands of years and brewers must look back to move forward.

In the United States, brewing companies shrank in number during most of the 1900s for a number of social and economic reasons. The result was a small number of really large breweries. Fortunately for the consumer, the craft brewing movement started to really take off in the early 1980s and has been strong ever since. Today, newcomers to brewing, both as hobbyists and professionals, seek information from those who know from hands-on experience. In days of old, wisdom may have come only from brewer-mentors. Today, that advice is supplemented by magazines, books, and Web sites.