Hopload Blog
An opinionated blog about homebrewing lagers.
My prize in the Braumarkt Challenge 2023 was a Speidel Braumeister Plus 10l, a single-vessel brewing system made in Germany. I had never brewed on a Braumeister before, but I had always wanted to try it. In the past few weeks, I have brewed several batches with the Braumeister and would like to discuss its features, as well as its advantages and disadvantages in this article. If you want to find out if the Braumeister is the right brewing system for you, you have come to the right place.
More Stories
Hopload Helles - Braumarkt Challenge
On May 7th, I brewed a Helles beer for my participation in the Braumarkt Challenge. The requirements were quite simple: to brew a classic Munich Helles with the given ingredients of Pilsner, Vienna, and GoldSwaen Light malt, as well as Loral and CTZ hops and S-23 yeast. Additionally, one could choose and add or replace one more freely selectable ingredient.
Beyond Triangle Tests
Blind triangle tests in the homebrewing wold were probably popularized by Brülosophy. Having conducted and evaluated one of my own, as well as having participated in it myself, I would like to share my thoughts on it in a short essay and also point out the limitations and meaning of such tests.
Vienna Lager - Nova Lager 10°C vs 19°C Fermentation temperature
In this experiment, a brew of Vienna Lager was split between two fermenters and fermented with Nova Lager at two different temperatures.
Automated Homebrew Water Analysis
The water analzyer will give some indication, wether the tap water is suited for brewing breers, or which improvements should be done to make it suitable for brewing.
Five factors for good homebrew lager
When I started homebrewing in 2018 there is one statement I heard over and over again: 'Homebrewing lagers is hard (leave it to the more experienced)'. It's not and it doesn't have to be. This post summarises my experience of brewing over 100 lagers in five factors that I have found to be the most important.