In this episode, we continue some Back to Basics coverage of listener requested information and some stuff we wanted to go over again in general. Here we started with full boil versus partial boil and considerations for buying the gear you need to go from extract to all grain on a normal homebrewer budget. Afterward, we sampled and discussed a few more beers that our resident British ex-pat brought back from his most recent trip home. Plus, to help us discuss the topics of this episode and do some sampling, we had our friend Kevin Lane in studio with us. If you’ll remember, Kevin is the technical sales manager of the United States and Canada for Fermentis and a former professional brewer who comes from a brewing family. And he likes beer.

In this episode, we recorded live at the 2017 Bluebonnet Brew Off where we not only had a chance to have a long discussion about mead making with Michael Fairbrother of Moonlight Meadery (the keynote speaker), but also learned the history of the event from two of the founders, talked a bit about the homebrew scene in Arkansas, finally got James Herrington from The Collective on the mic with Brandon, and even had a chance to get some brewer wives on the air to talk about their side of things. 

For footage and interviews from the first night, check out: https://youtu.be/nualjy4oSgg

For footage of our interview with Michael Fairbrother, check out: https://youtu.be/nualjy4oSgg 

In this episode, we took some listener requests and decided to go into a new segment we’ll call Back to Basics where we discuss some of the basics of homebrewing. Tonight, we start with extract brewing tips and will branch out to other basics in future episodes. After that, we discussed another set of hop varieties, including the versatile Columbus and the new Denali for the American hop, the widely used Fuggle and Challenger for the English hop, and also the very popular Magnum and Tettnang for the noble varieties. 

In this episode, we’re coming back to what we didn’t get to talk about last time. A subject that many brewers may not realize has a huge effect on their brewing endeavors. Calibrating their tools to get the best efficiency and correct measurements. Way too often we have someone come in telling us about problems they’ve had with their brews, only to find out that their problems were caused due to an incorrect thermometer, an uncalibrated refractometer, or because they measured gravity with their hydrometer without correcting for temperatures. So, hopefully we can help clear some of that confusion. Towards the end of the episode, we sampled beers we made with the Idaho 7 hop hash blend and then try Brandon’s Iron Mash beer, Hips and Tips. A bock made with rose hips and heather tips. 

Thanks for listening to Come and Brew It Radio! Be sure to send any ideas or comments to info@texasbrewinginc.com and check out the individual brewing adventures of our hosts on their Facebook pages (@BrewwithStubby, @BrewwithBrando, @BrewwithGreg, and @BrewwithMikeyB). And while you're there, be sure to check out our previously recorded shows from our Facebook Live videos on our Texas Brewing Inc. and Come and Brew It Radio pages.

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