Home Brew Press
Articles
Recipes, equipment guides, and brewing tips — from your first batch to all-grain mastery.
yeast
Cider Yeast Compared: Which Strain Finishes Dry and Which Leaves Body
Apple juice has no dextrins, so whatever the yeast can eat, it eats. Five strains compared on how dry they finish and how much apple character survives.
October 30, 2026
fermentation
Best Juice for Hard Cider: What to Buy and What to Avoid
Two words on the label decide whether your juice will ferment at all. What to look for, what supermarket juice ferments to, and how to handle raw pressed cider.
October 27, 2026
malt
Pale Malt vs Pilsner Malt vs Maris Otter: Choosing Your Base Malt
Your base malt makes up 70–90% of your grain bill. So why do most homebrewers just grab whatever's cheapest? Here's what each base malt actually brings to your beer.
September 18, 2026
all-grain
7 BIAB Problems That Keep Wrecking Your Efficiency (And How to Fix Each One)
Brew in a bag is supposed to be simple. So why are you hitting 55% efficiency when everyone online claims 75%? Here are the actual problems and their fixes.
September 15, 2026
recipe design
Pumpkin Ale From Scratch: Real Pumpkin, Real Spice, No Shortcuts
Most pumpkin ales are basically spice-flavored amber ales. This one uses actual roasted pumpkin in the mash and the boil for a beer that tastes like fall in a glass.
September 11, 2026
small batch
1-Gallon Test Batches vs 5-Gallon Brews: Which to Use When
Five gallons of a recipe that did not work is a painful lesson. One gallon of that same mistake is a learning experience that cost you an afternoon and a few dollars in grain.
September 8, 2026
beer science
SRM, Lovibond, and EBC: How Beer Color Actually Works
You picked the right malts, nailed the mash, and now your pale ale looks more like an amber. Understanding SRM and how grain color compounds stack up will prevent that from happening again.
September 6, 2026
berliner weisse
Berliner Weisse at Home: A Tart, Low-ABV Summer Beer You Can Brew in Two Weeks
A proper Berliner Weisse is tart, effervescent, and dangerously sessionable at 3-4% ABV. The kettle souring method makes it one of the fastest sour beers you can produce at home.
September 4, 2026
all-grain
Brewing With Adjuncts: Rice, Corn, Oats, and Beyond
Adjuncts aren't cheating. They're a tool. Rice lightens body, corn adds subtle sweetness, oats build silky texture. Here's how to use non-barley grains to make your beer exactly what you want it to be.
August 18, 2026
hops
Hop Pellets vs Whole Cone Hops: Which Should You Actually Use?
Pellets are convenient. Whole cones feel more authentic. But the real differences go deeper than aesthetics — from utilization rates to storage life to how they behave in your fermenter.
August 16, 2026