Crack the Code: What a Malt COA Is, Why It Matters, and When to Use It
The Beer Craft, Homebrewing Podcast
Release Date: 07/10/2025
Wine kits: How the other half drinks.
The Beer Craft, Homebrewing Podcast
Because I am more than a barley obsessed wrangler of single cell intoxicant creating critters, we are talking about wine kits! I know that both employ the tallents of saccharomyces cerevisiae, and that one molecule of glucose or sucrose amounts to the same thing as far as those unicellurlar marvels are concerned, and that just because we changed our sugar source we need a whole new set of adverbs to describe a whole new set of nouns! Shuouldn't we at least take a peek inside that bottle of red wine your inlaws brought as a hostes gift the last time you had to put up with their nonsense for...
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Steam Beer: Origens, and Unlikly Hero of Craft Beer.
The Beer Craft, Homebrewing Podcast
If there ever was a beer that started the craft beer movement, a beer with one foot firmly rooted in history, and led by an unlikely pioneer, it would have to be San Francisco's Anchor Steam Beer. A beer style that was practicly extinct, a mere footnote in the lineup of a failing brewery, and one which was given another moment in the sunshine thanks to mondern household appliances. Though the beers are gone, we raise our glasses to Fritz Maytag because if we ever have a chance to make another brewer better, it's because of him. So sit back and grab a pint for another Episode of The Beer...
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The easiest All-Grain Brew Day. Brew in a Bag.
The Beer Craft, Homebrewing Podcast
We sit down with a reguluar listener, Adam Woodworth and taste a line up of Pale Ales while discussing the in's and outs of Brew in a Bag (BIAB). We'll go over the process and dispel a few rumors this week on The Beer Craft. Music Attribution "Twisted" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License RetroFuture Dirty "RetroFuture Dirty" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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The Botany of Beer
The Beer Craft, Homebrewing Podcast
Going Way Beyond Rosemary time and basil this week on the Beer Craft Home Brewing Podcast, we take a look at the Botany of beer. We take a look at what Mother Nature has in store for the brewhouse, how to use them, and what we can do with them. There are more than a few herbs and spices that we should watch out for, as they can lead to health problems or medication reactions. Since the show's sponsor, Northwest Brewers Supply, is moving into an herbal apothecary, we are producing an herbalist primer for beer. We will include links in the description when they are finished. So grab a pint...
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The Belgian Beer Blueprint
The Beer Craft, Homebrewing Podcast
Belgian beer looks chaotic from the outside, but there’s a clear blueprint once you know where to look. This episode breaks down the core ideas behind the country’s brewing culture and explains why Belgian brewers create beers that don’t fit into tidy boxes. Ben and Andrew cover the four families of Belgian beer, the role of yeast, the country’s approach to balance, and why sugar, glassware, and regional identity matter more than most drinkers realize. We dig into insights from Stan Hieronymus, Pierre Rajotte, Randy Mosher, Michael Jackson, Jeff Sparrow, and others. By the end,...
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Making Time for Beer
The Beer Craft, Homebrewing Podcast
Recently I surveyed the local brewing community to find out directly what were the most significant sources of frustration, or problems they had in brewing. I wanted to put my finger on the pulse of the modern homebrewer. By far, the most common problem respondents had was making time to brew. Since the pandemic, we have gone from having all the time in the world, to be so busy we're dizzy. I think a lot of us forgot how busy we were in 2019, and we are still recovering. This week on the show we look at some popular time manegment strategies to make sure we have time to enjoy our...
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Cold IPA: The most Pacific Northwest thing Since Flannel
The Beer Craft, Homebrewing Podcast
We're closing out our five-part beer design run with a bang. The last gap on the Northwest Brewers Supply beer list is a Cold IPA, so that's tonight's target. Is a Cold IPA just an IPL in new clothes? The BJCP hasn't said a word about it, so we dig into the difference. We look at what went wrong with classic IPLs and can the Italian pilsner gives us a spark as we search for a crisp, clean, hoppy balance. Music Attribution: "Twisted" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License "RetroFuture Dirty" Kevin MacLeod...
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On Air Beer Design part 4: Redheaded Beer, Aka, the Amber Ale
The Beer Craft, Homebrewing Podcast
Part 4 of the series, On Air Beer Design. Tonight, we tackle an Amber Ale. This hybrid of a Pale Ale was the signature beer for the West Coast for anyone who didn't want an IPA. I think we might have a tasty litttle number when we get throught the brew day. So Sit back and enjoy the show. Cheers
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On Air Beer Design part 3
The Beer Craft, Homebrewing Podcast
This week on the podcast, we put our heads together on an oatmeal stout. We had plenty of inspiration, including a maple coconut stout that we are still drooling over. Why wouldn't you want to listen to that? Music attribution "Twisted" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License RetroFuture Dirty "RetroFuture Dirty" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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On Air Beer Design part 2
The Beer Craft, Homebrewing Podcast
We are back in the studio with another round of beer design. We wanted to create two more beers this week but we talk too much. We did manage to come up with another recipe, this time a mexi lager. We will come upo with a oatmeal stout next week. So sit back with a six pack and let's get ready for Beer30. "Twisted" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License RetroFuture Dirty "RetroFuture Dirty" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
info_outlineDo you actually know what’s in your malt? In this episode of The Beer Craft Podcast, Ben and Andrew crack open the mysterious (and often ignored) Certificate of Analysis—the COA—and show you how to use it to level up your brew day.
Whether you’re designing a recipe, troubleshooting a stuck mash, or just trying to brew the same great beer twice in a row, understanding your malt’s COA can save you time, money, and stress. We break down:
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What a COA is—and what it's not
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When you should actually look at it
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What those weird acronyms mean (FAN, DP, SRM, Kolbach…)
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Real-world ways to use it in your brewing software and process
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How to troubleshoot fermentation and mash issues with confidence
Plus, we’ve got some killer extras for you:
✅ Download the COA Glossary for Brewers – Plain English definitions of the most important COA metrics
📊 Grab the COA Style Tip Sheet – Key COA numbers matched to each BJCP beer category
🍻 Be the First to Know About Our New All-Grain Brewing Class – launching soon at Northwest Brewers Supply! Sign up here → https://mailchi.mp/nwbrewers/all-grain-class-pre-registration
No spreadsheets required—just useful tips, real experience, and a better understanding of the ingredients you already use. Let’s turn that wall of numbers into your brewing advantage.
"Twisted" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
RetroFuture Dirty
"RetroFuture Dirty" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License