The 2024 financial year was a difficult period for craft beer, but the industry has developed strategies to cope with further challenges. 
This week I discuss the German Step mash profile and how it can be used for Continental and German beer styles. I’ve also seen this mash referred to as a barbell mash or lager mash. The German Step Mash Profile A German Step mash is a term many of us use to denote a mash […] 
This week I take a close look at malts, the four major malt groups and how malts are best used in beer brewing. This is a summary article which incorporates links to more detailed articles on each malt group. The Four Major Malt Groups All of the barley malts used in brewing can be effectively […] 
This week I describe base malts and their use in beer brewing. The Base Malt Group Base malts are the most widely used in beer brewing as they make up the vast majority of any malt bill. Many beer styles like IPA were traditionally made with only base malts, and you can brew a large […] 
This week I look at the malting process, how we commonly group malts and the impacts for beer brewing. The Malting Process The malting process starts with raw barley grain, harvested from the field. The grain is dry when brought into the malt house, but the first step is to immerse the grain into water […]