Category: Small Batch Brewing

Chocolate Stout

Ditch the box of chocolates for that special someone. Make this instead! This is a good starter recipe. Play around with the cocoa levels to make this your own amazing stout.
Belgian Stout

This is a stout for those of us who can’t get enough of the phenol notes of Belgian yeast. This particular yeast gives the beer a rich malt and distinctive ethanol character. This won’t taste like Guinness. But it will taste delicious.
No-Stress Brew Day Checklist

I have been brewing for the better part of five years, to the tune of one beer per week. In that time, I have made many mistakes. Often those mistakes were basic. I’m talking about simple things like forgetting to mash out. Or setting the boil to 60 minutes when it should have been 90…
Understanding Water: Beer’s Body

Water plays a huge role in the quality of your final product, from the very start of the brewing process, through to the final taste. The various minerals and salts we find in water can add desirable or undesirable flavours to your beer. Water plays a crucial role in helping us craft good beer, so…
Understanding Hops: Beer’s Spice Mix

Funny enough, hops are a (relatively) new addition to beer. While beer has been around for more than 5,000 years, hops date back only 500 years. Before Cascade and Citra were household names, brewers resorted to herbs, plants, and potions to counter the overbearing sweetness of malt. It took until the 1500s before hops caught…
Belgian (Almost) Red Ale

I can’t call this a Belgian Red Ale, because it’s not a sour beer. It’s just a tasty beer with a red hue that puts a delicious yeast to good use. Hops are kept in check, but the strength of the beer will warm your heart on a cold winter’s day.
Irish Red Ale

Sometimes you just want an easy-drinking pint with a solid (yet restrained) hit of malt character, with a dash of caramel and toasted notes. If you need a break from hoppy beers, try this one out, and enjoy its beautiful colour.
Mild Ale

This style seems to be coming back from the dead (or seeing a birth of sorts in North America). Deliberately low in alcohol, mild ale is the perfect (if not original!) session ale. I’ve kept this one low in ABV, in line with modern takes of this once stronger ale.
Pumpkin Ale

Thanksgiving comes early in Canada (second weekend of October), which means I get a head start on my American friends for this popular beer style. This recipe took me three years to perfect, but I’m finally happy with it. I hope you’ll enjoy it too. I can’t think of a better way to mark the…
American IPA

This is the beer style that got me hooked on craft beer. I remember it clear as day. I was in Madison, Wisconsin working on a political campaign. My colleagues thought this “Canuck” should try some “proper” American beer. It was love as first taste.
Ginger Saison

I got the idea for this recipe from Sam Calagione’s home-brew recipe book. The original is a partial mash extract recipe. I adopted it to my own liking, and for all-grain, one-gallon brewing. Ginger is one of my favourite beer ingredients, and it shines in this recipe. It’s good for your digestion, so this beer…
Small-Batch Brewing Equipment: A Complete List For Beginners

To make amazing beer, you’re going to need to boil and ferment your ingredients with some basic equipment. If you’re just starting out, and aren’t sure if you’re ready to commit to this hobby, I have good news for you: you don’t need an extensive collection of gear to get started.
Christmas Ale

You’re going to want to make this a Christmas tradition. Ginger, cloves, cinnamon, the spicy notes of Belgian yeast—what’s not to love about this recipe? Treat this as a starting point. Make it your own family recipe. You could toss in some orange peel or some nutmeg to mix things up a bit. Egg nog…
Imperial IPA

This recipe has so many hops, I have no room to write a description! It’s the perfect beer to serve your hop-head drinking pals. Seriously, look at the IBU count on this bad boy and see if they can handle it.
Scotch Ale

It probably comes as no surprise that the Scots have their own distinct flavour and beer style. Scotland, the land of scotch whiskey, grows a lot of barley. It’s a crop that has been readily available to brewers in the land of lovat tweed, so it comes as no surprise that Scotland has a unique…