12th Mar 2024
By Greig McGill As I mentioned in my last article, one of the benefits of starting or joining a brewing club is holding beer competitions. These are about so much more than just winning. They are an…
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29th Feb 2024
Check You Are Pitching Enough Yeast Use an online tool to check how much yeast you need to use. You’ll be surprised, it’s probably more than you think. Under-pitching yeast will create yeast stress…
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12th Feb 2024
By Greig McGill I was listening to a podcast while cleaning in the brewery the other day, and a question from a New Zealand listener came in asking about, or rather bemoaning the lack of, homebrew…
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27th Nov 2023
By Greig McGill Dry hopping. There’s so much talk about it, and it’s practically de rigueur these days for any hoppy style of beer to be at least dry hopped once, with double dry hopping, and even…
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24th Oct 2023
By Greig McGill So ya wanna adjust some water, eh kiddo? Well lemme tell you… no seriously, here’s my design process for my brewing liquor - the fancy professional term we almost never use in the br…
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28th Sep 2023
By Greig McGill Well, I can’t put it off any more! The Brewshop.co.nz team has been asking me to write this article for … far too long now. I’ve put it off because, no matter how much I think I know…
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5th Sep 2023
By Greig McGill I am not easily surprised or shocked these days. I’m getting on a bit you see, and have been firmly in the “beer nerd” camp for over a quarter of a century, and a brewer (both home a…
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5th Jul 2023
By Greig McGill Often when judging homebrew competitions, I’m surprised by the “repeat offenders” - that is to say, the entries from brewers who have been brewing a while who are sti…
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8th Jun 2023
By Greig McGill Carbonation - the amount of “fizz” in our beer caused by dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) - can make all the difference between a good beer and a truly great one. While getting the cor…
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11th Apr 2023
By Greig McGill Apologies to any international readers of this humble Brewshop blog who are unfamiliar with the term “flash” in this context. It’s a UK/Aussie/Kiwi-ism, and is often used the same wa…
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23rd Mar 2023
Brewing yeast is a vital component of any beer, cider, or mead making process. The yeast converts sugars in the wort into alcohol and carbon dioxide, which gives the drink its distinct flavour and aro…
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22nd Feb 2023
By Greig McGill “What have the Aussies ever done for us?”, he asked, in a manner vaguely reminiscent of a member of the People’s Front of Judea. Or was it the Judean People’s Front? I guess that doe…
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