Why use olive oil in your homebrew? Your yeast need oxygen for a happy and healthy fermentation. Yeast use oxygen during the lag phase to synthesize sterols and unsaturated fatty acids for its cell walls. If there is not enough oxygen, the yeast can not grow . . . → Read More: Adding olive oil?]]> Should you put olive oil in your homebrew?

Why use olive oil in your homebrew?
Your yeast need oxygen for a happy and healthy fermentation. Yeast use oxygen during the lag phase to synthesize sterols and unsaturated fatty acids for its cell walls. If there is not enough oxygen, the yeast can not grow and die off early. Low oxygen leads to stalled fermentations and off-flavors. This is the reason you need to shake the carboy before pitching your yeast.

 Brewing Herbs

Using Brewing Herbs – An excerpt from The Homebrewer’s Garden (©1998 Joe . . . → Read More: Brewing Herbs, an excerpt]]> I moved the Turbodog clone to the carboy this afternoon. The color & aroma are right on target. Looking forward to enjoying it in a few weeks. I also came across this site: http://www.mansgarden.com/brewing.html. Here’s an excerpt:

 Brewing Herbs

Using Brewing Herbs – An excerpt from The Homebrewer’s Garden (©1998 Joe Fisher and Dennis Fisher)
Brewing herbs have different characteristics, just as different hop varieties do. Most herbs traditionally associated with brewing are bitter. Others are more flavorful or aromatic. What you use an herb for and when you use it depends on the qualities of the herb and the kind of beer you wish to brew. Some herbs are multipurpose, though none approaches hops in overall utility. Beer without any hop character at all is an acquired taste. We usually add at least 1/2 ounce (14 g) of hops for a 5-gallon (19 L) batch of even our most herbal beers.