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In the January-February 2026 issue, we go back in time to recreate an ancient Egyptian beer like those drank three millennia ago. We also explore unique brewing grains, hop into mash hopping, and take readers on a crazy road trip across Europe and Central Asia to brew the world’s highest elevation beer. Plus: brewing English porter, helping with stuck fermentations, building a Frankenfridge, the latest troubleshooting help from Mr. Wizard, and more!
After 3,000-year-old yeast was cultured from ancient ceramic vessels, a homebrewer starts a journey that combines history, archaeology, and brewing science in a way few projects ever have as he recreates an ancient Egyptian beer someone living three millennia ago might have recognized as beer.
Brewers have a lot of grain options beyond barley and wheat. Get to know some of the alternative grains long used for brewing in other parts of the world and gaining steam in North America.
Two Norwegian brewers set out on a 8,000 mile (13,000 km) road trip in a vehicle that has no right to drive that far as part of the Mongol Rally — which begins in Europe and ends in Central Asia — with the goal of brewing at the peak elevation of 15,272 feet (4,655 m) above sea level.
We recap and share photos of a trip BYO Publisher Brad Ring led readers on in South Africa.
Mash hopping has a long history, but it was largely written off by craft brewers until recently when it was learned that adding hops to the mash can increase thiol levels in beer in addition to increasing long-term stability.
The Replicator visits the farm in Bluemont, Virginia, where Bear Chase Brewing opened in 2017 to get tips for cloning their Evenin’ Sunset hazy IPA.
Two pro brewers share their firsthand experience using unique grains, including sorghum, amaranth, and black rice.
The Wizard shares how certain beer qualities impact an individual on diabetes medication more than others. Plus, the potential uses for a familiar winemaking ingredient, chitosan, in brewing, and what homebrewers need to know to pasteurize beer.
English porter was the first industrial beer style that was widely exported and led to the development of regional variations worldwide. Porter died out for many years before craft brewers resurrected the style. Get to know this influential style that is just as thirst-quenching as it ever was.
Understanding why fermentations may stall prematurely will help you avoid a stuck fermentation in the future. But if it is too late to avoid it, there are a number of tricks worth employing to get your yeast back to work.
A commercial brewer recalls what got him into the homebrewing hobby two decades ago when he was quick to build each piece of brewing equipment he could, and how things have changed since owning a brewpub.
A homebrewer looked to build a fermentation system with the same capabilities he benefits from as a pro brewer including temperature control, the ability to dump trub, pressurize to minimize oxygen contact, do closed transfers, and cold condition. These benefits and more are made possible with the Frankenfridge.
This recipe is a starting point for experimenting with a new grain, calling for ~10% of an adjunct and keeping everything else out of the way so you can focus on this “new” ingredient. If you’re feeling bold, double the adjunct and lower the main malt bill.
A recreation of an ancient Egyptian beer someone living three millennia ago might have recognized as beer.
A saison with spelt, chit malt, and fonio to provide additional earthy and rustic characters for a real Farmhouse feel.
The intention on this beer was to take advantage of the crisp and tropical fruit character of fonio to give an extra hop dimension to an otherwise neutral beer. You’ll see how this builds on the SMAH concept while showcasing the truly global nature of brewing today!
This recipe uses brown malt as a flavor component and uses non-traditional Munich malt to boost malt flavor without increasing residual sweetness, and the balance and hopping are a bit different. Chocolate and crystal malts play an important role in the flavors that I always look for in these types of porters.
The Replicator visits the farm in Bluemont, Virginia, where Bear Chase Brewing opened in 2017 to get the recipe for cloning their Evenin’ Sunset hazy IPA.
I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the spring of 2023 during a routine check-up. For those of you not well-versed in this subject, here’s a brief overview.
Two things have recently opened my eyes to chitosan products: The search for alternatives to pasteurization for use in non-alcoholic beer and the growing market visibility of fungal (vegan) chitosan for use as a beer clarifier.
