I’m pretty satisfied with my brewing at the moment, which makes sense after nearly 20 years in the hobby! 2026 will be a year of small goals–but I do think it’s important to set some.
Submit something for publication about AquiloPils. It’s a cool story, there’s a cool label, and I have had intentions of writing it up, but just never made the time.
Improve my pH management. I’ve never really stepped up to serious pH measurement, mainly because good equipment is fairly expensive and finicky. In the past, I used cheap pH meters, but they’re not built to last. A few projects–such as Salty One Gose–would benefit from more precise pH data, so 2026 is the year to do this.
Rebrew Salty One Gose. Related to the goal above, this recipe ended up pretty good but I think will be stellar once I dial in the appropriate level of sour.
Embrace dry hopping for pale lagers and similar beers. I have avoided this due to concerns about haze, but I feel that I am missing an opportunity to get a subtle “pop” of hop aroma and flavor in my German pils and kölsch recipes. During the past year or two, I’ve been focusing on late kettle additions, and they have sometimes done well, but I feel like I’m often missing something. I aim to try this with a batch or two and see what happens.
Beer in stock photos always seems to be leaving a mess on the table. Why is spilled beer a trope? Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com
Early in November, I visited the St. Arnold Brewing Company taproom, where I sampled their newly tapped Christmas Ale. True to its reputation, this was a phenomenal beer, and I enjoyed sitting down with the BYO Big Book of Clone Recipes to compare with my perceptions from the actual beer. That evening, I decided my next batch would be a Christmas Ale clone, and I planned out the brew session while sipping the real thing.
The batch brewed here hews pretty closely to the published clone in the malt bill and bittering hops. However, I subbed in Hallertauer for Liberty hops at flameout and used WLP066 (London Fog) instead of Wyeast 1968 or WLP002. WLP066 and WLP002 are very different, but the purported citrus and tropical fruit characters for WLP066 seemed like a good match for a holiday ale. From perspective of convenience, WLP066 is available in dry form and I already had some on-hand, too.
Saint Arnold Christmas Ale (Homage)
6.25 lb. 2-row pale malt (Rahr)
11 oz. Caravienne malt
8 oz. Munich malt (BESTMALZ)
4 oz. Caramunich II malt (Weyermann)
4 oz. Special B malt (Dingemans)
0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
0.75 oz. Perle hop pellets (6.3% alpha), 30 minute boil
1 Kick carrageenan tablet, 5 minute boil
0.25 tsp. yeast nutrient (White Labes WLN1000)
1.1 oz. Hallertauer hop pellets (3.0% alpha), 5 minute whirlpool
1 pkg. London Fog ale dry yeast (WLP066)
0.5 oz. BioFine Clear, added to keg
Target Parameters
75 minute infusion mash, 150°, full volume mash
1.066 o.g., 1.011 f.g., 7.3% abv, 24 IBU, 14 SRM
Claremont tap water, neutralized with 88% lactic acid to remove bicarbonates.
2.75 gallon batch
Procedure
I collected 4.3 gallons of tap water and added 4.4 mL of 88% lactic acid to knock out the carbonates. I heated this water to 156°, added the grains, and then held the mash at 150°, with recirculation, for 75 minutes. I added 2.7 mL of 88% lactic acid, to further adjust mash pH.
After 75 minutes, I raised the temperature to 168° for a 10 minute mash out. Finally, I removed the grains and brought the runnings up to a boil.
I collected 3.75 gallons of runnings at a gravity of 1.051, for 65% mash efficiency. I boiled the beer for 90 minutes, adding the hops and finings following the recipe. After the full boil, I added the whirlpool hops and recirculated for 5 minutes before chilling the rest of the way.
I chilled the beer to 71°, pitched the yeast, and let it ferment at 72°.
Starting gravity was 1.072; I brewed this beer on 9 November 2025.
Vigorous fermentation had kicked off within 24 hours. I pulled the beer to ambient on 22 November 2025 and kegged it on 23 November 2025.
Final gravity was 1.015, for 7.6% abv.
As expected, the beer was pretty hazy — WLP066 is used for hazy IPA’s, after all! I added Biofine Clear on 30 November 2025, to fix this. I was rewarded with a wonderfully clear beer, as shown in the picture.
Left: the original St. Arnold’s Christmas Ale, at the brewery; right: my homebrew version
Tasting
Appearance
This beer pours with a persistent ivory head, and displays a beautifully clear amber orange color in the glass.
Aroma
Slightly herbal and spicy hop aroma, with a caramel malty aroma at a moderate level.
Flavor
Medium herbal bitterness in the hopping. Caramel and bready quality to the malt, at a medium-high level. Rich flavor!
Mouthfeel
This is a full-bodied beer, with a moderate level of carbonation. The finish is relatively smooth.
Would I Brew This Again?
This is a very drinkable and enjoyable holiday beer–pretty much exactly what I wanted. I don’t know how it stacks up as a clone (given I can’t do a side-by-side-tasting), but in any case the beer itself is super good. The flavors and body add up to a rich and flavorful beer. I also really like the concept of leaning on the base hops and malts to get the suggestion of holiday spices, versus actual spice additives. I’m a fan of this beer!
2025 was a decent year for brewing; I focused in part on perfecting classic styles, in addition to returning to a few standby recipes. I feel that I know my brewing system pretty well and have been learning the mash and recipe formulation techniques to get to my destination. Interestingly, I was at nearly 100 percent dry yeast during the past year–I might try one or two liquid yeast varieties for particular batches, but in the end the variety and convenience of dry yeast can’t be beat.
Favorite Batch(es)
Mountain Town Stout was phenomenal, and (surprisingly) my first American stout.
AquiloPils was supremely enjoyable, probably in large part because of the story behind it.
Least Favorite Batch
2025 didn’t have any absolute disasters, but I can say my Old Speckled Hen homage still needs some work.
Mosaic SMaSH Pale Ale wasn’t close to my best, but with some tweaking it can be a winner.
Most Fun New Style/Recipe to Try
Salty One Gose was amazing, and I think it will be even better when I dial it in more.
Upcoming Beer With Most Potential
Six-Shooter Abbey Singel is a Belgian ale clocking in around 6.7% abv; it’s still conditioning, but I’ll put it on tap soon!
Best Ingredient/Technique Added to Repertoire
This was the year of small batches, following my “Brew Year’s Resolution” of doing more small batch beers. This was greatly facilitated by adding an Anvil Foundry 6.5 to my equipment range. This smaller Foundry makes it so easy to do <5 gallon batches, which in turn has encouraged me to brew more often on this system. I’ve really enjoyed trying a bigger spectrum of styles; in many cases, 2.5 gallons is the absolutely perfect quantity.
This year I started a subscription to Craft Beer & Brewing, and it has been a fantastic addition to my homebrew reading routine. The articles tend to focus a bit more on the commercial brewing side, but there are also tons of interesting style profiles. They also highlight lots of interesting homebrew scale recipes, and I’ve enjoyed brewing several. I still love Zymurgy and BYO (now sadly only in online form), but Craft Beer & Brewing brings something different.
Overall Stats
24 batches
8 were “half batches” (between 2.5 and 3 gallons)
I feel like I did a really good job of branching out into new styles, or styles I haven’t brewed much previously; this includes gose, American brown ale, American stout, Belgian single, and others.
American brown ales seem somewhere between American IPAs and porters, and consequently hit a broad range of characteristics (at least in practice). I enjoy brown ales, brewing them whenever the mood hits me–I have nine previous versions on the books, with six of those American versus English styles. My current recipe is lightly modified from “Dirty Water Brown Ale” in Brewing Classic Styles. I changed the first addition from Horizon to Chinook, and also turned that first addition into a first wort hop addition. In order to increase hop aroma and flavor, I added an ounce of Cascade hops at the end, and changed a flameout charge of Amarillo into a dry hop addition. Everything else is pretty much the same. I elected to do a ~2.75 gallon batch, instead of a full 5 gallons.
Fall Brown Ale
5 lb. 2-row pale malt (Rahr)
5 oz. chocolate malt (Bairds)
5 oz. caramel malt 100 / crystal 40 (Viking)
2 oz. crystal 60 malt (Great Western)
2 oz. Victory malt (Briess)
0.25 oz. Chinook hop pellst (12.3% alpha), first wort hop and 60 minute boil
0.25 oz. Amarillo hop pellets (10.4% alpha), 15 minute boil
1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
1 oz. Cascade whole hops (~4.5% alpha), 5 minute boil
1 pkg. BRY-97 American Ale Yeast (Lallemand)
0.75 oz. Amarillo hop pellets (10.4% alpha), dry hop in fermenter
Target Parameters
60 minute infusion mash, 152°, full volume mash
1.049 o.g., 1.011 f.g., 5.1% abv, 37 IBU, 25 SRM
Water built from neutralized Claremont tap water to hit 85 ppm Ca, 18 ppm Mg, 102 ppm Na, 157 ppm SO4, 130 ppm Cl, 10 ppm bicarbonate
2.75 gallon batch
Procedure
I added 4.4 mL of 88% lactic acid to 4.25 gallons of water, along with 3 g of gypsum, in order to hit my water target.
Next, I heated the water to 157°, added the grains, and held at 152° with recirculation for 60 minutes. Then, I raised the mash temperature to 168° for 10 minutes, before removing the grains, collecting all of the runnings, and then adding the hops on the way to the boil.
In total, I collected 3.9 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.039, for 69% mash efficiency.
I boiled the runnings and added hops and other finings per the recipe. After a 60 minute boil, I turned off the heat, chilled to 74°, and transferred to the fermenter. I pitched the yeast, and then chilled to 66° in my fermentation chamber.
I brewed this beer on 7 October 2025, and it had a starting gravity of 1.047.
Signs of fermentation had kicked off within 24 hours after pitching the yeast. I held the fermenter at 66° for the bulk of fermentation, and pulled it to ambient on 11 October 2025.
I kegged the beer on 18 October 2025, adding the dry hops in a bag at this point, leaving the keg to sit at ambient.
I removed the dry hops on 22 October 2025, and then moved it to the conditioning chamber for cold crashing and carbontation.
Final gravity was 1.011, working out to 4.8% abv.
Tasting
Appearance
A deep brown beer with a garnet tinge, brilliantly clear; it pours with a tall and exceptionally persistent deep tan head.
Aroma
Citrus and pine hop aroma at a medium level, alongside a medium-low malt character–chocolate, caramel, faint nuttiness. A grainy quality comes into perception as the beer warms. Clean yeast profile.
Flavor
Bitter beer with a resiny quality. Moderate level of maltiness with a slight chocolate, caramel, and toasty character. This beer definitely tips more bitter than malty.
Mouthfeel
Medium-high carbonation–a touch overcarbonated, perhaps. Medium light body and dry finish.
Would I Brew This Again?
This is a good beer! It is probably closer to a brown IPA than a brown ale, given the lighter malt character and body, as well as the more prominent hops aroma on the nose. It’s super drinkable! I like the dry hop aroma–it is perfect for this beer, and melds well with the malts. I might dial back the bitterness on future versions, down to around 30 IBU. Although the recipe calls for ~35 IBU, I think it’s a bit much, at least to my palate at the moment.
It’s time for another Thanksgiving beer! I always make a special small batch for friends and family, usually aiming for something a little bigger and richer than my usual. It’s a good opportunity to try new styles, or at least styles I rarely brew. The Fall 2025 issue of Craft Beer & Brewing highlighted an American Strong Ale recipe, which seemed like a perfect Thanksgiving kind of ale. It’s a bit bigger, bolder, and maltier, getting close to IPA territory but not directly inside of it.
My attempt at the recipe is a touch more bitter than the original, at an estimated 65 IBU versus 54 IBU’s, and I used similar but not identical hops for the bittering and late additions (Columbus and Amarillo instead of Nugget and Motueka, respectively). I also used WLP066 (London Fog) instead of the recipe’s Wyeast 1318 (London Ale III). According to David Taylor’s Yeast Master chart, WLP066 is close to 1318, which is good enough for me. The grain bill is pretty much identical, so my interpretation is still in the ballpark.
Encampment American Strong Ale
3.75 lb. Munich malt (BEST, ~7.6 SRM)
3.75 lb. Maris Otter pale ale malt (Thomas Fawcett)
10 oz. flaked barley
8 oz. Victory malt (Briess)
4 oz. Special B malt (Dingemans)
4 oz. Viking caramel 100 (crystal 40 equivalent)
0.5 oz. Columbus hop pellets (15.6% alpha), 60 minute boil
0.5 oz. Amarillo hop pellets (10.4% alpha), 10 minute boil
0.5 whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
1.5 g yeast nutrient (White Labs WLN1000), 5 minute boil
1 oz. Amarillo hop pellets (10.4% alpha), 10 minute whirlpool
1 pkg. London Fog ale yeast (White Labs WLP066)
Target Parameters
60 minute infusion mash, 154°, full volume mash
1.075 o.g., 1.017 f.g., 7.8% abv, 65 IBU, 17 SRM
Claremont tap water adjusted to hit target of 92 ppm Ca, 24 ppm Mg, 102 ppm Na, 200 ppm SO4, 130 ppm Cl, 10 ppm bicarbonate
2.5 gallon yield
Procedure
I collected 4.1 gallons of tap water, adding a Campden tablet, 4.2 mL of 88% lactic acid, 3.5 g of gypsum, and 1 g of epsom salt to hit my water target.
Next, I heated the strike water to 162°, added the grains, and held at 154° with recirculation for 60 minutes. Finally, I heated the mash to 168° for 10 minutes, before removing the grains.
In total, I collected 3.5 gallons of runnings at 1.055, for 57% mash efficiency. That’s pretty dismal, but I suppose not surprising given the amount of grains used. Additionally, I’ve noted that this Maris Otter malt has been low on efficiency overall.
I heated the runnings to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe. I boiled at a higher level of vigor, to raise the gravity a bit.
After the 60 minute boil, I turned off the heat, added the whirlpool hops, and recirculated for 10 minutes before removing the hops and chilling to 78° before transferring to the fermenter.
I chilled the beer down to 64° before pitching the yeast.
I brewed this beer on 13 September 2025. Starting gravity was 1.072.
Fermentation kicked off within 24 hours, showing slight signs of fermentation on the surface of the beer. Active bubbling was evident within 36 hours.
I fermented the beer at 64°, and moved it to ambient on 21 September 2025.
I kegged the beer on 5 October 2025, with 2.7 oz. of corn sugar dissolved in 3/4 cup of water.
After two weeks, I moved the beer into the conditioning chamber and force carbonated the rest of the way.
Final gravity was 1.024, for 6.4% abv.
Tasting
Appearance
Amber-orange beer with a medium-low level of haze, pouring with a persistent ivory head that leaves a moderate level of lacing on the glass.
Aroma
Medium level of malty and caramel aroma. Resin and pine hop aroma at a medium-low level, with a slight citrus hint. Very slight alcohol hot note on the aroma.
Flavor
Bready and malty sweet malt character at a medium level, with a light caramel backend. Medium high level of bitterness, with resiny and piney character.
Mouthfeel
Medium-high body, moderate carbonation, smooth finish, only slightly dry.
Would I Brew This Again?
This is a nice beer, and perfect for the holiday season! The haze puts it out of perfection for the style, so that dings it a little bit. I might like a touch more malt complexity, but I think it might improve with more aging or dropping the yeast out via finings.
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