I know how to use my hydrometer, and I know what numbers to look at and write down on my brewing sheets, but I'm not sure what those numbers actually represent, or even what units I should use to label those readings. What's the science behind the hydrometer? How are they calibrated? What else should I know about the theory of using one to make better beer?

I am aware that esters in finished beer are usually caused by high temperatures during fermentation. This fact is not confusing to me and needs no elaboration. What has me confused is this article that another user posted recently in the comments section of this question. The article had he and I very confused.It basically says that an increase in fermentation temperature will actually decrease ethyl acetate production and lower temps actually encourage ethyl acetate production. It even sites a …

I've been brewing for a while now, and would really like a comprehensive book on the history of brewing. Something that covers the development of different styles of beer, and delves into the science behind brewing as well. I read Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation and found it extremely informative, and would like other books along this line, but covering grains, hops, styles etc. Any suggestions?

I naively thought that mash-in was only producting sugars via the alpha and beta amylase, but it seems (from Briggs) that total nitrogen (TN; protein), soluble nitrogen (orprotein) and free amino nitrogen (FAN) are also produced. Why are they important in beer? Is it correlated to the amount of fermentable sugar or is it something completely different?

So I want to learn to brew beer. I constantly try new beer, and try to dissect all the flavors involved. The next logical step in my love of beer seems to be trying my hand at brewing. I should specify that while not a chemist, biologist, food scientist, or anything else that would tell me about the science of beer I am a "sciencey" type of person. I like to know all the happenings of what I am doing …

Once upon a time I did a little science at Uni. I'd now be really curious to understand a bit more behind the amazing difference between a freshly brewed beer and one that's matured on yeast for some time. Anyone found any interesting articles, links or know a bit themselves?

Very bad potatoes seems to have some sort of acid and other poisonous items formed. A suggestion in Cooking.SO, here, proposes distilling vodka with old potatoes, having a link that overlooks the issue for example with distillation "[n]ot that difficult really" while I think the reality is a bit different: fatal accidents here and here. My question is now not distillation but homebrewing with poor old materials. I am unsure whether I can draw an analogy between distilled products and …

I've been brewing the same recipe now for several batches. It's my house beer. A Kolsch-style beer. While I have followed the same recipe for each attempt, I'm sure there has been some variances in how it is brewed. Specifically, I know that the mash temperature has been a little different each time. One of the pieces of information that I have been keeping at each attempt is the gravity readings on brew day, when I rack primary to secondary, …