Zymurgy's Jan/Feb 2013 issue

I've been a member of the American Homebrewers Association since the National Homebrew Conference 2011, which I wrote about on my old homebrewing blog. One of the most tangible benefits to being a member is a subscription to their bimonthly magazine "zymurgy." I just got my copy of their current issue, for January and February of this year, which is the 7th annual Gadgets Issue, and flipped through it. I have two articles I wanted to comment on.

First up is the cover article about "gadgets." Is it just me, or are this year's gadgets pretty lame? "Disconnect Markings"? Does putting some paint on your keg really qualify as an innovative gadget? An "Ice Cream Freezer Kegerator"? The guy didn't even drill any holes in the fridge, he just got a ice cream freezer and put his kegs inside. "Custom Oak Inserts"? The dude takes seven paragraphs to describe a few pieces of oak with a string through them. "A Drip Bucket"? How is a little bucket a "gadget"? I don't mean to come across as an asshole, and I'm sure these brewers are probably nice guys who brew better beer than me, but c'mon! Is hanging a bucket from your spigot really worthy of mention in a national magazine?

The second article that caught my attention was the feature on Brewing in a Bag. Now, I'm a pretty simple guy--less-generous folks might even call me an actual simpleton--and I generally favor the easiest way to do things with the least amount of equipment. But reading that brewing in a bag actually increases your mash efficiency--it's almost too much for me to take. After seeing friends brewing with tower systems, running three kettles for one beer, or buying and modifying coolers to use as mash tuns, it's pretty mind-blowing to hear that the only special equipment you need to brew all grain is a bigger grain bag. And you don't even need to sparge the grains! If this article is correct, we were probably doing a better job of mashing with our old mini-mash beers than with our fancy lautering systems. Just put all of your grains in a big bag, drop the bag in the total amount of mash-temperature water you're planning on using for the whole brew--that's right, you don't need to mash with less water and then rinse the grains later; the enzymes in the grain apparently convert starch to sugar even better when the mash is more diluted--and then wrap your whole kettle in a blanket. Forty minutes later you pull the bag out and start your boil. How easy is that?