Hi all,
I’m currently in the planning process for 2011 issues of Zymurgy. Is there anything in particular you’d like to see in the way of themes or articles? Particular beer styles? Brewing techniques? Equipment? Brewing ingredients? Please post your ideas here.
Thanks!
Jill Redding
Editor-in-Chief, Zymurgy
I’d like to see more side by side comparisons of brewing techniques and the effects they have on the beer.
I’d like to see more articles by that guy who writes about all the crazy recipes he can think of. 
One topic I would like to see covered is recipe formulation with respect to Malt.
Not just the standard, “use Munich to get bread crust flavor, pilsner to get the continental malt flavor, English two row for more biscuit flavor…” etc. What the malts are supposed to provide is widely available already just by reading maltser’s data sheets.
Instead, what I am looking for is information more to do with getting malt (and even hops) to show up in the beginning, middle, and finish of a beer. A lot of beers I have formulated have a good parts, but could use some tweaking to enhance the “entire drinking journey”. For instance, my Vienna has great malt nose, beginning and finish have lots of beady malt notes, but it is “flat” in the middle. What techniques would change this? If I want an American Brown with an up front hop presence, but a more restrained hop finish with substantial nutty/chocolaty malt flavors, how do I keep the malt to the end and mute the hop finish?
There appear to be multiple variables associated with the topic, including water formulation, malt variety/maltster and mashing temperatures/schedules.
While there has been a lot of attention given to hops in the past 5 years, and there is a lot of information available on Hops, there has not been the same attention given to Malt. With the huge variety of malts now available to homebrewers that were not in past years, I think there is a largely untapped opportunity to cover malts more in-depth and have a better understanding of where/how they can be used to manipulate the flavor experience.
I’ve had enough of that guy… 
I’d like to see some articles on crafting big beers like American Barleywine and other Strong Ales.
hmmmmm,
nothing under 1.100 right?
I really liked that article on the special Hefe mashing technique, so anything like that would be interesting (doing this in the mash, does this to the wort, and that affects the yeast like this)
the NHC winner’s recipes issue is my favorite every year
An article showing proof that wort production has more of an effect on attenuation than the yeast used.
Maybe if I’m not so lazy I’ll write it up.
Right on the mark Fred!
I was thinking of a NHC presentation with several samples towards that end,
No “session” beers, right
I liked some of the technical articles, like the one on sanitizing. I think anything about improving process is good, like batch vs fly sparge, maybe different types of mash tun construction, etc. cool rigs and bringing professional class brewing to an affordable/attainable home level is good stuff too. like, I am (like every other starry eyed homebrewer) plotting and planning to build an electric RIMS system, so hearing about difficulties and success stories might be neat for example?
I also love to see commercial recipes, the pliny the elder one was awesome. homebrew recipies I can find on the internet, but recipes from commercial brewers - that’s something I can’t just google.
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
Water chemistry and adjustments to city water supplies for brewing.
I agree with Denny. Maybe make multiple batches of the same basic recipe but change mash temp, fermentation temp, water profile, batch size, forced carbonation vs, bottle conditioning etc…
I’d like to see an article comparing the different types of base malts (Maris Otter, American 2-row, Pale ale, Belgian Pilsner, German Pilsner, Vienna, Munich, etc.) I’m interested in the type of flavor that each base malt adds to a beer.
I read in another mag about brewing with bacon, so I dont think that ever needs to be done again 
I like the ideas about base malts. is it time for a new hop guide, now that several kinds are available that were not beafor. I also seem to love to read about the cool new ideas and gadgets home brewers are comming up with.
I really like information about how different commercial breweries approach a style. Homebrew recipes are nice, but reading about the Trappists in Belgium or Vinny Cilurzo make a beer that defines the style is fascinating.
I always liked history. You could have a feature every month, ancient history, early European, early American, life before/during prohibition, the early AHA days & brewing w/Pabst malt, Fritz Maytag & Anchor …
how about something like “How to take your homebrew club/org from inception to BJCP competition?”
Use these paths to organize your club.
Use these paths to fund your competition
What to do for accomodations
etc etc
I’ll second this suggestion.
I’m also very interested in learning about tips, techniques and recipes from commercial breweries.