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In our 2017 Gear Guide issue (April/May), our editors tested and reviewed four plastic fermentors. Here are the results.

• Making Beer
• Gear Guide

Belgian pale ale is a great entry-level Belgian beer for those who are a little overwhelmed by the more common Dubbels and Tripels out there, and it’s the style I recommend when people tell me they “don’t like Belgians.”

• Beer Recipe
• All Grain Recipe
• Belgian Pale Ale Recipe

If you’d like to homebrew within a budget and still enjoy great beer, here are five ideas to get you there.

• Making Beer
• Brewing Techniques and Advice

Brewing on used equipment and playing around with new techniques, hops, or other ingredients, Cloudburst Brewing is turning out a spectrum of beers that are remembered for their bold names and the causes they support.

• Craft Beer Scene
• Breakout Brewer
• Professional Brewing

Belgian witbier is a fantastic beer style, especially for the summer-to-fall transition, but you need to resist the impulse to overload it with spices and fruit! Here’s how to brew one you can drink by the liter instead of making wheat-based perfume.

• Making Beer
• Brewing Techniques and Advice
• Make Your Best

A blueberry sour ale adds some summertime excitement to this yummy crumb cake.

• Cooking With Beer
• Pairing Beer & Food

Emphasize the tartness of green tomatoes by brewing this lighter saison-style beer with a relatively dry finish.

• Beer Recipe
• Pro Recipe
• All Grain Recipe

For Troy Casey, owner of Casey Brewing & Blending, brewing with fruit is much more than just selecting the fruit—it’s a relationship with local fruit growers and an exploration of the distinct flavors that specific fruit varietals contribute to beer.

• Craft Beer Scene

Jester Goldman offers tips on choosing honey and the base beer for a saison braggot, then shares the recipe for “Saison of the Braggot.” It needs a warm fermentation temperature, so what better time than midsummer to brew one up?

• Beer Recipe
• All Grain Recipe
• Saison Recipe

An American pale ale works well as the beer for cooking, both to help offset the sweetness of the carrots and reinforce the bitterness of the char once it comes off the grill.

• Cooking With Beer
• Pairing Beer & Food

Josh Weikert offers tips on creating an environment with stable temperatures for your fermenting beer.

• Video

Consider forming your beer-cellar collection around age-worthy, budget-friendly beers.

• Craft Beer Scene
• Beer Collection and Trading