Ben Palmer
@johnzee7.bsky.social
British and German dual citizen living in Berlin. Brewing scientist and PhD candidate at VLB Berlin. Former brewer and maltster. Posts about beer, cycling and Germany.
I'm excited to present some of my PhD research on thiol stability in beer at the 40th EBC Congress this September in Rotterdam. The poster title is "An investigation of thiol disulfides as a potential indicator of ageing in dry-hopped beers" www.vlb-berlin.org/en/vlb-at_EB...
This weekend I'm on a Franconian brewery adventure with @fredcook.co.uk @louisekrennmair.bsky.social and @akrennmair.bsky.social We stopped for Brotzeit and beers at the Brauerei Göller in Drosendorf.
Start of our summer holiday. We have possibly made a bad choice and gone to Bamberg with @johnzee7.bsky.social and @fredcook.co.uk First stop is Spezial, one of my favourites.
First leg of three trains to see @johnzee7.bsky.social @louisekrennmair.bsky.social and @akrennmair.bsky.social in Berlin. Fingers crossed for no delays 🤞
In our monthly Beer and Book Club, we discussed "Thin Places in Hard Concrete" by @raynewman.bsky.social It's a brilliant collection of short stories featuring memorable settings and subtle unease. Highly recommended!
Ray Newman@raynewman.bsky.social · 2mo agoI'm taking several copies of ‘Thin Places in Hard Concrete’ to the pub tonight so a pal can collect them for his book club in Berlin. How cool is that? I'll answer my own rhetorical question: it is very cool.
In Germany we say "wer schreibt, der bleibt"
Andreas Krennmair@akrennmair.bsky.social · 4w agoBecause it came up on Reddit, I wrote down a few things about what records I keep about my batches of homebrewed beer, and why I think it's important to document them instead of winging a brew day. dafteejit.com/2026/07/my-r... #homebrewing
GOOD MORNING! Here's our regular round-up of good writing about beer and pubs with vague themes around Bavarian beer culture and, oddly, that pub Lidl have opened in Northern Ireland. boakandbailey.com/2026/07/news...
News, nuggets and longreads 11 July 2026: Bee Speaker
Every Saturday we round up the best writing about beer from the past week. This time, we’ve got Dortmunder, Helles and Obatzda.
boakandbailey.com
BLOG POST: A response to @boakandbailey.bsky.social's "What does Helles taste like?" through the lens of a brewing scientist. hopandschwein.wordpress.com/2026/07/09/w...
What does Helles taste like? A brewing scientist’s perspective
On a recent trip to Bristol, I met up with Boak and Bailey and local darts legend Fred Cook for some pints. Provocatively, I was asked what had happened to my blog. Since then, I’ve been sear…
hopandschwein.wordpress.com
Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)@boakandbailey.bsky.social · 4w agoBLOG POST: Go on then – *you* describe the flavour of Helles. boakandbailey.com/2026/07/what...
My new book, Bavarian White Beer, has been out for almost two weeks, and so far, the feedback has been absolutely fantastic. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who bought a copy! Get yours now: waizenbier.de #beerhistory #homebrewing
I was fortunate enough to get a sneak peek at Andreas's new book. It is incredibly well researched, full of fascinating stories and offers a glimpse into just how wild Bavaria could be in centuries past, at least from a political and historical perspective. Congratulations @akrennmair.bsky.social!
Andreas Krennmair@akrennmair.bsky.social · 2mo agoWell, here's the exciting announcement: I just published my latest book, Bavarian White Beer. It's about the history of Bavarian white beer that may also know as Weissbier, Weizenbier or Hefeweizen, including its historic and modern brewing technologies. #beerhistory dafteejit.com/2026/06/bava...
If you're looking for the perfect drink for today's Germany-Curaçao match, here's a 1970's beer cocktail for you: Isarwasser. In a 1 litre Maßkrug, combine a bottle of Bavarian wheat beer, half a litre of orange juice or orange soda (e.g. Fanta), and a shot of Blue Curaçao liqueur. Enjoy!
Happy German Beer Day! 🍻 Today I'm presenting some of my research at the VLB on the flavour stability of hoppy beers.
Please consider taking a few moments of your Sunday afternoon to appreciate this beautiful sourdough loaf baked by @akrennmair.bsky.social It definitely tastes as good as it looks.
UPDATE: My colleague from the VLB microbiology lab has kindly given me 500 mL of 3.2 pH kombucha starter liquid. I've been advised to reduce my batch size to increase the starting acidity and hopefully prevent early mould growth.
Ben Palmer@johnzee7.bsky.social · 4mo agoAre there any kombucha brewers on here? Green/white fuzzy patches of mould have grown on the surface of my third generation SCOBY. This has happened twice now and I'm not sure where I'm going wrong. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Are there any kombucha brewers on here? Green/white fuzzy patches of mould have grown on the surface of my third generation SCOBY. This has happened twice now and I'm not sure where I'm going wrong. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
German hop growing has officially been recognised as intangible cultural heritage by the Bavarian cabinet. I'm proud to support hop growers and merchants through our analytical work and hop research at VLB Berlin. www.about-drinks.com/hopfenanbau-...
Hopfenanbau in Deutschland ist Immaterielles Kulturerbe
Der bayerische Ministerrat hat die kulturelle Ausdrucksform „Hopfenanbau in Deutschland“ in das Bayerische Landesverzeichnis eingetragen.
about-drinks.com
Staying on the Oktoberfest theme, I wrote about the scandal of the Oktoberfest's first "giant tent" in 1898, and how it unfolded: dafteejit.com/2026/03/the-... #beerhistory #oktoberfest
The Scandal of Oktoberfest's First Giant Tent - Daft Eejit Brewing
In which I wrote about how the first large tent at Oktoberfest came to be, and why it was a scandal for the Oktoberfest restaurateurs at the time.
dafteejit.com
🎯 New dartboard review 🎯 The seven stars in Redcliffe: fredcook.co.uk/2026/03/19/T... I've also added a handy map of all dartboard reviews so far
I've blogged about beers at late 19th/early 20th century Oktoberfest many years ago. I've now been able to find complete lists of breweries for the years 1895 and 1896, which shows how much more diverse the beer choice was back then: dafteejit.com/2026/03/beer... #beerhistory #oktoberfest
Beers at Oktoberfest 1895 and 1896 - Daft Eejit Brewing
In which I'm presenting complete lists of breweries whose beer was served at Oktoberfest 1895/96, several of which were not from Munich.
dafteejit.com
It has been a nice few days of pubbing around Sheffield and the Peak District.
BrewDog Germany filed for insolvency (article in German): www.morgenpost.de/berlin/artic...
Brewdog scheitert in Deutschland: Schließung aller Standorte angekündigt
Aus für Brewdog Deutschland: Nach Schließungen meldet der Craftbier-Riese Insolvenz an – Löhne bleiben aus, alle Standorte machen dicht.
morgenpost.de
Good news for German cycling fans via @tagesspiegel.de: the Tour de France Grand Départ 2029 might be coming to Berlin 🚴🇩🇪 The last time this happened was in West Berlin back in 1987. www.tagesspiegel.de/sport/berlin...
After a long and exhausting brew day (triple decoction mashing 😐) of a historic recipe involving 100% wheat malt, I wrote a brief article how I managed to lauter and sparge the mash without any issues, using a historic lautering aid. dafteejit.com/2026/02/laut... #homebrewing #beerhistory
Lautering a 100% Wheat Malt Mash - Daft Eejit Brewing
In which I briefly describe how I managed to lauter and sparge a 100% wheat malt mash without any stuck sparge using a historic technique.
dafteejit.com
Feierabendbier with @silentdan.bsky.social at the Eschenbräu brewpub in Wedding. The seasonal Rauchbock tastes like Bamberg.
Some Berlin kneipen (pubs) have been around for more than a hundred years and they’re still going strong… www.slowtravelberlin.com/around-berli...
