Brewers and baristas often start their days similarly—before the sun rises, coffee in hand. We don’t know who first had the idea to mix coffee with beer, but we’re glad they did. From roast to extraction, learn how to infuse your beer with the best of the bean.

Odorless, colorless, and tasteless, carbon dioxide is a simple molecule—just two oxygen atoms connected to a central carbon atom—but its interactions with water, beer, and other gases can be complex and interesting. Your beer wouldn’t be the same without it.

What goes on behind the scenes in those “black box” brewing calculators? How do they go from a list of malts and hops to values for gravity and bitterness? Building your own calculator is easier than you think, and it can teach you a great deal about your beer.