Posts Tagged ‘brew’
The history of making alcoholic beverages is essentially the history of home brewing. Historians believe that beer was originally discovered by people of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Barley was a staple grain of this area and it was soon learned that if the barley got wet and was allowed to germinate, it would become sweet and could be used in foods like bread. This process is known as malting.
It didn’t take much time after the discovery of malting to discover beer. Someone probably allowed their malted barley to get wet and remain exposed to the elements. Perhaps wild yeast contaminated the exposed liquid. The yeast then took hold and multiplied generating a bubbly liquid of alcohol and barley that soon became the first beer.
Today, there are many people who enjoy home beer brewing. The main ingredients include malted barley, hops, yeast and water. Like wines, beers have many different flavors. This is caused by differences in the the type of malt, the moisture content, the type of barley used and the temperature used in the kiln.
Malted barley, also known as malt, is barley that has been soaked in water until it starts to sprout. A kiln is then used to dry it out. Barley has a hard husk, is low in protein and high in starch, making it perfect for brewing beer.
The next crucial beer making ingredient is hops. Hops are flowers which provide a natural preservative quality and bitterness to the beer.
The third ingredient is yeast. Yeast may be the most important beer making ingredient. Yeast is a living creature that lives off the ingredients in beer. It is responsible for converting sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide in the fermentation stage.
The final ingredient is water. This is an important ingredient considering that beer is 90% water. For better tasting beer, it’s best to always use quality water.
Beer is made from simple ingredients, but the process of brewing beer can be a little bit more complicated than it seems. If you love beer, you might find home beer making very enjoyable.
Here is an overview of the beer brewing process:
Steep and boil malt and hops
Ferment for one week
Transfer to secondary fermenter for two weeks
Transfer to clarifying keg for one week
Transfer to serving keg
Pressurize beer keg to carbonate for 7 days
Serve!
Many people who decide to make beer at home often choose to buy a beer making kit. This is often the easiest way to get started, so you can begin enjoying the satisfaction of making your own beer at home.
Author: Eileen Childs
For more on home beer brewing please visit CocktailsAndBeerAndWine.com where you will find more information as well as tips and advice related to beer, wine and cocktails.
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Pizza and Beer – The Saga Continues – Love Good Beer
Marcello’s Pizzeria clearly knows how to make great pizza, but they have their own shortcomings and seem all too unaware about the magic that happens when a great pizza meets a great beer. I was hopping to find a well hopped pale ale on…
Students make homebrewed beer
Patriot Benjamin Franklin famously once said, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
Beer Blog: And that’s why you always reuse a yeast cake
When I first decided to make a brown ale for the wedding, I mostly considered it a throw away recipe, and just a way to add one more beer style to the already full beer menu. The recipe was very simple, some maris otter, a bit of dark…
Want to Learn Beer? Start Home Brewing. | The Brew Club
Home Brewing is a growing trend in America, and it is easier than ever to start. Still, learning from those who have home brewed their own beer is a big help.
Top ten signs that you’re a beer geek | Thank Heaven for Beer
“That beer was released by them on July 12th not the 11th…I know because I was there when the opened the first cask at their brewery location.” These might be a couple of statements that you might make as a beer geek.
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During Prohibition in the 1920′s homebrewing became greatly popular and illegal. When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, home beer brewing to a odd turn. The constitutional amendment repealing Prohibition allowed the production of wine at home but failed to add beer in its wording keeping homebrewing illegal. This ended up making homebrewers no different than back woods moonshine runners. It also made getting supplies much more difficult. President Carter changed this in 1979 when he signed the Cranston Act which removed federal prohibitions on homebrewing. This opened up the hobby to Americans and started a new generation of home brewers.
Many people, in their search for good beer, have turned to homebrewing. It’s easy to make a beer that is better than commercial brews in many parts of the world. Others homebrew simply because it is cheap. Today there are more than 600,000 home brewers across the country and the quality of ingredients and advice for homebrewers has improved. Today it is easier than ever to create your favorite brew right in your own home, home brewing kits have come a long way over the years and with little time and allot of patience you can enjoy your own fine hop creations.
Most kits come with everything you need from a Brew Keg Fermenter, hopped malt extracts (beer mix) and reusable plastic bottles, and the process takes about 2 weeks "that’s where the patience comes in". You can make just about any style beer that you find at the local distributor and many recipes are available online.
Beer Brewing Tips:
Try different things in your beer. Add some spices. I’ve read of people using syrups. There are no hard and fast rules. Some of the greatest beers I have tried broke the rules. Just because it sounds sick doesn’t mean it will be.
Always keep brew logs! Even if you are using a kit. I once made an excellent hefeweizen, but didn’t take any notes. A went back to the brew shop but didn’t know what yeast I used. With notes, if you make a mistake, you will know what to change.
Buy bulk hops as much as possible. You might not need a full pound of cascade or hallatauer hops, but quantity is always best. Buying hops online is usually cheaper, even with shipping. The night before you are going to bottle your beer, set all needed bottles on your kitchen counter top and fill each bottle with water and Star San solution. Let these bottles soak overnight.
Dry hopping can add floral character to the beer. The dry hop can be added in the secondary or in the keg. To add the dry hop, add about a quarter to one ounce of the hop in a grain bag and leave them in the beer for a week. This only adds a nice flower aroma to the beer and does not change the taste in any manner.
Distilled water should not be used as it lacks minerals and nutrients that are required for proper yeast fermentation. On the other hand city (chlorinated) water can ruin the taste of the beer completely. The best kind of water is well water or spring water.
Author: Paul Koslow
For more information visit on home brewing or home brewing kits visit http://www.smartwebshopper.com/home_beer_brewing.htm
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Mr. Beer Premium Gold Edition Home Brew Kit
For the beer connoiseur in your life, this Micro-Brewery Beer Making Kit will really make that first beer taste especially good. Mr. Beer is an advanced and widely acclaimed home brewing product. Modern technology combined with select…
How to Brew Your Own Beer
Beer brewing has become increasingly popular because it produces a large amount of beer for a very little amount of money. There are three things to consider when brewing your own beer from home – equipment, ingredients and procedure.
Easy Beer Brewing with Mr. Beer
For extensive links and additional information visit: SimpleHomeBrewing.comMaking beer at home couldn’t be easier than with the Mr. Beer kits…
Brewing Homemade Beer
You can sanitize your equipment using a diluted bleach solution or you can use a sanitization solution specifically designed for home brewing kits that won’t leave an aftertaste. Step Two After you have properly sanitized your equipment…
Setting Up Your Beer Brewing Equipment | Home Made Beer Brewing
Where you buy your beer brewing equipment is personal, some towns have good home brew shops and others don’t, you might need to look in different stores before.
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