Beer

Most folks who like beer eventually contemplate brewing their own beer. It’s a natural progression. It wasn’t that long ago that the home brewer had little choices. You had to be creative and innovative in brewing because there weren’t the quality of kits that are on the market today. Also, the equipment was either inferior or not available.

Today, the options are vast and the equipment is very good. Today’s home brewing kits feature almost a limitless variety. You can find incredible beer clones in kits for beginners. Now, you won’t get the nuances that an all grain brewed beer will have, but it will still be nice. And plus, you can say that you made it.

The first thing that you need to acquire is a beer starter kit. I highly recommend beginners go this route as it will save you money. Most kits include a primary fermenter, a bottling bucket with a spigot, bottle filler, bottle brush, bottle capper, sanitizer, and airlock. Some kits have bucket fermenters and others have carboys, plastic or glass. You will need a brew pot and a thermometer as well. Carboys are simply giant jugs, without the handle. If the kit doesn’t come with bottles, you will either have to purchase them or start saving your empties. When you save your bottles make sure of two things: that they are not screw top bottles and that they are rinsed really well. Screw top bottles don’t seal well in the bottling process. And if you don’t rinse your bottles well, you will be brushing out that mold later. It’s a lot of work.

The number one rule in brewing is sanitation. This is eighty percent of success. Most beginners are incredulous when I tell them that. Beer spends most of its time as a sugary liquid. Yeast works in that sugary medium to produce CO2 and alcohol. Other living things would love that liquid as well, like wild yeast, bacteria, and mold. Sanitation keeps them at bay. Always brew in a clean environment. Make sure anything that is going to touch the cold beer is sanitized well. You will be surprised how easy it is to forget this.

The process of beer making is fairly simple for a beginner. You will purchase an extract beer kit. Don’t do all grain or partial first. Think baby steps. Lay all of your contents out and read your kit’s directions. Make sure you have ice water for cooling the brew down quickly. Now, most kits have you bring 2-3 gallons of water to a boil. You steep any flavoring grains for a predetermined time. After that time, you pitch the grains and add your extract and hops. You usually brew this for an hour. At the end of the boil, you add your flavoring hops, if applicable. Now you put the brew pot in the ice water and bring the temperature down below 70 degrees. Once that temp is down, you pour your brew into the sanitized fermenter, making sure to aerate it. You now top up with water, add the yeast, seal the bucket, and add the airlock.

In about two weeks, it will be time to bottle. Make sure those bottles are free from sediment and have been sanitized. You will siphon (racking) your beer to the bottling bucket. Try to keep as much sediment from transferring to the bottling bucket. Don’t worry, you will get better at this. Once that it accomplished, you will need to add the priming sugar. This helps carbonate the beer. I usually heat up some water and dissolve the sugar. Once that’s done, you are ready to bottle and cap. Store the bottled beer for two weeks and you are ready to enjoy your handiwork.

Brewing your own beer is really fun. If you do it with friends, it can be an awesome social gathering. If you remember to be religious about sanitation, you will succeed more than fail at producing really good beers.

Paul has been writing informative articles like this for 6 years. Come and take a look at his newest site which discusses discount faux wood blinds and faux wood blinds to help consumers make an informed choice about them.