Home Made Beer Brewing

posted on Announcement in home made beer

What’s one of the most popular drinks in the world? You’ve guessed it, Beer. Why is that so? I remember when I first drank it I almost spewed. Much the same when I smoked my first cigarette, I felt as sick as a dog. So why did we do it? Peer pressure I suppose, but still I think it tastes great now and that’s what got me into home made beer. It is almost a cult for some people now. They even have clubs where they can take their latest brew for sampling and of course showing off.

Unfortunately not all home made beers are equal as some of you may have found out when your mate proudly presented you with a mug of his home brew. UGG. Much the same as some home made wine fanatics. So why do people make home brew beer? Well maybe because it’s cheaper that buying the stuff, maybe it’s their great hobby.

Whatever it is there are some great home beer makers out there and I have tasted a few. Whatever the reason it is a great relaxing hobby with a great supping reward. It’s not expensive as some hobbies go and it’s great fun. It is no wonder that it’s very popular as you get a great feeling of achievement when you pour your drop of home made beer. (no matter how horrible it tastes when you first start off). Let’s face it any new hobby has a learning phase when you first start.

One of the great things about home made beer is that you can drink it without any of the additives that are put into the commercial beers. Just about every beer you buy has been pasteurized this means the beer is ‘cooked’ which kills the yeast whereas home made beer contains live yeast which gives your home brew a more natural taste.

The initial cost of buying the equipment you need to start making your own beer is quickly recovered after your first couple of batches of brewing. Most people who start home brewing are fed up with paying the bills for their beer. Home made beer brewing can fix up the cost of beer. Buying  the ingredients for a 5 gallon batch can range from $25 to $45 depending on the type of beer you wish to make. Other costs such as bottles are around $12 for a case of 24 12 oz bottles. Of course these can be reused time and time again.

Home made beer brewing is catching on fast and is not really difficult to start you just have to follow the steps and not attempt to experiment until you have got the basics off pat. It is usually best to start of with a kit. Essentially there are only six basic steps to making your home made beer.

1. Making wort or must.

2. Fermentation.

3. Clarifying.

4. Conditioning

5. Packaging.

6. Drinking.

Brewing can take from two weeks to several months depending on the type of beer you wish to make. Usually you will have several batches going starting at different times especially for the longer brewing styles of beer.

Home made beer is not difficult, especially if you first start with a brewing kit. So go ahead and make your own beer and enjoy.

If you really want to get ahead fast I recommend a couple of e-books that will help you enormously. You can preview them at: Beereasy home brewing training and 641 beer recipes.

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Using Beer Making Kits

posted on September 21, 2009 in beer making kits

If one is just starting to make home made beer it is usually best have a look at beer making kits.  Beer making kits have everything one needs to make your first batch of beer.  The hobby of home made beer brewing has grown enormously over the last few years.  Some of this is due to the craze and huge growth in the micro or boutique beer market.  Increased awareness of these beers has made people think about making their own beer. The thing foremost in ones mind is whether one could make their own beer successfully. Beer making kits make this less of a gamble than just trying from scratch, obtaining ones ingredients individually and all the equipment that is required.

The things that one has to think about when first starting are:

  • How is home made beer made?
  • What are the methods for bottling.
  • What sort of equipment do I need?
  • What sort of beer brewing equipment do I need?

Beer making kits help you to answer all of these questions.  Purchasing a beer making kit will ensure that nothing is forgotten and you are not left wondering if you’ve forgotten some special brewing equipment.  Fortunately there are plenty of quality suppliers of beer making kits to choose from so you should have no trouble in selecting one that will appeal to you for your first foray in to beer making..

Beer making kits include everything you need to make your very first lot of beer. Typically the equipment included in beer making kits are:

  • Fermenter – This is where you mix your water, fermentable ingredients, and yeast.
  • An Airlock – This allows for letting the CO2 escape and prevents air from getting to your wort.
  • A bottling tap – This provides the means for getting your beer from the fermenter into your bottle.
  • Bottles – A lot of the beer making kits out there even provide you with re-sealable P.E.T. bottles.  These are handy because you don’t need a bottle caper and you don’t have to save your empty beer bottles to brew a batch of beer. You can also re-use them after sterilization so you will only have to buy them in you first kit. You can also buy bottles separately if you wish.
  • A can of hopped malt extract with brewer’s yeast.
  • A recipe on how to use their system.  Some even include a video showing how their beer brewing kits works.
  • Some of the brew kits include things like a hydrometer, mixing spoon, carbonation drops, etc.

You can save yourself lots of headaches by selecting appropriate beer brewing kits. Home made beer brewing is a hobby that many enjoy and a hobby that will continue to grow.

Finding Homebrew Recipes

posted on September 18, 2009 in homebrew recipes

Home made beer brewing is growing in popularity because it is fun and makes a great hobby notwithstanding that it can save you money. It is important that you find the best homebrew recipes and indeed there are plenty available for all kind of beer types. Homebrew recipes are important because if they are always followed you can be sure that you will be able to recreate your favorite type of beer at the same consistency time and time again. In this article we will look at ways to find the best homebrew recipes.

Homebrew recipes for the beginner and the more experienced brewer.

There are many homebrew recipes available for free from various sources. It is recommended that if you are a beginner you start with a brewing kit. Your are a learner and a kit ensures that you have everything including instructions that come with the kit. Make sure that you buy a good and possible the type of beer you like best and have a taste for. A good beer brewing kit will have all the equipment and ingredients for your first home made beer batch. For subsequent batches all you have to do then is buy the ingredients which you usually also can buy as a complete package. With the kit you will also get a manual and the particular homebrew recipe.

After you become more experienced you can experiment a bit with the homebrew recipes you used from your beer brewing kit. You can also look elsewhere for other homebrew recipes.

There are many homebrew recipes, There are beginners books and more advanced homebrew recipe books. You can probably find some at your local library. As  you become more proficient and also treating home made beer brewing as a hobby you may want to experiment with different styles of beers you can even find homebrew recipes that taste like certain commercial brands.

You will find that a lot of the books you find are written by well known brewers and go deeply into techniques and ingredients that make the homebrew recipes easy to follow and complete.

Once again always start with a proper beer brewing kit if you are a beginner and use beer kit packages with all the ingredients you need. Follow the instructions and stick to the amount of ingredients stated. Following the homebrew recipes carefully will ensure that you will be tasting you first successfully made batch. Once you have gained experience you can start adjusting some of the incredients to change the taste a bit. For example you may like your beer a bit more bitter or a bit less bitter. The homebrew recipes usually tell you what ingredients you can adjust.

If you want to get a homebrew recipes quickly I recommend the “Home Brewers Ultimate Recipe Book” which contains over 600 home made beer recipes.

Here’s to joyful tasting.

Wilf Staton.

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