Home Brewing Beer
Home brewing is a fun and educational way to drink a lot of beer. Home brew kits are a great gift for the husband who enjoys a good lager or ale. The engineering and creativity required to create the perfect brew make the entire process really fun.
Basic Beer Ingredients
* Water: Beer is 90% water, so you it's important to get this ingredient right. Water should be free of chlorine and other chemicals, but not distilled. Distilled water has no mineral content, which is intrinsic to proper fermentation of the yeast.
*
Barley Malt: This is the main source of fermentable sugar, minerals, and vitamins that the yeast needs to grow.
*
Hops: Hops contain acids which, as they are boiled for a period of time, add bitterness to beers. Bitterness helps to balance the sweetness of the beer, and it acts as a natural preservative.
*
Yeast: Last but not least. Without yeast, beer would not exist. Yeast is a unique single cell organism that eats sugar and expels alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Brewing Equipment
Before you start, make sure you have the right equipment. Home brewing is an art as well as a science, and proper tools and sanitation are necessary. Don't get too discouraged by the long list, all of this equipment is included in your typical
home brewing kit.
*
Fermenter: A 6.5 gallon bucket where fermentation will take place.
*
Lid: For fermenter, there must be a hole in the top to insert the stopper and the airlock.
*
Bung/
Stopper: Goes in the lid of the fermenter.
*
Airlock: This device allows CO2 to escape without letting air in.
*
Brewpot: You need stainless steel pot that can hold at least 20 quarts of liquid.
*
Turkey baster
*
Sanitizer
*
Whisk or
wort spoon
*
Tongs
*
Hop Bags
*
Dial thermometer
*
Hydrometer
*
Measuring Cup
Brewing Summary
# Malted barley is soaked in hot water to release the malt sugars.
# The malt sugar solution is boiled with hops for seasoning.
# The solution is cooled and yeast is added to begin the fermentation process.
# The yeast ferments the sugars and releases CO2 and ethyl alcohol.
# When the main fermentation is complete, the beer is bottled with a little bit of added sugar to provide the carbonation.
The actual process of brewing is vastly more intricate than these five steps, but it is very fun and rewarding. Look into
beer recipe books for more detailed guidelines.
Home Brew Kits
Related Guides
