Homebrewing Beer
Created | Updated Aug 22, 2005
Homebrewing beer can be a very rewarding hobby. When many people hear the words "homebrewed beer", images of cough medicine or concoctions that cause blindness come to mind. The first questions always asked are, "Is it any good?" and "Does it have a lot of alcohol in it?" The answers are: "Yes. Why do you think I keep brewing it?" and "...Sometimes."
The Equipment
First, the brewer must either buy a lot of equipment or just happen to be lucky enough to have a bunch of random tools that can be modified for brewing. Half of the fun of brewing beer is designing and constructing new tools do do the work for the brewer. Basic equipment kits can be obtained through local homebrew shops or online. Basic equipment includes a brew kettle, hydrometer, thermometer, fermenting vessels, various spoons and mixing devices, bottle capper, bottles and/or kegs, towels, and some beer(not used in making the beer, just makes the process of brewing more fun). Advanced equipment may include some sort of vessel to mash and rinse grains, a wort chiller, and a variety of other tools that will be explained or will not be explained due to time restraints.
Ingredients
Again ingredients for the beer may be purchased from a homebrew shop or online. The ingredients in beer are yeast, hops, malted barley, and water. Beginning homebrewers may buy malt extract. Malt extract is either a syrup or a powder that is sugar extracted from the grains in a factory. This cuts out the process of extracting the sugars from the grains and makes for an easier process. Downfalls of using this are constraints on how much the flavor and color can be tweaked in the beer. Also, remember to drink beer in all stages of brewing.
The Process
The advanced process involves putting the crushed malted barley into hot water into a vessel called a mash tun. Enzymes in the grains begin to convert the complex starches into simple sugars. The process of letting the ezymes do their work can take an hour or more, so remember to drink. The grains are then rinsed (sparged) to gather all of the sugars into the brew kettle. If malt extract is used, this whole process can be skipped and the malt extract and water can be added to the brew kettle. The unfermented beer or wort, is then boiled along with hops for flavoring. This process can take an hour or more to extract the flavor from the hops, so again remember to drink beer. After the wort is cooled, the wort is transferred to the fermenter and yeast is added. The yeast then turn the sugars into carbon dioxide and ethanol over a period of days or weeks. After this, the beer can then be kegged or bottled along with a small amount of sugar to provide carbonation. After a two to three weeks the beer can then be chilled and consumed.
Conclusion
The process of brewing can be rewarding for those willing to learn about the process. Home brewing can be simple or as complicated as one wishes to make it. This brief outline barely begins to encompass all of the methods and techniques available to the home brewer. Please remember to eat before you drink, and drink while you brew…in that order.
The Equipment
First, the brewer must either buy a lot of equipment or just happen to be lucky enough to have a bunch of random tools that can be modified for brewing. Half of the fun of brewing beer is designing and constructing new tools do do the work for the brewer. Basic equipment kits can be obtained through local homebrew shops or online. Basic equipment includes a brew kettle, hydrometer, thermometer, fermenting vessels, various spoons and mixing devices, bottle capper, bottles and/or kegs, towels, and some beer(not used in making the beer, just makes the process of brewing more fun). Advanced equipment may include some sort of vessel to mash and rinse grains, a wort chiller, and a variety of other tools that will be explained or will not be explained due to time restraints.
Ingredients
Again ingredients for the beer may be purchased from a homebrew shop or online. The ingredients in beer are yeast, hops, malted barley, and water. Beginning homebrewers may buy malt extract. Malt extract is either a syrup or a powder that is sugar extracted from the grains in a factory. This cuts out the process of extracting the sugars from the grains and makes for an easier process. Downfalls of using this are constraints on how much the flavor and color can be tweaked in the beer. Also, remember to drink beer in all stages of brewing.
The Process
The advanced process involves putting the crushed malted barley into hot water into a vessel called a mash tun. Enzymes in the grains begin to convert the complex starches into simple sugars. The process of letting the ezymes do their work can take an hour or more, so remember to drink. The grains are then rinsed (sparged) to gather all of the sugars into the brew kettle. If malt extract is used, this whole process can be skipped and the malt extract and water can be added to the brew kettle. The unfermented beer or wort, is then boiled along with hops for flavoring. This process can take an hour or more to extract the flavor from the hops, so again remember to drink beer. After the wort is cooled, the wort is transferred to the fermenter and yeast is added. The yeast then turn the sugars into carbon dioxide and ethanol over a period of days or weeks. After this, the beer can then be kegged or bottled along with a small amount of sugar to provide carbonation. After a two to three weeks the beer can then be chilled and consumed.
Conclusion
The process of brewing can be rewarding for those willing to learn about the process. Home brewing can be simple or as complicated as one wishes to make it. This brief outline barely begins to encompass all of the methods and techniques available to the home brewer. Please remember to eat before you drink, and drink while you brew…in that order.
