An
Overview of Making Beer
Making
beer is easy, inexpensive, and most of all, fun. With the
rise in popularity of homebrewing, there are a wide variety
of top quality ingredients available.
You
can literally make hundreds of styles of beer that will taste
great and impress your friends. Getting started making beer
will only cost you a small amount of money, depending on your
level of interest. Most beer making kits range from only $60
to $200 and make great, unique gifts.
How
to Make Beer
Making Beer is just like cooking. Each recipe requires different
ingredients and techniques. This page is an attempt to go
over the basics of homebrewing in order to give you an understanding
of how beer is made.
First
of all, beer is made from 4 basic ingredients: water, malt
(malted barley), hops, and yeast.
Water
Water
is the most abundant ingredient in any style of beer. When
making beer at home try to use filtered water instead of plain
tap water. If your water doesn't taste good from the
tap, you probably won't like it in your beer either.
Do not use distilled water because it has been depleted of
its oxygen.
Malt
Malted
barley is barley grain that has been carefully soaked in water
until it sprouts and then dried. This malting process develops
the necessary sugars and soluble starches needed for fermentation.
The
malt is then taken through a process called mashing which
extracts the sugars and starches from the grain. Although
advanced homebrewers can accomplish this step at home, most
will buy the malted barley already mashed in a product called
malt extract.
Hops
Hops
are green flowers that grow on a vine and look similar to
pine cones. They perform several roles in the beer making
process. Most notably are the taste and aroma they impart
on a beer.
Since
not all of the sugars will ferment, the malt will cause the
beer to be really sweet. Hops will balance out the sweetness
by adding a degree of bitterness. Hops will also add a distinctive
aroma to the finished brew.
Yeast
Yeast
is the catalyst that makes it all happen. In short, yeast
is a living organism that feeds off of the sugars in the malt.
The yeast will convert the sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide
in a process called fermentation.
There
are many strains of yeasts (even in the air we breathe). In
order to get the results needed for making beer, a specially
cultured beer yeast is required. The yeast will also impart
taste and mouthfeel qualities to the beer.
The
Beer Making Process
To summarize, the malt, hops, and water are boiled for a period
of time. This mixture is called wort (pronounced wert). Then
the wort is poured into fermenter and allowed to cool.
Next,
the prepared yeast is pitched into the fermenter and an airlock
is placed over the opening. Now it's the yeast's
job to do its thing.
The
yeast will multiply like crazy as it consumes the sugars in
the brew. After a period of time, usually within 7 to 10 days,
the yeast will have consumed all that it can and fall to the
bottom of the fermenter.
Finally,
the beer is bottled and set aside for a couple of weeks to
mature and carbonate. Click
here for step-by-step instructions for making beer.
Beer
Making Kits
Below are some suggested beer making kits. All of the kits
have detailed step by step instructions for brewing beer.
If
you are interested in making beer at home with the least amount
of difficulty, I would recommend a start up kit such as the
Beer Machine. You can get a Beer
Machine here.
It makes the whole process extremely simple. You'll be somewhat
limited with the styles of beer you can make, but it's an
excellent way to get started and see if you like homebrewing.
If
you are looking for more flexibility and are willing to
put a little more effort into your project, I found a good
deal on beer
making starter kits at the Fermentation Products website.
It's really not that difficult, and you will love all of
the different styles of beer you can make with these brewing
kits.
Which
ever you decide, making beer at home really is a fantastic
hobby and can be a great social activity. Have some friends
over and let them try your new brew. Better yet, get them
involved and see who can make the best batches. Have blind
taste tests with your buddies. Most of all, have fun!
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