Sunday, January 23, 2011

How To Start Preparing Home Brew Beer

By Steve Pavilanis


Creating home brew beer can be relatively easy. It does not take many ingredients or a lot of equipment. It is possible to purchase a home brew kit or to create one's own kit. Building a kit only requires a few items to get started. Here are a few pointers on creating the ideal concoction.

Home brewers have some choices on how to proceed. Regardless of the way people choose to brew at home, they should be armed with a high-quality, fully stocked library. A home brew kit is one way to start. These are very simple and provide one with a tin of pre-hopped malt. Just add yeast and water for a simple brew.

Another way to start making beer for personal use is to create one's own kit. This can be done by buying each piece of equipment individually. The first piece of equipment needed is a beer pot. It is also possible to use a brew kettle. This should not be aluminum as metal will affect the quality of the beer. An ideal size is about seven gallons. This should yield about five gallons of beer at the end of the process.

In order to turn this product into beer one will need a fermenter. The fermenter should have an airlock. It is usually made from plastic that is considered food-grade. It also is meant to have an air tight lid. Typically, a spigot will also be attached near the bottom. Having an airlock on the fermenter keeps air out and lets carbon dioxide escape.

There needs to be some way to get the beer into bottles, so it is important to have plastic tubing. That tubing should be able to connect to bottles with caps that require a bottle opener. For those wishing to proceed with further fermentation, it might behoove them to purchase a carboy. This is often necessary to get just the right concoction. A carboy is a large glass jug that has its own rubber stopper and its own airlock. Also, a warning, for all of the equipment, be sure to avoid wooden utensils and containers. Wood is porous and highly susceptible to bacteria and other contamination.

The items one needs besides equipment are sugar or malt, hops, water and yeast. Some additional hops create a taste that is more bitter. Those who prefer a little less of a bitter taste, will want to put in less hops. The suggested amount is an ounce.

To begin personal brewing, one must boil water. Near the time the water begins to boil, the hops and malt are added. All the ingredients should be at a boil for at least a full hour. This makes wort. These steps do not complete the process, however they are a start to understanding home brewing. Resources are abundantly available. Two places to find them are a store that emphasizes personal brewing or on the Internet.

Creating home brew beer is an attractive hobby for those wishing to save on their alcohol budget. It is also attractive to people who want to have more control over taste and selection. There are some simple ways to begin. One is to use a home brew kit. Another is to use some basic equipment, purchased piece by piece. If a kit is not used, then one will need to purchase and use hops, yeast and malt. It is also important for either method to have plenty of water available.




About the Author: