Home Brewing: A Beginner’s Guide to Craft Beer.
“People don’t usually consider home brewing as a career option, but for those passionate about craft beer, it’s an amazing way to immerse yourself in a unique industry, the freedom to create the perfect craft beer and some seriously epic parties to boot!”
These days it seems like craft beer is all the rage. If you move in certain circles, you’ve probably heard all about the fermentation process and the incredible varieties of styles and flavors out there. But have you ever considered home brewing?
Home brewing is becoming more and more popular, with a huge 7.913 million barrels being brewed in the US in 2017 alone. Home brewing is the process of creating your own craft beer and has been around since ancient times. It’s a great way to experiment with different styles of beer in your own kitchen or backyard. Whether you’re an experienced brewer or a complete beginner, you’ll find that home brewing is an incredibly rewarding experience.
For those of you who have never home brewed, don’t be intimidated! It’s actually fairly easy to get started and you don’t need a whole lot of equipment or supplies. Here’s what you’ll need:
1. A basic brewing kit: This usually includes a large pot, a strainer or funnel, bottles or kegs, and some tubing. Depending on the type of beer you’re brewing, you may need other equipment like a secondary fermenter or a bottling bucket.
2. Ingredients: Beer is made mostly of water, hops, barley, and yeast. Different styles of beer require different ingredients, so make sure you get what you need based on the type of beer you’re looking to brew.
3. Time: Home brewing takes patience, but the reward of sipping on a beer you created yourself is worth it. Generally speaking, it takes about 4 weeks to brew beer and an additional 2-4 weeks for the beer to condition. But once it’s ready, you’re ready to enjoy!
Now that we have the basics out of the way, let’s get into the nitty gritty. The first step is to choose a beer style. Here are some of the most popular styles of beer:
1. Lagers: These are clean, light beers that have been cold fermented for long periods of time.
2. Ales: These are fuller flavored beers that are usually brewed with higher alcohol content and smaller amounts of hops.
3. Stouts: These beers have a thicker, richer texture and higher alcohol content.
4. India Pale Ales: These are hoppier beers that are usually brewed with more hops and higher alcohol content.
Once you’ve chosen your beer style, you’ll need to select your ingredients. These include:
1. Malted barley: This is the main source of fermentable sugars in beer.
2. Hops: Hops give beer its distinct bitterness and aroma.
3. Yeast: This is what turns the sugar into alcohol.
4. Water: All beer is made of roughly 90% water, so make sure you use good quality water.
Once your equipment is all set up, it’s time to start brewing. Here’s a basic overview of the process:
1. Heat your water: Using a large pot, heat your water up to a specific temperature then add your malted barley and hops to the water. This step is called “mashing” and is the first step in the fermentation process.
2. Boil the wort (unfermented beer): After mashing, the mixture must be boiled to extract the flavors from the malt and hops.
3. Cool the wort: Once the wort has been boiled, it must be cooled before adding the yeast.
4. Pitch the yeast: Add the yeast to the cooled wort and allow it to start fermenting.
5. Ferment: Leave the beer in a cool, dark place and allow it to ferment for 1-2 weeks.
6. Bottle or keg: Once fermentation is complete, the beer must be bottled or kegged and aged.
7. Enjoy: Once the beer has had time to condition, it’s finally ready to be enjoyed!
Home brewing is a fun, rewarding and creative experience that anyone can enjoy. It takes some patience, preparation and practice, but it’s well worth the effort. With so many different styles of beer out there, you can find something to suit any taste. So what are you waiting for? Get brewing!