Making own beer is easy, enjoyable and can save youmoney.
Brewing
process has become more sophisticated, the enjoyment derived from sharing a
batch of homemade beer with friends remains reassuringly the same thousands of
years later.
Hops
Hops are the flowers of the hop vine; you can find them in the hedgerows from late August
to early September. In the wild, the vine will climb trees, reaching 4m (13ft) or more. Commercially, hops are grown up long, sturdy poles and the whole vine is harvested.
Hops add bitterness to the wort and aroma to the final beer, which would otherwise be too sweet-tasting. Using hops originally caught on because they inhibit the growth of bacteria.
Hops are the flowers of the hop vine; you can find them in the hedgerows from late August
to early September. In the wild, the vine will climb trees, reaching 4m (13ft) or more. Commercially, hops are grown up long, sturdy poles and the whole vine is harvested.
Hops add bitterness to the wort and aroma to the final beer, which would otherwise be too sweet-tasting. Using hops originally caught on because they inhibit the growth of bacteria.
Yeast
Yeast is a micro-organism that is actually a fungus. It feeds on sugar, so when added to a sugar solution, as with making beer, it will multiply and do so until it has eaten all the available sugar, producing alcohol in the process. It will then die off, leaving a sediment.
Yeast is a micro-organism that is actually a fungus. It feeds on sugar, so when added to a sugar solution, as with making beer, it will multiply and do so until it has eaten all the available sugar, producing alcohol in the process. It will then die off, leaving a sediment.
Malt/Barley
Malted grains are grains that have been allowed to germinate before the germination is halted with hot air. This turns the grain’s starches into the sugars needed for the fermentation process.
Malted grains are grains that have been allowed to germinate before the germination is halted with hot air. This turns the grain’s starches into the sugars needed for the fermentation process.
The
basic equipment you’ll need includes:
1.
A plastic fermentation bucket that holds 40 pints (22l), plus a lid. You can
buy these from homebrew outlets or health food shops. Or forage a food-grade
bucket from a local restaurant – they are often thrown away.
2. A long-handled plastic spoon for stirring.
3. A 40-pint (22l) barrel or strong beer bottles (you’ll need 40 or so). The barrel can cost up to £25 but brown beer bottles can be foraged for free from recycling boxes – ask the owner first – or by asking your local pub
for empties.
4. A 2-3m (6½-10ft) length of clear plastic tube is used to siphon the beer into barrel or bottles once it has fully fermented.
5. A typical brew kit – this one requires you to add 1kg (2lb 2oz) of sugar.
6. Sterilising powder. You can also used crushed campden tablets.
7. Hydrometer – useful for measuring alcohol content but not essential.
8. Measuring cup.
9. Sachets of yeast – these are usually included with a beer kit,
10. Bottle capper and caps – a simple lever for crimping bottle tops on to your beer bottles. The bottle tops become airtight, meaning you can keep the beer fresh for months or even years. Beer in a barrel will go off within a couple of weeks after being broached.
2. A long-handled plastic spoon for stirring.
3. A 40-pint (22l) barrel or strong beer bottles (you’ll need 40 or so). The barrel can cost up to £25 but brown beer bottles can be foraged for free from recycling boxes – ask the owner first – or by asking your local pub
for empties.
4. A 2-3m (6½-10ft) length of clear plastic tube is used to siphon the beer into barrel or bottles once it has fully fermented.
5. A typical brew kit – this one requires you to add 1kg (2lb 2oz) of sugar.
6. Sterilising powder. You can also used crushed campden tablets.
7. Hydrometer – useful for measuring alcohol content but not essential.
8. Measuring cup.
9. Sachets of yeast – these are usually included with a beer kit,
10. Bottle capper and caps – a simple lever for crimping bottle tops on to your beer bottles. The bottle tops become airtight, meaning you can keep the beer fresh for months or even years. Beer in a barrel will go off within a couple of weeks after being broached.
All-grain
brewing:
Don’t let the word ‘expert’ put you off – once I made beer a few times I started to wonder why I thought it was so hard. In some ways, all-grain brewing is like baking a cake or making a loaf of bread – make sure you get the stages correct and you will get good results. The term ‘all-grain’ basically means all of your sugars that will ferment into beer will come directly from the grain, without taking the short cut of using malt extract. To do so, you will need to undertake a process known as mashing; this means keeping the grains at a specific temperature for long enough for the starches to turn to sugars. You will need a very large boiling pan, however.
Don’t let the word ‘expert’ put you off – once I made beer a few times I started to wonder why I thought it was so hard. In some ways, all-grain brewing is like baking a cake or making a loaf of bread – make sure you get the stages correct and you will get good results. The term ‘all-grain’ basically means all of your sugars that will ferment into beer will come directly from the grain, without taking the short cut of using malt extract. To do so, you will need to undertake a process known as mashing; this means keeping the grains at a specific temperature for long enough for the starches to turn to sugars. You will need a very large boiling pan, however.
Ingredients
20l (35pt) of water (hard if possible)
65g (2oz) Goldings hops
2.25kg (5lb) pale malt
225g (½lb) crushed crystal malt
Ale yeast
20l (35pt) of water (hard if possible)
65g (2oz) Goldings hops
2.25kg (5lb) pale malt
225g (½lb) crushed crystal malt
Ale yeast
Preparation Method
1. Heat half the water to 75°C and pour into a sterilised picnic cool box. Place the grains into the cool box and put the lid on. Leave for an hour. You can use a muslin bag to contain the grains.
1. Heat half the water to 75°C and pour into a sterilised picnic cool box. Place the grains into the cool box and put the lid on. Leave for an hour. You can use a muslin bag to contain the grains.
2.
After an hour, strain the water (wort) into a large pan. Heat another 5l (8¾pt)
of water to 75°C and pour this over the grains. Strain this into the boiler.
Repeat with the final 5l (8¾pt) of water.
3.
Place the hops into a square of muslin cloth and tie up the corners to save
mess. Dangle this into the boiler and boil for one hour. Stir occasionally.
After an hour, strain into a fermentation bin.
4.
Cool as quickly as possible, ideally with a wort chiller (costs about £40-£50).
Other cooling options include moving the fermentation bin outside, putting it
in the coldest room of the house, or putting it in iced water. When the wort
has reached around 21°C, add the yeast.
5.
Fit the lid and leave to ferment for between four and 14 days, or until your
hydrometer gives a stable reading over a few days.
6.
Siphon into beer bottles with half a teaspoon of sugar in them or a beer barrel
with four tablespoons of sugar. Leave to condition for at least a week before
drinking. read more.....
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