How To Make Home Brew Beer

Beer is usually considered an ancient alcoholic beverage. It is produced with the assistance of a brewing process in which the starch found in malted barley, cereal grains, corn, rice and corn are fermented. Hops are one of the most common ingredients found in almost all types of beer. During the fermentation process other preservatives and flavours such as herbs may be added. In this article we are going to look at how to make home brew beer to go with your very own stemmed beer glasses.

The following are some of the things you will need to have in order to be in a position to make beer at home.

Equipment: *Large bucket with lid – 10 gallons *Brew pot *Kitchen strainer. For straining the grains before they are fermented. *Kitchen thermometer *Long handled spoon *Large funnel *Rolling pin. For crushing the grains *5 gallons of bottled water *Bottling container *Three feet clear polyvinyl tubing. For air lock, fermentation and siphoning *Bottles (with caps). For storing the beer *Personalised Beer Glasses or Engraved Beer Glasses. The perfect glasses for serving your home brew beer.

Ingredients: *Dried malt extract (40 ounces) *One package brewer’s yeast *Seven cups of sugar

How to make Home Brew Beer: Step 1 The first step includes sterilizing all utensils which are to be used in the process. Therefore, wash the bucket, pot and the spoon in the dishwasher or in near boiling water.

Step 2 Pour exactly three gallons of water in the bucket and place it in a place where it will be free from disturbance. During the fermentation process, you must ensure that the temperature where the process is taking place does not rise above 20 degrees Celsius.

Step 3 Boil two gallons of water in a large pot and then keep on stirring. When bubbles start coming to the surface of the water, insert the malt extract. After 20 minutes add and dissolve the sugar.

Step 4 When the sugar has properly dissolved, tip the cooked malt from the pot into the large bucket (which already contains cold water). It is essential that you quickly pour in the contents to enable the air bubbles to get trapped easily in the mixture. Air is required by the yeast for the fermentation process.

Step 5 In this step, you are required to top up your brew with cold water to bring the temperature down. After the temperature cools down to room temperature, add yeast and then carefully stir it till it completely dissolves. Leave for about 10 to 12 days, then taste your beer. If it tastes bitter rather than sweet then it is ready. The bubbling action of the fermentation process should also have ceased.

Secondary fermentation: For a clearer and less yeasty tasting beer you can use secondary and even tertiary fermentation processes. This is where you siphon off the beer into another large bucket after the initial fermentation activity has subsided. Make sure you leave the sediment, which has settled at the bottom, in the first container. The sediment contains the yeast and particles from the grains and malt. The result of secondary and tertiary fermentation is that the colour and taste of your beer will be enhanced and the clarity of the liquid will make your beer shine.

Step 6 This is the last stage. It involves storing the beer in the sterilised bottles. Add 2 tbs of sugar to each bottle and siphon the beer from the bucket (making sure that you do not disturb the sediment at the bottom). Use a sterilised siphoning tube to siphon the beer.. Fill each bottle leaving some room at the top so you can shake the contents. Cap the bottles and shake to dissolve the sugar. Leave the bottles in a warm place for couple of days. Then store in a cool dark place for at least 7 days (the longer the better).

Types of Home Brew Beer: To enhance your beer you can experiment with different flavours and and colours during the cooking or fermentation stage. Some common enhancements are: ・ Molasses: This will make your beer darker with a full-bodied taste. If you add molasses you should cut back on the amount of sugar used. • Hops: Will add a distinctive hop flavour to your beer. Add a handful of hop flakes or whole dried hops to the malt while cooking. • Herbal teas: Can add some very interesting flavours to your beer. Add 3 to 4 tea bags of herbal spiced tea such as Apple Cinnamon Spice while cooking the malt and remove after 10 minutes. • Licorice: Will add colour and flavour to your beer. Add about 3 sticks of licorice to the malt while it’s cooking. Leave for 5 to 10 minutes and remove the unmelted pieces. • Fruit: It is best to add fruit during a secondary fermentation. Use fruit that has been frozen as this releases the juices within the fruit. Use 1lb of fruit per gallon of beer or at least 3lbs per 5 gallons. The fermentation process will be reactivated due to the natural sugars in the fruit. Stir the mixture every couple of days with a sterilised spoon. Bottle the beer after two weeks or after the 1 week when the fermentation activity has ceased.