Sunday, August 12, 2012

Learning How To Create Beer At Home

By Justin Donna


How to create beer at home is not rocket science. It is a very simple procedure that can be easily followed by nearly anyone. One needs not be a drinker to know how to do this. It can be done for economic gain or even for special family members and friends who drink. A homemade beer can give greater satisfaction than one bought at a bar.

There are several ingredients and equipment needed for the brewing process. There needs to be a pot where the actual brewing will be done. The size of the pot will depend on the quantity of the alcoholic drink needed. Another pot will be needed for the fermentation of the drink. A clean bucket can also be used in place of the pot for fermenting. Bottles are obviously necessary. Other equipment include a thermometer as well as a solution such as iodophor or sarsen which are used to sanitize the equipment used to avoid infection.

The list of ingredients will not miss some four items. Yeast, sugar, malt extract, and hops cannot miss in any recipe for brewing beer. Many people will add other ingredients depending on how they like their drink. It is not uncommon to find people using lemons as ingredients in the brewing process. The four ingredients mentioned first are the most essential however.

The malt extract is usually a product of grains such as barley and wheat. The first step involves crushing the malt and heating it with water. The product of this first process is the production of a sweet liquid referred to as wort. It is therefore lives many a not asking why this alcoholic drinks are sweet. The answer to this question lies in the use of hops as an ingredient. The hops are introduced into the wort and allowed to boil for close to an hour or more.

Boiling of the hops leads to extraction of oils found inside them. It is the bitter quality of these oils that makes beer bitter. Apart from this, the hops have a sterilizing effect on the wort.

The next step in the brewing involves cooling and fermentation of the mixture. After the mixture boils it is allowed to cool to room temperature. The thermometer can be used to ascertain that it has reached room temperature. Once this is done, the mixture is transferred to the fermenting pot or bucket and yeast is added to commence the fermentation. Fermentation can take seven to fourteen days.

During the fermentation period, it is vital to maintain high standards of hygiene. This is because the mixture at this stage is vulnerable to infection from bacteria. This would not be good news to the brewer. After fermenting, sugar is added to the mixture before bottling.

The last activity in learning how to create beer is aging. Aging takes between two to six weeks. During aging, the yeast decomposes the sugar and carbon dioxide is produced. This carbon is responsible for the carbonation of the beer. After all these steps, the drink is ready for consumption.




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