If you are a real beer fan, you will probably enjoy home brewing beer. Once you have made the initial investment buying the equipment you need for home brewing beer, you will only have to buy supplies to make the beer in the future, so it is very economical to do. Home brewing beer kits are for sale online, and there are special kits just for beginners. Most kits make a batch of about 5 gallons of beer or 40 bottles that are 16 ounces each. It has only been legal to make beer at home in the United States since 1978, and even now, there are limits to how much can be brewed. Home brewing beer can be up to 100 gallons per adult or up to 200 gallons per household per year. That is quite a lot of beer.
All supplies are available at online websites for home brewing beer. Once the equipment is purchased, it will not need to be replaced for a very long time. Some of the things you will need to begin your home brewing beer are a fermenter, a large stainless steel pot, a thermometer, a clear plastic hose, a fermentation lock, bottles, a bottle brush, and a bottle capper. There are also a few ordinary household items needed like measuring cups, oven mitts, and a few other things. If a person decides to continue home brewing beer, then there are other brewing items that can be added later on.
A home brewing beer kit contains everything needed to brew the first batch. There is malt extract, yeast, hops, boiling and finishing hops, water crystals, priming sugar, oak chips, caps, and instructions. Other kits may be slightly different, but most offer the basic items needed to make beer. It is possible to buy international beer kits as well, such as one from India. Also, flavors for making your own unique beer can be found, such as pumpkin spice, holiday ale, and other flavors.
There are two secrets to success for home brewing beer. The first is the water that is used, and the second is sanitizing everything that will touch the beer mixture. Water is very important in a beer’s taste, and experts suggest that charcoal filtered water is the best to use. If city tap water is used, it should be boiled to eliminate some of the chlorine and chemicals that are in it. The next secret for success is to sanitize every single piece of equipment that will be used for home brewing beer. The beer will not ferment and transform into brew unless all utensils, pots, hoses, measuring cups, and other pieces are sanitized. By sanitizing, beer making experts say that all pieces used to make the brew should be soaked in a bleach and water solution, preferably overnight. Items must them be rinsed very well to eliminate any bleach taste. Some online home brewing beer sites also offer a chemical that can be substituted for bleach.
Making the beer is much like cooking a large pot of stew or soup. First, the grains are put in a large stainless steel pot and are boiled with water. Malt is added, and must be stirred frequently, but constantly is even better. This mixture should be cooked for about 20 minutes. Then bittering hops are added and steeped for around 30 minutes. A second batch of hops, called finishing hops, are added after this in some recipes. The brew is then cooled down.
There are special coolers for cooling down the brew that are called wort chillers. These are not absolutely necessary because ice can be placed around the pot. When the mixture is cool, yeast is added. A tube is placed into the solution so that excess foam can drain off during fermentation. Then, in about three days, a stopper is put in to air lock. The home brewing beer will be ready to bottle in five to 14 days, or when the bubbling stops and the liquid is no longer cloudy. Then you are ready to fill 40 bottles of beer for some drinking pleasure!