There are literally hundreds of different styles of beer. The basic ingredients that ever homebrewer needs are water, malted barley, homebrewing hops and beer yeast. It’s the types and combination of these ingredients that determine the result.
Yeast
The amount or type of yeast used during the fermentation process can be the deciding factor between a lager or ale. To obtain a broader range of beer types, many brewers will use specialty grains in a certain way to change the color and flavor of the beer without having to add sugar during the fermentation process. Brewers will also use anything from spices to candy to fruits to help flavor their beer a certain way.
Yeast is responsible for converting carbohydrates to carbon dioxide and alcohols. Yeast can be classified in two different ways: “top cropping” and “bottom cropping.” Top cropping yeasts create foam at the top during fermentation, and typically create ales. Bottom cropping yeasts are typically used to produce lager type beers although they can also produce ale type beers.
Hops
Hops are female flower clusters, primarily used as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, and typically impart a bitter or tangy flavor in beer. Before hops, many brewers would use spices or fruits as their primary flavoring ingredient.
There are also a number of different kinds of hop varieties. These include Amarillo, Centennial, Cluster and Tettnang among others. Tettnang hops are the original noble hop from Germany, although they are now grown in the U.S. in Oregon and Washington State. The tettnang hop is ideal for your finest lager and wheat beers.
Barley
Barley is the seed part to the barley plant, a grain similar to wheat in appearance. It is the specific types of barley used in the production of beer that make one different from another. Each strain imparts a unique characteristic taste and body to each of the different beers. Malted barley is barley that has been allowed to germinate to a degree and is then dried. Sending a barley seed through a germination process converts the seed to a starch. The seed’s stored energy turns the starch into a simpler sugar that is used in its initial growing stage. The germination and drying stages capture fermentable sugars, soluble starch and diastase enzymes for beer brewing. Malted barley is the eventual source of the fermentable sugar consumed by the yeast. Eventually the barley becomes a malt extract becoming a suitable ingredient for beer.
We will discuss the different categories of beer – lagers, ales and other specialty brews – in our next post.
Brewing Your Own Beer at Home
First, you need a beer brewing kit. Then it’s time to order your beer brewing ingredients and figure out what type of beer you’ll make!
Category Archives: Home Beer Brewing
Homegrown Hops for Homebrewed Beer?
Image Courtesy of botanical.com
Due to the growing environmental changes and the desire to feature “farm to table” edibles and drinks today, more and more farmers and beer breweries are looking into growing their own hops. These farmers aren’t only selling their hops but they are also doing their own home beer brewing.
Interested in growing your own hops and brewing your own beer? Here is a complete guide to everything you will need to know about growing your own hops, so start your planning now!
A hop plant is a perennial that will flower during the summer months. Hop cones will begin to grow from the sidearms of the plant causing the flowering process to occur. In order for the flowering process to occur properly there needs to be at least 120 days which are frost free, there must be ample moisture and there must be plenty of lengthy sunny days.
First, you will need to order your own Rhizomes (a piece of root taken from a larger hop plant), which are only available about once a year, typically in March or April. Next you will want to decide where to plant your own Rhizome. The best place to plant will be in a southern light exposure area with well-drained soil. Make sure to plant your root about a foot deep and begin to think about what you will use to help strengthen the plant as it grows.
Typically, late August or September is when you will want to harvest your hops. Once you begin harvesting make sure to lay everything down flat so it can dry and you can begin to pick off your hop cones for further drying. Don’t forget to research the general alpha acid range of the hops you grew to determine how much to use in your own brew.
Remember that hops have a minimal root system so the production will only get better and better as the years go on! And, don’t forget you’ll need a beer brewing kit to actually brew your creation!
Beer or Cocktail? Yes, Please. The Maturation of Beer Cocktails
Late summer is in full swing and you may find yourself in quite a dilemma as Happy Hour rolls around and you are again stuck deciding between a refreshing beer and a tasty cocktail.
Not to worry my friend, a new era has dawned and it is now acceptable to have both – at the same time! That’s right, beer cocktails have burst onto the bar scene with their vibrant creativity, diverse flavors, and serious ability to pack an alcoholic punch.
The surge in popularity stems from the nostalgia of shandygaffs, which is a mixture of beer and soda popularized by old Englishmen and the more recently nostalgic car bombs, sake bombs, and Jäger bombs popularized by college students across the nation.
These beer cocktails are not the fist pounding, unceremoniously plunged together, and gulped down drinks of the past. The creators of alcoholic bombs have graduated and matured into adulthood and so have their palates.
Recipes that have hit mainstream include:
- Black Velvet: a mix of stout and champagne
- The Boilermaker: a combo of quality beer and a shot of whiskey
- The Groundskeeper: a medley of ale and single-malt scotch
- Michelada: a beer, lime juice, and hot sauce mixture served margarita style with a salt rim
Quality ingredients and flavor seems to be the main criteria of beer cocktail mixology. Aficionados and novices alike are ordering beer brewing kits, hoping to create the perfect blend of hops, barley, and other accompaniments to produce the perfect base for their savory beer cocktails.
Beer brewing at home has become a pastime for these beer cocktail diehards who are never satisfied with the status quo. Some opt for brewing with flavor profiles such as chocolate and orange, coriander and rosemary or lemon pepper. Effectively producing the perfect craft beer requires marrying together of spirits and shaping the next bar room staples.
Texture, complexity, and flavored beer cocktails are now the sophisticated choice. So next time you find yourself stumped on what to order at your local bar, get the best of both worlds and indulge in a craft beer cocktail.
Top Five Facts You May Not Know About Beer Brewing
- Beer brewing dates back to 6,000 BC. The oldest beer brewing recipe was found on a Sumerian tablet. It contains a prayer to Ninkasi, who is the goddess of brewing. In fact, this is the world’s oldest known recipe! For those curious about what the first beer may taste like, Anchor Brewing Company produced a limited time replica based off the original recipe. (We wonder what their beer brewing kits looked like!)
- The Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock because it ran low on beer. The Mayflower was originally destined for the Hudson River, but ran low on certain resources, including beer.
- Home beer brewing was made legal in the United States on February 1, 1979. This ruling was made possible by California senator, Alan Cranston. Homebrewing kits are now perfectly legal, and found in many homes across the country. Hats off to Mr. Cranston!
- There are approximately 750,000 home brewers in the United States. This number is growing rapidly each year!
- Beer is the second most popular beverage in the world, coming in right behind tea!
How To Pair Beer With Food
Image courtesy of https://www.scientificamerican.com/
For a beverage consisting of so few ingredients, beer makes a huge statement. Its rich diversity of flavors, aromas and textures make it the ideal partner for almost any meal. As a homebrewing citizen, one of the greatest challenges you might face is finding the right grub to compliment your brew. With so many possibilities, it can be a challenge to know where to begin.
The best place to start is with the profile of your beer since this will govern its interactivity with food. This is determined by three main ingredients: malt, hops, and yeast. Malt is sweet and often adds hints of chocolate or coffee to malt-heavy beers such as stouts and porters. Hops are considerably more dynamic and will add bitter, spicy, floral and/or fruity flavors to beers, most pronouncedly in India Pale Ales. Then there are the more yeasty beers, such as American wheat beers and German hefeweizens, which are generally lighter with heavy yeasty flavors. Together, these ingredients bring out the sweet, bitter, spicy and rich features in the product of your beer brewing experience.
The next step is determining how you want your food to relate to your beer. Oftentimes, the best partnerships arise from shared flavors and aromas. The key is finding the correct balance in the harmonies you wish to create through complementary or contrasting flavors. As a general rule of thumb you should keep the strength of your food and beer consistent, but there are otherwise no wrong answers. With homebrewing kits, the flavor creation possibilities are endless. In the end, the way in which you consume your brew is the final step in getting the most out of your beer brewing kits.
New Shipment of Grape Crushers and Presses
We recently announced a new stock of seasonal presses and crushers. Presses and crushers are integral to the winemaking process, and ensure that grapes and fruit crush properly before fermentation. For the current season, Adventures in Homebrewing has fully stocked this highly in demand product.
Crushers and presses are used to break the skin of grapes or fruit in order to properly extract juices for fermentation. The crushing process is integral to the success of the wine batch, and requires careful attention to properly de-stem and crush skins. Modern crushers and presses provide both manual and motorized options, ensuring that the crushing process is completed thoroughly and accurately.
While traditionally grapes have been stomped or crushed by hand, contemporary presses allow winemakers to crush large proportions of fruit with minimal time and effort. Late spring is a common time for grape picking and crushing, which promises to deliver fully crafted by wine by the peak summer months.
We place a strong focus on innovation and maintaining status as a complete home wine and beer supplier. We recently added new kegging systems, and the introduction of new wine juice kits continues to be a step towards future expansion. Currently, we offer a wide selection of crushers and presses from leading manufacturers in addition to our reliable supply of wine making kits and beer brewing supplies. Check ’em out today!
Beer Brewing Safety
Image Courtesy of https://collegecurlies.blogspot.com/
Beer brewing is a time-honored tradition that has been under development for thousands of years. Today, over 750,000 Americans engage in the practice from the comfort of their own homes. Thanks to the conception of beer brewing kits, it is now safer than ever for you to unleash your inner brewmaster.
The notion of a safe home brew is not an oxymoron; reality portrays an exercise that is no more dangerous than cooking pasta. It is a complex albeit easy process that requires around four to five hours of work spread out over a minimum of a four week period. It consists of five steps: brewing, cooling and fermenting, priming and bottling, aging, and everyone’s favorite, drinking. Unlike distillation, the process used to make hard liquors, homebrewing does not involve high pressures or flammable liquids. Instead, it incorporates yeast and boiling liquids in a fashion similar to making a loaf of bread or a pot of spaghetti.
The fact of the matter is that the most unsafe element of beer brewing is already installed in your home. While purpose-built propane burners are available for purchase, most aficionados choose to brew beer on the same stoves on which they prepare their meals. This is not to say homebrewing is without its risks; however, a good brewer will identify them ahead of time and prepare accordingly. In addition to acquiring a quality beer making equipment, you can follow this list of general guidelines to ensure a positive brewing experience:
– Be aware. The fermentation process produces carbon dioxide and inhaling large quantities can cause you to black out. While this poses a much greater risk at commercial breweries, it is still something to be mindful of.
– Glass breaks. This seemingly obvious fact can become painfully apparent at inopportune times. In order to avoid accidents, you might want to consider using plastic carboys as opposed to glass ones during the fermentation process. The former is less likely to break and has no adverse effect on taste. You also need to make sure your beer is fully fermented before bottling to prevent your bottles from exploding. Once preserved, be sure to store it in cool, dark conditions.
– Be mindful when boiling water or wort. Do not leave your pots unattended, ever, and make sure they are large enough to contain the heated liquids. Keep in mind that what you are boiling is hot and is occasionally liable to boil over.
– Respect your equipment and ingredients. Everything should be fresh, stored properly, and sterilized. Older or improperly stored ingredients can ruin a batch, and good sanitation is necessary to avoid contamination. You are incubating a living entity and you want to take the best care possible to ensure a healthy and full development.
Five Stages of Homebrewing
Homebrewing – a rapidly growing hobby, yet still a time-honored tradition. Brewing your own ales, lagers and stouts allows you total control in your beer’s taste, strength, crispness, etc. By having creative control over your bottle of brew – beer lovers can enjoy beers to their exact taste. Not to mention the sense of accomplishment, knowing that your efforts produced something of value to you.
Beer brewing kits help make this happen – but what goes into the brewing process? Beer brewing comes in five stages, which means you’re just five stages away from enjoying a delicious cold one.
What’s in wort? – Pale malt extract and hops are boiled together with water for about an hour to sterilize the extract and release the bittering qualities of the hops. Frequently grains are steeped in the mixture prior to the boil to add additional color and flavor complexity. This hot mixture is called a wort.
Chill Out and Ferment for a While – The hot wort is cooled to room temperature and siphoned to a fermenter where it is combined with more water to achieve the desired batch size. Once the mixture drops to room temperature, brewing yeast is added to start the fermentation process. Cleanliness and sanitation are very important since bacteria in this state can easily infect the wort. An airlock is used to keep the fermenter sealed during fermentation. Your beer will ferment for 1-2 weeks.
All Bottled Up – Once the beer is fully fermented, it is siphoned once again, this time to a container for bottling. This begins the priming process, when priming sugars such as corn sugar are mixed with the beer. The beer is siphoned into bottles and each bottle is capped with beer bottling equipment.
Age is more than a number – Once the beer has been bottled it needs to age for 2-6 weeks. During aging the yeast will ferment the remaining sugar you added and create carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide will naturally carbonate your beer so it is nice and bubbly. In addition, undesirable sediments such as excess yeast and proteins will drop out of the beer during aging and this will enhance the flavor of your beer. In may take several months to reach peak flavor, though homemade beer usually drinkable after a month.
Enjoy – Once the brew is properly aged, pop them in the fridge to cool once last time. Then, lay back, crack one open and enjoy!
The Science and Art of Home Wine & Beer
Step in your local grocery store, stroll down to the beer and wine aisles and take a good look. Some of the words that come to mind: vast, impressive, confusing, overwhelming. Why is this bottle $59 dollars and this one is $11? What do the labels really mean? How do you know where to begin?
You don’t need a sommelier to help you navigate the world of wine. And, just because one brand of beer had a funny Superbowl commercial doesn’t mean it’s any better than the rest. If you really want to drink the best beer and wine you’ll ever have, you can brew beer and make wine at home, yourself, for pennies on what you’d spend at the store.
You Don’t Have to Grow Grapes
Home Wine Making and Beer Brewing making doesn’t mean you need a field of grapes or hops in your backyard. Like any chef preparing a quality meal, you can buy top-quality ingredients, as well as beer brewing kits and wine-making equipment. Home brewing will give you a unique experience, a one-of-a-kind perspective on the process, and a point of pride when you’re done. All you need are the right ingredients, some bottles, and the desire and time.
You Can Get Cheap Beer and Wine Anywhere
You may find other kits that let you make your own beer and wine with very little effort. Don’t forget, what you get out of it is only what you put into it. Don’t go for quick — choose quality.
It’s a Science and an Art
Like any good recipe, wine and beer making requires you to follow a rigid set of directions to ensure success. The art lies in the subtle nuances that you create to make it your own. You need to learn the rules before you know when to break them. There are recipes for beer and wine all over the Internet. There are even websites devoted to each one. Take the time and study how the pros do it. Adventures in Homebrewing has detailed instructions that can turn you into an expert in no time.
Patience is a Virtue but Waiting is Hard
When you have created your masterpiece, you still need to let nature do its work. Complex chemical reactions turning sugar into alcohol take time. Your perseverance will be greatly rewarded.
Indulge Your Ego
Aside from the joy of drinking your homemade beverages, some say naming your brew and creating your own labels is the most fun. Since glass bottle can easily be recycled, and even washed and reused, there is no reason not to house your spirits in quality containers with a bright colorful label proclaiming yourself as the proud brew master.
Get Started
Now that you are ready to start, Adventures in Homebrewing can walk you through the steps. Adventures in Homebrewing has an extensive selection of home wine making supplies and equipment along with beer brewing kits. With more than 40 years of experience under our belts, we can answer any questions you may have. In no time at all, you’ll be making beer and wine with your own hands
Homebrewing by the Seasons
Ever wonder why you have a subconscious thirst for a full bodied beer when there’s snow on the ground? Or how about a beer that offers a certain level of refreshing crispness when you’re at the picnic table for a 4th of July party? Perhaps you’re at a renaissance fair on a cool fall day and you have your palate is craving a brew that’s malty instead of hoppy. Beer Brewing kits can quell these cravings and provide a fun, rewarding way to put your own stamp on brewing beer at home.
Most seasonal home brewing recipes offer obvious generic names to stand out amongst other recipes. Names such as “Winter Lager” and “Summer Ale” come to mind. While these recipes are, in their own rite, still very satisfying beers, there are many more recipes for home brews that coincide with the seasons. To enjoy these beers during the season in which they are designed for it is recommended that you give ample time for preparation and fermentation. Starting the process during the prior month of its consumption is the typical practice. (For example, to enjoy a summer beer in the summer, start the process during spring.)
Winter Style Beers
Winter style beers are typically brewed to yield high percentages of alcohol to get you through the cold winter months. The colors usually range between light brown and black.
Scotch Ale– Scotch Ales are considered a fairly strong beer with colors ranging from amber to light brown. They tend to be sweet and full bodied with a pronounced malty caramel and roasted malt flavor. They can typically yield an ABV% ranging between 6-11.
Winter Warmers– Winter Warmers are the typical winter beers. Most commercial winter lagers are modeled in the Winter Warmer fashion. They tend to rely heavily on a malty sweet presence rather than a hoppy bitterness. Winter warmers can typically yield an ABV% ranging between 6 and 9 and their colors range from reddish-brown to pitch black.
Spring Style Beers
Spring style beers begin to transition from the heavier, darker beers into beers that emphasize wheat flavoring. They offer a myriad of characteristics including beers that are citrusy, cloudy, crisp and refreshing.
Bocks– Bocks are common spring beers that offer medium to full bodied profiles, but no roast flavor. They tend to favor more of a malty influence with low levels of hop bitterness. They are generally brown to dark red in color, but bock variants such as Maibock can come in a golden color. Transitioning from the stronger winter beers, the Bock’s ABV% ranges between 5.5 and 7.5.
American Blond Ales– Blond Ales offer pale yellow to deep gold colors. It is an all malt brew, with most showing a level of subdued fruitiness. Hop character is of the noble variety, or similar, leaving a light to medium bitterness. A balanced beer, light bodied and sometimes lager like. Blonde Ales generally hold a ABV% between 4-7.
Summer Style Beers
Summer style beers are brewed to be relatively pale, light, crisp and relying heavily on wheat elements and citrus nodes that are smooth and pleasing to the palate.
Saison– Saisons are traditionally brewed in the winter, to be enjoyed throughout summer. It is a French beer in origin but has a strong following in the United States. Saisons typically are fruity in aroma and flavor resembling a wheat beer and brewed with heavy amounts of spice to build a mild tartness. The typical “summer ale” is modeled off of Saison Variants. They tend to be semi-dry with many only having touch of sweetness. The ABV% of Saison beers range between 5 and 8.
Kolsch– Light to medium in body with a very pale to clear color, hop bitterness is medium to slightly assertive. Some versions of Kolsch are considered to be very similar to pilsners. ABV% ranges from 4-6.
Fall Style Beers
Fall style beers, typically varieties of ales, are brewed to transition back into the cooler fall months. They generally rely on malty, spicy elements to provide a beer that is sweeter than it is bitter.
Pumpkin Ale– The Pumpkin Ale is quite varied and can sometimes be referred to as a variant of Harvest Ales. Flavorings can come from actual hand cut pumpkins to pumpkin purees. These beers also tend to contain ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice. Pumpkin Ales are typically malty, with a spicy aftertaste due to the combination of the “pumpkin pie spices.” The ABV% of Pumpkin Ales range between 4 and 7.
Marzen/Oktoberfest– The prototypical fall beer, Marzenbier is full-bodied, rich, toasty, typically dark copper in color with a medium to high alcohol content. The common Marzenbier contains roughly 5-6% ABV and has a mild hop profile relying mostly on a malty influence to blend its robust flavor.