Yeast is the initiator of the process of fermentation, but not where the process of beer making begins. First, there is the malt. Barley grows, and is harvested and dried. Each grain of barley contains the genetic blueprint for a new life form, waiting to be awakened with the spring rains. By soaking the grains of barley in water, a process starts by which the starches of the grain are converted to sugars by enzymes. The seed then uses the sugars produced to grow rapidly, and the seed starts to sprout. Just as the seeds are sprouted, the barley is dried up once again, and sometimes roasted. This kills the budding new life of the seeds, but the enzymes still function, and are still transforming the starch they encounter into sugar. This is the beginning of the process known as malting.

After malting the grains, the process of the mash begins. When mashing, one takes the lightly roasted barley, which is the malt, and mixes it with other roasted grains and warm water to produce a flavorful, sweet liquid called the mash. This is the beginning of the beer making process.

Most folks in the homebrew community use malt extract instead of making a mash. Malt extract is a sticky, super sweet syrup that is made industrially by mashing and then boiling down the mash until it is this syrup. Either way you produce beer, you eventually have a hot mixture of Malt, Hops, Barley, and Water. After this cools, Yeast is added into an environment that is very helpful to the yeast’s life cycle. Thus starts the process of fermentation.

Yeast devours the sugars and a few other nutrients supplied by both the hops and barley, and excretes two things: alcohol and CO2. Alcohol is primarily what we’re after, but not at the expense of the taste of our homebrew. Yeast thrives in a warm, humid environment. If it is too warm, however, the yeast will create undesirable undertones in your beer. This is why Lagering is such a popular process of beer making. The definition of lagering means to keep the wort at a low temperature, in a refrigeration unit, while the beer is fermenting. In light beers, temperature is very important, because there are not heavy flavors to cover up undesirable accents. Lagering increases the amount of time it takes to have a finished homebrew, but often the benefit in taste far outweighs the extra time it takes to brew. Hops also enhance the environment for the yeast, adding essential nutrients.

The natural process of carbonation occurs throughout fermentation, but is most useful to the home brewer near the end of the fermentation process. At this stage, nearly all of the sugars in the wort have been devoured by the yeast. When there is still a small amount of sugars left in the wort, it is bottled and sealed. Now, the little remaining live yeast devours the last of the sugars, and excretes a little bit more of alcohol and CO2. The beer then slowly becomes saturated, and then supersaturated with CO2 in the confined environment of the beer bottle. This is the process of carbonation, which takes about two weeks to complete.

Finally the mixture of Malt, Hops, Barley, Yeast, Water has produced the penultimate goal – the homebrew beer which is nutritious, enjoyable, and inebriating!

The first chemical evidence of beer was found in Iran and was dated from 3500-3100 B.C.,. In Europe, beer also has a history that goes back to 3000 years before Christ. At first, beer was produced for domestic use, but by the 600s A.D., beer was being exported by monasteries in Europe. During the Middle Ages in Europe, beer was consumed with just about every meal.  Amazingly enough, in England during this time period, the amount of beer consumed averaged over sixty gallons per individual each year.

In the thirteenth century, Germany was able to make hopped beer. Hops made beer last longer and for the first time beer was exported in great quantities. However, the amount of hops beer contained was regulated by law in England and other countries in the 1300s. This regulation was met with fierce opposition by those who thought the bitterness distorted the taste of beer. Hops are still used today to give beer its distinctive flavoring. It is the female cones of the hop plant that are used in beer-making.

In medieval times, beer was mostly brewed in home operations, but by the fifteenth century, small commercial breweries started to appear. The English continued to have beer without hops, which was called ale. The name, beer, only applied to recipes with hops. One hundred years later, all that changed when in the sixteenth century ales and beers were both made with hops. Then the word, ale, was used to refer to beers that were extra strong.

A Bavarian law was adopted in 1516 that was very important in beer history. This was called the first purity law and it ordered the only ingredients in beer could be water,barley and hops. Yeast was added when discovered in the 1850s. The Industrial Revolution changed everything about beer-making. The hydrometer (1770) and thermometer (1760) were both invented and revolutionized the process of beer-making. Pale malt became the primary malt used because it increased yields.

Today’s beer, especially in America, is the result of a major consolidation of beer companies after World War II. A few large companies took over the smaller breweries and one company would brew all types of beer, from pale ales to lagers, wheat and darker beers.

In the 1980s, microbreweries started to return with many regions starting to once again produce local beers. The brewing industry is one which seems impervious to ups and downs in the economy. The demand for beer has remained strong literally since the beginning of time, and shows no signs of waning in the twenty-first century.

Original Article by: Beer Adams

If you plan to add fruit to your brew, it’s highly recommended that your fruit is fresh.  The longer fruit is allowed to ripen from the time it has been picked, the greater the chance that airborne bacteria can infect your batch.

Although the fruit will most likely be boiled with the wort, the precaution above is still highly recommended.  Alternately, you may decide to use
fruit puree, which will offer homebrewers the chance to brew with fruit without having the fear of contamination, however, brewing with fresh fruit has always been my preference.  Regardless of your style of brew, you can normally add fruit to it.

The process of adding fruit is simple.  Crush, chop, or break up the fruit that you are planning to use.  Next, place the processed fruit into a sparging bag then let it steep in the hot wort for five to ten minutes after the boiling has
been finished.

When you are transferring your brew mixture to your primary fermenter, you may choose to sparge your fruit with some added water to extract every
last drop of essence from the fruit.  Always keep in mind that when you add fruit, you are adding additional sugar to your wort.  This added
sugar concentration will effect your original  and final specific gravity when you measure it with a hydrometer.

Some fruits are actually easier to work with than others.  Raspberries for example, may leave seeds in your primary fermenter if they aren’t properly filtered.  The basic object to  achieve a quality fruit beer is to capture the
essence from the fruit then remove all that  remains before you start the primary fermentation.

Adding fruit to your microbrew will give your brew a unique taste.  There are many brews out there that take full advantage of fruit (like the peach recipe listed right here!), many of which are extremely popular.  Fruit can bring
a very refreshing taste, especially when it is brewed the right way.

For homebrewers all over the world, fruit is a nice addition to any microbrew.  You can use virtually any type of fruit you can think of, which is one of the reasons why fruit brewing is so very popular.  Just like wine, fruit can make any brew taste like a tropical paradise.

The top of the list…Myth one: Only men have an interest in homebrewing beer. Drinking or brewing beer is just not popular with women.

This could not be further from the truth! Even though there is a large number of men who both drink and home brew beer, there is also a large number of women who not only appreciate and enjoy the taste of beer, but who are also interested in homebrewing.

Myth two: If you want the best results for your beer, you should bottle it using green bottles only.

Absolutely false. Believe it or not, brown bottles work the best because they are better equipped to keep out the most dangerous culprit to your homebrewing efforts – light. Due to a shortage of brown glass in Europe during the 20th century, green glass was used more frequently and it was incorrectly assumed the beer was of a better quality. Truth is, exposure to light is an excellent way to dash your efforts and spoil a good batch of beer.

Myth three: Drinking beer is unhealthy.

Since beer is an alcohol and alcohol consumption has always been linked to poor health habits, there is a stigma that follows for beer drinking. In actuality, beer contains zero cholesterol and zero fat! Do not let this myth keep you from brewing and enjoying good beer. Always drink responsibly. Moderation is key to really appreciating a delicious beer.

Myth four: Bitter beer is beer that is ruined.

All beers have a bitter flavor, some just more pronounced than others. And the reason is due to the use of hops, which are essential for an authentic beer taste. Do not worry – if your beer tastes bitter it is fine as is. Tip: when brewing beer you can adjust the bitterness level by the amount of hops you use and the amount of time you boil the hops. The longer you boil the hops, the more bitter tasting the beer will be.

Myth five: Beer is ruined if the bottles are not kept refrigerated.

Actually, assuming the bottle has not been opened, simply pop the warm beer back in the refrigerator. Once it is chilled, it will taste as good as before. Note: some beers, like many traditional English ales and stouts, are not their best when served ice cold. Rather, they are better served closer to room temperature or slightly cool. The only ways to ruin a good beer is to either leave it sitting out open to the air or exposing it to the sun/extreme temperatures for an extended period of time. Once you have made a batch, simply store it in a dark place and it will be just fine.

Now that you know the truth to these myths, you can confidently venture into the world of homebrewing. However, there is one final, widely-popular myth we need to bust first: Homebrewing is difficult work. With ready-made malt extracts and six-gallon fermenters available these days, it’s no more difficult to brew beer than to make bread with a bread machine. Simply mix your ingredients, pop the cap on the fermenter and let the yeast go to work making your beer. With a little work and a lot of fun, you too can easily learn how to brew beer.

There is a new focus on local microbreweries or home brews,  and new efforts afloat to match food and beers in ways that they can complement one another. It is no longer just about having a beer with a steak and salad, chicken wings, or pizza. Today people are trying to pair foods and beers in such a way that there is a new harmony between the two.

In order to match foods and beers successfully, it is necessary to figure out what the strengths are of both the food and the beer that might lend themselves to one another. Some of the things to consider are how light dishes and light beers work together. Not light as lightweight or as in having less substance, but light as in delicately flavored. For instance, perhaps a pale ale might work with a food such as a salad.

Foods with strong flavors such as dishes with onions or sausage should be paired with stronger tasting beers and ales. You would need to consider such characteristics or qualities as sweetness and bitterness, highly carbonated or lightly carbonated, the character of  the malt, and the richness of the flavors when successfully matching beers and foods. A good example would be a German lager with rich flavor paired with a dinner of roast pork.

Another way to match beers and foods would be to take a look at the country in which the beer is brewed, and the kinds of foods that are served.  Don’t give up if your beer and food matches are not exactly right on with one another. Light foods can be matched with light ales in the summer and heavier foods with darker ales in the winter.

Here are some examples that might help to match foods and beers; A light, refreshing beer or wheat beer is a good choice to go with a salad. Red or amber ales work well with certain types of fish, such as smoked salmon. Lagers and pilsners can be good with roasted chicken or other poultry dishes, while grilled or roast beef might call for a heartier beer. Something along the lines of a stout.

Wine and cheese are no longer the only complementary appetizers. Beers have the myriad of flavors necessary to work well with any cheese combination. Here, you might try a hard cheddar cheese with a stout or hardy beer. Some soft cheeses go well with beers that have slightly fruity flavors, such as those of raspberries or strawberries.

There are also beers to go with just about any kind of dessert. Older ales are often good with nutty-tasting sweet breads. If you have a very sweet dessert, such as cheesecake, you might try to find something with a spicy taste. You can’t beat a dark beer for the way it tastes with chocolate, and often a fruit pie might do well with a fruity beer or ale.

The more experimentation with the endless possibilities of specialty micro and home brews,  the easier to figure out which food and beer pairings work the best. Keep experimenting with different tastes. You are sure to find pleasing combinations and you will have a lot of fun in the process.

Getting Started

When you do decide to brew your own beer, you must make sure that you get the right equipments and ingredients. For your ingredients, you will need water, malt, hops and yeast. If you like you beer to appear light and taste light, you will need to buy some light colored malt and hops with a low alpha number.

Malts and hops with high alpha number gives out stronger flavor, so avoid that one if you have no desire of producing strong beer. On the other hand, if you are interested in getting a more assertive type of beer, go for hops with higher number but use only less than 2 ounces at the beginning of the boiling process otherwise your beer will taste too bitter.

Always remember that timing and proper measurement is very important when home brewing beer. If you put in too much stuff into your concoction, you will ruin the taste of your beer.

The first thing that you will need to do when home brewing beer is to boil your malt extract for 30 minutes. Stir the liquid occasionally and then add the hop pellets 5 to 10 minutes before you finish the boiling process. Make sure that you do not over boil your liquid or else your beer will not really taste as good as it should.

When home brewing beer, it is very important to pay close attention to cleaning and sanitizing of equipments especially the ones that you use for fermenting and storing your beer. Always remember that cleaning is different from sanitizing. Just because you have washed the utensils and containers with soap and water, that doesn’t mean that these things are already sanitized.

After cleaning your utensils and containers, you need to apply some bleaching or sanitizing solutions to your equipments to kill whatever bacteria that may be in them. Don’t forget that bleaching agents and sanitizers often leave some odours on the equipment, so you will need to rinse the utensils and containers thoroughly. In case you don’t want to use sanitizers or bleaching agents, you can sterilize your containers and utensils by boiling them for about 15 minutes.

Thanks to Ann Marier for these tips.

Ancient peoples may have brewed their own beer and wine out of necessity (and brew it they did — back at least as far as 10,000 BC that we know of) after all there was no liquor store or convenience store on the corner to grab a cold six-pack or the latest import.

But, really, this was how if was for them for everything they consumed. From bread and meats to vegetables and oils — it was all “do it yourself.”

It’s all changed today when we can easily go to the store and get just about anything we need. So why try homebrewing your own beer?

Homebrewing is More Common Than You Might Think

Home brewing has become in the past few years one of the country’s fastest growing hobbies.

Almost overnight there are several monthly magazines devoted to the subject. Brewing Techniques, Home Brew, The Complete Joy of Home Brewing, and Extreme Brewing are just a few.

And many online sites are now dedicated to selling home brewing kits and equipment.

Take heart that no matter what your family thinks, if you are interested in home brewing you’re not alone.

What are the Reasons That Home Brewing is Becoming So Popular?

Naturally there are almost as many reasons that people try home brewing as there are home brewers. In other words, everyone has their own reasons and everyone is different.

But a few good reasons keep coming up when home brewers talk to each other:

1. Home brewing is an art. It may be a hobby but there is much skill involved also. People who love to cook are often drawn to home brewing.

2. Every batch of beer is different. Forget trying the latest import of seasonal. With home brewing you always have something new to enjoy.

3. Home brewers are a friendly lot. If there is one thing that home brewers love almost as much as making beer it is talking about making beer. Sharing stories and recipes, trying new batches and just getting together with like minded friends are all reasons many people enjoy home brewing

Certainly these are all good reasons, but naturally the number one reason most home brewers give for making their own beer is…

4. Taste

There is nothing like being able to adjust the recipes to their own taste and experiment with different ingredients and cooking procedures. Sure there are some basic things that never change, but you can add different ingredients and experiment with different techniques to make your own signature creation.

Adjusting the ingredients can give you a lighter, paler ale or a thicker and heartier stout. Adding incredients, like honey or berries can give you a flavor that cannot be found in the stores.

One Last Reason No One Talks About

5. Although most won’t admit it, many people home brew simply because it is “cool.” If you and your friends like beer there is just nothing like being able to tell them that you make your own. Just watch the face of someone who has made his or her own beer as they offer you a glass.

It’s hard to be that excited about offerng someone a “Bud.”

Who Likes A Challenge?

OK, sometimes a challenge is good. It can stretch us, and if the task is that bit more difficult then the satisfaction in getting a good result is all the greater. But it’s all a matter of degree. If the odds are so stacked against you that the chances of failure are seriously high, then that can kind of take away the enjoyment.

It’s like that with home brewing. A little difficulty or ‘challenge’ might be OK, but too much and it can ruin the hobby, and your brew.

And let’s face it, the processes in home brewing the traditional way can be quite complicated. All that preparing the ingredients, malting your grains, mixing at different stages, transferring between containers etc … It’s a long, drawn out business that is full of risks. And any mistake can potentially ruin everything.

Why Take The Risk?

So, if there’s a good alternative why take the risk of failure? Why pour all your time and effort into something that is hard work and can so easily go wrong?

You see, the sort of home brewing kits you can get these days make the whole operation so much easier. Compared to the traditional method, with kits there’s really very little you have to do. Each malt kit (for whichever type of beer you choose) comes ready prepared; you just add the odd extra ingredient, mix with water, and leave to ferment.

Quality and Reliability

But, how about the quality with kits? After all, there’s no point taking the easy route if all you can get is second rate beer. Thankfully, with kits nowadays there is absolutely no compromise on quality. You can achieve the most delicious results — everything that homebrewed beer is renowned for.

And what’s more, you can achieve top results with incredible reliability. With kits the process is made so easy that virtually all the risk is taken away, so you can brew with confidence — instead of with worry.

Sure, you can get great results the traditional way also, but not with the same reliability unless you are already an expert. No, if you take the traditional route you will need to know what you are doing or be prepared for a lot of trial and error and learning the hard way. That’s not what most people are looking for in a hobby.

Sadly, traditional home brewing can be full of disappointment. It’s bad enough that one little mistake in a long sequence of steps can ruin the whole brew, but what’s worse is that you might not realize it till quite some time later…

… How quickly eager anticipation can turn into bitter disappointment! Have you read all those posts in the forums from people agonizing over why their brew isn’t looking right? There’s no need to suffer like that.

Instead — Relax and Enjoy

Instead of worrying over how your brew is going to turn out, when you use kits you can relax and enjoy yourself because you can be confident in the result — top quality beer, time after time. And all with minimum work!

Oh, and by the way you can really impress your friends with this — they won’t know how easy it was, but each week you can bring out a top quality homebrewed beer of your own. All the favorite varieties are available with kits, and you can even experiment with your own original flavors and versions. This is how the hobby should be — easy, fun and delicious!

Ready to make your own beer this fun and easy way? Take the next step now by getting a Homebrewing Kit.

The typical homebrewed beer is produced by boiling water, malt extract and hops together in a large kettle and then cooling the resulting wort and adding yeast for fermenting. Experienced homebrewers will make their own extract from crushed malt barley by a more complicated process of mashing the grain in boiling hot water.

With both cases, the wort is boiled for 15 min to an hour, to help remove some impurities, dissolve the character of the hops, then break down some of the sugar. The wort is then cooled down to a pitching temperature.

The cooled wort is then poured into the primary fermenter in a manner of aggression, as to aerate the wort. Sufficient oxygen is also necessary for the yeast’s growth stage. The yeast is then put into the wort.

The primary fermentation will take place in a large food bucket or carboy. Sometimes it is left open but often stoppered with the carbon dioxide gas that’s produced by venting through a fermentation lock.

The process of making microbrews takes a lot of time indeed, although you can take the necessary short cuts once you learn more about how the process works. If this is your first time brewing, you should always use common sense and know what you are doing.

One of the best things about making your own homebrews is the fact that you can experiment with ingredients and brew your own creations. You can brew almost anything, providing you have the right type of equipment – which can easily be found.