Home Brew Craft

The end of the summer season is upon us.  Berries and fruit abound and here is a fun thought for your next brew! Adding fruit to beers will add a new and unique twist of complexity to the beverage.  A raspberry wheat for example, would add a tart flavor as peach would add the smooth sweet taste that we all
associate with peaches in your brew.

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.

Do you enjoy the delicious taste of beer? Have you ever thought about how proud you would feel to learn how to brew beer? Want to learn the simple truth to the most popular-held myths about brewing beer at home? Well, it’s time to arm yourself with some knowledge to debunk the top beer myths and set the record straight – even with people you know who may think they know more about beer than you.

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.

If you are going to make your own beer then your biggest worry has to be that something will go wrong and the whole brew will be ruined. What can you do to reduce the chances of that happening to almost zero? The answer could be very simple…

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.