Home Brewing

We tend to think of "malt" as a thing.  Of course there is the candy malt and there is the old fashioned "malted" that was the stable of 1950s "malt shops" which in our mind is more like a modern day milk shake.  But when it comes to beer, just about anyone, even people who are not involved in home brewing can list the ingredients as hops, malt, and grains.  So as part of our quest to become more familiar with all of the aspects of beer making, it’s a good idea to explore more deeply what exactly the malt...

Before you really get oriented to what home brewing is all about, it's easy to think it is a process that is set in stone and there is only one right way to do it.  And it is true that the brewing and fermenting process has some steps that must be followed with some discipline if you wish to enjoy a great home made beer.  But one of the reasons that home brewing is such a passion to many people who enjoy this way of making beer is that there as so many varieties of recipes and styles of making....

There is always an urge when you get started in a great new hobby like home brewing to go out and buy the most expensive equipment and supplies and dive in head first.  That instinct may come from watching an "old pro" at home brewing working his or her own elaborate set up to make some great beer.  So naturally when you start learning how to brew beer at home yourself, you want to strive for the best which is to make beer as good as the old pros make.  But the instinct to over commit should be resisted.  ...

Assembling the equipment and the ingredients to make beer is a cut and dried operation.  The process of making beer at home isn't really a mystery.  That is one of the reasons that home brewing has become so popular.  Because you can get set up to brew beer at home with a relatively low investment in equipment and ingredients, it's easy to get started on making your own beer.  And when you finish that first batch and it is stored away to be sampled in a few weeks, the excitement that you soon will be drinking your own beer is...

Lots of time the urge to finally take the plunge into home brewing comes when you went to the brew pub and paid ten dollars for an imported beer of one that was brewed in their pub.  And even if that beer is good, it's easy to start to suspect that you could do as well making beer and that your beer would be perfectly fresh and would cost a lot less than ten dollars a glass to enjoy this flavor all the time.  When that thought crossed your mind, the home brewer in you is born.   The community...