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What?? You don’t know what homebrewing is?? The Quickie on Homebrewing: |
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Beer making has a long and varied history through out the world. From individuals making a couple of cases at home in the kitchen to large industrial sites that produce hundreds of cases per hour. That you want to home brew says that you have tried a couple of different beers and thought you would like to taste something different, or that you could do better. Don't worry! Homebrewing isn't that hard. It does require patience and some attention to detail. But don't stress out. As a sage once put it: Relax, Don't worry, have a homebrew! Homebrewing typically refers to the brewing of beer on a very small scale, as a hobby for personal consumption or free distribution at social gatherings. In the United States, in 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed into law a bill explicitly allowing home beer and winemaking, which was at the time illegal as a holdover from the prohibition of alcoholic beverages (repealed in 1933). This applies at the Federal level, and States can also set their own laws concerning beer and wine making. Most specify brewing 100 gallons of beer per person over the age of 21 per household, up to a maximum of 200 gallons per year. (i.e., in Georgia, it’s 50 gallons per year. In South Carolina, there’s no limit but must be below 5% alcohol by weight). Because alcohol is taxed by the federal governments via excise taxes, homebrewers are restricted from selling any beer they brew. Homebrewing is a rewarding and enjoyable hobby that allows anyone to produce microbrew quality beer at home. The actual brewing process typically takes about 2-6 hours with beer that is ready to drink in about 4-6 weeks. Contrary to some of the myths about homebrewing, it does not require a large amount of space nor does it produce unpleasant odors. Plus, it’s also typically not brewed in a bathtub (unless absolutely necessary!). A typical batch of homebrewed beer is five US gallons (19 l) in volume, which is roughly enough for two cases — or 48 12-ounce (355 mL) bottles — of beer. Equipment and books may be purchased through local home brew shops or online. In the United States, to get started, a typical equipment kit costs approximately $60 plus the cost of a large kettle (about $35-$50). Ingredients for a typical 5 gallon batch range from $20 to $40 depending on beer style, using dry or liquid yeast and the store's pricing. Additional costs such as bottles (which may be reused with adequate cleaning) and sanitizers should also be anticipated. The home brewing process can be broken down into 5 steps: Making wort (unfermented beer), Fermentation, Packaging (bottling or kegging), Carbonation, and lastly Consumption :) 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. Advanced homebrewers make their own extract from crushed malted barley (or alternative grain adjuncts like wheat, oats, corn or rye) by a more complicated process of mashing the grain in hot water. For the beginner, store-bought extract in liquid syrup or dry powder form is the easier route—many a great beer have been brewed using these extracts. After fermentation is complete (typically 2 weeks for ales, 8 weeks for lagers), the beer is packaged and carbonated either naturally through additional sugar in the bottle or with CO2 in the keg. It is ready to drink in 1-3 weeks later for most beers. People homebrew for a variety of reasons. Homebrewed beer can be cheaper than commercially equivalent brews. Additionally, homebrewers are able to create ‘specialty’ beers that are either extremely rare or entirely unavailable on the open market. Moreover, homebrewers have complete control over the amount of ingredients and flavors produced based on the amount and type of fermentables placed into the wort. Some homebrewers strive for perfection of specific styles of beer and enter their products in competitions. Others simply brew to have styles of beer on hand to drink and share that are otherwise commercially unavailable, or in an unacceptably poor state when they are available.
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Excerpts from Wikipedia |
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For more info on the nuts and bolts of beginning brewing, here’s a few Intro How-To websites with pics: Click on the link or copy and paste the URL.
http://www.instructables.com/ex/i/9AE1D9CE21D61029BC6B001143E7E506/?ALLSTEPS
Or, better yet . . . Go to John Palmer’s excellent “How to Brew” website @ www.howtobrew.com |
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For a humorous “how to” with pics: http://sinbar.home.mindspring.com/tutorial.htm Click on the link or copy |