Welcome
Welcome to The Beer Factory
I think everyone likes a cool brew on a hot sunny day, lounging around on a day off work on your patio or porch soaking up the relaxing atmosphere. One day the health and science nuts say beer's good for you, the next week they say it's not...the fact is...everything is good in moderation...so enjoy!
Making beer is easy, inexpensive, and most of
all, fun. With the
rise in popularity of home brewing, there are a wide variety of
top quality ingredients available.
You can literally make hundreds of styles of beer that will taste
great and impress your friends. Getting started making beer will
only cost you a small amount of money, depending on your level of
interest. Most beer making kits range from only $60 to $200 and
make great, unique gifts.
How to Make Beer
Making Beer is just like cooking. Each recipe requires different
ingredients and techniques. This page is an attempt to go over
the basics of home brewing in order to give you an understanding
of how beer is made.
First of all, beer is made from 4 basic ingredients: water, malt
(malted barley), hops, and yeast.
Water
Water is the most abundant ingredient in any style of beer. When
making beer at home try to use filtered water instead of plain
tap water. If your water doesn't taste good from the tap, you
probably won't like it in your beer either. Do not use distilled
water because it has been depleted of its oxygen.
Malt
Malted barley is barley grain that has been carefully soaked in
water until it sprouts and then dried. This malting process
develops the necessary sugars and soluble starches needed for
fermentation.
The malt is then taken through a process called mashing which
extracts the sugars and starches from the grain. Although
advanced home brewers can accomplish this step at home, most will
buy the malted barley already mashed in a product called malt
extract.
Hops
Hops are green flowers that grow on a vine and look similar to
pine cones. They perform several roles in the beer making
process. Most notably are the taste and aroma they impart on a
beer.
Since not all of the sugars will ferment, the malt will cause the
beer to be really sweet. Hops will balance out the sweetness by
adding a degree of bitterness. Hops will also add a distinctive
aroma to the finished brew.
Yeast
Yeast is the catalyst that makes it all happen. In short, yeast
is a living organism that feeds off of the sugars in the malt.
The yeast will convert the sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide
in a process called fermentation.
There are many strains of yeasts (even in the air we breathe). In
order to get the results needed for making beer, a specially
cultured beer yeast is required. The yeast will also impart taste
and mouth feel qualities to the beer.
The Beer Making Process
To summarize, the malt, hops, and water are boiled for a period
of time. This mixture is called wort (pronounced wert). Then the
wort is poured into fermenter and allowed to cool.
Next, the prepared yeast is pitched into the fermenter and an
airlock is placed over the opening. Now it's the yeast's job to
do its thing.
The yeast will multiply like crazy as it consumes the sugars in
the brew. After a period of time, usually within 7 to 10 days,
the yeast will have consumed all that it can and fall to the
bottom of the fermenter.
Finally, the beer is bottled and set aside for a couple of weeks
to mature and carbonate.
Making beer at home really is a fantastic hobby and can be a
great social activity. Have some friends over and let them try
your new brew. Better yet, get them involved and see who can make
the best batches. Have blind taste tests with your buddies. Most
of all, have fun!
Jason Ditto
Author of the www.2BASNOB.com website about the enjoyment of
coffee, tea, wine and beer
Beer making is a complicated process that
involves several steps
that should be carefully thought out. Here are some basic ideas
that will help you to get started on your beer making adventure.
The first step in brewing is called malting. Malting involves
steeping grain in water for several days until the grain begins
to germinate or sprout. During germination, enzymes within the
grain are converted to a type of sugar called maltose. At this
point in the beer making, the grain becomes what is referred to
as malt.
After several days, when the majority of the starch has been
converted to sugar, the malt is heated and dried. This process of
the beer making, called kilning, stops the malt from germinating
any further. A portion of the malt may be further roasted to
varying depths of colour and flavour to create different styles
of beer.
After kilning, the dried malt is processed in a mill, which
cracks the husks. The cracked malt is transferred to a container
called a mash tun, and hot water is added. The malt steeps in the
liquid, usually for one to two hours. This process of beer
making, called mashing, breaks down the complex sugars in the
grain and releases them in the water, producing a sweet liquid
called wort.
In the next step of beer making, called brewing, the wort is
transferred to a large brew kettle and boiled for up to two
hours. During this stage of the brewing process, hops are added
to the wort to provide a spicy flavour and bitterness that
balances the sweetness of the wort.
After brewing, the wort is cooled and then strained to remove the
hop leaves and other residue. The beer-making brewer transfers
the wort to a container in which it can ferment. The first
fermentation lasts from a few days to two weeks. When the yeast
has consumed most of the fermentable sugar, the wort becomes
beer.
Beer making has become a great pastime for many people over the
past few decades. With the proper education and a little
practice, your beer making can become an enjoyable hobby that
produces something wonderful to drink for you and your friends.
Mike Corrado brings you smoking beer making supplies at
www.quickandeasybeermaking.com.
Everyone likes a cold fresh one...
Disclaimer
To the best
of our knowledge these are all from either the public domain or free to
use, and a link either has been or will soon be placed on our link page
whenever possible to credit the sources of the photos and tips.
If for some
reason we have inadvertantly placed a photo or image or article that is
not freely
available we will be glad to remove it upon request.
We hope you enjoy these photos and tips.