I'm going to share with you my favorite pastime.
Drinking Beer; I absolutely love it and what I've enjoyed the most is brewing my own.
A lot of people have funny thoughts about home brewed beer.
One of the many visions people get is the quintessential picture of someone brewing beer in their home bathtub.
It is a funny thought but not one that represents home brewing at all! Ever since my mom brought my dad a home brew kit when I was young, I remembered her washing the bottles in (YES) the bath the sterilization process the bottles exploding down in the garage; it wasn't a pretty sight and left a stigma about home brewing that carried with me into adulthood.
A good friend of mine had been given all the equipment and had no interest in brewing himself.
Well I inherited the brewing equipment decided to try it out one day, and was quite impressed with the results.
Things have changed over the years and you have a lot more control over the process, there is a large variety of brew tins and flavours that lets you discover your favorite quickly and once found you keep a constant brew going, experimenting with other styles and recipes to develop your own unique boutique brew.
Making your own beer and cider is a fantastically rewarding hobby.
Not only can it save you money, it also delivers a sense of anticipation as each bottle is tasted and a certain amount of pride once the end result is shared with friends.
The following Home brewing Supplies can be found all over the world: o Brew tins a large variety to choose from o Brewing sugar and mixes including malt o Fermenters o Fermenter supplies (air locks, grommet's, thermometers etc.
) o Heaters o Cleaning equipment and solutions o Spirit mixes o Hops o Yeasts (wine, beer) In addition I have 100 or so bottles, a bottle capper press, mixing spoons, bottle draining racks, a bucket & large tub.
There are keg systems for those of you that need to have the draught experience at home and the advantage of the kegs is that your brew is primed quicker in the keg and you get to drink your brew quicker.
After 5 or so years I still stick with the bottles but I do have tips that I found to make the process simpler.
1.
Plan each Brew and set out all your equipment and ingredients before you start.
2.
Sterilization is an important part of bottling and kegging.
Wash and rinse all of your equipment in brewing detergent.
Then use Sodium Metabisulphite and soak all equipment for sterilization.
I have found a product called Brew-shield Sanitizer in which you mix a capful ½ pint of water and spay all of your equipment and bottles and then let drain for 30 minutes, then use.
This is a less messy and very quick way to prepare equipment.
3.
After 7 day's I take my brew and put it into a new fermenter, I add a cap full of Isinglass Finings to a cup of the brew and then pour it back into the fermenter.
This reduces the amount of sediment that forms in the bottles.
4.
At bottling I arrange all the sterilized bottles on draining racks, as I bottle I prime each bottle with sugar and cap.
5.
I leave each bottle for a month before drinking.
The longer left the better.
Hopefully this article has removed some of the stigma out of Home Brewing, it's not expensive to start and if you don't continue to brew it will make a great gift for someone like me to give it a go.
Drinking Beer; I absolutely love it and what I've enjoyed the most is brewing my own.
A lot of people have funny thoughts about home brewed beer.
One of the many visions people get is the quintessential picture of someone brewing beer in their home bathtub.
It is a funny thought but not one that represents home brewing at all! Ever since my mom brought my dad a home brew kit when I was young, I remembered her washing the bottles in (YES) the bath the sterilization process the bottles exploding down in the garage; it wasn't a pretty sight and left a stigma about home brewing that carried with me into adulthood.
A good friend of mine had been given all the equipment and had no interest in brewing himself.
Well I inherited the brewing equipment decided to try it out one day, and was quite impressed with the results.
Things have changed over the years and you have a lot more control over the process, there is a large variety of brew tins and flavours that lets you discover your favorite quickly and once found you keep a constant brew going, experimenting with other styles and recipes to develop your own unique boutique brew.
Making your own beer and cider is a fantastically rewarding hobby.
Not only can it save you money, it also delivers a sense of anticipation as each bottle is tasted and a certain amount of pride once the end result is shared with friends.
The following Home brewing Supplies can be found all over the world: o Brew tins a large variety to choose from o Brewing sugar and mixes including malt o Fermenters o Fermenter supplies (air locks, grommet's, thermometers etc.
) o Heaters o Cleaning equipment and solutions o Spirit mixes o Hops o Yeasts (wine, beer) In addition I have 100 or so bottles, a bottle capper press, mixing spoons, bottle draining racks, a bucket & large tub.
There are keg systems for those of you that need to have the draught experience at home and the advantage of the kegs is that your brew is primed quicker in the keg and you get to drink your brew quicker.
After 5 or so years I still stick with the bottles but I do have tips that I found to make the process simpler.
1.
Plan each Brew and set out all your equipment and ingredients before you start.
2.
Sterilization is an important part of bottling and kegging.
Wash and rinse all of your equipment in brewing detergent.
Then use Sodium Metabisulphite and soak all equipment for sterilization.
I have found a product called Brew-shield Sanitizer in which you mix a capful ½ pint of water and spay all of your equipment and bottles and then let drain for 30 minutes, then use.
This is a less messy and very quick way to prepare equipment.
3.
After 7 day's I take my brew and put it into a new fermenter, I add a cap full of Isinglass Finings to a cup of the brew and then pour it back into the fermenter.
This reduces the amount of sediment that forms in the bottles.
4.
At bottling I arrange all the sterilized bottles on draining racks, as I bottle I prime each bottle with sugar and cap.
5.
I leave each bottle for a month before drinking.
The longer left the better.
Hopefully this article has removed some of the stigma out of Home Brewing, it's not expensive to start and if you don't continue to brew it will make a great gift for someone like me to give it a go.