Saturday, 19 January 2008

Home Brewing Basics

Home Brewing Basics-What You Need To Know Before You Sample Your Beer

You and your family recently went to a micro-brewery where you sampled several beers. There was one you fell in love with, your brand new favorite. A beer you simply must have in your refrigerator at all times. Driving home you decide that rather then go to the brewery every time you are struck with a raving you are going to set up a home brewery and make beer in your basement. The home brewery guarantees you will always have your favorite beer on hand, and that you won’t waste precious gas driving back and forth to the brewery. Before you rush out to buy a home brewing system, empty beer bottles, and Hops, there are some home brewing basics you should know.


Talk To Your Family

An important home brewing basic to remember is before getting started is communication. It doesn’t matter if the first batch of beer you brew is good enough to be marketed world wide, your spouse will not be impressed if they are constantly tripping over your home brewing system, or mopping spilled beer off the counters. Make sure your entire family is okay with your new hobby.


Start Simply

You will be amazed at how many recipes there are for beers you can brew in your own home. You can find them all over the place, in magazines, in recipe books, and online; some micro-breweries will even handout some of their recipes. Just because you have a recipe doesn’t mean you have to use it. A home brewing basic is to not get in over your head, look for a recipe that is simple and clearly written. It helps if your first recipe is for a beer that is readily available to you, that way you can purchase samples to compare the flavor of the store bought brand to the batch you just brewed.


Enlist Help

One of the home brewing basics is to not try it completely on your own at first. You and everyone around you will be happier if you find someone who has previous brewing experience to help guide you through your home brewing basics. This person should be someone who can help you set up your home brewing system, and talk you through the nuances of your first recipe. They will also be a person who will enjoy sampling the fruits of your labors. If you are unable to find someone to help you with the home brewing basics, try turning to the internet, there are several home brewing websites where you can find some


Keep Trying

One of the home brewing basics you need to remember is to not expect perfection the first time. The Sistine Chapel was not Michelangelo’s first art project, he had a ton of experience before tackling that particular task. You will probably have to brew several batches of beer before you are able to perfectly duplicate your favorite recipe. If the first batch isn’t perfect keep working at it, just keep to the home brewing basic and you’ll eventually succeed.

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