Home Brewing

Home Brewing Costs

2008-03-13T10:23:00.001-07:00

Home Brew Costs Change With Price Of Ingredients

Depending on what you might already own and the quality of the equipment you buy, starting your own home brewery can be cheap and efficient or an economic nightmare. For basic equipment for making home brew, costs can be expected to be around $150. However, this is for the equipment alone and does not include any of the ingredients. As a general rule of thumb, a five-gallon batch of home brew costs cost about $3 per six pack for light-body lager beer.

Estimates on home brew costs will vary widely depending on the cost of the ingredients, which lately have skyrocketed due to a shortage of available aroma hops in the home brew market. As recently as 2000, hops were selling on the open market at about $2 a pound. In 2007, the price of hops was about $26 per pound, if they could be found at all. This price increase has greatly influenced home brew costs and has threatened to put a halt to the home brew market.

As many commercial brewers have the price they pay for hops locked in by contract in may be a year or two before the increase in hops prices affects the price of beer, but unless there is a drastic increase in supply, the demand for hops threatens to make home brew costs out of range for many individual brewers.

Equipment Costs Remaining Stable

Although the ingredient cost will fluctuate with the market, the cost of equipment such as a five gallon pot, hydrometer to measure alcohol content and bottle sanitizer and topper have remained fairly constant. While the average home brew costs for equipment ranges around $150, people can spend over $300 to have all of the equipment they might ever use in making their own beer.

For the beginners on a budget, finding less expensive equipment can reduce the initial home brew costs but those anticipating a long-term love of their beer-making hobby spending the extra money may be worth the expense. Not including the hops, home brew costs for the rest of the ingredients, yeast, bottle caps and malt should be around $20 for a five-gallon batch, or about $12 per case of 12-0nze bottles.

Eliminating the cost of the bottles and caps can be more fun if the home brewer puts the finished product in a keg. The costs of the tap can be divided up among the number of times it is used to reduce the home brew costs for every batch.

Home Brewing Recipes

2008-03-07T12:22:00.000-08:00

Easy Home Brew Recipes

For thousands of years, people have been brewing alcoholic beverages in their own homes. Beginning in ancient Sumer (often referred to as Sumeria), where the fermentation process was discovered, the practice of brewing beer and similar beverages has been passed down from person to person, country to country and culture to culture for over 11,000 years. During that time, many different types and recipes for home brew have developed. If you’re looking to get into the art of home brewing yourself, trying out simple home brew recipes is a good way to get your feet wet.

A Simple Recipe

Assuming that you have all the necessary equipment, such as a beer brewing kit, a large pot (ideally five gallon capacity and made of stainless steel or enamel), a long handled stirring spoon, and bottles for storing the beer once it’s done, you’ll just need to gather the ingredients for your beer. You can check your local listings for a wine-making supply store or even get them offline.

There are several different home brew recipes out there when it comes to beer. Each brewer may have their own secret ingredient or add some special combination of herbs or spices to give their beer a unique flavor that’s all their own. When you’re first starting out, begin by testing some very basic home brew recipes.

Your shopping list for most simple beginner’s home brew recipes will look something like this:

3.5 lbs. of malt extract

½ lb. of crystal malt grain

¼ lb. of pale malt grain

¼ lb. of oat grain

1 to 2 oz. of hops

1 package of brewer’s yeast

3/8 cup of corn sugar

To make your beer, steep the grains for 30 minutes. Once they have steeped for this long, strain them, and add them to the large brew pot along with a gallon of water and the malt extract. Allow this mixture to boil. As soon as it starts to bubble, add half of the hops and let it continue to boil for an hour. Remove the hops from the brew pot and add the rest of the hops. Let the mixture (also called wort) boil for another half an hour.

Once the mixture is done boiling, let it cool. After it has reached room temperature, strain the plant material from the wort and pour it into the large glass bottle in your beer brewing kit. Add the brewer’s yeast, and place the airlock on the bottle. After 7 to 14 days, your beer should be done fermenting and ready to bottle.

More Home Brew Recipes

The recipe outlined here is only one of many. If you’re looking for something a bit more advanced, try doing a search on Google. You’ll find several websites and blogs dedicated to the pursuit of the perfect home brew. Just take a few minutes to peruse the various recipes you find and pick one that appeals to you.

Home Brewing Supplies

2008-03-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

The Right Home Brewing Supplies Simplifies The Process Of Making Beer At Home

There are millions out there who have discovered the joy of making beer at home. Actually this is one of the favorite hobbies today in USA and many parts of Europe as well. The fact that the process is quite simple with the complete methodology found described in detail online and offline has made it possible for all these people to start out with this activity.

The rewards of making beer at home are great both in terms of pleasure as well as finances. You could sell your beer and earn some decent side income while you would enjoy learning to make the drink to perfection.

What Are Home Brewing Supplies For Beer Needed?

Before you launch into your business, you would need to know and gather all the home brewing supplies needed. Fortunately, the majority of these supplies are easily available in the market; those who are not available could be procured by order. The following are the home brewing supplies you would need:

Water – this the commonest of the ingredients, yet the most important. However, this is not to be taken lightly as the taste and quality of the water could influence greatly the end result – sometimes completely destroying the batch.
Malt barley – this is the main ingredient that goes into making beer, while for wine it would be grapes. Barley malt power which is reinforced with vitamins works much faster than the regular is normally used here. This accelerates the process giving the anticipated results faster than any other method available today.
Yeast – in order to make beer you need to have it ferment; and in order to have it ferment you need to use yeast. The yeast uses the sugar fed to it and converts it into two chemicals, i.e. carbon dioxide and alcohol. The two most common yeast types used for this purpose are ale and lager.
The magic ingredient – all those who love beer are aware that this beverage is slightly bitter. The slightly bitter taste comes from another must-have among the home brewing supplies needed, i.e. the hops. This is a specific vine's flower that gives its trademark bitter taste.
A good know-how resource – once you have all the home brewing supplies you need, you would require to know how to go about making the beer. For this purpose you need to research for sometime until you find the best (read the easiest) recipe to start your experiment. As you would practice and learn, you would be able perfect the method and make some excellent beer right in your home with the least effort and cost.

Home Brewing System

2008-02-25T02:57:00.000-08:00

Extending The Life Of Your Home Brewing System

It is unlikely that purchasing the materials for your home brewing system put you into debt. Most of the items needed to create and set up a home brewing system are relatively inexpensive. But just because you didn’t have to take out a second mortgage on your home to finance your hobby doesn’t mean you don’t want your home brewing system to last for a long time. Provided you take the time to properly care for your home brewing tools there is very little reason why it won’t.

Damaging Affects Of Corrosion

Most home brewing systems have a stainless steel brewkettle. Stainless steel is a metal many consumers have grown fond of. Stainless steel is not only easy to cook with it is also typically inexpensive and looks attractive sitting on the kitchen counter or stovetop. Stainless steel is also a poplar material in the kitchen because it is easy to sanitize. The problem home brewers have with their stainless steel brewkettle’s is that beer is highly corrosive. Stainless steel corrodes when the iron in it starts breaking down, the end result being large rust spots. Beer is extremely hard on your home brewing system because it is acidic and is made with live microfauna. Microfauna are microscopic animals naturally found in beer. If the brewer ignores the corroding they will quickly find themselves seeking another brewkettle. If you notice that your home brewing system is showing any signs of corroding you may want to consider replacing it because the corrosion normally has a negative affect on the flavor of the beer you are brewing.

Preventing Corrosion

The good news is that are steps you can take to prevent the damaging affects of corrosion on your home brewing system. The first thing you need to have on hand is a bottle of bleach. Using a liberal amount of bleach on your home brewing system will not only wash away the acid and any micro fauna lingering on the stainless steel’s surface, the bleach will also sanitize your system, preventing one recipe from contaminating another. You do have to be careful when using bleach, not only can accidental splashes erase the color from your clothing, but prolonged contact with the steel can actually cause the bleach to start eating away at the steel. Something else brewers might want to consider when trying to prevent their home brewing system from corroding is nitric acid. The nitric acid is a mild acid that helps sanitize and preserve the life of the brewkettle.

Check Your Entire System

Stainless steel is not the only material that can be damaged by the beer you are brewing. The rest of your home brewing system can also corrode. To prevent this from happening thoroughly clean your entire home brewing system after every use and sanitize it before using it the next time. Always check all your tubing to make sure it is in good health and that you won’t leak your beer when you are siphoning it.

Home Brewing Tools

2008-02-18T07:43:00.001-08:00

The Home Brewing Tools You Need Before Starting

You can’t wait to get started on your new hobby, home brewing. Your mouth is watering with at the thought of sipping that first beer from your home brewing system. Your family is enthused about this new chapter in your life. You have a good friend who is more then willing to help you out. You’ve found the perfect place in your house to set up your home brewing system, and you’ve found a recipe that not only looks simple, it also sounds tantalizing. You are ready to roll. Well almost ready to roll, you still have to set up your home brewing system and before you can set up your system you need to purchase a few home brewing tools.

Tools Needed For the System

One of the most important home brewing tools you need is something to brew your beer in; a brew kettle. Most home brewers recommend that your brewkettle be at least four gallons. Four gallons might seem enormous to a beginner but experienced brewer find that when they use a smaller brew kettle they have a hard time coping with boilovers and often end up scorching their brew. Brewkettles should be made out of stainless steel. You need a couple of containers to use to ferment your brew. You can choose between a food grade plastic bucket with a lid, or a glass carboy with a drilled rubber stopper. Whichever of these home brewing tools you choose should be able to handle five gallon’s of liquid. While you are purchasing the buckets and brewkettle you will also have to pick up an airlock, the airlock is a home brewing tool that allows carbon dioxide, a gas produced during the fermenting process, to leave the fermenter. Make sure you buy six feet of vinyl hose that you can use to siphon your home made brew. Another home brewing tool you will need is a racking cane made out of rigid plastic. The last home brewing tool you should have at hand is a bottle of bleach; you’ll use the bleach to sanitize your home brewing system.

Tools You Need to Bottle Your Brew

Once you have all the home brewing tools needed to set up a home brewing system you will have to purchase home brewing tools that you will use to bottle your brew. You should purchase at least two cases of beer bottles. Make sure the bottles are clean and that they are the non-twist variety. Your beer bottles won’t do you any good unless you pick up a package of caps. A bottle capper will make the job of capping the beer bottles lots simpler.

Home Brewing Set-Ups

2008-01-23T04:38:00.000-08:00

Your Home Brewing Set Ups

You either ran all over town and picked up the components of your home brewing system at various thrift stores or you opted to go for one stop shopping an purchased on the home brewing kits offered at beer stores and online for a variety of prices. How you purchased your hoe brewing system doesn’t matter. Important thing is your home brewing set ups. If you purchased one of those pre-organized home brewing kits you have an advantage over the person who ran around town for theirs, your kit probably came with a handy set of instructions telling you where and how to organize your home brewing set ups.

Finding A Place To Put Your Home Brewing System

The first thing you have to decide is where in your home is the best place for your home brewing set up. When considering your possible options, remember that your spouse will be a lot more tolerant of your new hoppy if your home brewing set ups is somewhere that they aren’t tripping over it every time they turn around. Also look for a spot that your home brewing set ups won’t interfere with the interior decorating, on the other hand a well maintained home brewing set ups might be a perfect way to break the ice when the conversation lags at your next dinner party. You will be amazed at how many people are fascinated by home brewing set ups. Make sure your home brewing set ups isn’t somewhere that it will ne knocked over by your children and house pets. If you have small pet, young children, or teenager your might want to consider keeping your home brew set up behind a locked door.

Convenience

Just because you want your home brewing set ups somewhere that it won’t disrupt your family peace you also don’t want it to be a place where the very act of getting to it discourages you from brewing your own beer. Also make sure the space is large enough that you can keep all of your brewing supplies in one place.

Make Use Of Gravity

Many brewers prefer to have a three tier system for their home brew set ups. By making use of some heavy duty display racks, and three separate brewing kettles they are able to arrange a system where the brew flows through a series of tubes from one brewkettle to the next. The advantage of three-tiered home brewing set ups is that the brewer is able to brew a larger batch of beer at one time.

Home Brewing Kits

2008-01-22T18:33:00.000-08:00

Use Home Brewing Kits When You Want To Make Wine Fast And Easy

There is a wonderful saying I read somewhere, "There is always an easier way to do it". You love wine – why buy from the shop when you can make it at home with the least of effort at cost? You would argue that you know nothing about making wine and have no real time to give to learn this art.
However, the plus point here is that you do not need to know much about it. All you would require to make some great wine is where to buy some great home brewing kits for making wine.

Why Using Home Brewing Kits Is Advantageous?

For the first thing using the home brewing kits makes the task easy. Anyone, absolutely anyone can make wine with the help of the kits because they come complete with all the supplies you need as well as all the instructions required to use them. In this way, you can make some exceptional quality wine with almost no effort at all – even if you have never previously done anything like that.

Another plus point about the home brewing kits is that it gives you great wine as laughable cost. In fact if you take the trouble to calculate the costs, you would find that one bottle of the home made wine would come to about US $1-2, which is unbelievable.

The third advantage is that once you find out how easy it is to make great wine at home, you would develop a new and very lucrative hobby that would give you both great satisfaction and value for your money. You could have your own home-made wines which would make you proud and your friends happy. Besides, you could even start a micro-home-business which could complement your income.

The Downside Of Using The Home Brewing Kits

There is one great disadvantage about using the kits – you would rarely be tempted to learn wine-making the traditional way once you get used to the kits. This means that you would be limited to the know-how of the kits which is quite restricted comparatively. This would also mean that you would not be able to have too many variations as the kits would not allow it.

Overall, using home brewing kits to make wine is a good idea; one that would initiate you into the world of making and drinking wine which is not only great in taste, but exceptional for your health and beauty as well.

Home Brewing Books

2008-01-21T20:09:00.000-08:00

Best Selling Home Brewing Books

Home brewers love to read books and magazines about their craft. They are always looking for new tips and ideas to make the brewing process more interesting and fun.

If you are a home brewer or if you thin you might be interested in becoming a home brewer, check out this list of popular home brewing books on amazon.

How To Brew, by John J. Palmer

The full title of this top-rated book is How to Brew: Everything You Need to Know to Brew Beer Right the First Time. One reason this home brewing book is so popular is because it is perfect for the beginning brewer.

The book contains lots of picture and drawings that help the novice brewer understand how to make good beer. This home brewing book is a reference that will stay on the home brewer's book shelf for years to come. The book teaches the science brewers need to know in a light way that makes it easy to learn.

The Complete Joy Of Homebrewing, by Charles Papazian

This is the third edition of this book, written by the founder and president of the American Homebrewers Association and the Association of Brewers. Browsing through this home brewing book, it becomes immediately apparent why this book is so popular with amazon readers.

Follow Papazian's ten easy lessons for making your first batch of beer. Learn how to create IPA, Belgian wheat beer, barley wine, and American lagers.

Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide To Brewing Classic Beer Styles

This fabulous home brewing book, by Ray Daniels, is a "deep dive" into the art of making beer. The book goes way beyond the beginner's level, and provides chapter after chapter of technical information that beer geeks will love. This book has three entire chapters just on hops!

Find out all about the history of beer brewing and modern brewing techniques.

The Home Brewer's Garden, by Joe Fisher

This home brewing book is a little different. It teaches you how to grow, prepare and use your own hops, malts, and brewing herbs. This takes home brewing to a whole new level as you brew your own beer from ingredients that you grow yourself on your own property.

Clone Brews: Homebrew Recipes For 150 Commercial Beers

With this book, by Tess Szamatulski and Mark Szamatulski, makes it possible for you to brew your favorite commercial beer right in your own home. This book contains 150 recipes for beer you can buy in stores and order in restaurants. Now you can serve these beers at home, from your own keg.

Home Brewing Equipment

2008-01-20T23:24:00.000-08:00

Basic Home Brewing Equipment

Home brewing has long been a tradition in almost every culture of the world. For over 11,000 years, mankind has been brewing his own beer and other beverages. Today, although most still buy their beer, wine or mead from the local liquor store, many are rediscovering the ancient art of home brewing. As with any hobby, though, there is an initial investment in equipment and other supplies. If you’re one of the many looking to begin brewing their own beverages, let’s take a look at some basic home brewing equipment to get you started.

The Hardware

First and foremost of the home brewing equipment needed is a home brewing kit. This is relatively easy to find, and relatively inexpensive. A brewing kit is essential, as it contains most of the items you’ll be using over and over again each time you brew up a new batch. Many of these items can be found in your local hardware store, while others may have to be purchased from a specialty store that caters to wine and beer makers. Checking places like eBay or other online sites may also help keep your cost down, as you can sometimes find used equipment.

A kit can run anywhere from $90 to $400, depending upon what’s included in each kit. At the very least, you’ll want a kit that contains at least one five to six gallon glass carboy (fermentation jar), a funnel, a racking cane, a siphon hose (at least 6 feet long), an airlock for each carboy, a six gallon bottling bucket, and a thermometer. The thermometer should have a range that goes up to at least 150 degrees F (65 degrees C). For the carboy, it is recommended that you stay away from plastic.

You’ll also need a large pot that can comfortably hold at least 3 gallons of liquid, with plenty of extra room. This is the brew pot in which the brew will be boiled. A good brew pot can vary in price up to $50, depending on the size and quality.

Though it can be easy to forget, one piece of home brewing equipment that you can’t do without is a stainless steel spoon with a long handle. You’ll need this for stirring both the mash and the wort as it boils.

The Ingredients

Though not generally considered home brewing equipment, the ingredients that go into your brew are just as important. If you are lucky enough to have a brewing supply store nearby, gathering these ingredients shouldn’t be too much of a hassle. But, if you don’t, worry not. Many suppliers also have websites from which you can purchase both your home brewing equipment and your ingredients.

The basic ingredients for any beer are grains, malts, hops, yeast, sugar and water. The exact ingredients used will depend up on the type of beer being brewed. Many brewers also add various herbs and spices to their brews to give them a unique flavor. Some common additives are cinnamon, honey, and cloves.

Making wine or mead uses the same basic home brewing equipment, but the ingredients are slightly different. Mead is made mostly of honey, water and yeast. Wine requires some type of fruit and added sugar. Again, as with beer, both mead and wine often have spices and other things added to them. For example, one recipe for honey mead calls for rose hips and lavender.

Whatever you choose to brew, it’s certain you’ll enjoy the process as much as the end results. Just remember to share with your friends. They’ll love you for it

Home Brewing Basics

2008-01-19T09:16:00.000-08:00

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.

Home Brewing

2008-01-18T13:09:00.000-08:00

Experience The Greatest Satisfaction And Money Savings With Home Brewing

Home brewing is a hobby for many, while is it a small cottage business for others. There are millions across the USA who have taken up this type of activity whether a leisure activity or as a side business. The fact that home brewing is easy, profitable and (often a lot of) fun has made this activity a hot favorite throughout the world.

What Does Home Brewing Involve?

Anyone who is interested a little in this activity can pick it up and master it in no time. You could start with the home brewing kits which would introduce you gradually to what it requires both in terms of ingredients and effort and once you would get the results (which, by the way are more often not than excellent) you would be hooked to it forever.

Before you go into this, you need to gather some ground intelligence by researching what are the best methods to brew wine or beer (or both) at home depending upon your preference. You need to know as much as possible about what supplies are needed, how much time and effort are needed for best results. Gather all the ingredients you need before hand so you would not get stuck in the middle of the process when you find that a key ingredient is not available.

Start Small And Gather Experience

As with any skill, before you master this skill you would need to practice a lot learning from the mistakes you commit until you perfect the art of home brewing to perfection. This, as you would find out yourself, is not really too difficult – and if you are motivated by the appreciation of friends and family the learning curve can be very steep.

Once you have mastered this activity, you could use your newly acquired skills to improve the entertainment value of your parties at one fraction of the cost or even start your own micro-business from home.

Earning From A Wonderful Hobby

The parties you throw could be sufficient advertising grounds for your micro-business and your best customers would be your friends who enjoyed the wine or beer when you served it to them. In this manner, you would grow a customer base from word of mouth advertisement which though would be initially modest with the returns on investment, could snow ball into a highly profitable business. This is definitely worth giving it a try.