Although I make a vast majority of my own beer, I still like to head to my local tap house and have a fresh, quality craft beer from time to time. I benefit from this in a couple of ways and so can you.
First, it helps with the continuous education of my passion for beer making by discussing the specifics of the beers I am drinking with the knowledgeable bar staff. I also solicit feedback from my fellow patrons at times and their input can be informational as well. This can lead to inspiration for tweaking an existing recipe you use or creating one from scratch.
Second, have you ever been out at a bar or restaurant and tried a beer that you absolutely loved? That has happened to me more than once. For most people, that initiates the desire to purchase more of that beer whenever they visit their local watering hole or liquor store. However, for me and the eager home brewer, this could be an opportunity to duplicate our favorite adult beverage. The problem is that the beer bottle does not have the recipe on it and most of the time, that information can be a highly guarded secret.
Well, it’s a good thing that there are clone recipes to make beer like our favorites. The easiest way is to Google “beer clone recipes”. You will find and adequate amount to start exploring. One of my favorite sites for clone recipes and home brewing information in general is BYO.com. I have hand picked 5 clone beer recipes from their site to get you started. Good luck and enjoy!
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone Author: Greg Snapp
Hundreds of our customers at my homebrew shop have made this. Most swear it’s identical to the original. Dry hopping is essential for classic Cascade flavor and aroma. (5 gallons)
Ingredients:
* 8 oz. caramel malt, 30degrees Lovibond * 6 oz. DeWolf-Cosyns cara-pils malt * 6 lbs. light malt syrup * 1.5 oz. Perle hops (8.2% alpha acid) for 60 min. * 2.5 oz. Cascade hops (5.4% alpha acid): 1 oz. for 15 min., 1 oz. for 5 min., 0.5oz. pellets (dry hopping). * Wyeast 1056 (American ale) * 11/4 cup dry malt extract
Step by Step:
Add grains to 1.5 gal. water. Bring slowly to 170degrees F. Remove grains and bring to a boil.
Total boil is 60 min. Boil 10 min. and add Perle hops. Boil 45 min. more, adding water as needed to maintain liquid level. Make first Cascade addition. Boil 5 min. more. Turn off heat. Wait 10 min. Add 1 oz. Cascade. Wait 3 to 5 min. Remove hops and transfer to fermenter.
Top up to 5 gal. Pitch yeast at 70degrees F.
Ferment three days and rack to secondary. Dry hop with 0.5 oz. Cascade pellets. Ferment two weeks at 65degrees F. Prime and bottle.
Fullsail Golden Clone Author: James Crane
The rye adds a pungent fruitiness characteristic of Full Sail Golden ale. (5 gallons)
Ingredients:
* 6 lbs. pale malt extract * 1 lb. light dry malt extract * 8 oz. crystal malt, 10degrees Lovibond * 8 oz. flaked rye * 3 oz. Cascade hops (6.1% alpha acid): 1 oz. for 60 min., 1 oz. for 30 min., 1oz. for 2 min. * 750 ml. starter of Wyeast 1056 (American ale) or White Labs California Ale pitchable yeast * 3/4 cup dextrose for priming
Step by Step:
Steep grains for 30 min. in 2.5 gal. water at 150degrees F. Remove grains and bring to a boil.
Remove from heat and add extract. Total boil is 60 min. Return to boil and add 1 oz. Cascade. Boil 30 min. more and add 1 oz. Cascade. Boil 28 min. more and add 1 oz. Cascade. Boil 2 min. more. Top up to 5 gal. with cold, preboiled water. Cool below 75degrees F and pitch yeast.
Ferment at 68degrees to 70degrees F until completed (about five days). Secondary ferment 10 days to two weeks. Prime with dextrose and bottle
Sierra Nevada Stout Clone
Creamy and malty with notes of dark caramel, chocolate, light molasses and ripe plums. An American stout that truly typifies citrusy hops and black malt.
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) OG = 1.065 FG = 1.019 IBU = 60 SRM = 40 ABV = 5.8%
Ingredients:
* 9.0 lbs. (4.1 kg) American pale malt * 3.0 lbs. (1.4 kg) Munich malt (10 degrees L) * 1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) American Black Patent malt (500 degrees L) * 0.67 lbs. (0.30 kg) American crystal malt (60 degrees L) * 14 AAU Magnum hops (60 mins) o (1.0 oz./28 g of 14% alpha acids) * 5.8 AAU Cascade hops (10 mins) o (1.0 oz./28 g of 5.75% alpha acids) * 2.0 oz. (57 g) Willamette hops (0 min) * Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Safale US-05 yeast * 1 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step:
Mash 154 degrees F (68 degrees C) for 60 minutes in 16 qts. (15 L) of mash liquor. Boil wort for 60 minutes. Ferment for 7 days at 68 degrees F (20 degrees C). Rack to secondary and condition for 14 days at 68 degrees F (20 degrees C).
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash) OG = 1.065 FG = 1.019 IBU = 60 SRM = 40 ABV = 5.8%
Ingredients:
* 0.33 lbs. (0.15 kg) American pale malt * 3.0 lbs. (1.4 kg) Munich malt (10 degrees L) * 1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) American black patent malt (500 degrees L) * 0.67 lbs. (0.30 kg) American crystal malt (60 degrees L) * 2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) Briess Light dried malt extract * 4.0 lbs. (1.8 kg) Briess Light liquid malt extract (late addition) * 14 AAU Magnum hops (60 mins) o (1.0 oz./28 g of 14% alpha acids) * 5.8 AAU Cascade hops (10 mins) o (1.0 oz./28 g of 5.75% alpha acids) * 2.0 oz. (57 g) Willamette hops (0 min) * Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Safale US-05 yeast * 1 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step:
Mash at 154 degrees F (68 degrees C) for 60 minutes in 7.5 qts. (7.1 L) of mash liquor. Combine partial mash wort with dried malt extract and enough water to make at least 3.5 gallons (13 L). Boil wort for 60 minutes. Add liquid malt extract with 15 minutes left in boil. Ferment at 68 degrees F (20 degrees C). Rack to secondary and condition beer for 14 days at 68 degrees F (20 degrees C).
Sam Adams Winter Brew
(5 gallon, extract with grains) OG = 1.069 FG = 1.016 IBUs = 26 to 30
Ingredients:
* 6.6 lbs. Briess wheat malt extract syrup * 1.5 lbs. crystal malt (60degrees Lovibond) * 1 lb. wheat malt * 1.5 lbs. Munich malt (20degrees Lovibond) * 1 teaspoon Irish moss * 1 oz. Curacáo orange peel (bitter orange peel) * 0.5 oz. ginger root (freshly grated) * 0.5 tsp. cinnamon (powdered) * 9.5 AAU East Kent Goldings o (2 oz. of 4.75% alpha acid) * 4.5 AAU Tettnanger o (1 oz. of 4.5% alpha acid) * 4.7 AAU Hallertau Hersbrucker o (1 oz. of 4.7% alpha acid) * 3/4 cup corn sugar to prime * German Lager yeast (White Labs WLP830) or Bavarian Lager yeast (Wyeast 2206)
Step by Step:
Steep the grains in 2.5 gallons of water at 150º F for 30 minutes. Strain out the grains, add the wheat malt syrup and return to a boil. When the wort begins boiling, add East Kent Golding hops, Irish moss, and boil for 60 minutes. Add spices for the last 15 minutes of the boil.
Add Tettnanger and Hallertau hops for the last 2 minutes of the boil. Remove from heat and cool wort in ice bath or with wort chiller. Transfer to fermentation vessel (glass carboy). Add enough cold water to the wort to bring the volume up to 5.5 gallons. Pitch yeast and ferment at 50º to 55º F for 3 to 4 weeks. Prime, then bottle or keg. You should lager this beer for about 4 weeks prior to serving.
All-Grain Option:
Replace the wheat malt syrup with 3.5 pounds of pale malt. Increase the Munich malt to 4 pounds and the wheat malt to 4 pounds. Also change the boiling hops to a smaller quantity, 7 AAU (1.5 oz of 4.75% alpha acid). I would suggest a two-step mash schedule for this beer. This involves doing a 30-minute protein rest at 122º F, followed by 60 minutes at 155º F.
Note that the quantity of boiling hops are slightly lower for the all-grain batch. This is due to the greater hop extract efficiency that results from a full boil of the entire wort volume. The remainder of the hop, spice additions and fermenting instructions are the same as the above extract-with-grains recipe instructions.
Bend Brewing Co. Hophead IPA Clone
The secret to a good Imperial IPA is dry-hopping. It can make or break this style. It is very important to have a huge aroma that leads you into the beer, complementing the inherent bitterness. – Tonya Cornett, Brewmaster
Hophead Imperial IPA Bend Brewing Co.
American-Style India Pale Ale (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.073 FG = 1.017 IBU = 100 SRM = 6 ABV = 8%
Ingredients:
*14 lb. 10 oz. (6.6 kg) 2-row pale malt *8.0 oz. (0.23 kg) crystal malt (30 degrees L) *1.1 oz. (31 g) Saaz hops (first wort hops) *19 AAU Chinook hops (90 mins) o(1.6 oz./44 g of 12% alpha acids) *1.8 oz. (51 g) Northern Brewer hops (5 mins) *1.8 oz. (51 g) Cascade hops (5 mins after knockout) *1.5 oz. (43 g) Cascade hops (dry hop) *Wyeast 1968 (London ESB) or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (2.5 qt./~2.5 L yeast starter) *0.75 cups corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step:
Mash at 155 degrees F (68 degrees C) for 60 minutes. Boil for 90 minutes. Ferment at 68 degrees F (20 degrees C). Dry hop for 7 days.
Extract option:
Reduce amount of pale malt to 1.5 lb. (0.68 kg).
Add 7.1 lbs. (3.2 kg) light dried malt extract at beginning of boil. You will need to perform a full-wort boil to get the specified level of bitterness.
Author: J. T. Freeman
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Homebrew beer master’s have all been there. In the beginning all we have is a love for beer, and a great urge to set up our own little “brewery” in the garage or kitchen. Once we convince ourselves that we are willing to go through with it, that’s when the fun begins.
Ofcourse, buying the homebrew starter kit is pretty simple, and figuring out where to set up shop is also an an easy decision. But what about selecting the right recipe? We only know that there are 1,000’s of possibilities. We know what type of flavor’s we like. And what type of beer we like to buy. But it’s a lot different when we decide to brew are own beer.
Using a recipe book for your homebrew concoction’s is definitely a great idea. having many different option’s will help in the long run. But as a beginner or someone that hasn’t had a lot of experience in homebrewing, it’s best to have a homebrew beer recipe book that will do more than supply the ingredients. The right book will give an in depth description of the homebrew recipe. Maybe even a little history of the it as well. When brewmaster’s create a flavor, there are usually some determining factor’s as to why they choose the ingredient’s that go into the flavor.
Thats why I really love the Ultimate Home Brew Beer Recipe Book
This is the homebrew recipe guide that all beginner brewers should have. I will try to be as unbiased as possible, but rarely have I seen or read, a book that can provide great information, yet involve the reader in the actual process as well. When reading these recipe’s the reader will get a history of the beer and the ingredients. It’s like knowing WHY the brewmaster added certain ingredients, instead of how and when.
Any brewmaster will tell you that brewing beer isn’t just about adding some of this and some of that. Its a bit different than baking a cake or brewing a pot of coffee. Therefore it is crucial that we develop our own style of brewing. The Ultimate Home Brew Beer Recipe Book guide’s the reader’s through each recipe, giving them a great feel for what each ingredient is for and why it’s being added to the brew.
Knowing how ingredients interact with each other is paramount to constantly creating a great tasting homebrew.
Learning how ingredients interact with each other come’s from experience. And its safe to say that the best experience come’s from the actual act of doing something. Baseball player’s cant just talk about hitting a curveball and then go out and hit one. They need lot’s of practice. But not just practice. Different practice. Like hitting different pitches at different speed’s. Its the same with homebrewing. You cant just brew the same beer over and over. You must try many different homebrew recipe’s if you want to recall learn the whole process.
The Ultimate Home Brew Recipe Book provides over 600 different recipes.They range from the lightest, most fruity flavored flavors , all the way to the dark, flavorful Ale’s. There are even some clone recipe’s that rival more well known beer’s such as Sam Adams and Budweiser.
If you are willing to learn about the various styles of homebrewing and develop your own, I can safely recommend the Homebrew Beer Recipe Book:
Author: Jeffrey Jettison
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If you’re online right now searching for some quality home beer brewing kits, you may be surprised at the actual options you have out there. Some people new to the hobby of home brewing are downright shocked at how common it actually is, and how many people are enjoying it as well! But if you find yourself a little overwhelmed with all the different types and models and options of home beer brewing kits, what can you do? What do you look for, and how are they different from one another?
Accessories and Other Items
Sometimes the bottom line when it comes to the difference of home beer brewing kits is the accessories they each offer. For example, most home brewing involves siphoning off your beer from the first fermenting container to the second, as there is usually sediment and other impurities that have settled at the bottom of the container. Most brewers use some type of rubber tubing to suction the beer from one fermenting container to another, but some of the better home beer brewing kits available online offer strainers that do a much better job. If you’re someone that enjoys adding, or would like to try to add, fruit and other such additives to your beer, you might want to use something like a strainer to get out those pips and seeds.
Most of the better home beer brewing kits also come with bottles and sanitizers for the bottles and fermentation containers. This is a great idea, since you need to purchase these things anyway. Usually buying everything all at one time in a kit can save you a lot of money versus buying everything separately.
Many also include recipes, ingredients, packets or jars of beer yeast, and other small things that make your brewing easier and more convenient.
Size of the Home Beer Brewing Kits
Not to be crude, but sometimes size does matter. If you’re very serious about your brewing hobby, you will want a larger of the home beer brewing kits that are available. Having a nice sized boiling pot and larger fermentation containers means that you can make more beer in one batch, which of course makes is much easier on you.
Equipment Versus Ingredients
Remember that some home beer brewing kits are equipment alone, and others are ingredients alone. If you already own one of these incredibly nice home beer brewing kits as far as equipment is concerned, you might want to consider some kits of ingredients. These usually work much better than trying to mix up your own ingredients – although that’s certainly possible – because everything is meant to work well together, it’s all measured out for you, and so on. There’s no guesswork which means there is less risk of ruining a batch by trying out some new ingredients that don’t quite work well together.
Remember that while you can spend a fortune on home beer brewing kits, most are very affordable and have everything you need.
Author: Mark Hester
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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We all know the effects (and after-effects) of beer. But lifting a glass of cool liquid to your mouth on a scorching hot day, have you ever stopped to consider the processes and ingredients involved in making it? Well maybe not but here is the answer anyway!
Simply, beer is a fermented combination of water, barley, yeast and hops. The major variation in any beer is the type of yeast used in the fermentation process.
Let’s look at the properties of this beverage.
Water is the main ingredient of beer. In the past, the purity of the water influenced the final result and was specific to the region of the earth from which it came. Today, water is filtered of these impurities, although pure water supplies are still ideally preferred by elite brewers.
Barley malt is an extremely important ingredient in beer as it is the main source of fermentable sugar. Many new breweries use barley malt extract, in either syrup or powder form, as this form ferments much quicker. It also contains many minerals and vitamins that help the yeast to grow.
Without yeast, beer would not exist. Yeast is a unique single cell organism that eats sugar and expels alcohol and carbon dioxide, two of the more recognizable ingredients of beer. Yeast comes in several variations, of which there are two major categories that determine the type of beer produced; Ale yeast and Lager yeast. If yeast alone were used the beer would be extremely sweet and therefore another ingredient needs to be added to reach the final product.
Hops are the flowers of the hop plant, a climbing vine plant that grows well in many differing climates. Hops contain acids which add bitterness to beer. Adding bitterness to beer helps to balance the sweetness, as well as acting as a natural preservative. Add more hops to the mixture and you will get a more bitter taste. This kind of beer is extremely popular in Britian and is simply referred to as “Bitter” (the original names are always the best!).
Variations of these ingredients create different tasting beers as well as having an affect on the alcoholic content.
When making your own beer many good resources are available which provide home brewing kits. It is important to read the ingredients of the packets in order to ascertain which has the best mixture according to your needs. One quick tip which many home brewers fail to adhere to is this: “Use fresh still water”!
Author: Mario Oreilly
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Making beer at home provides the creator with a lot of options. With all of these options, the beer maker will find several short-cuts to make the job easier. However, with every short-cut you take, you have to make certain sacrifices. This is not just when making beer, but with anything you do in life. So, even though short-cuts take a lot of the work out of making beer, you will cut down the amount of options at your disposal. Think about it. If you take the easier way, some steps will have already been completed by someone else. Such as in the case of prepackaged ingredients. But, if you want to take that journey all by yourself, you need to develop a greater understanding in the all-grain brewing area.
When you make any beer recipe from scratch, do not expect the process to be short or simple. Your ingredients will be raw, not pre-made, and your equipment will be similar to the ones used by many great home brewers. All of the work will be entirely in your hands. However, you will benefit greatly by the endless options you have to choose from. Your drive, focus, and skill will determine how your brew turns out. It will decide the taste and it will decide the variety. Anything goes when making your own home brew; the beer can even have a blueberry flavor if that is what you really want. You can bring your idea to fruition if you are up for the hard work.
The majority of home brewers firmly believe that the first and foremost way to make a great brew is by all-grain brewing. If you choose to go this route, remember that all of the ingredients will be less refined, which also means you need particular equipment to get the job done. Even though there are extra steps and tools, your dedication will pay off in the end. But, before you locate the perfect ingredients, you need to invest not only in your equipment, but also in your range of knowledge pertaining to all-grain brewing. Once you do that, you will know exactly how to take your raw ingredients and transform them into a tasty, brewed beer.
The word “all-grain” essentially means that the process used in a home brew does not include any ingredients that are pre-made. A real all-grain brew calls for the grain to be turned into a beer that is drinkable. This does not necessitate that the only ingredient used should be grain; this is impossible when you are making something more exotic. But, you do have to make certain that each ingredient is only in its purest form.
When you have a true understanding in the all-grain brewing art, you will have the capability of making beer at home with various looks, taste, and strengths. The more you experiment, the closer you will become to hitting that “perfect” brew. Keep it up, and one day you will have a wide selection of beer recipes that will outdo any bar across the country.
Author: Alex Ottis
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Importance of Ingredients in Home Brew Beer
Think of home brew beer like making a fine meal for the family. When you are trying to impress everyone with your prowess in the kitchen you would not use ingredients of lesser quality. For this very same reason it is important not to use lesser ingredients in your home brew beer. By making sure that your ingredients are all first rate you will find that you will produce a brew to be proud of.
Fortunately, looking for the proper ingredients for use in your home brew beer is not nearly as hard as you might think. The internet is a great resource to start looking for other brewers across the globe. You will find hundreds of online beer websites that sell everything from the basic required ingredients all the way up to the most exotic. Also be sure to make a habit of looking at message boards and blogs to see what other brewers think of the ingredients you want to use. These people have nothing to gain by steering you in the wrong direction and so their advice is almost always top notch.
When talking with other brewers you will run across new recipes that you probably have never thought of. This sharing of information is one of the most fun things about producing home brew beer. Being able to take advantage of everyone else’s experiences is a great help in making your home beer brewing experience all that much better.
For example, when I was looking for a specific ingredient I ran across a recipe for a Brown Ale posted by another home brewer that only took three weeks to be ready. Although my preference is to let my beer sit or 4-5 weeks, depending on the recipe, I tried his recipe and it worked beautifully. Now I have another “favorite” recipe to savor.
I am quite sure that you will be able to find your ingredient with very little difficulty at all. But finding the time to make and enjoy all the wonderful brewing recipes out there is another question entirely!
Author: Jesse L Moore
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Do you and your friends drink a case or more each weekend? Do you find yourself buying the less expensive brands other than what you really want to save some money? If this is the case then why wouldn’t you be looking for a low cost option to still get the better brews at more reasonable prices? Relax; I’m not talking about finding beer that has “fallen off the back of the truck”! I’m referring to brewing your own beer at home. Becoming a home brewer is not all that difficult, (if you can boil water, you can make beer}, and it is actually a fun and legal hobby.
You are probably thinking about what you will need to get started. My recommendation is to visit some of the online beer sites and look into the home brew beer kits. All of the major retailers offer kits for the first time brewer that come with enough equipment to successfully produce beer five gallons at a time (that’s more than 50 12 oz. cans) Once you have successfully brewed your second batch you are saving money over buying your beer from the local grocery store. When you have completed your third, you will be saving even more.
Since it is not practical to drink beer out of five gallon buckets you will also need bottles to put your beer in. The most economical way is to save bottles and reuse them but they can not be the type with twist off tops! You must use bottles that use the other type of cap as it keeps air out of the beer much better. Don’t worry, new caps and a capping tool usually come with the beer kit. You should also use bottles that are brown or amber colored as they protect the beer from UV light. Clear and green bottles do not.
You will quickly discover that the fun part of brewing beer is being able to experiment with the recipes. The online beer ingredient and hardware suppliers offer hundreds of different recipes and each one can be “tweaked” just a bit to make it unique to you alone. Very soon you will be able to brew ales, lagers, light beer or dark beer. The possibilities are almost endless.
And, as an added treat, the same equipment and processes can also be used to brew hard cider as well. Perfect for the winter evenings!
If you are a beer lover, you really should seriously consider brewing you own beer at home.
Author: Jesse L Moore
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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There are more than fourteen different styles or types of German beer. The differences between the ales include the means of production and the final product. German beer styles include lagers, ales, beers made from wheat and flavored beers like fruit beers and spiced beers.
Differences in the types of brews also lie in the light and dark qualities of the beer. Flavor is another factor contributing to the differences in the types of bier produced in Germany. Bavarian ales allow for the most taste because the Bavarian purity laws only allow the four basic beer ingredients of hops, yeast, grain and water. Pilsner beers have a less malty, but bitterer taste than other beers and are very foamy compared to other brews. Dark ales contain darkened or toasted malts with much less alcohol than light beers. Bock ales are the strongest beers, created by monks who were seeking a way to endure periods of fasting. Bock ales, unlike most other beers, must be brewed in certain months in order to produce the best results.
Of all the many types of German brews produced in the more than 1200 breweries in the country of Germany, the most popular is the famous lager originally served at Oktoberfest. The Oktoberfest beer, called Marzen, translates in English to the March, the month in which this type or style had to finish brewing in the days before refrigeration. After March, the beer was stored in icy caves until the autumn Oktoberfest celebration, when it was ready for drinking.
Author: Christopher W. Smith
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Beer in its basic form is an alcoholic beverage made from barley, hops, water and yeast. In fact the Reinheitsgebot German Purity Law adopted in 1516, states “the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be barley, hops, yeast and water“. This is the oldest provision that protects consumers in the world. Before and even after that time outside of Germany, many other ingredients were added to beer and some of them were poison. Many of these optional ingredients are still used today in other styles of beer and are called “adjuncts”. Some common adjuncts used are sugar, rice, corn and molasses. Wheat is also technically an adjunct and the Reinheitsgebot has been amended to allow this adjunct.
Ale v Lager
One of the biggest misconceptions about beer is that ale is strong and lager is light. The real definition is that ale is made with a top fermenting yeast and lagers are made with a bottom fermenting yeast. Also, in general, ales are fermented between 64 F and 74 F (17 C – 23 C), whereas lagers are fermented between 45 F and 55 F (7 C – 12 C).
Light v Dark
Another big misconception is that light colored beers are lower in alcohol than dark beers. In fact, the only difference between dark and light color is the type of barley used. Dark beers use dark roasted grains and darker malts and light colors use primarily lightly malted grains. Some commercial examples will spell this out: Guinness Stout is very dark and is 3.4% ABW or 4.2% ABV Westmalle Tripel is a Belgian Golden Ale and is 7.6% ABW or 9.5% ABV
Ingredients
Barley Malt
Barley is the most common source of sugars in beer. To create malted barley you first sprout a kernel to a desired modification (length). Then the rootlets are stripped and it is kilned (dried) to achieve a specific color. There are two types of barley that are used in brewing, they are two row and six row, which are distinguishable by the number of fertile flowers in the stem. Two row barley has bigger kernels, which also have less husk as well as lower protein and nitrogen. Beers made with two row tend to be less grainy tasting. Two row also has a higher yield per plant. Six row barley has a higher yield per acre, more husk and also much better enzyme potential. American brewers traditionally used six row because the higher diastatic (enzyme) power was needed to help with converting the adjuncts used in their beers.
Hops
Wort is very sweet and to counteract that, hops are added. Hops (Humulus lupulus) are the “bitter” component and can add many specific characters to a beer. Before hops were used many brewers used whatever bitter herbs and flowers were around. Dandelion, burdock root, marigold and heather were often used prior to the discovery of hops. Hops also add a preservative aspect to the beer as well. One of the reasons hops were first used in beer was because they were found to have an antibacterial function. Bitterness was a great by-product. There are many varieties of hops. The “noble” hops are generally used for aroma and are valued for their aromatic properties. These include names like, Saaz, Hallertauer, Tettnanger and Spalt. Other hops are prized for their bittering component. These include, Brewers Gold, Nugget and Galena. Others straddle the fence and are frequently used for both aroma and bittering. These include, Perle, Centennial and Northern Brewer.
Yeast
Yeast is arguably the most important single ingredient to create a beers character. Beer yeasts generally fall into the ale (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) or lager (Saccharomyces carlsbergensis) (or the old, Saccharomyces uvarum) types. As you saw above, ale yeasts are called top fermenters and lager yeasts bottom fermenters. This basically is a function of where they like to colonize after they eat. Ale yeast clump together at the top of the fermenting vessel and hang out. Lager yeast are anti-social and just fall to the bottom after they are done eating. All yeast flocculate or drop to the bottom at different rates and the clarity of the beer is directly related to this fact. Some beers, like German Hefeweizen, have yeast that take a long, long time to flocculate, thus imparting the trademark cloudiness. Yeast can impart many flavors that you would never equate to a single cell organism. Smokiness, pepper, clove, banana and butter are all flavors imparted by certain strains. Taking the German Hefeweizen again, the trademark banana and clove flavor and smell is actually the strain of yeast.
Water
Water makes up almost all of beer. Therefore it makes sense that water can play a big role in a beers flavor. Some cities are especially noted for how their water contributed to their beers. Some vital measurements in the water include, hardness, both temporary and permanent, calcium, magnesium, sulfate, bicarbonate and sodium. Bicarbonates neutralize the acids and tannins in dark and roasted malts. Calcium reduces pH, which allows for easier extraction of sugars and starches from the barley. It also helps prevent astringency and helps coagulate proteins. Yeast needs magnesium in a small amount, but if your water has too much, you will get a mineral taste in your beer, which is very harsh. Sodium can help accentuate the sweetness in small amounts (just like table salt), but can taste salty in higher amounts. Sulfate’s (SO4-2) primary role is accentuating hop bitterness and dry finish. Burton on Trent is very high in sulfate and it is no accident that they are known for Pale Ales, which are quite “hoppy”. For example, Pilsen, Dortmund, Burton on Trent, Edinburgh and Dublin all have water profiles that are famous.
Adjuncts
Cereal Adjuncts are grains other than barley. Some common adjuncts are oatmeal, wheat, corn, rice and nearly all the grains in the world. Other Adjuncts include sugars, such as molasses, piloncillo, cane and honey, other starches like pumpkin, potato and etc. Almost anything that isn’t barley and is used for sugar production is an adjunct, spruce tips, banana and mango all add a unique flavor and sugar to ferment. This is different than spices, herbs and other ingredients only imparted for flavor and not adding any significant amount of fermentable sugar.
Author: Jon Griffin
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera Times
When you want to make your own beer because you like the taste of a good brew you couldn’t have chosen a better hobby. Brewing your own beer helps you control the flavor of the beer. In the end the product will taste exactly how you want it to taste, at least after a few tries it should. It’s a great hobby if you have been visiting beer festivals and started to tell the specific differences between the beer variations out there these days. And having a hobby like beer brewing is the perfect way to take it just one step further.
What you put in you will get out
When you learn to brew your own beer you will start to understand the importance of the ingredients you use. The ingredients you put in the brew is what makes the beer, shapes it body and gives the color. When your ingredients are of low quality then the chances are your end product be will also be. It’s better not to brew then to brew with poor ingredients.
Malt, what you need to start making beer at home, is the ingredient that is the most important of them all. Malt is what gives color to you beer and also gives it body and flavor. You need a lot of fermentable sugars and that is what is in in malt and make that the beer has a bit of a sweet taste. To balance that sweetness we use hops. Like we said we use hops to balance the sweet taste from the malt because they provide the bitter to the brew. But there is not just one sort of hop. There are many kinds of hops you can use all with their own specific flavor and aroma to a very bitter kind.
Because of the use of different grain types while brewing your own beer you will see all kinds of changes in the flavor and color. You may even be surprised to hear that you could use rice, corn and oatmeal give your beer a specific flavor. Rice and corn will give your beer its own color and body, oatmeal on the other hand will give your beer a smoother texture. If you are after a more dark and rich tasting beer then you should try out some malted barley that need to be brought to a high temperature. If its a stout you are going for than use a lot of almost burnt malt barley.
There is of course one ingredient that is right up there next to malt when it comes to importance and that is yeast. Without yeast there would not be a brewing process. Without yeast you would end up with a very flat beer that would not taste nice and would not have the fizz and buzz you would expect in a beer. There are different types of yeast you can buy and the choice of yeast also is an influence on the flavor of the beer. There are yeast types in a liquid culture that would give your beer an interesting taste but you have to keep in mind that you can’t keep a liquid yeast culture in storage as long as a dry culture. Also, there are enough type of dry yeast cultures to keep you going in your quest for the perfect beer taste.
Author: Drew Brown
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Beading Necklace
