Written By: Peter Evans
Date: December 10, 2009
Knowing the basic ingredients and what they do for your beer is
essential to being able to reach the goal of brewing your perfect beer.
Fermentable sugars, hops, water and yeast are the main ingredients and
will have to be used, regardless of anything else you might add to
affect taste, smell, color and mouth feel. The additives for those are
numerous and would require a dictionary sized book to describe the
processes and additives that can be used to change the properties of
your beer.
Malted Barley
Malted barley is a form of raw barley that is germinated and then
dried. The reason for this is to naturally create sugar and soluble
starches. You will need these to brew you beer. When first bought this
is very generic or “pale malt.” The brewmaster can dry or roast the
malt for longer periods of time at varying temperatures in order to
create a specialty malt. This, in the end, will have an effect on the
color and flavor of the beer. Obviously, the darker the malt, the
darker the beer; the most you roast the malt, the more roasted flavor
you will have. Recipes for your specific taste requirements are
available everywhere, so don’t feel like you have to go through a trial
and error phase. Malt extract can be substituted as well. It will come
in either a dry or liquid syrup form. Just remember to be careful with
the extract during the boil as all the added fructose can burn easily
and ruin your batch before you even start.
Hops
Hops is a plant that produces green, cone-like flowers. If hops look
somewhat familiar to you it is because it is from the same family as
cannabis, or marijuana. (Thus the phrase “all hopped up on something)
Hops are used to balance the sweetness of the malt and as a
preservative. Hops are a natural preservative, and they also improve
the head retention of beer. Hops are not used in the process until the
boil. In addition to adding bitterness, aroma and having a preservative
affect, hops can also be used to as a final “filter” after brewing to
catch any hulls or clouded proteins you missed after siphoning.
Water
We all remember the old Coors commercials about mountain fresh spring
water. These guys weren’t just looking to vacation in Colorado and
using an advertising campaign as an excuse. Water is very important to
your beer’s quality. Understanding the water’s pH balance and harness
as well as the affects of chlorine is a good bit of knowledge to gain.
But do you best and when in doubt, boil or use spring water.
Yeast
No man has ever had a better friend than yeast. Everyone who eats a
sandwich should be thankful for it. Unlike bread though, you cannot
have a proper beer without yeast. The microorganisms that make up yeast
consume the mix of steeped grains and then excrete alcohol and CO2. It
sounds gross, but the result is glorious! There are two basic kinds of
beer yeast: lager yeast and ale yeast. Lager yeast performs best at
cooler temperatures. Ale yeast is considered “wild yeast” and is active
at a higher temperature and “ready to go when you are.”
Understanding the different ingredients and using different types will
enable you to further customize your brewing and drinking experience.
Even when buying prep-packaged beer kits, understanding what you are
buying plays a role in getting the results you’re after.
Beer Ingredients, The Recipe for Happiness
Search Home Brewing Knowledge Base
Custom Search
|



Article Comments
No comments yet.