Underanding how brewing works, the physical processes involved in brewing, the ingredients that go into beer, and how the brewing process transforms malts, hops, water, and yeast into a drinkable beverage will ultimately improve your ability to make award winning beer.
The articles in this section are dedicated to teaching you the inner workings of brewing. We will focus in on the home brewing ingredients, methods, tips, tricks, and home brewing equipment so you can improve your brews.
Understanding Home Brewing Articles
by Peter Evans on December 16, 2009
The benefits of brewing at home are written on the too happy faces of home brewers around the
world. When you think of home brewing you probably have visions of a cooking
fire and lots of copper kettles in the garage or basement. This is just not the
case. The fact is home brewing has never been any easier or less costly than it has been in recent years.
by Peter Evans on December 15, 2009
How important is it that you pour a foundation when building a house.
How important is it to you that your car has an engine? Yes, malt is
just than important. It is key to your success in brewing and will
always be the keystone to your end product.
by Peter Evans on December 13, 2009
Once you are ready to add the hops and begin the boil you must realize
the importance of the boiling process and what it does for your beer.
Boiling appears to be just boiling, right? Wrong, there are some pretty
important processes going on during this step that need to be
understood.
by Peter Evans on December 12, 2009
Being invited over to try out someone's latest brew is an honor that
few people get to experience in their lifetime. Inviting someone over
to try your latest brew is part of what you work for. The thing is,
beyond “it's good” or “wow, did a skunk die in the keg” there are other
ways to describe your beer- or someone else's. Maybe, giving you some
terms to use when describing and evaluating beer is a good idea.
by Peter Evans on December 11, 2009
Beer as a whole can be divided into two different schools, ales and
lagers. Beyond that there are literally hundreds of variations of each
that can range from international beer types, such as pale ale to very
localized styles. Here we will be discussing the main styles of both
ales and lagers.
by Peter Evans on December 9, 2009
You’ve brewed the perfect batch and waited long enough, it’s now time
for the unveiling of you latest creation! Here are some tips for
enjoying your beer and making sure others do as well..
by Peter Evans on December 8, 2009
There are literally, thousands of things a brewer can use to flavor
their beer with. Really, the combinations of different ingredients can
be ranked in the millions. But is it healthy?
by Peter Evans on December 7, 2009
At first it seems like a crazy concept. After all people have been
brewing beer for thousands of years without software, what’s the big
deal? A lot of it has to do with consistency. True, a brewing family
would pass the same recipe down from one generation to the next.
by Peter Evans on December 5, 2009
Facts are facts, sometimes batches go bad. What happens when a good
beer goes bad? Understanding why those batches went bad (or never were
good) will keep you from making the same mistake again and wasting
hours on brewing an inferior brew. Being able to properly describe the
end product also allows you to discuss it with your fellow brewers on a
common ground.
by Donavan Hall on April 17, 2007
For Christmas or for your last birthday your wife/parents/kids bought
you a homebrew kit. Maybe you treated yourself to that collection of
the odd assortment of equipment: a bucket, a kettle, a thermometer, a
hydrometer, maybe a couple of carboys. You want to brew a beer.
by Dave Knott on April 3, 2007
With an embarrassingly large variety of grains available to the homebrewer these days, it can be difficult to make choices among them. There is so much to consider, for instance, a small amount of dark crystal malt will result in the same color as a larger amount of lighter crystal malt, but the flavor and aroma will not be the same. It is necessary to have some understanding of the malting process, and to develop familiarity with the different types of malts to make choices that will result in the beer ending up the way you want it to.
