Homebrewing: a fun way to beer
Most professional brewers at one time early in their careers brewed beer on a small scale in their homes. Brewing your own beer is a fun and great way to learn about the process involved in brewing. Homebrewed beer is craft beer. With the access to ingredients and complete brewing kits, it’s very easy to get started.
There are quite a few companies today that specialize in supplying home brewers with everything that they need to produce some excellent Craft Beer. These kits range from beginner level to brewing equipment that will rival many professional brewing systems.
The equipment for first-time brewers is very simple, and it’s very inexpensive to get started. Everything you need can be purchased online from one of the many home-brewing supply companies. The basic kits will include a fermentation vessel, along with malt, hops, yeast and instructions on how to brew your first batch of craft beer.
You will need to provide a few items yourself such as a stainless steel pot to boil your wort (unfermented beer), a large spoon to stir the wort, along with bottles and crowns to package your craft-brewed beer. Once you have all the equipment and ingredients, it takes about two to three hours to produce a batch, around five days to ferment, and another two weeks or longer depending on the style to bottle condition your beer.
After patiently waiting those few weeks or so depending on the style, you will be ready to enjoy your hand-crafted beer. Once you brew your first batch you may be hooked on homebrewing and it’s also fun to get some friends together to join in the brew day festivities.
There’s nothing better than enjoying a craft beer that you yourself produced and sharing it with friends. Give homebrewing a try and soon you will be hooked into to a hobby that gives great rewards. Cheers!
Rob McFerren is the owner of Wolf Creek Restaurant & Brewing Co.
“Once you brew your first batch you may be hooked on homebrewing and it’s also fun to get some friends together to join in the brew day festivities.”