Getting Started in Home Brew Beer and Wine

By Dean Novosat

Home brewing is a growing hobby for people who want to drink something that cannot be found in the aisles of a local liquor store and it is becoming more popular all the time. Home brewing is not that difficult, although beginners should follow recipes carefully in order to ensure results that are drinkable. When you are getting started, it is important to follow a recipe until you learn all about the home brewing process. Home brewing is evolving from a simple hobby into an alternative source of cheap alcoholic beverages. It is simply the process where any person can make beer or wine from grains and fruits, in their home from choosing their own ingredients to the bottling and consumption of the finished product. Home brew beer is typically a very strong beer, with higher density than store bought beers of a similar style, and should always tastes fresher since you make it, chill it, bottle it, and drink it while it is still fresh.

Home Brewed Beer

Beer has been around for a long time, in different cultures from all over the world. Beer is basically just fermented grains, just as wine is fermented fruit. Beer generally falls into two categories: ales and lagers. Today, beer is still made with all manner of herbs and spices like ginger, clove, cinnamon, etc. Beer making may be more fun that what you think. It is fun to try to make your own, and it is not difficult at all. Much of the excitement of making your own beer is the anticipation of what it will taste like when it is ready! Beer is made from fermenting cereals and hops so in that regard, beer is a living organism, which needs time to grow. Beer brewing is easy: just find a room you can control the temperature of and pick the right yeast. The natural process of fermentation does the rest. All you need is a little patience!

Making Your Own Wine

Wine making is the next step for anyone that has already tried their hand at brewing their own beer. Wine making used to be done by stepping on grapes and allowing the grape juice to ferment, but now you can order your own wine making kit online and have wine in just a few weeks from such varieties as zinfandal, cabernet, chardonnay, riesling and merlot. All you need is the correct quantities of grapes and other fruits, herbs, and spices, and you can make all types of wines. Plus, when you make your own wine, you aren't limited to grape-based wines. You can use any fruit that is in season. You can try raspberry wine, pear wine, cherry wine, or even banana wine!

Home brewing is a fun and rewarding hobby. Home brewing is both extremely simple, and yet surprisingly complex. Making your own beer or wine is the process where you choose the ingredients, ferment them, bottle your end-product, and, best of all, drink the finished product. Home brewing is an inexpensive way of producing beer or wine that can taste just as good as the beer or wine that big corporations make. And you get the bragging rights of putting your own name on the label!

Dean Novosat has tips and recipes for making your own Home Brew at http://www.wwwhomebrew.com Home Brew

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dean_Novosat
http://EzineArticles.com/?Getting-Started-in-Home-Brew-Beer-and-Wine&id=952408

How To Brew Beer For The First Time

by Dominick Famiano

The process of brewing beer can be as simple or as complex as one makes it. This article is intended to simplify the process and outline the most basic elements of homebrewing for the first-time brewer. It is recommended that you first purchase an equipment kit from your local supply store or online. These generally cost anywhere from $60-$100 and include everything you need to get started.

Now, let’s prepare our first brewing session. Cleanliness and organization are two key elements. Make sure your brewing area is clean, all of your equipment is sanitized, and your ingredients are organized and readily accessible.

For the sake of simplification, we’ll brew what I like to call an “in-and-out” kit. One of my favorites that falls into this category is EDME’s Red Devil Ale. This particular kit includes a 4 lb. hopped can of malt extract and a pack of dry yeast. The only additional ingredients you will need to purchase are about 2 lbs. of dried malt extract and five ounces of corn sugar or priming sugar. Some would prefer to add hops during the boil, but this is not absolutely necessary because our malt extract is already hopped.

Bring about ½ gallon of water to boil in a stainless boiling pot. Reduce the heat, and add the contents of the can and 2 lbs. of dried malt extract. Stir fully to dissolve. Then bring the mixture back to a boil, and continue to simmer for about five minutes. Also continue stirring to avoid scorching and/or boil-over. After five minutes, turn off the heat.

Pour three gallons of cold water into your fermenting bin. Be sure to pour from a reasonable height so as to add oxygen to the water. Next, add the mixture (wort) from the pot, and top off the fermenting bin with more water until the total volume of the bin is between five and six gallons. Place the lid on top of the fermenting bin to avoid the introduction of contaminants and other airborne particles, and allow the wort to cool down to between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once the wort has cooled, add the yeast and stir with a sanitized stainless spoon. Place the lid and airlock on the fermenting bin, and stand the bin in a warm area (65-75 degrees Fahrenheit). Fermentation will take approximately one week. When fermentation appears to have stopped, you are ready for priming and bottling.

Siphon the beer from the fermenting bin into the bottling bucket making sure not to transfer any of the yeast sediment. Dissolve about five ounces of corn sugar or priming sugar into one cup of boiling water. Add this mixture to the bottling bucket, and stir. Now, siphon the beer from the bottling bucket into individual bottles. Cap each bottle, and store at room temperature for a couple of weeks. You may then transfer the bottles to a cooler place for conditioning if you wish. In all, your beer should be ready for consumption in about four weeks from the original date of brewing.

Dominick is a homebrewer and webmaster of TheBrewZone.com, a social networking community for homebrewing and beer enthusiasts, and MadSimple.com, a how-to information directory.

Article Source: How To Brew Beer For The First Time