5 Tips To Drinking Beer Responsibly

5 Tips To Drinking Beer Responsibly
by Daphne Succes

Being the most popular alcoholic beverage in existence, beer is everywhere. In certain situations, it is readily available and may present a problem for anyone who is not familiar with its side effects or being responsible in this situation.

TDrink minimal quantities. If you find yourself drinking more than would be used in a social situation, alcoholism may be a lurking illness. The best way to avoid addiction is to drink minimal quantities and know when to stop.

TDrink beer at home. The best way to drink beer responsibly is to simply drink it at home. This will eliminate the danger associated with driving or getting into a confrontation with others.

TDo not drive. If you have consumed beer, it is best not to drive. Not only may it be illegal, but also dangerous. If you need to go somewhere, walk or have someone to take you.

TIf you are away from home and have been drinking, give your keys to a friend, designated driver or call someone to pick you up. If you need a ride home, you can call a friend, family member of even a taxi. Anytime that you are under the influence of alcohol, it is pertinent that you not attempt to operate an automobile. This could not only endanger your life, but those of others as well.

TNever leave your drink unattended in a public place. This is especially true of restaurants, bars and/or anywhere that alcohol is served. Leaving your drink unattended may leave you susceptible to someone placing a substance in your drink. If you get up to dance or go to the restroom, order a new glass of beer when you return. If you are just mingling, take your drink with you.

In the United States, an individual must be 21 years of age to purchase and/or legally consume beer. When purchasing alcohol, photo identification is required. This can be in the form of a driver’s license or other similar form of identification, which features a photo and birth date of the customer. A number of retail grocers, in the United States, prohibit the sale of beer before 12 p.m. in the afternoon.

If you, or someone that you know, is believed to have a drinking problem, consult a local treatment center for diagnosis and therapy to help overcome the illness. Alcoholism is a disease that often requires professional medical care, which is why proper treatment is critical to its cure.

About the author

Daphne is a Writer, Business Owner, Motivator and Self-Starter and full-time Mom. She enjoys writing articles about small businesses and family and tries to motivate other women with the same desire. She can be reached at 1-877-TOY-DIVA http://www.daphnespassion.com

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How to Make a Sparkling Mead the Easy Way

How to Make a Sparkling Mead the Easy Way
by Will Kalif

A Sparkling wine is a wonderful variation of your typical wines and, in particular, is a great treat for the holidays. Mead, being a wine, can also be made in the sparkling variety with very little extra effort. Here is a tutorial on how to make sparkling mead the easy way.

Sparkling mead is identical to any other type of sparkling wine in that it is a wine that has continued its fermentation process right inside the bottle. This extra fermentation causes a large amount of gases to be built up right inside the liquid. And it is this extra gas that causes a champagne bottle to pop when opened and causes the wonderful flow of tiny bubbles.

There are many different ways to make sparkling mead just as there are many different ways to make a sparkling wine. And some of these ways can get quite complicated with specific guidelines and restraints as far as yeasts used, times of ferment, temperature of storage and rotation of bottles as they mature. The way I outline here in this article is just about the easiest no fuss way to make up a five-gallon batch. You will be able to bottle up your mead and set it aside until ready to drink.

Make your five-gallon batch of mead the way you normally would and at the bottling step instead of putting it right into the bottles mix two-thirds of a cup of honey into the five gallon carboy. Stir it up gently and once homogeneous you then bottle it. That is the whole extra process when it comes to making it sparkle. This extra honey will cause a secondary ferment in the bottles and when you open one it will pop and bubble just like your typical champagne.

This addition of a small amount of honey is the only process change you need to make for your mead but there are a couple of definite changes you really need to make when it comes to safety considerations. The secondary ferment inside the bottles will cause quite a large amount of pressure buildup so you absolutely should not use regular bottles and corks for the brew. You need to get champagne bottles, champagne corks, and wire hoods. The bottles are thicker and stronger, the corks are more reliable, and the wire hoods are an added safety feature. If you use normal wine equipment for bottling you run the very real risk of having the corks pop or even the bottles explode. This is dangerous and at the least can cause quite a mess. So I recommend very highly you spend the extra few dollars. The end product will be well worth it.

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Streetwise Beer Making Secrets!

Streetwise Beer Making Secrets!
by Mike Corrado

Beer making is a complicated process that involves several steps that should be carefully thought out. Here are some basic ideas that will help you to get started on your beer making adventure.

The first step in brewing is called malting. Malting involves steeping grain in water for several days until the grain begins to germinate or sprout. During germination, enzymes within the grain are converted to a type of sugar called maltose. At this point in the beer making, the grain becomes what is referred to as malt.

After several days, when the majority of the starch has been converted to sugar, the malt is heated and dried. This process of the beer making, called kilning, stops the malt from germinating any further. A portion of the malt may be further roasted to varying depths of colour and flavour to create different styles of beer.

After kilning, the dried malt is processed in a mill, which cracks the husks. The cracked malt is transferred to a container called a mash tun, and hot water is added. The malt steeps in the liquid, usually for one to two hours. This process of beer making, called mashing, breaks down the complex sugars in the grain and releases them in the water, producing a sweet liquid called wort.

In the next step of beer making, called brewing, the wort is transferred to a large brew kettle and boiled for up to two hours. During this stage of the brewing process, hops are added to the wort to provide a spicy flavour and bitterness that balances the sweetness of the wort.

After brewing, the wort is cooled and then strained to remove the hop leaves and other residue. The beer-making brewer transfers the wort to a container in which it can ferment. The first fermentation lasts from a few days to two weeks. When the yeast has consumed most of the fermentable sugar, the wort becomes beer.

Beer making has become a great pastime for many people over the past few decades. With the proper education and a little practice, your beer making can become an enjoyable hobby that produces something wonderful to drink for you and your friends.

Mike Corrado brings you smoking beer making supplies at http://www.quickandeasybeermaking.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Corrado

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basic steps in homebrewing

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Join A Home Brew Club To Learn New Tricks

Join A Home Brew Club To Learn New Tricks
by Ann Marier

Those getting into the hobby of home brewing their own alcoholic beverages may want to consider joining a home brew club, geared toward the type of home brew in which they are the most interested. Whether your beverage of choice is beer, wine or grain alcohol and regardless of where in the country you reside, there is going to be a home brew club to match your interest.

Many times people follow directions for so long they tend to ignore the possibility there are other ways of doing things. As people become more experienced in home brewing, they may try different methods or different ingredients and often willingly share these findings with other members of their home brew club. The associations are designed for this type of sharing as well as gathering and sharing their finished products as well as discussing potential legal issues surrounding the home brewing industry.

Many times a home brew club will have local competitions where members can enter their brews to be judged on their zymurgy, or their study of fermentation. Those planning to enter any brewing contest must plan ahead, as it takes about four weeks for beer to properly ferment in the refrigerator before it is ready to drink.

Home Brewing Can Be Fun And Rewarding Hobby

Making your own beer can be fun and challenging at the same time, but it will not take a lot of time or space. Usually one burner on your stove will be enough space, except for storage, and in about two hours, up to five gallons of home brew can be in the keg or ready for bottling. One of the advantages of brewing your own, is you can make your own labels and put them on the bottles, making them easily defined as your own.

By joining a home brew club, you can get many new ideas and can ask questions of your own, finding out if a technique will work before you try it. Others in the home brew club may have already tried and failed and can offer advice on how to do things correctly. It may be better to ask and save a lot of time, ingredients and effort than to fail miserably.

Many members of a home brew club are more than willing to share their knowledge and experience, despite the intense competition of brewing the best. Whether beer, wine or straight alcohol, sharing tips with new brewers are what some of the more experienced brewers do best.

Ann Marier has written many articles about the house and garden providing helpful tips and advice. Her latest articles are all about home brewing and the intoxicating fun you can have with this hobby.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

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Alaskan Brewing

Alaskan Brewing
by David Riewe

The Alaskan brewing company is the oldest operating brewery in Alaska, with their amber beer being their most popular brand. They produce two other brands as well, pale ale and Alaskan frontier amber. If you enjoy fresh amber beer, Alaskan brewing is what you want.

As you may already know, brewing beer in Alaska is very hard to do. The coastal community of Juneau doesn’t have road connections to the lower 48 states, so everything arrives and leaves by water or air, with weather always having the final say.

In 1986, the Alaskan brewing company became the 67th brewery to operate in the United States and the only one to operate in Alaska. Since that time, Alaskan brewery has received more than 30 major medals and awards, including the best beer in the nation award during the 1988 Great American Beer Festival.

The popularity of their beers has led to a great amount of efforts to keep up with the demand from consumers. They also hold the unnofficial record for the production on a 10 barrel brewing system, which produces an amazing 42 batches a week.

The Alaskan Brewery offers several different styles of brew as well, which are listed below:

1. Amber – This is the company’s flagship beer, based on a turn of the century recipe that was used to quench the thirst of the miners during the Gold Rush era. It provides a smooth, malty, rich taste that goes well with meals – or friends.

2. Pale – Pale is fresh, crips, and inviting. Alaskan pale is great with crab, pawns, and salads. The floral aroma of the hops is derived from dry hopping the tanks during the entire fermentation process.

3. Stout – The oatmeal style beer of stout doesn’t have the harshness of other stouts. Great with chocolate and hearty meals, stout is also ideal to enjoy while walking in the snow.

4. ESB – If you like hops, the infusion of hops in this delight will amaze your nose while the refreshing cascade hops will provide a wonderful crispness to both the flavor and the finish. This beer is great with spicy food, wild game, and other wintery food.

5. Smoked porter – Very exclusive, Alaskan smoked porter has a world class reputation for its excellence. Brewed in the fall, this beer is ideal for storing in the cellar for later enjoyment.

6. Winter ale – This tender brew of spruce trees has been used for brewing in Alaska since the late 1700s.

If your into great beer then visit my beer blog http://www.mybeerjournal.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

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Why bother home brewing beer?

Why bother home brewing beer?
by Michael Saville

Brewing beer at home is a popular pastime for many people. Even in the UK where the public house culture is very strong, home brewing beer has a big following. Successive governments have increased the tax on buying beer in pubs and so many people have looked to save money by making beer at home.

There are both plus points and minus points to home brewing beer. The big advantage often cited by those who make beer at home is that they can select their own ingredients. The reason why this is an advantage is that people who brew beer at home can be sure they are using only good quality ingredients. For many people this means only using organically grown crops for the ingredients. By home brewing beer they can be sure that they will drink beer that does not contain any artificial chemicals or additives.

People who home brew beer generally are confident they will have a constant supply of beer, which is especially good for when guests unexpectedly arrive or a ball game is on the television. As the raw ingredients of beer are simple (they are just water, malt, yeast and hops), a home beer brewer can make beer in regular batches and store in the garden shed or outhouse. Lots of people find the very act of brewing beer a relaxing act and a stress reducer, even before they have tasted the fruits of their labour.

However, it is worth noting that home brewing beer is not for everyone. The first big disadvantage is that if you don’t brew your beer correctly you could end up with a concoction that tastes horrible; something that you would not be proud of serving up to your friends. Even if you know what you are doing, just one mistake could lead to a ruined batch of beer both in looks and taste.

A second negative for home brewing beer is that it takes a lot of time and effort. For most people it is much easier to pop into the supermarket on the way home from work and buy their beer than to wait for between thirty to thirty five days for a home brew. Beer making takes a long time; around ten to twelve hours for brewing and over a month for the beer to age.

Home beer making has become easier over the years. In the past at the very minimum it would have been necessary to mix the brew carefully, constantly check the gravity of the fermenting brew and then at precisely the right time transfer the brew into a barrel or bottles. However things have been simplified by the introduction of home brewing kits. In most cases these kits have a fermentation vessel that both looks and works like a barrel and this makes the entire process much easier to manage. The brewing and aging happen in this vessel. It just needs to be kept in a warm place for a few weeks and then when it is ready poor out directly. The risk of contaminates entering the brew during fermentation and aging is vastly reduced. It is possible to get a whole range of different beer types in home brew kits, even lager. Home beer making really is a lot easier than it used to be.

For me the advantages of making beer at home far outweigh the disadvantages. The taste of home made beer is pretty unique. There is a wide range of beer types you can make. You can make it as mild or as strong as you like. You have control over the ingredients you can use. As you become more experienced you can move from the safety of home brewing kits to making your beer right from scratch. It is a relaxing pastime and provides you with an immediate topic of conversation when friends come around to visit. All in all home brewing beer is lots of fun. Try it.

Michael Saville has written more articles about home brewing beer. These can be found at http://www.home-brewing.org The site provides information and advice on making beer at home, home brewing kits, and various recipes you can try.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

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Finding The Best Home Brewing Kits

Finding The Best Home Brewing Kits
by Ann Marier

Are you one of those people who are just beginning to appreciate the art of home brewing beer? If you are just a beginner and do not really have much experience on shopping for home brewing supplies and materials, it would be best for you to stick to home brewing kits for a start.

The good thing about home brewing kits is that you already have all the things that you need in one package so you need not spend so much time figuring out what materials and ingredients you should buy to be able to produce your own beer. Note that as a beginner, you may not really be very familiar with the things that you need to produce your own beer so it is not really advisable to shop for these materials and ingredients individually.

Getting Your Starter Kits

Before you go shopping for your home brewing kits, it would be a good idea for you to first research on the things that you need. If you know somebody or if you have a friend who is into , talk to this person and ask for advice. Most beer brewing enthusiasts are very eager to share their knowledge so it will not be difficult for you to extract some information from this person.

In fact, your friend might even invite you for a demonstration on how he or she makes his or her won beer. In case you get invited to watch him or her make his or her own beer, bring a notebook along and take notes. Pay close attention to the details especially on the materials and equipments being used. This information will be very useful when you go out and buy your own home brewing kits.

Most home brewing kits come in small and handy packages which you can use easily. For instance, if you are interested in buying some organic beer kits, there are many home brewing kits that are composed of small grain bags. The grain bags may contain organic malt extract and fresh organic hops. A brewing instruction can be found inside the grain bags. In most cases, the instructions attached to these home brewing kits are usually illustrated and are very simple to follow.

Now, many cases beginners do not really get the right taste of the beer on their first few tries. If your beer happens to taste funny or even horrid, don’t give up. Always remember that learning to make great beer takes time and a lot of patience. With constant practice, you will soon be making great tasting beer.

Ann Marier has written many articles about the house and garden providing helpful tips and advice. Her latest articles are all about home brewing and the intoxicating fun you can have with this hobby

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

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Home Beer Brewing Kits Are The Start Of An Intoxicating Adventure

Home Beer Brewing Kits Are The Start Of An Intoxicating Adventure
by Ann Marier

You will be right in thinking that there must be an alternative to drinking commercial beer that large factories containing huge copper containers manned by white-coated employees are churning out and for which you end up paying more than you wish to pay.

The answer is simple. You should think about buying home beer brewing kits and brew your own beer at home which will help to save your money while experiencing the pleasure of drinking beer that (if made properly) will taste the way that you want it to taste.

Make Two Gallons or More with a Kit

With Microbrew home beer brewing kits you will find that you can make as much as two gallons of beer that should cost you a mere twelve dollars or so. With the typical home Microbrew home beer brewing kit you will find that it comes with a Brew Keg as well as hops and malts and some “Boosters” as well that are “the additives that add the alcohol”. Along with the plastic caps for the Brew Keg that can be used over and over again is included the instructions.

You can use your Microbrew home beer brewing kit to make a variety of beers including Pilsners, Lagers, Stout, Light beers as well as ales that are fruit based. The whole home beer brewing kit exercise requires discipline and once you have combined all of the ingredients and closed the key and started to brew there is no scope for peeking by opening the keg until the whole process has finished.

You must learn to trust in the microbrew kit instructions and not deviate from the set path and you should certainly not rush the process at all.

If you like some variety, you can try out the Home Microbrew Kit for Root Beer as well as the one for Birch Beer. There are many different types of home beer brewing kits available that suits the budget, level of experience and those that can be gifted or contains the complete set of tools for brewing beer at home.

All said and done, home beer brewing kits allow you to gain added satisfaction in your glass of beer that just cannot be found in the average commercially brewed beer. Besides saving money, home beer brewing kits allows you to actually brew the beer that tastes just the way you want it and with some improvisation, it allows you to develop a personal style as well as flavor that just cannot be mass produced.

Ann Marier has written many articles about the house and garden providing helpful tips and advice. Her latest articles are all about home brewing and the intoxicating fun you can have with this hobby.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

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Home Brewing Beer With Kegs Is Easy And Less Expensive

Home Brewing Beer With Kegs Is Easy And Less Expensive
by Ann Marier

Home brewing beer with kegs is a lot easier than you may have imagined. If you are ignorant about how to go about this task then you will be missing out on a great opportunity as well as miss out on saving a good deal of money. If you are still in doubt then consider the fact that it only costs six dollars a gallon when you undertake home brewing beer with kegs.

Start by Buying a Kit

The first step you need for home brewing beer with kegs is to go out and buy a kit that contains, among other things, the keg, tap as well as many other tools that will come in handy later on. Also included are the ingredients such as hops as well as containers. These kits that cost a mere twenty dollars will set you on the way to home brewing beer with kegs and once you start you will find it hard to stop.

The cost of the kit depends on how much beer you wish to brew as well as your level of expertise. Home brewing beer with kegs provides you with the opportunity to brew delicious beer that will taste the way that you want it to taste and you will find it to be a hobby worth pursuing. After a at the office, home brewing beer with kegs will provide you with a way to unwind with a cool glass of beer that you yourself has made.

After having purchased the kit, it follows that you must then ensure that you follow the instructions to the T and also make sure that you measure the ingredients exactly. If you don’t get the quantities right by even a small margin, the taste can be different from your expectations. There are also home-brew radio stations as well as brew pubs that promote unpasteurized beer which shows how popular home brewing beer with kegs has become.

You will need to follow the basics of converting sugars into ethyl alcohol as well as carbon dioxide by yeast through the process of fermentation. The real difference between home brewing beer with kegs and the commercial means is that of scale, and if you have the right and sophisticated brewing abilities, there is no reason why you should not be able to brew the beer exactly as per you desire.

If you have the right equipment and have a degree of sophistication in your brewing abilities and you put in enough effort, you should also be able to make beer of quality as good as professional beer makers.

Ann Marier has written many articles about the house and garden providing helpful tips and advice. Her latest articles are all about home brewing and the intoxicating fun you can have with this hobby

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

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