Learn to Clear Your Homebrewed Beer

December 24, 2007 by CarpetGuy · 1 Comment 

Now that you have learned to brew your own beer and have been waiting for about a month for your beer to be done brewing, you may be thinking that you would like your beer to be a little clearer. Your beer being hazy will not actually change the taste of the beer, however it will not look that appealing and if you offer it to friends or family, you know there is a high probability that they will turn it down. No need to worry there is actually a few different ways to clarify your beer that work well and will not change the flavor. more

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Wyeast – Very Special Strains – Pure Liquid Yeast

November 3, 2007 by CarpetGuy · Comments Off 

VSS ACTIVATORTM

Very Special Strains – Pure Liquid Yeast

For the Months of October through December, 2007

Please be sure to visit our new website!

We’ve scored a trifecta, fulfilling all three of the goals that inspired creation of the VSS promotion: introducing a new strain from the French side of Flanders; bringing back a strain from our archives by popular demand, and releasing a Proprietary Strain from one of the most popular craft brewed beers in America !

Wyeast Laboratories, Inc. proudly presents:

Fat Tire Ale Yeast

from New Belgium Brewery

Fort Collins, Colorado

Used for brewing Fat Tire Amber Ale by the brewers at New Belgium, who are looking forward to hearing from you at brewer@newbelgium.com.

Like the ageless delight of pedaling a bicycle, Fat Tire Amber Ale’s appeal is in its feat of balance: Toasty malt flavors (sorta’ like biscuits just pulled from the oven) coasting in equilibrium with crisp hoppiness. Delicious stability – in the world of sometimes-precarious beer flavors – is perhaps what prompted one consumer to write “this beer just makes you smile.”

Fat Tire’s depth of flavor, achieved with neither a disproportionate sway toward hops or malts, tandems well with a full spectrum of today’s engaging cuisines.

Fat Tire is so named for the bike trip founding brewer Jeff Lebesch took through Belgium that greatly inspired his homebrewing efforts.

Please visit New Belgium’s website at www.newbelgium.com.

From our archives by popular demand

Wyeast 3864 VSS Canadian/Belgian Ale

Produces mild phenols, which increase with increased fermentation temperatures. Low ester profile with a dry, slightly tart finish. Complex and well-balanced, alcohol tolerant.

Alcohol tolerance: approximately 12% ABV

Flocculation: medium

Apparent attenuation: 75-79%

Temperature range: 65-80°F (18-27°C)

New

Wyeast 3711 VSS French Saison

Produces saison or farmhouse style bières that are highly aromatic with clean, citrus-ester, peppery and spicy notes with no earthiness, and low phenol. This strain enhances the use of spices and aroma hops, and is extremely attenuative, but leaves an unexpected silky and rich mouthfeel in a very dry finished beer.

Alcohol tolerance: 12% ABV

Flocculation: low

Attenuation: 77-83%

Temperature range: 65-77°F (18-25°C)

We are excited to bring you these Very Special Strains, and we welcome your comments. Please feel free to contact us at vss@wyeastlab.com. Let us know what you think of this promotion and what strains you’d like to see offered in the future.

www.wyeastlab.com

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Streetwise Beer Making Secrets!

October 13, 2007 by CarpetGuy · Comments Off 

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

October 4, 2007 by CarpetGuy · Comments Off 

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Join A Home Brew Club To Learn New Tricks

August 13, 2007 by CarpetGuy · Comments Off 

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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Why bother home brewing beer?

August 13, 2007 by CarpetGuy · 2 Comments 

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

August 13, 2007 by CarpetGuy · Comments Off 

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

August 13, 2007 by CarpetGuy · Comments Off 

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

August 13, 2007 by CarpetGuy · Comments Off 

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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Home Beer Brewing Success and Why You Should Brew Beer at Home

August 13, 2007 by CarpetGuy · Comments Off 

Home Beer Brewing Success and Why You Should Brew Beer at Home
by Paul P. Duxbury

Home Beer Brewing is becoming an increasingly popular hobby for men and women of all ages. The ever increasing price of drinks at bars and clubs coupled with a greater interest in entertaining at home have made it increasingly popular.

So yes you can start home beer brewing! However it dos not have to be a solitary occupation locked away in the cellar or shed for hour after hour. As well as being a hobby for the individual it can also be a family project through which you introduce members of the family to alcohol and the need to be responsible with it. Some people do not understand why people make their own beer. They wander why they want the all the mess and clutter associated with creating their own brew. They believe that it is far easier to simply go to the store and get what they want when they want beer. However, it is not simply about the convenience or the cost of the beer stores.

The actual reason why a lot of people have started home beer brewing is because they think it is both enjoyable and exciting. This is a way for them to participate in hobby that they like and that keeps them busy. Some people create their own brew just because they have never tried it before and now the proliferation of Home Beer Brewing Kits and other resources provide them with the opportunity relatively cheaply.

It is also a way for individuals to reconnect with their ancestors and family history. There are so many different recipes for beer, not only held by the breweries, but that have also been handed down through different families. They are using the recipes that their ancestors used and seeing if they can do what they did, In the process they are discovering that they can create great tasting beer. Many of the recipes are easy to follow and have an ingredient list that is easy to find. There are different things that people can buy to make their beer making experience more fun.

With the right kit and the best beer-making recipe, it has come within the reach of many more people and anyone can try making great tasting beer. Even if it is a one shot thing, it will be worth seeing if you can create a beer that is just as good as the beer that is purchased in the store. You can create anything with the home beer brewing supplies that you can now find in the store.

Buying the kits to brew your beer is going to make it easier for a lot of people to do. You can get everything that you need with this kit and it will make your beer brewing easier. Finding these kits will make the beer brewing adventure even more fun for someone that has not had the opportunity to try making their own beer yet.

Finding out about making your own beer is easy. You can go online and get all the facts and the tips that you need to get started on making your own beer. There are many tips and pieces of advice that you can use when you start your new hobby of making your own beer and I hope you will enjoy your own beer!

Paul Duxbury writes extensively on Home Beer Brewing and on Beers and Beer Accessories

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

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