beer water

Water Profiles - Why They're Important in Brewing Beer By Shawn Burgy Shawn Burgy Level: Basic PLUS I've been an avid Homebrewer and lover of beer for a long while now. I started brewing at the age of 18 . I am ... ...

Understanding your local water profile can determine the best styles to brew in your area. Some city's have very soft water, It's usually better to brew styles such as the Pilsner with soft water. In England the water is usually harder, Which helps the maltyness in there Pale Ales. But each city and town in England has a lot of differences from town to town and village to village.

Knowing the basic water profile in Yorkshire can help you know how to change your local soft water. Lets look at my water profile for Akron,Ohio and Yorkshire,England

Water Profile

Akron, Ohio
Calcium (Ca)= 40.0
Magnesium (Mg)= 8.0
Sodium (Na)= 36.0
Sulfate (SO4)= 75.0
Chloride (C1)= 35.0
Bicarbonate (HC03)= 130.0
PH= 7.34

Water Profile
Yorkshire, England
Calcium (Ca)= 105.0
Magnesium (Mg)= 17.0
Sodium (Na)= 23.0
Sulfate (SO4)= 66.0
Chloride (C1)= 30.0
Bicarbonate (HC03)= 153.0
PH= 8.33

As you can see the Akron water will have to come up in some minerals to reach the Yorkshire water profile. For this I usually use a program called ProMash. It has everything you will need to bring your water where you need to. You still probably won't get all of your water profile with out going over a bit. But you will have it at least so your beers will be closer to the actual brewing water. There are certain chemicals you will need in order to get your water straight. These can be retrieved from your LHBS (Local HomeBrew Shop). Some can be collected at your local Pharmacy.
The usual scale you will use to measure is on the Grams scale.

Mineral List

Epsom Salts
Canning Salt
Gypsum
Baking Soda
Calcium Chloride
Chalk

You should have no problems getting these minerals. Once you get the hang of it you won't have any problems getting the water that you need. Give it a few times and you should notice a big improvement in your styles of beers. It's greatly satisfying to be able to actually use the water in England when you need to. Your Pale Ales and taste buds will surely thank you for your work.
Its always the extra effort that goes in to making your homebrew better.

I have been brewing since the craze in the 90's, I stuck to it. Now I'm sharing what I know with you. So give the site below a visit today. It will be evolving and growing with many resources for the new and old brewer alike.

Home Brewing

A Brief History of Home Brewing By Jack Potter

Anybody can go to the local grocery store and buy six pack of beer of their choosing, but it takes real dedication to learn how to brew and enjoy your own homemade beer. 7,000 years ago, when it is estimated that alcohol was first discovered and brewed, most people had no choice but to brew in their own home. Eventually, commercial breweries changed that when they learned how to mass produce beer for consumption. Still, even though commercial breweries exist and beer is easy to obtain, home brewing is still practiced today by connoisseurs and hobbyists.

In the 1800's, once commercial breweries began to take root, home brewing was heavily taxed in an effort to bring more profits to the breweries. Eventually, prohibition came about and banned all forms of alcohol, again making home brewing the only way to obtain it. Although the practice was risky, it was very popular until 1933, when the prohibition was lifted because of how it enabled organized crime and beer smuggling cartels. Although wine was the first alcohol that was again legalized in the United States, it took several more decades for beer brewing to be made legal again due to an error in the way the law was written.

Now, commercial breweries have forged their way into the fabric of Western society and although home brewing is legal and still practiced, it is far less practical than it used to be. Most home brewing has been left to the beer "snobs" and fanatics that find pleasure in creating their own recipes. Some swear that no commercial beer can compare with the taste of a home brewed beer, but because of the material cost and the time necessary to prepare a home brew, most do not take the time and/or effort to do so.

However, one popular trend that has emerged from the home brewing crowd is the "micro brew," which is somewhat of a hybrid between the home brewing elite and the commercial breweries. Micro brew is generally practiced extensively in the United States and is often sold at smaller micro breweries and pubs. Although micro brews are more expensive than traditional commercial beers, they are widely popular because of the unique taste and quality of the brew, which is something that a mass produced beer cannot duplicate.

Home brewed cider is also a popular trend in home brewing because it is much easier to create and is often more potent. For those that prefer a sweet alcohol to that of a lager or stout, cider offers a perfect alternative.

Although home brewing has generally declined over the past several years, there has recently been a rise in the practice because of the ease of obtaining materials and ingredients. Readymade home brewing kits and instruction and materials have tremendously reduced the learning curve required to brew your own beer. Typically, a home brewed beer can be produced in 6-8 weeks depending on the type of beer and equipment used.

beer brewing kits

Beer Brewing Kits are the Best Way for the Beginner to Make Beer at Home By Mark Hester

If you're online right now searching for some quality home beer brewing kits, you may be surprised at the actual options you have out there. Some people new to the hobby of home brewing are downright shocked at how common it actually is, and how many people are enjoying it as well! But if you find yourself a little overwhelmed with all the different types and models and options of home beer brewing kits, what can you do? What do you look for, and how are they different from one another?

Accessories and Other Items

Sometimes the bottom line when it comes to the difference of home beer brewing kits is the accessories they each offer. For example, most home brewing involves siphoning off your beer from the first fermenting container to the second, as there is usually sediment and other impurities that have settled at the bottom of the container. Most brewers use some type of rubber tubing to suction the beer from one fermenting container to another, but some of the better home beer brewing kits available online offer strainers that do a much better job. If you're someone that enjoys adding, or would like to try to add, fruit and other such additives to your beer, you might want to use something like a strainer to get out those pips and seeds.

Most of the better home beer brewing kits also come with bottles and sanitizers for the bottles and fermentation containers. This is a great idea, since you need to purchase these things anyway. Usually buying everything all at one time in a kit can save you a lot of money versus buying everything separately.

Many also include recipes, ingredients, packets or jars of beer yeast, and other small things that make your brewing easier and more convenient.

Size of the Home Beer Brewing Kits

Not to be crude, but sometimes size does matter. If you're very serious about your brewing hobby, you will want a larger of the home beer brewing kits that are available. Having a nice sized boiling pot and larger fermentation containers means that you can make more beer in one batch, which of course makes is much easier on you.

Equipment Versus Ingredients

Remember that some home beer brewing kits are equipment alone, and others are ingredients alone. If you already own one of these incredibly nice home beer brewing kits as far as equipment is concerned, you might want to consider some kits of ingredients. These usually work much better than trying to mix up your own ingredients - although that's certainly possible - because everything is meant to work well together, it's all measured out for you, and so on. There's no guesswork which means there is less risk of ruining a batch by trying out some new ingredients that don't quite work well together.

Remember that while you can spend a fortune on home beer brewing kits, most are very affordable and have everything you need.

home brewing

Basic Equipment to Start Brewing Beer By Gregory McLaw

In order to begin brewing your own beer at home you will first need to have a taste for good beer. If you enjoy drinking Bud, Coors or Miller ad nausea you probably won't care much for homebrew. However, if you have already acquired a taste for a variety of micro-brews and enjoy trying new and different beers then you are a prime candidate for brewing your own beer.

To get started making your own beer at home I recommend purchasing a brew kit and one or more extract ingredient kits. You will also need a pot that will allow you to boil 2 or 3 gallons of water (the bigger the better), and enough beer bottles for 5 gallons (about 54 if they are 12 oz. each). The bottles should not be a twist top.

Virtually every local and Internet homebrew store sells kits that do not have a gasket seal on the fermentation bucket. Since sanitation is critical in home brewing I recommend a fermentation bucket that has a seal to help keep your beer from becoming contaminated. About 90 percent of the kits sold on the internet and in local stores use an inexpensive food grade type lid with no sealing gasket.

Find a kit that contains a 6.5 gallon primary fermenter, 6.5 gallon bottling bucket with bottling spigot, 5 gallon Better Bottle PET secondary carboy fermenter, instructions, C-Brite sanitizer, twin lever capper, triple scale hydrometer, airlock, pre-drilled universal carboy stopper, liquid crystal thermometer, siphon hose and shut-off clamp, Fermtech auto siphon, bottle filler and a bottle brush.

One of the more difficult tasks in home brewing is transferring the liquids. When making beer, you can't start a siphon with your mouth due to the hazards of bacterial contamination. The auto-siphon solves this problem completely. I was amazed how well this worked the first time I used it. Just pull up then push down a couple of times and the siphon starts. Also get a kit with a Better Bottle PET Carboy for secondary fermentation, to produce clearer beers. This carboy has less weight than glass, an equivalent performance, and no chance of breaking. This kit is a great value for beginning brewers.

Pick out an extract kit of a beer that you would like to try. Read these instructions and you are all ready to brew. Lastly, go to makebeerathome for information on the brewing process.

How to Make Beer Clone Recipes

How to Make Beer Clone Recipes By J. T. Freeman

Although I make a vast majority of my own beer, I still like to head to my local tap house and have a fresh, quality craft beer from time to time. I benefit from this in a couple of ways and so can you.

First, it helps with the continuous education of my passion for beer making by discussing the specifics of the beers I am drinking with the knowledgeable bar staff. I also solicit feedback from my fellow patrons at times and their input can be informational as well. This can lead to inspiration for tweaking an existing recipe you use or creating one from scratch.

Second, have you ever been out at a bar or restaurant and tried a beer that you absolutely loved? That has happened to me more than once. For most people, that initiates the desire to purchase more of that beer whenever they visit their local watering hole or liquor store. However, for me and the eager home brewer, this could be an opportunity to duplicate our favorite adult beverage. The problem is that the beer bottle does not have the recipe on it and most of the time, that information can be a highly guarded secret.

Well, it's a good thing that there are clone recipes to make beer like our favorites. The easiest way is to Google "beer clone recipes". You will find and adequate amount to start exploring. One of my favorite sites for clone recipes and home brewing information in general is BYO.com. I have hand picked 5 clone beer recipes from their site to get you started. Good luck and enjoy!

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone Author: Greg Snapp

Hundreds of our customers at my homebrew shop have made this. Most swear it's identical to the original. Dry hopping is essential for classic Cascade flavor and aroma. (5 gallons)

Ingredients:

* 8 oz. caramel malt, 30degrees Lovibond * 6 oz. DeWolf-Cosyns cara-pils malt * 6 lbs. light malt syrup * 1.5 oz. Perle hops (8.2% alpha acid) for 60 min. * 2.5 oz. Cascade hops (5.4% alpha acid): 1 oz. for 15 min., 1 oz. for 5 min., 0.5oz. pellets (dry hopping). * Wyeast 1056 (American ale) * 11/4 cup dry malt extract

Step by Step:

Add grains to 1.5 gal. water. Bring slowly to 170degrees F. Remove grains and bring to a boil.

Total boil is 60 min. Boil 10 min. and add Perle hops. Boil 45 min. more, adding water as needed to maintain liquid level. Make first Cascade addition. Boil 5 min. more. Turn off heat. Wait 10 min. Add 1 oz. Cascade. Wait 3 to 5 min. Remove hops and transfer to fermenter.

Top up to 5 gal. Pitch yeast at 70degrees F.

Ferment three days and rack to secondary. Dry hop with 0.5 oz. Cascade pellets. Ferment two weeks at 65degrees F. Prime and bottle.

Fullsail Golden Clone Author: James Crane

The rye adds a pungent fruitiness characteristic of Full Sail Golden ale. (5 gallons)

Ingredients:

* 6 lbs. pale malt extract * 1 lb. light dry malt extract * 8 oz. crystal malt, 10degrees Lovibond * 8 oz. flaked rye * 3 oz. Cascade hops (6.1% alpha acid): 1 oz. for 60 min., 1 oz. for 30 min., 1oz. for 2 min. * 750 ml. starter of Wyeast 1056 (American ale) or White Labs California Ale pitchable yeast * 3/4 cup dextrose for priming

Step by Step:

Steep grains for 30 min. in 2.5 gal. water at 150degrees F. Remove grains and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and add extract. Total boil is 60 min. Return to boil and add 1 oz. Cascade. Boil 30 min. more and add 1 oz. Cascade. Boil 28 min. more and add 1 oz. Cascade. Boil 2 min. more. Top up to 5 gal. with cold, preboiled water. Cool below 75degrees F and pitch yeast.

Ferment at 68degrees to 70degrees F until completed (about five days). Secondary ferment 10 days to two weeks. Prime with dextrose and bottle

Sierra Nevada Stout Clone

Creamy and malty with notes of dark caramel, chocolate, light molasses and ripe plums. An American stout that truly typifies citrusy hops and black malt.

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) OG = 1.065 FG = 1.019 IBU = 60 SRM = 40 ABV = 5.8%

Ingredients:

* 9.0 lbs. (4.1 kg) American pale malt * 3.0 lbs. (1.4 kg) Munich malt (10 degrees L) * 1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) American Black Patent malt (500 degrees L) * 0.67 lbs. (0.30 kg) American crystal malt (60 degrees L) * 14 AAU Magnum hops (60 mins) o (1.0 oz./28 g of 14% alpha acids) * 5.8 AAU Cascade hops (10 mins) o (1.0 oz./28 g of 5.75% alpha acids) * 2.0 oz. (57 g) Willamette hops (0 min) * Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Safale US-05 yeast * 1 cup corn sugar (for priming)

Step by Step:

Mash 154 degrees F (68 degrees C) for 60 minutes in 16 qts. (15 L) of mash liquor. Boil wort for 60 minutes. Ferment for 7 days at 68 degrees F (20 degrees C). Rack to secondary and condition for 14 days at 68 degrees F (20 degrees C).

(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash) OG = 1.065 FG = 1.019 IBU = 60 SRM = 40 ABV = 5.8%

Ingredients:

* 0.33 lbs. (0.15 kg) American pale malt * 3.0 lbs. (1.4 kg) Munich malt (10 degrees L) * 1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) American black patent malt (500 degrees L) * 0.67 lbs. (0.30 kg) American crystal malt (60 degrees L) * 2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) Briess Light dried malt extract * 4.0 lbs. (1.8 kg) Briess Light liquid malt extract (late addition) * 14 AAU Magnum hops (60 mins) o (1.0 oz./28 g of 14% alpha acids) * 5.8 AAU Cascade hops (10 mins) o (1.0 oz./28 g of 5.75% alpha acids) * 2.0 oz. (57 g) Willamette hops (0 min) * Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Safale US-05 yeast * 1 cup corn sugar (for priming)

Step by Step:

Mash at 154 degrees F (68 degrees C) for 60 minutes in 7.5 qts. (7.1 L) of mash liquor. Combine partial mash wort with dried malt extract and enough water to make at least 3.5 gallons (13 L). Boil wort for 60 minutes. Add liquid malt extract with 15 minutes left in boil. Ferment at 68 degrees F (20 degrees C). Rack to secondary and condition beer for 14 days at 68 degrees F (20 degrees C).

Sam Adams Winter Brew

(5 gallon, extract with grains) OG = 1.069 FG = 1.016 IBUs = 26 to 30

Ingredients:

* 6.6 lbs. Briess wheat malt extract syrup * 1.5 lbs. crystal malt (60degrees Lovibond) * 1 lb. wheat malt * 1.5 lbs. Munich malt (20degrees Lovibond) * 1 teaspoon Irish moss * 1 oz. Curacáo orange peel (bitter orange peel) * 0.5 oz. ginger root (freshly grated) * 0.5 tsp. cinnamon (powdered) * 9.5 AAU East Kent Goldings o (2 oz. of 4.75% alpha acid) * 4.5 AAU Tettnanger o (1 oz. of 4.5% alpha acid) * 4.7 AAU Hallertau Hersbrucker o (1 oz. of 4.7% alpha acid) * 3/4 cup corn sugar to prime * German Lager yeast (White Labs WLP830) or Bavarian Lager yeast (Wyeast 2206)

Step by Step:

Steep the grains in 2.5 gallons of water at 150º F for 30 minutes. Strain out the grains, add the wheat malt syrup and return to a boil. When the wort begins boiling, add East Kent Golding hops, Irish moss, and boil for 60 minutes. Add spices for the last 15 minutes of the boil.

Add Tettnanger and Hallertau hops for the last 2 minutes of the boil. Remove from heat and cool wort in ice bath or with wort chiller. Transfer to fermentation vessel (glass carboy). Add enough cold water to the wort to bring the volume up to 5.5 gallons. Pitch yeast and ferment at 50º to 55º F for 3 to 4 weeks. Prime, then bottle or keg. You should lager this beer for about 4 weeks prior to serving.

All-Grain Option:

Replace the wheat malt syrup with 3.5 pounds of pale malt. Increase the Munich malt to 4 pounds and the wheat malt to 4 pounds. Also change the boiling hops to a smaller quantity, 7 AAU (1.5 oz of 4.75% alpha acid). I would suggest a two-step mash schedule for this beer. This involves doing a 30-minute protein rest at 122º F, followed by 60 minutes at 155º F.

Note that the quantity of boiling hops are slightly lower for the all-grain batch. This is due to the greater hop extract efficiency that results from a full boil of the entire wort volume. The remainder of the hop, spice additions and fermenting instructions are the same as the above extract-with-grains recipe instructions.

Bend Brewing Co. Hophead IPA Clone

The secret to a good Imperial IPA is dry-hopping. It can make or break this style. It is very important to have a huge aroma that leads you into the beer, complementing the inherent bitterness. - Tonya Cornett, Brewmaster

Hophead Imperial IPA Bend Brewing Co.

American-Style India Pale Ale (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)

OG = 1.073 FG = 1.017 IBU = 100 SRM = 6 ABV = 8%

Ingredients:

*14 lb. 10 oz. (6.6 kg) 2-row pale malt *8.0 oz. (0.23 kg) crystal malt (30 degrees L) *1.1 oz. (31 g) Saaz hops (first wort hops) *19 AAU Chinook hops (90 mins) o(1.6 oz./44 g of 12% alpha acids) *1.8 oz. (51 g) Northern Brewer hops (5 mins) *1.8 oz. (51 g) Cascade hops (5 mins after knockout) *1.5 oz. (43 g) Cascade hops (dry hop) *Wyeast 1968 (London ESB) or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (2.5 qt./~2.5 L yeast starter) *0.75 cups corn sugar (for priming)

Step by Step:

Mash at 155 degrees F (68 degrees C) for 60 minutes. Boil for 90 minutes. Ferment at 68 degrees F (20 degrees C). Dry hop for 7 days.

Extract option:

Reduce amount of pale malt to 1.5 lb. (0.68 kg).

Add 7.1 lbs. (3.2 kg) light dried malt extract at beginning of boil. You will need to perform a full-wort boil to get the specified level of bitterness.

Home Brewing Beer - A Fantastic Hobby and Pastime - If You Know How

Home Brewing Beer - A Fantastic Hobby and Pastime - If You Know How! By Nigel S Thomas

Having spent a couple of hours with a friend the other day in our local bar I was staggered at how much the evening had cost. It was the price of a small mortgage! All so we could have a couple of drinks in a bar that had no atmosphere and very few people. The smoking ban really has reduced the amount of customers visiting bars these days. And the cost certainly doesn't help!

So this got me thinking. Why not try brewing my own beer? Many years back I had tried my hand at wine making with some success, well I enjoyed it anyway.

So off I went and bought myself a beer making kit, the bottles, plastic barrel, bucket and pipes, the whole works, and set about making my first batch of home brew beer following precisely the kits instructions.

Each night I would eagerly come home from work and make a bee line for my mini brewery just so I could witness the changes in the fermentation since I had last looked and smell the heady aromour.

Then one weekend came the big day. Bottling up time!

With my wife safely settled in our local shopping centre I spent the whole afternoon happily syphoning the golden liquid into newly washed and sterilized bottles. After leaving the bottles for the specified time, not easy when your taste buds are tormenting you, I invited my friend over for the first ever tasting.

I opened the first bottle and holding it at an angle to the glass I slowly and lovingly poured out the liquid. One glass for me and one for my friend. Cheers, we both said and sipped our first mouthful.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly didn't meet my expectations. It tasted kind of odd, and had a strange smell to it. One mouthful was all I wanted. Trouble was I had gallon of the evil smelling liquid.

That was when I realized there is a knack to brewing beer. There is a process to be followed and tricks to be learnt that the home brew instructions simply don't tell you.

Home brewing is a fantastic hobby that everyone can get involved with, and a very cheap way of quenching your thirst.

It's much easier than you would think to make a good home brew once you know all the tricks and secrets.

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

Home Beer Brewing Success and Why You Should Brew Beer at Home By Paul 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 Home Beer Brewing increasingly popular.

So yes you can start homer beer brewing! However it does 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, home beer brewing 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, home beer brewing 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. Many tips and pieces of advice that a person can use when they are checking into all the beer brewing articles online, such as right here! You can use this information to get creative and find a new past time in making your own beer.