Saturday, September 24, 2016

Did You Know The Home Brew Ingredients?

By Martha Ellis


For decades now, people have been preparing beer locally. The importance of this beer is that it does not contain the harmful chemicals which are used to manufacture the commercial ones. Here you regulate the contents of your brew. In this article, we discuss the major home brew ingredients for beer.

One of them is the malted grains or just malts. Barley is the most used grain for preparing beer. This is because; it can produce more sugar than other cereals. Also, it contains natural hull which makes working with it much easier.

Other grains which can be mixed with barley include corns, rice, and wheat. They are added in small quantities to add a particular taste or property to the beer; these are the starch contents that add energy to the drink and brings out there distinctive flavours.

Malts are made by allowing grains to partially sprout then heating them up inside a kiln to hault the germination process. This frees up the carbohydrates in the grain. These carbohydrates are converted into sugar and will act as food to the yeast.

Water forms a larger percentage of beer. Any water can be utilized provided it is safe for drinking. However, the mineral content in the water may affect the quality of the beer. Experienced brewers say that beer made from hard water and soft water taste differently. All the same, the mineral content of water is not a major concern.

Another constituent of beer are the hops flowers. The buds of these flowers are used to balance the bitterness and sweetness of the beer. They also provide the tastes and aromas as well acting as a preservative. Other alternatives to hops are herbs and spices.

There are two things which make hops useful for beer brewing. These are oils and the resin. The resins are responsible for the bitterness. Different varieties of hops have varying amounts of resin thus the different level of bitterness. The hop oils provide the delicate and nuanced flavors and aromas in the drink.

Last but not least, we have yeast. These are small living organisms which convert the sugary malts into a real beer. They consume sugar from the grains to produce carbon dioxide. Once everything has been consumed, they slowly drift into a snoozy condition of hibernation. At this point the beer is ready.

Two kinds of yeast can be used. These are the Ale and Larger yeast. Ale type is the best for home brewing because they can be utilized in a relatively broad range of temperatures. On the other hand, the larger type is limited to specific temperatures which are very low temperatures thus not popular when making local liquors.

The yeast can be used either dry or in a liquid state. Dry ones usually come in foil pouches, and they look like powdered yeast used for baking. They have a long shelf life. Liquid yeast is more perishable and should be kept in a refrigerator for a period, not more than six months.




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