Brewing beer is one of the oldest hobbies in the world today. However, it has grown in popularity over the last couple of years and more people are now brewing their own beers. The competition is getting fiercer every day between brewers.
This means that if you want to start brewing your own beer, you need to make sure that you know what you are doing. You need to understand everything that is needed to make your beers stand out from those of your competitors.
However, you should be careful when choosing what to learn and where to get the information from. The internet is full of information, but not all of it is genuine.
Here are a few genuine things to know before brewing your own beer;
Conduct Enough Research
You should conduct a lot of research before you start brewing your own beer. When you start, you need to note that it takes science and art for you to brew quality beer. These are things that you should possess.
You can go through some of the best brewing books, check online resources such as different software applications, brewing blogs, and discussion forums, and consult professional brewers or people who have been in the industry before.
This way, you will be aware of the things that you should expect when brewing beer. You will also understand how to handle any issues that might arise without any problems.
Use Fresh and High-Quality Ingredients
It is important to note that you cannot get the best quality beers without using fresh and high-quality ingredients. When it comes to yeast, try to avoid dry yeast since liquid yeast produces the best beer.
If you use extract brewing, do not use packaged extract. Look for fresh extract if you want to get the best beer. If you have any ingredients in store, ensure that they are fresh. You can use your freezer to store your hops and your refrigerator for your liquid yeast.
However, ingredients such as hops, dry malt, yeast, liquid malt, and crushed grains should not be stored for long due to short shelf life and oxidation.
Understand the Different Noble Hop Varieties
Hops are among the hottest ingredients among all beer brewers. Today, everyone is looking for the little green cones due to the characteristic flavor and aroma that they add to their beers.
However, did you know that there are different noble hops and they are all suited for different types of beers? Well, looking at this noble hops list, you can see the different varieties available and choose those that meet your beer requirements.
This is the only way for you to ensure that your beers have the perfect aroma and flavor. You can get different hop varieties if you want to brew different beers.
Sanitation is Important
You need to implement proper sterilization and sanitation techniques throughout the entire brewing process. Without this, the chances of finding things such as dirt, bacteria, or bugs in your beers would be very high even after spending days brewing the beers.
Sterilization and sanitation begin even before you can start brewing your beers. The two processes go on to the last stage when you cap your beer bottles. However, sterilization is most important after cooling your wort.
This is because this stage is synonymous with bacteria contamination since the yeast fermentation process has not yet started. This is essential for all beers, especially those brewing beers that can be good for your health.
Start With Dark Beers
The truth is that anyone who wants to start brewing their own beer would like to brew their favorite beers first. However, this is not right. You should start with dark beers such as dark ales and stouts.
For instance, if you look at some of the best Australian and American craft beers, you will find that dark ale is the most popular. Dark beers allow brewers to identify all the initial mistakes they might have made when brewing. This is because they have a rich flavor.
Brewing dark beers is easier. Even if there might be mistakes when brewing for the first time, the mistakes will not have a huge effect on the quality of your beers. After identifying the mistakes, you can rectify them and then brew other types of beers.
Your Wort Should Be Boiled For Not Less Than an Hour
Your wort should be boiled in batches. Make sure that it takes between one hour and one and a half hours when boiling your wort. This ensures that proteins and tannins coagulate well from the grains.
In addition, it allows the hops to release all the bitter oils. You will also need to ensure that all the unwanted compounds are vaporized. Your wort should then be sterilized before the cooling process begins.
Brewing your own beer might be an amazing hobby for some people, but it is not a walk in the park. Knowing the things discussed above will help you brew the best beer in town.
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