One of the best things about learning how to make beer is that you can be a good brewer at first, and become a great brewer with time. You can make good batches almost every time, but you will also see ways to improve your craft as you progress. An important part of learning how to make beer is networking with other home brewers--either online or with local home brewer associations (or, both). This way you can learn tips, tricks, shortcuts as well as what mistakes to avoid (and how to avoid them). This will shorten the learning curve and allow you to improve your skills faster.
One key thing to learn about how to make beer is a rule that applies to cooking as well as how to make beer: the quality of beer depends on the quality of ingredients that go into it. Fresher ingredients are better. One of the first things you can do to improve the quality and flavor of your beer is the yeast you use. If you start with a beer ingredient kit, you might be better of purchasing some fresher yeast. You can also opt to use a liquid yeast, as this can be an improvement over dry yeast. You can also look to upgrade all of the other ingredients as well, including the hops, grains and any other perishables that you might use.
It is important that you properly store and care for your ingredients. It is best to only but the ingredients you need, and to purchase them the day you plane to brew. Try to use up all the ingredients up for the batch so you do not have any leftovers. Over time, you will get the feel for how much of each ingredient you need, so that you can purchase just enough for that batch without any waste.
This way you can always brew with the freshest ingredients possible. Of course, this method is the ideal way to brew, but may not be the most practical. If you have a local home brewing supply store close by, then this can work great. But, if you don't, then you will likely have to purchase ingredients online. This can get expensive either way, and often, you can save money by buying ingredients in bulk.
This works fine, but you just have to be extra careful in storing your ingredients, and try to use them up over a short amount of time instead of just letting them spoil. Using your fridge or freezer helps to slow down the aging, and allows you to store ingredients longer. Grains and yeast you can keep in the fridge, the rest should go into the freezer.
Temperature control is important for how to make beer, and something that experienced home brewers know has a big impact on their beers. Temperature control comes into play many times during the how to make beer process. First, during the boiling of the wort. You have to get it up to a boil, although in all grain brewing and steeping, you are not actually boiling.
Once you have your wort at the proper temperature, you have to cool it down quickly. This part of the process is important. Getting it to proper temperature initially and then dropping the temperature are critical to warding off contaminants, and also affect the clarity of your beer.
Once you have your beer in the fermenter, it is also important to maintain a constant temperature within the recommended range. For many brewers just learning how to make beer, this step too often is overlooked. If you ferment at too high or too low a temperature, you can ruin your beer. If the temperature fluctuates constantly throughout fermentation, this can also negatively impact your beer's flavor.
Many home brewers have learned that by maintaining constant, proper temperature during fermentation greatly improves the resulting beer.
You may not take this step when you are first learning how to make beer, but at some point it can be a great way to better your brewing. Many brewers actually purchase or make some sort of fermentation cabinet especially for the purpose of ensuring that their fermentation temperatures remain consistent. You can buy a fridge or freezer and add a temperature control device, as well as a converter kit.
Or, there are several DIY possibilities, ranging from dirt cheap to top of the line expensive. However, if you are just starting to learn how to make beer, there are many ways you can maintain fermentation temperatures without having to buy or make any specialized equipment. Find a cool spot in your home--a closet or basement work well.
You can wrap the fermenter in wet towels or t shirts to cool. You can do what is known as a swamp cooler. Place the fermenter in a tub and fill with water. You might need to add ice to the water, depending on how hot it is.
If you need to keep the fermenter warm, you can wrap it in blankets, and use an electric blanket if necessary.
One key thing to learn about how to make beer is a rule that applies to cooking as well as how to make beer: the quality of beer depends on the quality of ingredients that go into it. Fresher ingredients are better. One of the first things you can do to improve the quality and flavor of your beer is the yeast you use. If you start with a beer ingredient kit, you might be better of purchasing some fresher yeast. You can also opt to use a liquid yeast, as this can be an improvement over dry yeast. You can also look to upgrade all of the other ingredients as well, including the hops, grains and any other perishables that you might use.
It is important that you properly store and care for your ingredients. It is best to only but the ingredients you need, and to purchase them the day you plane to brew. Try to use up all the ingredients up for the batch so you do not have any leftovers. Over time, you will get the feel for how much of each ingredient you need, so that you can purchase just enough for that batch without any waste.
This way you can always brew with the freshest ingredients possible. Of course, this method is the ideal way to brew, but may not be the most practical. If you have a local home brewing supply store close by, then this can work great. But, if you don't, then you will likely have to purchase ingredients online. This can get expensive either way, and often, you can save money by buying ingredients in bulk.
This works fine, but you just have to be extra careful in storing your ingredients, and try to use them up over a short amount of time instead of just letting them spoil. Using your fridge or freezer helps to slow down the aging, and allows you to store ingredients longer. Grains and yeast you can keep in the fridge, the rest should go into the freezer.
Temperature control is important for how to make beer, and something that experienced home brewers know has a big impact on their beers. Temperature control comes into play many times during the how to make beer process. First, during the boiling of the wort. You have to get it up to a boil, although in all grain brewing and steeping, you are not actually boiling.
Once you have your wort at the proper temperature, you have to cool it down quickly. This part of the process is important. Getting it to proper temperature initially and then dropping the temperature are critical to warding off contaminants, and also affect the clarity of your beer.
Once you have your beer in the fermenter, it is also important to maintain a constant temperature within the recommended range. For many brewers just learning how to make beer, this step too often is overlooked. If you ferment at too high or too low a temperature, you can ruin your beer. If the temperature fluctuates constantly throughout fermentation, this can also negatively impact your beer's flavor.
Many home brewers have learned that by maintaining constant, proper temperature during fermentation greatly improves the resulting beer.
You may not take this step when you are first learning how to make beer, but at some point it can be a great way to better your brewing. Many brewers actually purchase or make some sort of fermentation cabinet especially for the purpose of ensuring that their fermentation temperatures remain consistent. You can buy a fridge or freezer and add a temperature control device, as well as a converter kit.
Or, there are several DIY possibilities, ranging from dirt cheap to top of the line expensive. However, if you are just starting to learn how to make beer, there are many ways you can maintain fermentation temperatures without having to buy or make any specialized equipment. Find a cool spot in your home--a closet or basement work well.
You can wrap the fermenter in wet towels or t shirts to cool. You can do what is known as a swamp cooler. Place the fermenter in a tub and fill with water. You might need to add ice to the water, depending on how hot it is.
If you need to keep the fermenter warm, you can wrap it in blankets, and use an electric blanket if necessary.