Home Brewing

Now that you know more about the basic Brew In A Bag beer brewing process, there are many ways you can enhance the process in an effort to increase efficiency. If you have tried the BIAB brewing process and managed to hit pretty good efficiency, then these suggestions may not be worth trying, which is the whole point of BIAB beer brewing: simplicity. However, it can be fun to experiment in beer brewing, so here are a couple ways that might just improve your beer.

 One of the first things you can try is to get a better crush on your grains. You can ask your home brew shop or online supplier to double crush the grains when you purchase them. You could also purchase or make your own grain mill and take care of this at home. Making a grain mill is yet another beer brewing do it yourself project, and you can find many detailed examples online at beer brewing forums.

A finer crush of the grains means you will get better efficiency. Plus, since you aren't sparging, you needn't worry about the finer grains clogging up your filter or manifold and causing a stuck sparge. The grain bag you use should be a fine mesh to ensure the grains don't slip through into your wort. If this happens, you can always use the bag as a filter by covering your drain tube with it and passing the wort through the bag.

You can also add the step of sparging back into the equation. You can do a full batch or fly sparge if you want to, but you can also do a simplified sparge known as dunk sparging that is common to BIAB brewing. Simply place the bag into a pot of sparge water (heated to no more than 170F) and let the grains soak for 10 minutes. Then, add the sparge water to the kettle.

You could also place the grain bag in your bottling bucket and pour the sparge water over the grains to rinse. This makes pouring the water back into the kettle a little easier via the pour spout. Some who BIAB decide to mash in a tun. They use a converted cooler that they already had, but you may decide to go ahead and convert a cooler for this purpose. If you decide to try traditional all grain home brewing at some point, you will need a tun anyway. This allows you to mash a larger grain bill, and can provide a better mash that results in higher efficeincy. This isn't too big of an additional step, plus it won't take up too much additonal space, so it just might be worth trying.

 Of course, if you add this step, you aren't too far off from traditional all grain home brewing, especially if you add in the sparge step. You are getting a little further away from true BIAB brewing, but that's what makes beer brewing so much fun. You can add many different variables to the equation in an attempt to make better beer.

One other thing some BIAB brewers do is build a pulley with a hook so that they can suspend their grain bag over the brew kettle after mashing to make sure they get every last drop of goodness from the grains. This makes draining a 10, 15, 20 pound or heavier grain bag much easier, especially considering that they will suspend it for 10 minutes or more. Of course, this is more so for larger grain bills that come with bigger beers and bigger batches, and is more likely to be needed by someone who has the capability of brewing outside.

After you have done some research about how to make beer using the BIAB brewing method, the advantages should be pretty clear. Here is a quick look at the pros and cons of BIAB brewing.

First, it is a great way of how to make beer with the all grain brewing method. It is especially advantageous if you live in an apartment and have limited space. It doesn't require you to buy any additional equipment, unlike all grain brewing. Of course, you do have to purchase a grain bag, but that is a minimal expense. You can make the bag yourself, or look for one online or at a local hardware store (paint strainer bag).

The only other requirement is a brew kettle, but chances are if you are learning how to make beer at home you will already have one. This method of how to make beer was designed for simplicity, and only requires one pot for the entire process. After you get a few BIAB batches under your belt, you may decide to add a couple steps to the process, as well as some additional equipment. Or, you may feel you are happy with results you get from the simplified process and bypass these extras.

You can add a second pot for sparging, but you could also add a mash tun for mashing and sparging. If you think you may want to give traditional all grain home brewing a shot down the road, you will need a mash tun anyway.  A converted cooler for a mash tun is an easy do it yourself project, and it doesn't cost too muich to make.

Even if you decide not to make the leap into full on all grain brewing, you may find that you prefer using a mash tun to mash as opposed to mashing in the kettle. You may find that it produces better results. The BIAB brewing method offers a simpler and cheaper way of how to make beer using the all grain method without having to purchase additional equipment and take all the necessary steps. It's kind of like a "try it before you buy it" test run at all grain home brewing.

 You can use the exact same equipment you use for extract and partial mash brewing, so there are no additional cost or space concerns. BIAB allows you to brew with a little bit more flexibility than traditional all grain brewing. It also saves you some steps in the process by only using one pot. It eliminates the step of sparging. You not only shorten your brew day, but there is less equipment to clean when it is all over.

BIAB brewing can be limiting, especially if you live in an apartment, because you will be limited by the size of your kettle and the fact that you will be using an indoor stove. The stove simply won't have the power to boil larger volumes of liquid. It isn't very practical to try and brew a 10 gallon batch on the stove. Larger batches of beer, as well as higher gravity beers are not options simply because of the larger grain bills. These require more water, and keep in mind that you have to fit all of the necessary water (typically 1.25 quarts per pound of grain), as well all of the grain, into your brew kettle.

If you can brew on an outdoor propane tank, then you are only limited by the size of your brew kettle. If you have a large enough brew pot, then you can brew larger batches and higher gravity beers without any worries. You just might want to make sure that you have a powerful enough burner, this will shorten the brew day. If you are limited to inside home brewing, then you will likely need to stick to 5 gallon batches. You can work around this in a couple ways, but despite the limitations, you can still make some great beer, and beer that is better than extract or partial mash beers.

You may see some lower efficiencies when you first try the BIAB brewing method. However, many BIAB brewers report better efficiencies on their first attempts. With a little practice, you can hit very good efficiencies (over 80%) with this method, and for many brewers, this is one reason the BIAB. They produce quality, all grain beers, hit good efficiencies using a method that is easier and faster than traditional all grain set ups. Like all other aspects you learn about how to make beer, it simply requires a little practice and experimenting to see what works best for you.

 If you have trouble hitting your efficiency, double check your calculations and remember that there are experienced brewers both online and locally that can help you determine where you went wrong and how to correct it. Sometimes, it is as simple as getting a finer crush on your grains. But even with low efficiency beers you can still make some great beer.

Next, bring your strike water to the proper temperature for mashing. You will want to mash somewhere between 148F to 158F. However, keep in mind that you need to hold steady at that temperature for 60 to 90 minutes.   You will see a drop in temperature when you add your grains, and you can also lose temperature over the course of the mash. How much varies depending upon your equipment, as well as the climate.

This is something you will have to pay attention to on your first few batches. You will want to see exactly how much temperature loss you have during mashing, so you will know how to compensate for it in future batches by heating your strike water to a higher temperature than you want to mash at.  This may be a little frustrating at the beginning, but there are ways to make it easier while you are figuring out how your set up works.

You can keep hot and cold water nearby to add to the mash to adjust the temperature on the fly. You can also use your burner to heat up the mash if you lose too much temperature. Once you have the strike water at the right temperature, place your grain bag into the pot and pull the bag over the sides of the pot, so that the bag is open. You can use clips to help hold the bag in place. Add your grains slowly, and be sure that you constantly stir so that the grains become saturated and do not clump. Stirring also ensures you extract as much sugar from the grains as possible.

You also need to take a temperature reading to ensure you have hit your desired mash temperature. If you are within a degree, you should be fine. If not, then try one of the methods described earlier so that you hit the right temperature for mashing. At this point, you are mashed in, put the lid on the pot and wait. You can wrap the pot with a towel or blanket to help it maintain temperature. If your pot is pretty full with little headspace, it will likely hold temperature for the entire mash.

One advantage to the BIAB method of home brewing is that is doesn't require any sparging. You can add this step if you like, and some brewers choose to do some sort of sparge to increase efficiency. Many BIAB brewers find that they do not see a big enough increase in efficiency to justify the added step of a sparg..maybe a few points. However, this is something you can experiment with to see how it works for you.

If you choose to sparge, then about 30 minutes before the end of the mash start to heat up your sparge water. Of course, this requires another pot, which isn't true BIAB home brewing, but you can add this step if you like. One reason you may decide to try a sparge is if you have limited space in your brew kettle (and/or you are brewing indoors). This will allow you to do a bigger batch than your kettle size will allow. You simply sparge with the additional batch volume you can't fit in your kettle and then combine the sparge and boil in the fermenter to complete the batch volume. Be careful with this, as this could also hurt your efficiency. You can check with the online calculators to ensure you do not kill your efficiency doing this.

What many BIAB brewers do isn't a true sparge in the sense of batch or fly sparging methods. Rather, they do a modified sparge by allowing the grain bag to drain by hanging the bag over the pot after mashing. You can try this by hand, and some brewers rig up a pulley system to hold the bag in place while it drains. This is actually a pretty smart idea as the grain bag can weigh 10 pounds or more, which can be a lot of weight to hold onto for 10 minutes or more.

If you are indoors, you likely won't have too heavy a grain bag, but you can always suspend it over the pot by anchoring the top of the bag in a cabinet, or tie to the door handle of the microwave if you have one above the stove. No matter what, go ahead and give your bag a squeeze to get out all those sugars. The point of the drain and squeeze is to get out all of those valuable sugars and get them into your wort. This is yet another way to maximize efficiency.

Many BIAB brewers will do what is known as a dunk sparging. Heat up a couple gallons of water in a separate pot, then after draining the grain bag place it in the sparge water for 10 minutes or so, then remove the bag once again. This water is then added to the kettle. Once you have completed mashing and any sparging, you are ready to boil. Keep in mind, you can go directly from mash to boil if you like, and this is the true way to BIAB home brewing.

At this point, you boil as normal, and add your hops at the appropriate time. Then, cool, pitch and ferment. This process makes all grain home brewing easier, faster and less equipment to clean afterwards. It is still all grain home brewing, it's just a simplified version and a great way to introduce all grain home brewing to more people than would otherwise have tried it for whatever limitations they had. It is great that you can try all grain home brewing without having to go "all out" and purchase any additional equipment, other than a grain bag.

After you have some home brewing experience behind you, you may start looking to get into all grain home brewing. Going all grain adds many new additions to the basic home brewing process and set up. There is additional equipment that you need to purchase, and water volume and temperature play an important role as well. There are also additional steps to take in the process. However, all grain home brewing offers you a wider variety of ingredients you can utilize, and it allows you to have more control over the final product.

Brewing from grains (as opposed to extracts) will produce better, more flavorful beer. The process involves some math, and it is very important to make sure that you use the proper amount of water for mashing and sparging, and that the temperatures of the water used for both processes are correct and accurate. All of this is done to ensure you maximize the efficiency, getting the maximum amount of sugars from the grains. The better your efficiency, the better your beer. Plus, the better efficiency you have, the better value you get from the money you spend on the grains.

Many all grain brewers have elaborate home brewing equipment set ups, building brewing stands and buying higher powered propane burners to speed up the brewing day. All grain requires additional equipment such as a mash tun, hot liquor tank, which along with the brew kettle are known as a three vessel set up. There are also additional pieces of equipment needed for all grain home brewing. All of this can be intimidating to the new brewer, and often poses to great an expense in order to make the leap.

Many home brewers live in an apartment and simply do not have the space for additional equipment. In addition, indoor stoves do not have the power to boil the larger volumes of liquid common to all grain brewing. However, as often is the case in home brewing, there is another way. There is a version of all grain home brewing called BIAB: Brew In A Bag. This is still all grain brewing, but it is a simplified version that offers many advantages to traditional all grain brewing.

The main difference is that all of the water for the brew (known as the liquor) is added all at once as opposed to in stages, and the entire brewing process happens in one pot. With the BIAB method, you do not need any additional equipment to all grain brew, other than the grain bag. You can purchase a material called voile, and make an extremely durable bag.

Alternatively, you can purchase one online. Or, go to the local hardware or home supply store and purchase paint strainer bags. You can also purchase the larger winemaking bags. Whichever way you choose, you are looking at a minimal expense to usher you into the world of all grain home brewing.

The BIAB home brewing method was created in Australia some years ago, and it has just started to recently catch on in the United States. There are some home brewing snobs that look down on BIAB as an inferior method to traditional all grain home brewing, but there are also many former traditional all grain brewers that have made the switch. I will explain the pros and cons of the BIAB method in greater detail in another article, but for this one I am focusing on the basic process.

There are many ways you can add on to the process, but for now, let's focus on the basic BIAB process. The basic idea behind the BIAB method is to be able to brew an entire all grain batch in one pot. Having a second pot handy can be helpful, but is not necessary to the BIAB method. You can even choose to mash in a converted cooler mash tun if you like. But again, the basic BIAB process only requires one pot and nothing else besides a bag.

 If you are home brewing indoors, then you will have certain limitations. If you have a propane tank and can brew outdoors, then the only limitation you will have is the size of your brew kettle. Higher gravity beers require larger grain bills, as do larger batches of beer. Typically with extract and partial mash beers you are brewing 5 gallon batches. With all grain, you may brew batches as large as 5.5 gallons, 7 gallons, 10 gallons or even larger. You have to account for the amount of grain, as well as the proper amount of water required. Obviously, if your kettle holds 6 gallons, you won't be able to do 10 gallon batches.

However, you could split a 10 gallon batch into seperate batches, but that will require a little math and a longer brew day, which is opposite to the theory behind BIAB brewing. But then again, the choice is yours. For now, let's just stick to brewing in one pot with 5 gallon batches. The point of BIAB brewing is to KISS--Keep It Simple, Stupid).

The first step is to get the recipe you want to brew and to make sure that it is for the same size batch you intend to brew. If it isn't, you will need to do some calculations and convert it to the size you will be brewing. In other words, if you have a 10 gallon recipe and will be making 5 gallons, you will need to convert the recipe accordingly.

You next need to determine how much water is needed for your batch. A simple formula is to take the amount of grains X .10 + the boil off (evaporation) + batch size + trub loss = the amount of water needed. A somewhat standard measure is to use 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain for mashing.

You can find online calculators at sites like Beersmith or Green Bay Rackers to help you figure the amount of water you will need. This is important not only to maximize efficiency, but because with the BIAB method, you are doing the mashing and boil in the same pot. You need to make sure your pot is big enough to hold the complete volume. Keep in mind that you will be boiling this entire volume, so you have to account for some space in your pot so you do not have a boilover.

 

Stay Tuned For Part 2....

In the beer brewing process , racking your beer to a keg is a much easier as opposed to bottling it, which is why so many home brewers decide to keg their beer as opposed to bottling. Some home brewers choose to purge their keg with CO2 before racking their beer into it in order to remove all oxygen to avoid oxidizing the beer. Others bypass this step and rack directly to the keg.

 It is important when racking to use a tube that will reach the bottom of the keg and to keep the tube submerged below the surface of the beer as it is draining to avoid splashing and aerating. Once you have completed the transfer, you will want to replace the sanitized keg lid onto the keg and seal it. Whether you purged the keg initially or not prior to racking, you will need to purge the headspace of any oxygen with CO2 before pressurizing.

Some kegs have pressure relief valves which makes this process easier. The process is simple. You simply allow the CO2 to flow into your keg for about 30 seconds, while leaving the pressure release valve open, then shut off the gas. If the keg you are using does not have this release valve, then you can leave the lid unsealed to allow the keg to vent. This process only takes a minute or so, and once completed, you are ready to carbonate your beer.

The method most brewers use is the forced carbonation method. This process is as simple as connecting your CO2 tank to your keg and blowing gas into it. One way to force carbonate is to lay your keg across your lap and roll and shake the keg in order to allow in as much CO2 as possible. If the keg is standing upright as you fill with gas, there won't be as much surface area of the beer to absorb the CO2. As a result, your beer will not be properly carbonated and will be flat.

As you continue to blow gas into the keg, you will hear the gas bubbling inside the keg. At some point, no matter how much you shake or roll the keg, you will no longer hear the bubbling and you will know that you are done. Your beer will have absorbed as much CO2 as possible. It is a good idea to let your keg rest a while and settle before you try to pour your first beer.

 Search online and you can find a chart that will show you how much pressure (measured in psi) you will need for your beer. The amount varies depending on storage temperature and style of beer. The colder the beer, the less pressure you will need to force carbonate it. The amount needed varies, as there is no one perfect setting. However, just keep in mind that there are certain guidelines to help you ensure that you properly carbonate your beer.

An easier method is to refer to the carbonation chart and find the amount of pressure you need to achieve the proper amount of carbonation. Then you simply set your tank at the right psi and forget about it. Within a couple days your beer will be fully saturated with CO2. It helps to shake or roll the keg a few times to speed up the process. While this method is easier, it does take a little longer.

A good beer brewing tip is to have some soapy water on hand and spray it on the connections, lid and hoses. This will help you identify any leaks in your equipment. The last thing you want to do is to set your pressure and forget it for a couple days, only to return and find that you have a leak. All of your gas escaped and didn't make it into your beer. You now have flat beer and an empty CO2 tank.

As you research beer brewing and kegging your home brew, you will see a term used again and again: Cornelieus Keg, also referred to as "corny" kegs. Just what exactly are these?

Typically home brewers use smaller kegs than the ones you may be used to seeing. The typical kegs from commercial breweries for use in bars and restaurants are the 15.5 gallon sized kegs. While you can certainly choose to use these, most home brewers instead use the smaller 5 gallon size kegs known as Cornelius Kegs. These kegs offer the home brewer many advantages.

First, a typical home brew batch is 5 gallons, so the larger kegs are not necessary. Plus, moving and storing a 5 gallon keg is much more convenient than the larger kegs. If you have a converted chest freezer that you are using for your kegerator, it is nearly impossible to lift a full 15.5 gallon keg in order to drop it in from the top. The smaller kegs allow for you to store a variety of home beers to have on tap. Plus, you can fit more kegs into a smaller kegerator to save on space. You can store up to 3 or 4 corny kegs in a freezer as small as 5.5 to 7 cubic feet. Finally, the corny kegs are much cheaper than the larger ones.

Cornelius kegs get their name from the original manufacturer of them, the Cornelius Company originally out of Annoka, Minnesota. The canisters were originally designed for soda companies as a means to distribute their sodas in restaurants. However, in recent years the soda companies have switched to using soda mixes in plastic bags encased in cardboard boxes for restaurant distribution. This has resulted in many Cornelius kegs that are no longer in use. But their loss is the home brewers gain.

One advantage of the Cornelius keg is the fact that all the sizes and shapes of the fittings are standardized, so finding replacement parts is easy. Since there are many of them out there, they are perfect to recondition and use for beer brewing purposes. There are other companies that make corny kegs, so finding them isn't too difficult. You can purchase one new, or look around to find one that is used. Chances are that there is a soda distributor in your town, and you can talk with them to see if they have any old cornys available to sell.

 Corny kegs come with two types of valves, ball lock and pin lock. These locks indicate the type of method used to couple the hose fittings to the valves. It is an important tip to know that the fittings are not interchangeable, so it is best to make sure that when you purchase additional corny kegs that you buy the same type of valves in order to avoid confusion.

It isn't a bad idea to start with two kegs. That way, you can always have a back up batch of brew ready to go, and have a constant pipeline of home brew at all times. Of course, as you get sucked into beer brewing, you may find that you want to have several kegs available so you can have a variety of home brews on tap.

Now that you have jumped in to home brewing, you have hit the point that you want to make the jump to kegging your beer. Besides the kegs themselves, what other equipment do you need to get started?

First, you need a place to store your kegs. This place needs to be somewhere that you can hold your kegs and maintain the proper, constant temperature. Kegerators are a great option since these are specifically designed for beer distribution. Professional kegerators are built for use in restaurants and bars, so they are built to be tough and to last. The only drawback is that they are expensive. You can search local restaurant supply stores or craigslist and usually find some used kegerators. However, even the used kegerators will still cost a good bit of money, anywhere from a few hundred dollars up to a thousand dollars.

 Because of this, most home brewers choose to go the do it yourself route. If you already have an old fridge or freezer, then you already have the perfect makings of your very own kegerator.  You will need to purchase a conversion kit because fridges and freezers aren't designed to be used as kegerators. However, they can be easily converted. If you do not have an extra fridge or freezer already, it isn't that difficult to hunt one down. You can look at home supply stores for sales or slightly damaged models, Goodwill, E bay, craigslist or even try yard sales. Perhaps one of your friends or neighbors has one they aren't using.

You can also opt to buy a new freezer at the home supply store. These make perfect keg boxes for home brewers and aren't too expensive brand new--you can usually find ones that are perfect for home brewing purposes for around $300 or less. The main thing you will need for the conversion is a temperature control kit. This will ensure that you maintain the proper temperature for storing your beer.

You will also need to purchase a CO2 tank and regulator to carbonate your beer. The regulator helps you dispense your beer at the proper pressure and temperature, and will also let you know when you are getting low on CO2. Next, you will need hoses and connections. You need to connect your CO2 tank to the kegs and faucets.

Finally, you will need to be able to dispense your beer via a tap. You can opt for a tower tap system, or you can simply attach taps to your kegerator. A cheaper option still is to use what are known as picnic taps, which are hoses attached to the kegs with a dispenser on the end. If you have ever been to a keg party, then this is what was used to dispense beer. They don't look as cool as actual taps, but they get the job done. This whole set up will set you back anywhere from a few hundred dollars upwards and even over a thousand.

 It really comes down to a matter of personal preference and how fancy you want your set up. Be sure to look at online home brewing supply shops as well as home brewing forums. You will find complete kegging equipment to get you up and running, and at the forums you will find many different do it yourself kegerators that can save you money and get you to kegging your home brew much faster and cheaper.

Typically in home brewing, if you are just starting you will likely bottle your first batches of beer. Many home brewers at some point take the plunge and opt to keg their beer. Kegging offers many advantages over bottling, but new brewers do not start with kegging because it requires specialized equipment with extra costs to get up and running.

 One great thing about home brewing is the fact that you can get started in this hobby relatively cheaply, without too great of an initial expense. However, to get started kegging your home brew, it will require some money initially. For many people, they simply want to try home brewing first as cheaply and easily as possible to determine if this is a hobby that they will want to continue to do. It does not require a lot of money to get started, just a simple starter kit and the first batch of ingredients. However, many people find that after a few batches they are hooked and then are looking for ways to enhance their home brewing experience. This is when they start looking into kegging their home brew.

Once you have the equipment in place, kegging offers many advantages over bottling. First, bottling can be a more difficult way to store and serve your beer versus kegging. You have to clean and sanitize each and every bottle. You also must have the storage space to store all of the bottles. A typical 5 gallon batch of beer requires at least 50 12 oz bottles, and one way or another you must purchase these bottles, as well as the bottle caps and capper. Fortunately, many of the starter kits will include these items. However, you still have to actually perform the task of bottling and capping, as well as storing the bottles.

You also must prime your beer and allow it to carbonate for a few weeks before you can enjoy the fruits of your labor. On the other hand, kegs offer an easier way to enjoy your beer. You simply rack the beer from the fermenter directly into your keg. You can prime your beer in the keg itself, although this will still require a few weeks wait while the beer carbonates. Instead, most home brewers that keg purchase a CO2 tank for carbonation. This is what is known as forced carbonation.

This allows you to condition your beer in just a couple days, and then you can enjoy drinking your beer quicker. Another advantage of forced carbonation is the fact that you control the amount of carbonation. With bottles, it is possible to over carbonate or under carbonate your beer, which can result in either bottle bombs or flat beer.

To get started kegging, you will need to purchase some specialized equipment including the kegs themselves. You need a place to store the kegs, which can be a kegerator, or a converted freezer or fridge. This will wind up being an initial expense ranging from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand. Forunately, the costs associated with kegging are primarily upfront costs, so you can quickly recoup your investment.

Plus, it is cool to have beer ready to go at any given time. And this is another advantage of kegging: you will be the envy of your friends. How cool will you be to have delicious home brews on hand at all times, ready to enjoy? The only big drawback to kegging is that it isn't easy to transport your home brew. Taking along a 12 pack in bottles is much easier, although you have to still keep track of the bottles to reuse them.

However, just because you keg doesn't mean you can't also bottle your beer. After all, you will still have the bottles around. This makes transporting beer and giving home brew as gifts much easier, and offers you the best of both worlds. Once you have some home brewing experience under your belt, you may decide to take the leap and keg your beer. It really isn't that difficult to do, and can be a much better alternative to bottling.

As you research and learn about home brewing, it is important to know that there is no one set way to go about it. There are some steps of the brewing and fermenting process that must be followed properly in order to make beer. However, part of the appeal of home brewing is the fact that there are a wide variety of beer styles, recipes, ingredients and brewing methods to make beer.

You can learn a lot about the home brewing process by visiting a local beer supply store, home brewing websites and forums online, and by visiting local home brewing club meetings in your town. One of the greatest benefits of home brewing is the social aspect, and you can end up having a notebook full of ideas for beer batches. You will likely have enough ideas to keep you occupied for months, and you may never run out of ideas for new approaches, recipes, and styles of home made beers for yourself and to share with family and friends.

If you are just getting started with home brewing, one of the best ways to start with minimal investment is to start with an all-in-one beer machine. This takes up minimal space, is cheap and less messy. Beer machines simplify the process of home brewing, and allow you to test the hobby out to see if it is something you will enjoy for years to come. The machine comes with a set of ingredients for one batch of beer, and the equipment is automated so the rookie brewer move through the brewing and fermenting process with ease, and be able to enjoy home made beer a few weeks later. Equipment kits are another way to get started, for a little more of an investment. These are perfect if you are certain you want to enjoy home brewing for years to come, and a basic kit has everything you need to get started home brewing. You can upgrade or add on other equipment as you go along, and these kits will give you years of usage. You can always continue to brew using the beer machines, and many brewers do so. But, after a few batches, you may decide to upgrade to a kit.

Even experienced home brewers can try new challenges. There are many options for the method of brewing beer, and each variation gives the brewer more flexibility and choices that will affect the final beer. Each method involves a little more effort in the process, so it is best to research them in advance so that you are familiar with the requirements of these methods.

For beginners, it is common to start with the extract brewing method. Actually, you will start with ingredient kits, a simplified form of extract brewing. But, if you extract brew using recipes as opposed to kits, you can still produce great beers. You still can control what style of beer you brew, as well as the flavor profile and characteristics you desire.

You can continue with extract brewing for some time, and many brewers only extract brew. But many brewers look for another challenge, and desire to make a wider range of beer styles and flavors. They next try steeping, partial mash brewing, and all grain brewing. Each is a little more complex and take longer to complete the brewing process. But each offers more flexibility in making beer, and allows the brewer greater control over the final beer flavor and characteristic profile. It is up to you where to start, as well as what path you take along the way. You can learn a lot about home brewing by networking with other brewers. But you will probably not get bored with home brewing because there are so many ways to make great beer at home.

Assembling the equipment and the ingredients to make beer is a cut and dried operation.  The process of  home brewing  isn't really a mystery.  That is one of the reasons that home brewing has become so popular.  Because you can get set up to brew beer at home with a relatively low investment in equipment and ingredients, it's easy to get started on home brewing  your own beer.  And when you finish that first batch and it is stored away to be sampled in a few weeks, the excitement that you soon will be drinking your own beer is a unique feeling and one you want to repeat often.

Once you have confirmed that you can indeed make beer, the next question comes up is - can you make GOOD beer?   When you tasted that first batch, you were pretty excited because it really was beer.  But you may have noticed some aspects of the beer you would like to improve.  The beer may have been too bitter or have too strong a hops flavor.  The clarity of the beer may have been imperfect or you could see stuff floating around in your beer. 

But these flaws are acceptable at first because they drive you to want to become a better beer maker.  You want your beer to be so flavorful and enjoyable to drink that your guests say its as good or better than store bought beer and that it even lives up to the quality at the local brew pub.  That’s a tall order but part of the fun of home brewing is to strive for those goals.  To get there, some of the tricks that the old pros of home brewing know will help a lot.  Some of their wisdom can help you move from a rookie beer maker into the ranks of people and actually know what they are doing.

Most recipes for home brewing call for making a batch of five gallons of beer.  That's a lot of beer.  So sometimes home brewers try to cut the batch to make less beer.  It's done with good intent.  It's hard to store five gallons of beer.  And if you don't drink your own beer up pretty fast (or give it away), the beer can go stale or bad which is hard to watch happen to "your" beer.   But old pros tell us don't cut the batch and go ahead and make beer up five gallons at a time.  You need that quantity to get the full value out of the brewing process.  And it's hard to adjust the recipes for a smaller batch which means that there is a good chance you will end up with a beer that does not have the right balance of malt, hops and yeast.  The outcome can be a beer that is difficult or impossible to drink and it all gets thrown out.  Better to make five gallons of good beer than three gallons of undrinkable brew.

The more you study and learn about beer making, the better you will become at home brewing.  Don't just go from the instructions that come with the equipment.  Sink your teeth into learning all you can.  The beer you make will benefit from the homework you do.  And you will have more fun too.

Just as it's not advisable to cut the size of any batch of home made beer you produce, also avoid cutting corners in terms of time or clean up.  Sometimes it seems that boiling the beer in progress which is called the "wort" for an hour to an hour and a half seems like a lot.  But the long boiling time helps the ingredients mesh in just the right way.  It also boils off bad elements of the mixture that you don't want in the beer and it brings out the flavors of the malt, the grains and the hops so you are getting the best of those ingredients.  Finally, don’t be worried about being too fussy about cleanliness.  Keeping your boiling pots and fermentation tanks absolutely clean and sterile assures that nothing will get into the beer except that pure wort that you so carefully brewed. So go ahead and be fussy.  The beer you make will be better if you are.