mardi 4 octobre 2016

Did You Know The Home Brew Ingredients?

By Martha Ellis


Preparation of beer locally is popular in many parts of the country. Many people like the home made beer because it does not contain chemicals which are used in commercial brewing. There are different types of home brew ingredients, and each plays a unique role.

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.

When making malts, the grains are allowed to sprout partially. They are then heated up inside a kiln or oven to stop the germination process. This is done to remove starches from them. The carbohydrates are converted into sugar. During the process of fermentation, yeast feed on the sugar.

A big percentage of beer is composed of water. Beer does not need special water. Therefore the water from the tap will just be fine as long as it is safe for drinking. Of importance to note is that hard water and soft water have different effects on the brew. With time, you can try adding some minerals to the water to know these effects. However, for beginning brewers, there is no need to worry about water hardness.

Usually, the liquor has some degree of bitterness and sweetness well balanced. Hops flowers do the balancing. It is their green buds which are responsible for the balancing. Furthermore, they add flavors and aroma and make the beer stay for long before going bad.

Hops flowers are composed of two substances; resins and oils. The role of resins is to provide the bitter taste while oils provide sweet smell and taste. Different hops varieties have got a varying amount of resins thus varying the degree of bitterness.

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.

Yeast is available as liquid yeast or dry yeast. The dry ones are usually in foil pouches and resemble the powdered yeast used for bread baking. An unopened packet of these dry yeast can last for many months when kept in a drawer or even years when kept in a refrigerator. Liquid yeast has poor keeping quality thus goes bad very quickly even when kept in a refrigerator.




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