Home Brewing for the Beginner Essay Example for Free

Home Brewing for the Beginner Essay Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the process of Brewing Beer at Home Central Idea: Millions of people drink beer everyday but are oblivious to the brewing process and the ease of making their own. Introduction: Knowledge is Power, Availability, Style, Main Points Main Points: I. Preparation II. Brewing III. Fermentation and Bottling Conclusion: Main Points, Taste Preference, Advanced Techniques (Cheap) An introduction to the Home Brewing process. Today I will be informing you about the fascinating process of brewing beer that millions of individuals enjoy as a hobby as well as a profession all over the world. Brewing beer has become big business for companies like Anheuser Busch and Yuengling. The days of prohibition are over and knowledge is power so being informed is the first step to beginning any hobby. Aside from rare common problems that all brewers experience, this hobby is completely legal, inexpensive, simple, and tastes great! 5 Gallon batches typically range between 20 and 25 dollars, so it’s light on the wallet. As your skills develop, you can create recipes which will produce beers custom designed to your particular tastes and preferences. The main points I will be covering are preparation, brewing, and lastly Fermentation and bottling. Preparation is key to brewing since this will be the phase that determines the quality and clarity of the beer that you brew. In this phase you will be selecting the ingredients, assembling and sanitizing the equipment. When picking out ingredients you can get all the assistance you need from a local brew shop, online, and books such as clone brew that have detailed recipes and instructions to make your favorite beer. Only 4 ingredients are required to make beer ; malted barley (grains), hops, yeast, and water. At this stage in the process, all the equipment you need is a brew pot, fermenting bucket, airlock, and a long-handed spoon. It’s extremely necessary to sanitize all you equipment with an acid based cleaner at this point to prevent contamination. Once you’ve completed your preparation it’s time to start the boil of the ingredients. Almost all home brew recipe s make 5 gallons of beer but you will only have to boil 2.5. The remaining amount of fresh water gets added later. Your specific recipe will tell you how long to steep your grains or how much malt extract to use. The boil usually takes an hour to complete and the hops are usually added towards the end of the boil. After you have boiled your ingredients you now have what is called wort. The first thing you have to do after the boil is set the brewpot containing the wort in a sink or cooler filled with ice. You want the wort cooled down to 70 degrees Fahrenheit as soon as you can. Chilling the wort rapidly is beneficial because it reduces risk of contamination, improve clarity, and so the yeast can start the next phase once it is added. A wort chiller is a copper coil that was designed to help with this task specifically. After the wort has been chilled below 70 degrees it is time to move the beer into a fermentation bucket adapted with a top that features an airlock. Enough fresh water is then added to the wort so that the specific gravity matches the initial gravity value your recipe calls for. Sprinkle the yeast packet on the top and seal the lid on top of the fermenter. That’s it! Over the next 24 hours your wort should begin the fermentation process and over the course of the next week it will ferment. Fermentation will be apparent when the airlock is bubbling. After the fermentation is complete, it is time to bottle the brew. A local brew shop can help you with the supplies needed for this and the procedure to ensure carbonation takes place over the next 3-4 weeks. After the waiting period is over its ready to drink! Today I informed you on the preparation, brewing, and the fermentation of making beer. Making beer is a truly rewarding and exciting hobby! Most people who drink beer havent got the chance to try the many styles that beer has to offer. If you are serious about brewing I would suggest going to a local specialty store and trying out some stouts, pale ales, and porters. You may be surprised to find one that hits the pallet just right. Taking your bottles to club meetings, entering them in competitions, and asking your local homebrew retailer to taste and comment are all good ways to have your beers evaluated. Happy Brewing!