Drew Brown asked:


There are a lot of people out there that will know the feeling of drinking a glass of wine or beer and at the same time thinking “What if I could make a nice drink like this myself?”. If your next thought was that you could be saving some money then your mind could not be more right. Most people quickly forget that because they think it is hard to make your own wine and beer, years ago that was true but nowadays that is no longer the case then anyone can buy a beer or wine kit that you use at home, which is all you need to get ready and create your next glass of beer or wine at home.

Beer or wine kit at home, the pros

For first time users such a kit is perfect and makes it really easy. There is, almost, no exception, anyone can make beer or wine with one of these kits then they have everything you need, all the ingredients are there and of course, the much needed instructions. Before you know it you will be creating your own beer and wine of high quality without breaking a real sweat thinking about the fact that this is the first time you undertake such an effort.

One of the other big pros of making your own wine or beer is the matter of the costs you will have. If you calculate the costs and look at the bottom line you will see that it is a lot cheaper to brew your own then to buy at the store.

The last advantage I would like to mention here is that when you see how easy it is to use a home kit you may as well start to see the beginning of a new hobby that could become a very lucrative one. Once you start to get the hang of it and hear from friends and relatives that your home brewing is really tasting great then you might even start to consider starting a micro-home-business and start complementing your income with some extra cash.

Beer or wine kit at home, the cons

If there are pros then it is almost inevitable that there are cons and one of the major ones is that if you only use a beer or wine kit at home you may never learn the traditional way of doing these things. And if you want to start your own business you may need to learn the traditional ways so you can create your own brand. One of the other cons is that when you stick to the wine and beer kits you can only use the variations that the kit supplier gives you.

So looking at the pros and cons of using such a beer or wine kit at home the conclusion should be that if you ever have the thought of creating the next glass of wine or beer all by yourself that you should use such a kit. If only to show that you can really create it at home. If you start to use the kits more and more then you might consider picking up a few books and looking at some web sites to start doing it with the raw ingredients and start making your own flavors.



ESTER

Brad P Newman asked:


s quite so satisfying to the taste as one you\’ve brewed yourself. Brewing beer is also a fun hobby. What are you waiting for? Let\’s get started.

You\’re going to need some equipment. It\’s not hard to find, and shouldn\’t cost too much to pick up. You\’ll find everything you need at any local brewing store or online brewing site. Here\’s a list:

Small bowl

Bottle brush

Saucepan

Bottling bucket

Airlock and stopper

Spatula

Oven gloves

Wooden mixing spoons

Brewing Pot

Plastic hose

Fermenter

Bottle capper

Thermometer – the stick-on type is best

But – it\’s much easier, especially if you\’re new to this, to pick up a microbrew kit. It will include everything you need, all the brewing ingredients, including hopped malt concentrate and brewers yeast powder, and fermentables, which are what you need to produce your desired flavor of beer. It\’s possible to get everything separately, but a self-contained kit is much more convenient.

The equipment will need to be sanitized. In fact, this is one of the most important steps in producing a decent beer. Everything needs to be cleaned with hot, soapy water. Then the equipment should be sanitized using either the chlorine solution or iodine solution which came with the kit. Even better, and more environmentally friendly, is sanitizer which contains Sodium Percarbonate – as effective as chlorine but without leaving the problematic residue of bleach.

Once everything is sterilized, we are ready to begin. Two quarts of water go into the brew pot. Heat the water until it begins to steam – around 180F. Remove from heat. Add the beer kit and fermentables. Follow the instructions that came with the kit.

Stir the brew until everything is dissolved, then put the lid on and leave it to sit for ca twenty minutes on a low heat. Fill the fermenter with four gallons of water and add the mix, known as the wort. Stir this for four minutes to oxygenize the mixture. Once the wort is cool to the touch, the yeast can be added.

Now the wort needs to ferment. The fermentation process continues for five days. During fermentation it\’s important to keep the temperature constant, at around 65F, and the wort should also be kept in a dark place. During the fermentation process you will observe tiny air bubbles rising to the surface.

After five days you need to check the beer daily. The beer is ready to be bottled when no more air bubbles appear. It\’s very important to wait for fermentation to fully complete, so don\’t be impatient or you will ruin your beer.

Before bottling you need to prepare what is known as the primary solution. The primary solution is what carbonates the brew. Add two cups of water and three-quarters of a cup of dextrose to a saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Let it cool for thirty minutes then pour it into the bottling bucket.

Now for the bottling itself: put one end of your hose in the bottling bucket and attach the other end to the spigot on your fermenter. Open the spigot and transfer the beer to the bottling bucket. When finished, detach and clean the hose and throw away the fermenter. Each bottle should be filled leaving one inch of air at the top. Cap the bottles tightly making sure there are no leaks.

Almost there now, but it\’s still not quite ready for drinking. The bottled beer needs to be kept in a cool dark place for the second fermentation process. The fridge is too cold for this purpose. Basements are ideal, if you have one. The beer needs to sit for two more weeks before being ready to enjoy.

Well, that\’s the traditional way to do it. But it\’s really much easier to purchase a microbrewery kit which includes an all-in-one single step fermenter, conditioning vessel, and dispenser apparatus. No need for bottling – the beer can be tapped directly from the dispenser. And the assembled kit sits in your fridge taking up no more room than a conventional six-pack.

Cheers!

RAPHAEL