Beer Brewing at Home

Beer brewing at home isn't nearly as difficult as you probably think and will end up costing much less than buying beer at the liquor stores. There really isn't that much equipment required, and you can actually get started for somewhere around $100 if you shop around. Brewing your own beer at home ends up being a pretty fun, and rewarding experience. Not to mention the fact that you're saving money with every drink.

When you brew your own beer, there are essentially three main ingredients that you will be using. Anything you do on top of these will be to help flavor the beer and give it the properties that you desire.

The first ingredient that you're going to purchase is water. Now, you may be wondering why you can't just use tap water. The problem with using tap water is that the city adds all kinds of chemicals and minerals to the water, and some of them may affect the way your beer tastes. When you use distilled water then you know you're getting the same product every time, and you will know exactly what to expect. In the end, you'll be much happier with your beer if you just avoid the tap water.

When you have your water, you're going to add to it some type of Malt Extract. This part is important, because this is where you define the type of beer that you are making. Different malt extracts will yield much different flavors, because of the type of malt that they are created with. Certain extracts will be used to create lagers, ales, pilsners, etc. Choose a high quality malt extract and your beer will certainly benefit from it, as will you.

The final ingredient to your first batch of brew is the yeast. This is different than the yeast that is used for bread making, but it essentially does the same thing. The yeast is actually a living organism, and is responsible for creating the alcohol in your beer. It actually eats the sugar in the malt extract, and creates alcohol, as well as the carbon dioxide for carbonating your beer.

As you can see, beer brewing at home is probably a lot simpler than you thought it would be. With just a little money and a lot of creativity you can come up with some incredible libations that your friends will envy. Finally, don't forget to experiment. That's how some of the best drinks were made, so just have fun.