The process of making a hop drink from these products is quite complicated, it is very difficult to make it at home. As an alternative raw material for the production of products, beer mixtures were invented, which are currently actively produced on an industrial scale.
General product description
It’s worth starting with the fact that anyone who is fond of this type of activity knows for sure that for the production of such a drink only 4 ingredients are needed - malt, hops, brewer's yeast, and drinking water. Beer mix is a dry extract of three main components. In other words, it contains dry malt, yeast and hops. All this is presented in powder form. The dosage of the components in the mixture will determine what kind of beer will be obtained as a result - light, dark, soft, bitter, etc.
When purchasing a beer mix for a mini-brewery, it is necessary to take into account the capacity of the vessel, as well as how much the package is designed for.
Dark Variety Manufacturers
Currently, there are several companies whose products are one of the most popular. Among manufacturers of dark beers, such well-known companies have become: American Brown Ale, Stout, Canadian Red Lager.
The first name is a mixture from an American manufacturer, the basis of which is dehydrated malt. This component gives the drink a caramel flavor as well as a slight bitterness. The finished product, which is made on the basis of this extract, is recommended to be used at a temperature of 10 to 12 degrees Celsius.
The second copy is the Irish version. Most often, beer, which is made on the basis of this beer mixture, differs in that it has a pleasant coffee or chocolate flavor. Such a drink can be found even in pubs, where it is served under nitrogen gas, which makes its foam creamy.
The latest products are manufactured by a Canadian company and are intended for the manufacture of unusual red beer. A distinctive feature of this extract is that in its consistency it resembles a cream, and also has a caramel red hue. This beer mixture is considered one of the best.
Pros and minus of raw materials. Domestic production
Of the undoubted advantages of this product, several points can be distinguished:
- the process of preparing a drink is very simple;
- high availability of raw materials;
- low cost of goods obtained on the basis of the mixture;
- wide range of.
Of the shortcomings of the mixtures, it is quite noticeable that they are tied to a certain type of brewery.
If we talk about domestic production, then it is important to talk about one detail. Manufacturers are engaged in the manufacture of not only dry raw materials, but also liquid malt. To understand the difference, it is worth knowing one fact - you can use liquid malt not only for beer production, but also for making homemade whiskey. In addition, since there are no company expenses on delivery from abroad, it will not be difficult to buy beer mixes in Moscow or any other city, and the cost will be much lower than that of imported goods.
DIY product manufacturing
Naturally, before you start manufacturing, you need to buy a brewery. The most common products were Mr. Beer products. The characteristics of this device are almost ideally suited for home-made production of a hop drink. The process itself takes from 14 to 21 days.
After the brand of the beer mixture has been selected, it must be dissolved in 5 liters of drinking water, which will be heated to a temperature of 40-50 degrees Celsius. Next, thoroughly mix the composition, and pour the resulting suspension into a barrel. After this, it is necessary to add as much cold water so that it reaches the reference mark available on the barrel. At the same time, brewer's yeast is added. Next, the resulting mixture in a barrel should be stored for a day in a dark and dry place with a temperature of 22 to 23 degrees.
It is important to know that the duration of the fermentation will depend on the quality and type of the mixture itself. If the extract is stored incorrectly, negative fermentation of the drink will occur. In order to return to normal fermentation of intoxicating liquid, you must either add more brewer's yeast or slightly increase the temperature of the wort. It is possible to determine whether a drink is ready by its appearance. When the fermentation process is over, the beer will be considered ready. After that, the resulting liquid can be subjected to filtration, saturating it with CO 2 . After that, the product is bottled. In these containers, the ripening process is carried out.
Mixtures of Inpinto and COOPERS
Inpinto Beer Blend is a product manufactured by Lion, a New Zealand company. It is worth noting that the company is considered one of the world leaders in the production of such mixtures. Using malt extracts from this company, it is possible to produce such drinks as Czech, German, Irish, English, Belgian.
COOPERS beer mix is also a worthy competitor. This company made sure that the buyer could find out about the color, as well as the bitterness of the product by the inscriptions on the package. Each batch has a specific parameter that corresponds to the color and bitterness that can be obtained using 1 kg of product. In order to determine this quantity, it is necessary to multiply the value of color or bitterness by the amount to be diluted. The response received is divided by the volume of beer to be produced. For example, the color is 90 EBC, which means 90 * 1.7 / 23, where 1.7 kg is the mass of the dry mix, and 23 l is the volume of the brewery.
What you should know about the mixture
There are several nuances that you need to know before you start cooking. The use of dry extract is justified only for the production of a hop drink in equipment with a small capacity, which is not designed for the process of cooking and mashing of malt. It is also very important to know that one of the key elements that affects the final taste of a product is water. The taste of the drink also greatly depends on its quality. The best option used in the manufacture of beer is bottled water.
How to choose?
Naturally, when choosing a dry mixture, you must first give preference to one that will correspond to the taste preferences of the buyer. The components of the product influence the formation of taste. The primary raw material that affects the formation of taste is malt. The type of beer will depend on the type of this ingredient. For example, if you need to get dark beer, then you need to look for fried, black, chocolate, etc. type of malt. The "breed" of yeast also plays a very important role. Depending on this parameter, the fermentation process will change, which will also in its own way affect the formation of the final taste of the product. The type of fermentation can be upstream or downstream.
Reviews about beer mixes are very different, but most of them are still positive. For example, some people noticed that if you lower the fermentation temperature of Mr. Beer mix from 22-23 degrees to 18, then the taste is much better, but the duration is increased by a week. If we talk about, say, COOPERS mixtures, here, too, users noted a good taste, a light shade, as well as the precipitation of yeast in a small precipitate.