Home brewing in recent years has become increasingly popular in Russia. The quality of store beer has long been poor. Foam drink lovers are more likely to prefer live draft beers. And true connoisseurs are ready to spend their time and energy to cook it at home - according to their own wishes and preferences.
The tradition of home brewing
Customs at home brewing beer appeared in Russia. Initially, it was a drink that everyone made for himself. Most often, beer was brewed on holidays in the large house of the village headman. For all components, money was collected in a fold. Also, beer was prepared in Orthodox monasteries or in the estates of landowners, but also in the home way.
The production of beer for mass consumption, the so-called factory beer , arose only in the XVIII century, during the reign of Peter I. Beer in large volumes began to be brewed for the army and navy - this was an obligatory attribute of their diet. In the XIX century, the first breweries began to appear . They already resembled modern ones, and some work to this day.
Production technology
Despite its popularity and affordability, beer is considered one of the most difficult in the production of alcoholic beverages. The main stages are as follows. First you need to get malt. For this, cereals, usually barley, are soaked and germinated. At this time, enzymes arise in them that can turn into sugar, which is consumed by yeast, so alcohol and carbon dioxide are obtained.
In the second stage, the malt is crushed and dissolved in water. This process requires special temperatures, so this process is very complex and time-consuming. After the starch has turned into sugar, the resulting wort is filtered. At the last stage, it is boiled with hops, giving the desired aroma and taking care that the proteins contained in the grain precipitate. After the beer goes for fermentation.
Many production processes take a lot of time and resources, so often people prefer to make beer from concentrate at home. The concentrate is obtained by evaporating water from the wort, the resulting powder allows you to bypass many technological processes.
In our modern world, a way to make beer from concentrate at home came from the United States. Now there are about one million fans to produce a foamy drink in their kitchen. Beer concentrates reached Russia in the mid-90s of the last century.
What will be required to produce home-made beer?
Firstly, the pan. She is needed to breed concentrate for beer at home. Secondly, dishes for fermentation. Top yeast that roams at room temperature for about a week is best suited. After that, pour the beer into the bottles, adding a small amount of sugar. So the fermentation process will continue, and the beer - saturated with the necessary carbon dioxide.
Myths about home beer
There are several myths about home beer that are very common among fans of a foamy drink, but have nothing to do with reality.
Firstly, many believe that beer is brewed from powder in factories, and at home they use only natural ingredients. In fact, everything is exactly the opposite. Large companies use centuries-old beer production technologies, while private brewers usually skip many technological stages of production and make beer from concentrate at home.
Secondly, there is a misconception that live beer is not stored for a long time. However, just when you make beer from kvass concentrate at home, it gradually matures in a bottle. In this case, the shelf life of light varieties is calculated in months, and strong - in years. Of course, ideally, if you plan to store beer and not drink immediately, use glass bottles.
Homemade Beer Ingredients
For a long time in Russia there was only a limited number of beer concentrates. These were the most common - for light, dark and amber ale. The situation has fundamentally changed only in recent years. Now you can brew almost any beer from the concentrate at home. Everyone can learn recipes of different varieties. As a rule, it is easiest to get the concentrate on the Internet; there are shops in major cities - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Perm. In them you can find kits for the home brewer, which includes all the necessary equipment.
At a certain stage, true beer connoisseurs decide to abandon powder concentrates and try to brew natural beer, as is done at large enterprises. For this, it is not necessary to purchase specialized equipment (although it will be easier with it), but it will take a lot of time.
True, almost no one grows malt, it is not a problem to buy and grind it with a meat grinder or a coffee grinder.
The mashing stage is carried out in a large pan. In this case, the mixture must be stirred with a cooker and monitor the temperature. The wort is filtered through a flour sieve. If you wish, you can also purchase a special filter in which the wort will be filtered through a layer of grains, as in a factory.
Having cooked the wort with hops, you can cool the drink by placing the vessel in a bath of ice water. Protein and hops are separated at home, filtering the wort through ordinary cheesecloth.
How to become a home brewer?
Today, in the age of modern technology, home brewers began to unite in communities on social networks. Therefore, finding an experienced ally who will give practical advice to a novice beer lover is not a problem. These groups are actively discussing how to make beer from beer concentrate at home, where to buy everything you need, and how to solve the most common problems.
The oldest such community (Club of Home Brewers) appeared even during the monopoly in this market of the company Teddy Beer, specializing in the production of powder concentrate.
What kind of beer is produced at home?
This question is asked by most people who want to get beer from the concentrate at home. The feedback from experienced brewers speaks about one thing - it’s almost impossible to get it in your kitchen in a light, filtered lager that is familiar to us from store beer. At home, it is much easier to brew beer varieties, popular in the middle of the century before last.
After American hops began to be sold in large quantities in Russia, English or Indian light ales began to be popular. As well as classic German wheat, white Belgian. Most of these species can hardly be attributed to any specific varieties, therefore, the scope for creativity at the home brewer is very wide. You can experiment with all the ingredients until you determine
how to make beer at home, the recipe of which you will like most.
Of course, it is best for beginner brewers to start with concentrates and only then move on to a more complex level - to engage in grain brewing.
Step-by-step instruction
There is nothing complicated in getting beer from the concentrate at home. However, you must strictly follow all the recommendations, and most importantly - be patient.
About a week will be spent on the fermentation of wort at room temperature using special brewer's yeast. At the same time, alcohol and carbon dioxide are produced.
The resulting product must be poured into sealed vessels and add sugar syrup. Thus, the process of secondary fermentation begins. At this stage, natural carbon dioxide is formed. It will take another week, the temperature should also be room temperature.
Then the drink should be infused in a cool place for two weeks. That's all - you can taste beer, treat friends and enjoy the taste with them.
Remember that beer should not be canned, boiled or pasteurized, brewer's yeast will ensure the safety of the final product.
The best recipes
Having tried the popular powders necessary to brew beer from the concentrate at home, you will soon want to try something really unusual and unique. So, for example, there are technologies for making beer without malt. Such recipes are used just at home.
There are many original beer recipes. So, you can dissolve honey in water, mix with hops and cook for one hour. After fermentation and exposure to heat, a drink is obtained that strongly resembles a classic mead.
Gourmets should try beetroot beer. To do this, cut the beets into small pieces and cook in salt water. Then add the hop cones and juniper berries. Cook again. After two weeks of fermentation, the original beet beer is ready.
Finally, it is worth recalling: the main thing - do not be afraid to experiment, and then you will receive the fame of a home brewer.