Beer is one of the most popular drinks known to people since ancient times. The exact date of its origin is unknown, but mention of it can be found in ancient Egypt. Today, dozens of varieties of this drink are offered on store shelves, in cafes, bars and restaurants. But the best is wheat beer made at home. Many do not even assume that this is a simple process that does not require certain skills and equipment. So what does it take to make wheat beer at home? Let's talk about this in the article.
Product for connoisseurs
Some may decide that it’s easier to buy a bottle of beer at the store and not waste time making it. But true lovers of a foamy drink will spare their time and energy to create a real, original and unique product.
Indeed, for the production you will need only four ingredients that you can buy in any specialized store, and simple equipment. The result is wheat beer, unfiltered, without preservatives.
Ingredients
To prepare a drink at home, only four basic ingredients are required: water, malt, hops and yeast. They are used in a basic recipe. In the future, you can introduce additional components that will improve the taste of beer and give it a special, original twist. It can be fruits, spices and various combinations of malt. The main thing is to use quality ingredients, adhere to the recipe and be patient.
Malt
Malt is a germinated grain of cereal crops (not only germinating corn and rice) that remain in hard husks. It is she who will serve as a natural filter. Wheat beer is made from wheat grains. Malt greatly affects the taste and quality of the drink.
Therefore, the preparation of this component is an important step. Malt has a slightly sweet taste, pleasant smell and white color. The grains are pre-crushed in a special mill so that the husk remains intact. Light wheat beer is made from malt, which is dried naturally. To give the drink a dark color, this ingredient is pre-fried.
Hop
This is another important ingredient in a foamy drink. You can buy it in a store or prepare it yourself. The cones are only "female" plants. They should have a yellow or reddish tint.
After collection, they are dried and crushed using a press. The
density of beer and the density of the foam depend on their quality. There are two types of hops: bitter and aromatic. If you want to add a spicy bitterness to the drink, then use the first grade. To obtain aromatic beer, you need to choose the second type of hops.
Yeast and water
Yeast is an important component. They should be only high-quality and, if possible, special, beer. Only dry and lively yeast will provide an excellent result. It is better to take clean and soft water. Spring is best suited. But if not purified and filtered, then just boil it and cool. Bad water will ruin the taste of beer.
Inventory
To prepare home-made wheat beer, you do not need special equipment and inventory. Everything you need can be found in any kitchen. You will need a large (about 30 liters) enameled pan. In it, for convenience, at the bottom you can make a drain cock.
You will also need another container for
beer fermentation. A necessary tool is a thermometer, since during cooking it is necessary to control the temperature regime. You also need to prepare a piece of gauze about 5 meters long. To dispense beer, you will need glass or plastic bottles, preferably of a dark color, and a thin hose to drain the drink. This is all that is needed to make a delicious beer.
Basic recipe
You can start cooking with a basic recipe. Subsequently, based on it, you can come up with new recipes and get a more rich taste and aroma, or maybe invent your own signature recipe. First, fry the wheat and barley grains (500 grams) in a pan or in the oven. So we get dark wheat beer. Then grind the fried grains with a meat grinder and mix with a small amount of chicory (30 grams). Put this mixture in a large pot and fill with 3 liters of water.
We put the pan on the fire and bring to a boil. This process is very important, since the quality of the resulting wort greatly affects the taste of beer. After that, remove the container from the fire and add sugar (5 cups), hops (500 grams) and lemon zest to it. Mix everything thoroughly and leave for several hours in a warm place. When the temperature is equal to room temperature, the beer is filtered through several layers of gauze in a fermentation vessel. We leave it for three days, and then pour it into prepared bottles. Keep the drink in a cool place.
Royal beer
Home-made wheat beer can serve as an excellent basis for preparing other varieties of this drink. Take 7 grams of cinnamon and coriander, two glasses of sugar, three lemons, 15 grams of ginger, 25 liters of homemade beer and two handfuls of hops. Ready home beer is poured into the pan. Fry sugar in a separate pan until it turns into caramel. It must not be allowed to burn, so as not to spoil the taste of beer. Then pour the caramel with boiling water and mix. Pour some water into a separate pan and add all the spices and spices, chopped lemon and cook for about 20 minutes.
Separately, cook hops for 30 minutes. We filter the broths. Mix hot water with spices with
burnt sugar. Then add to them a decoction of hops. Mix everything and pour into home-made beer. Mix and send to a cold place. If the beer was fresh, then the drink will be ready in two weeks, and if aged, then it can be consumed in 1-2 days.
Aromatic beer
When making beer, there is always room for creativity. Adhering to the main recipe, you can add different ingredients that will give the drink a new touch. The main thing is to show imagination and not be afraid of experiments. It will take 35 liters of water, 6 kilograms of wheat malt, 5 kilograms of sugar, 200 grams of raisins, 200 milliliters of water, 200 grams of hops and a third cup of yeast. First, mix raisins, sugar and hops in a separate pan. Pour them with a small amount of water (300 milliliters) and wine. We put the container on fire and boil for 30 minutes. After this, add malt and water to the broth and bring it to a boil. Cool the beer to room temperature and put the yeast. We leave the drink fermenting for a week. Next, you just need to pour it into bottles, close the lids and put it in a cold place. Flavored wheat beer is ready. It is better to withstand it for 10 days, so that it acquires its own unique taste. You can try other additives to your taste.
Beer from bread
Wheat beer will have a richer taste if you use wheat and rye malt. In this recipe, we also add rye bread. For cooking, take 32 liters of boiled water, 4.8 kilograms of rye bread, 1.2 kilograms of wheat and 2 kilograms of rye malt, 200 grams of honey, 1 kilogram of molasses, 600 grams of raisins, 100 grams of yeast, 140 grams of hops and a little cinnamon. First you need to cut the bread into pieces, dry it and chop.
Pre-scald the hops with boiling water, and dilute the yeast with warm water. Now we mix bread, yeast, malt, molasses, honey, hops, raisins and cinnamon and pour this mixture with warm water to the state of gruel. She must go through the fermentation process within 6-7 hours. Then we add 26 liters of water to this mixture and leave it in a warm place for a day. After that, pour the contents into a clean dish. In the remaining wort, pour another 6 liters of water and leave for several hours. Then the contents are drained and mixed with most of the drink. We filter beer and bottle it. We close them with lids and send them to a dark, cool place for ripening.
Conclusion
Having once tasted wheat beer, the reviews of which speak for themselves, you will no longer want to buy a finished product. Home-made drink is natural, without preservatives. It can be prepared to your taste, using different ingredients and getting new tastes and aromas. The success of home brewing depends on the quality of the original products. If you strictly adhere to technology and recipes, the result will exceed all your expectations. Of course, the drink will differ in taste from the store, but this does not mean that it will be worse.