How to Use Hops and Grains to Brew Beer
Brewing is both an art and a science that people have been perfecting for over a thousand years in the quest for the perfect beer. Home brewing variables play a part, but the main ingredients-hops and barley-determine the taste when you brew beer. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Recognize that sugars (grain) and bitters (hops) combine to make the distinct taste of beer. Find both ingredients at home brewing supply houses like The Home Brew Store or Homebrew Heaven.
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Make certain that you use malted barley. Malting allows the barley to germinate partly. This prepares the starches to turn into maltose (sugars). After drying, the barley seeds are used to brew beer.
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Mash the barley to release the malted sugars. The mashing process means soaking the seeds in hot water. Specialty malts like some roasted malts for darker beers like porters and stouts should be steeped in hot water instead of mashed.
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Boil the malted barley, adding hops for bittering or balancing the taste. These cone-like flowers of a vine come in different varieties and act as a natural preservative.
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Time the adding of the hops depending on the variety of the hops. High alpha hops like Columbus are often added 39 minutes before the end of the boil. Adding hops at the end of the oil to steep during cooling is another method.
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Add the brew with yeast to the fermenter. Some brewers also add hops to the fermenter after the bubbling has slowed. This is called dry hopping and increases the hop aroma to the final product.
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Measure hops according to the bittering potential in Alpha Acid Units (AAUs) and International Bittering Units (IBUs). Typical U.S. beers have 10 to 14 IBUs.
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Tips & Warnings
Some beginning home brewers use a malted extract instead for an easier process to brew beer.
Some brewers add dark roasted malts at the end of the mash for a smoother taste.
