Home Brew Better Than The Real Thing?

Anyone who brews their own home brew beer is sure to be asked the question every once in a while – “Do you really drink that stuff? It can’t be anything like as good as the real stuff, can it?”. This is a hard one to answer, as it is a matter of personal taste. Early on in your home brewing experiments you may be forced to admit that your efforts fall somewhat short of what you would like them to be. But the truth of the matter is that there are a lot of people who brew, and drink, their own home brew beer because they like the taste and enjoy the process.

Whether the beer is better than commercial branded beer is a subjective matter. Some people will definitely prefer home brewed beer while others will swear that if it isn’t a global name it isn’t worth drinking. But for people who like to have a modicum of control and a bit of a change once in a while, home brewing has an obvious advantage. If you buy a crate of any commercial beer then the first can or bottle of it will taste the same as the 24th. And the next crate you buy will taste the same again.

When you brew your own, you can make changes with every new batch you brew. You just need to buy the ingredients – which can be less than a dollar if you are just looking to add a fruity flavor to the beer – and make the necessary changes to the brewing process. The more you home brew, the better you will get, and as long as you like the taste, nothing else really matters.

Home Brewers Throwback To Prohibition?

During the 1920s and some of the 1930s, the making and sale of alcoholic beverages was banned in the United States. It seems astonishing to think it now, but the law was in place for close to 13 years, and although it reduced the amount of public drunkenness it had the side-effect of increasing the amount of organized crime as alcoholic beverages continued to be made and sold on the black market through “speakeasy” bars and similar watering holes. Although the law has long since been repealed, there are those who consider home brewers to be the product of that time.

It is unquestionable that brewing your own beer brings with it a certain amount of freedom, and with that freedom comes responsibility. When the era of prohibition was in full swing, much of the black market alcohol available was made using less rigorous safety standards, and on occasion was so contaminated that it caused serious health problems and even death. Although this is rarely the case now, it is sensible to make sure that you follow safety standards in making your beer.

The practice of good safety standards is something that becomes second nature before too long. Apart from anything, if you have got the beer wrong it will taste wrong. At least in this case you can go out and buy regular beer that has passed stringent testing, whereas in the days of prohibition anyone who wanted to carry on drinking took their life in their own hands.

Flavored Brew By Mixing Alcoholic Drinks

Flavored brew provides many options for home brewing beer. The last decade or so has seen a massive rise in the different ways that beer is brewed, created and flavored, and in recent times we have seen a new arrival in the market – beer that is flavored with another alcoholic drink. Among the most well-known of these beers are the ones flavored with tequila, but there are other beers on the market that have vodka and whisky added at a certain stage in the brewing process. To some, that is brave and to others it is insane – but these brews are flying off the shelves.

If you are interested in brewing flavored beer by mixing alcoholic drinks, the most important advice is to be careful, and it is widely agreed that if you are going to add another alcoholic drink into the mix then it should be done at a late stage in the brewing process – otherwise you risk ruining the taste of the drink and potentially making it dangerous to drink. However, if you can master it this is another string to your bow and makes for a very interesting flavor.

The other thing to be aware of is just how much of the other drink you add to the mix. In this case the watchword seems to be “less is more” – adding a lot risks making the beer undrinkable when what you are really looking for is a “hint” of the new flavor rather than an overpowering taste of it. If you want to drink something that tastes like neat whisky, then neat whisky is a far preferable option for flavored brew.

Difficult, but extremely satisfying, mixing alcoholic drinks can add a lot to your creativeness for flavored brew.

Home Brewing Beer With A New Flavor

Home brewing beer is a science. To get it right you need to be scientific in your approach, and it is often noted that science isn’t all about knowing everything. In fact, science by its very definition is about the fact that we do not, and cannot, know everything so we have to settle for finding out everything that we can and applying that knowledge as best we can. And that can be applied to home brewing beer, because brewing is a process that ensures you learn something new every time. The moment you stop learning is the moment it becomes a chore.

Home brewing of flavored beers is a popular way to for brewers to spice up the collection. If you have never tasted a flavored beer, maybe now is the time to give it a go and see how enjoyable it can be – some of the more popular ones on the market are Belgian fruit beers which contain elements of cherry and raspberry. Technically, however, there are few limits to the fruits that you can add in the brewing process, and the effects that they can have on the taste.

That’s not to say that it will all be good. You have to make sure that what you are adding goes in at the right time, is added in the right form, and does not conflict with the other ingredients you have added. Finding the right mix is something that may take more than a few attempts. It’s not just a matter of trying new fruit flavors, either. The addition of spices or of other ingredients can turn out a fantastic home made beer, so it is worth continuing to experiment with different flavors while home brewing beer.

Home Brewing Process For Quality Taste

Home brewing brew masters anticipate the tasting more than any other part of the home brewing process. You will not get a real idea for how good your beer is at any point before it touches your palate. Even at the time of bottling, you will not know if the brew is a good quality for home brewing.

You will put your beer into bottles still not being sure that it is quite right – and this can make home brewers extremely anxious. Plus, the home brewing process needs even more time. The beer must be given time for the carbonation part of the home brewing process.

To clarify, the time that you are advised to leave your brew before drinking it is the “ready to drink” time. Now, there is a world of difference between “ready to drink” and “worth drinking”. Many beers benefit from being left a little (or a lot) longer in the bottle before you drink them, during which time they get to settle, to broaden in terms of taste, and to do any number of other things that will turn them into a quality tasting beer.

The reason for this includes numerous small influences that can affect many things to do with the beer. You cannot expect a perfect beer after the minimum “ready to drink” time, just as people who make their own wine will not expect it to mature to its highest quality within weeks. Some of the best wines around have been in the bottle for years. You must remember, that is not just for wines. Time should be given for a complete home brewing process.

Brewing Your Own Beer Experiences

Brewing your own beer is not an easy process. From beginning to end, the brewing process can take weeks. If you believe in Murphy’s Law, you know that the more time is given to a process the greater the chances are that something can go wrong. Therefore you need to be practically parental in the way you bring along your home brew. It is something that rewards careful planning and cautious management. How well you have done will only be substantiated when you get the first taste from brewing your own beer.

The fact is that there are some aspects of the process that are beyond your control. You can buy the best equipment, recommended by experts and talented amateurs, you can follow the recipes right down to the last miligram and final punctuation mark, but brewing your own beer is a long process. However, there is still the chance for something to be not quite right, and this is where you will find yourself calling on people who have been there and done that.

It has been seen on several different home brewing forums that a person goes from start to finish in brewing their beer, bottles it and leaves it for drinking and when they come to it, sometimes months later, it doesn’t taste right. Asking around to see what the problem is, they are asked by someone who has been brewing for more than a decade: “What kind of water did you use?”. And something as basic as the pH balance of the water used can interfere with the quality of a beer. Don’t be discouraged if something small knocks your brew off. It is likely you will have many mishaps or learning experiences along the way while brewing your own beer.
put it down to experience and learn.

Home Brewery Mistakes

Home brewery brewing mistakes or accidents can lead to a different and unique taste in a homebrew. Often, brewing mistakes lead to new and exciting tastes in beer. Admittedly, more accidents go wrong than right, but it is worth noting that the process can work in your favor even when mistakes are made in a home brewery.

Remember this interesting science fact; Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin by accident, and that Isaac Newton discovered gravity as a result of an apple falling from a tree and hitting him.

This kind of home brewery mistake can lead to the most unexpected results. If you add too much of something, too little of something else, add something at the wrong time or leave too much or too little time for something to happen, all of this can change the taste of the finished homebrew in a big way. As a result, you can end up with something that you and your friends consider as a nice tasting addition to the homebrew repertoire. Because of discoveries like this, it is a good idea to keep a notebook detailing what you do during the brewing process.

Of course, people are slow to admit to mistakes, especially when the results are such that the mistake turns out to be a winning move. So we will never know how many of the beers out there on the market were the result of clever research and sound practice, and how many resulted from one person’s slip up. And maybe that would destroy the magic of the home brewery.

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