Home brewing, A Layman's Primer

Another post from the Crunchy-Dude:

For a few years now, I have been home brewing extraordinary beer.  I am probably not the first to say this, but it makes beer around a billion times more awesome.  It started off really simple.  We spent less then $100 to get started and ended up with 55 bottles of delicious beer.  Only 2 bucks a bottle for great ales!   It only gets cheaper, the more you grow as a brewer.  

I control almost every aspect of my beer. I brew "all grain", which means I do everything myself except malting my own grain and cultivating my own yeast.  There are easier ways to start, but this is the cheapest and has the most room for creativity.  Currently, I spend about 35 cents per beer.  That's cheap for even a low quality beer and...dare I say it... I make really good beer.  So keeping it simple, this is how  brewing happens. Of course, all of this starts with a visit to your neighborhood brew store.

1) Steep the malted grains.  They are crushed (in a grain mill) and then steeped at 175 degrees for one hour to extract the sugars.  I use a converted drink cooler to do this.

2) The boil.  This is where you spice up the beer. You boil for at least an hour. This is where you add any flavoring but especially the hops.  The earlier in the boil you add the hops the more bitter taste the hops contribute to the beer.  The later addition of hops adds flavor and aroma. 

3) Yeast. This one is simple. Once the unfermented beer is cooled to room temperature, you add your yeast to create the precious byproduct of alcohol.

4) You wait. Beer will usually completely ferment after about a week. Wait for the most obvious sign, the yeast cake at the top will drop to the bottom.

5) Finally, bottle with a touch of sugar to create the carbonation and wait about another week.

Then drink!  It's that easy and there are even easier kits you can buy.   Home brewing may be the best decision you will ever make. 

Fun with Fermentables: Water Kefir

Some chat with my fellow fermenter has inspired me to share our newest fermentation adventure: Water Kefir. Many of you may be familiar with milk kefir because it is sold at many co-ops and natural grocery stores these days. However, through a similar process you can come to make water kefir. 

Kefir is another type of SCOBY or Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast. People usually talk about kefir "grains" which are actually just small lumps of SCOBY that multiply with time. 

Water kefir is another product with tons of antioxidants, vitamins,  and probiotics and other healthy benefits and many claim that the probiotics in water kefir may be more viable for long term digestive health. Who knows though, because of course, no research is being done on either beverage. 

Kefir is especially nice for those who need instant gratification. A batch is finished in 24 to 48 hours. 

A simple recipe. 

1) Place kefir grains, 1/4-1/2 cup of sugar in a clean 4 quart glass container.

2) Add water to almost full. Stir. 

3) Cover with a dish towel or other breathable fabric (be careful not to use one on which you have used a dryer sheet). Place in a shady, warm spot in your house. We use a shelf, next to our stove. 

4) In 24 hours, taste your kefir. If it is still very sweet, you may wait another day, if fermentation is obvious, you can strain out your grains and place the finished kefir inside mason jars. 

5) Wait 24 more hours at room temperature to develop a fizzy drink, or refrigerate immediately to preserve still kefir. 

As you get used to the taste, it is fun to play around with recipes. During steps one and two, you may add lemons, cut grapes, vanilla beans or infused vanilla sugar (avoid extracts because alcohol within may slow fermentation or harm the grains), ginger pieces and more. 

You may also add juice to the process at any point, but my advice is to do so when sealing the kefir because juice will stain the grains. Ours are now permanently pink. Bright pink. If you are not concerned about colored grains, as we are not, jump in! It's a lot of fun and near instant gratification and gives us something healthy to drink in between kombucha batches. 


Edit: Someone has asked where to obtain said mystery grains. The trouble with this is, like kombucha mothers, grains need to be obtained from other brewers and few sources sell them. I would be happy to mail you some for the cost of shipping. Or if you live in Buffalo, you can come get them! 

America's Past Time

I am here today to talk about America's favorite past time. I know you are all thinking baseball. As fun as baseball would be to talk about. I intend to talk about beer. Since the dawn of civilization man has been dead set on drinking as much as possible. The ancient Egyptians would put there unused stale bread in a large vase with water and let it sit for a few weeks. After wild yeast from the air had caused the carbohydrates to ferment into alcohol they would drink up to commune with the spirit world. In the same way the Mayans would offer a sacrifice of the two most precious things they had, Corn flour and water, to the gods. They would have long festivals and cerimonies and when the sacrifice had been inhabitated by the gods, or was bubbling due to fermentation, everyone would drink up. This allowed them to be consumed by the spirits. In reality they were just getting sloshed by some primitive Mayan corn moonshine. Alcohol is a communal drink. One that is present in everyones cultural DNA.

I can imagine that it is no surprise to you that I a big fan of beer. I guess if you polled the majority of American males, and females for that matter, you would get the same answer. I love all of them, Light or dark, Malty or hoppy, ale or lager they all have their place. The best place being in my hand.

It's boil time.

There is a surefire way to learn to appreciate something more. That is to make/ do it your self. I found myself throwing around the idea of becoming a home brewer. I didn't approach this decision lightly. Mostly due to my concern that I would seriously ruin my admired drink. One day I had enough guts to do it.

Much to my one surprise making decent beer is not at all difficult. If you can boil water and sanitize a few things you can make pretty good beer. At least as good as what is passed off as beer in the states. I bought a kit for less than $100 and in 2.5 gallon stock pot I already owned brewed my first beer and I was hooked.

Beer at its simplest is: malted barley, hops and water. Then add a pinch of yeast and let it work its magic.

Fresh hop pellets! 

My initial brew was with a no fuss kit. All that was required was putting the 2 extract mixes in 2.5 gallons of water and boiling for 20 minutes.  I now have multiple beers and styles under my belt and control almost every aspect of the brewing. I craft a the recipes and select the grains, hops and yeast for every beer. This has provided us with a boat load of affordable and fantastic beers. Likewise, there has been at least one atrocity that ended, not by choice, in a green olive flavored stout, Blah! In the end my beers cost me less than one dollar per bottle. Compare that to $2 at a store or $5 at a bar for the same quality. So in the end I save a lot of money and have a ton of fun. I strongly recommend home brewing to any one who is slightly interested in beer and DIY adventures. Cheers!