einhverfr
"Once you start, there is no going back"
Turning up our noses at inferior beers
The brewing of beer as a hobby for personal consumption.
< read all 1 reviewsOnce you start, there is no going back
-
Dec 28, 2010
- by einhverfr
- posted in The Beer Snob
Rating:
So you like good beer. Maybe you like the same kind of beer as me. Maybe you don't. The point is you have your tastes.
+5
The best beer IMO is always the beer that one makes oneself. You can make it as hoppy as you like, light or dark, rich or thinner (with higher alcohol), carbonated or even leave it uncarbonated like they used to a hundred years ago. It's a whole new world.
Beer brewing isn't very hard. It's easier than most cooking as long as you are careful about sanitizing equipment, etc. Instead it takes a little time and patience to learn the basics, and a bit more patience to wait for it to ferment (most beers take about 2-3 weeks to ferment). Then you can get creative.
For example, I recently made an uncarbonated elderberry beer that I aged in oak for a month in an effort to recreate an early American brewed malt liquor. It came out very well, though with a few issues that will be corrected in the next batch (I didn't add quite enough elderberries and I had some equipment problems).
After a few batches, you too will turn your nose up at most other beers, preferring usually to drink what you brew yourself!
Update: 2 more quick points:
1) Cost: After the initial equipment cost (budget $60 to get started), the cost per 12 oz bottle when I brew tends to be a bit over $1 per bottle. You could get it down a bit below that though if you try.
2) I recommend abandoning some of the measurements (time/temperature) eventually and working towards a more artistic approach. But it's good to start with more rigid approaches.
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JSMaresca
August 03, 2011
I like the idea of brewing your own beer.
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rrznik
July 13, 2011
Agreed. Plus it's fun to show your friends.
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devora
January 05, 2011
Chris, you would be the authority of home brewed beer on Lunch! Very cool. The sound of elderberry beer sounds amazing, and I really like your two points. I'll have to try doing this some day. Thanks for sharing!
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Sharrie
January 04, 2011
I remembered tasting some brew which was from blueberry in the U.S. many years ago. Interesting taste! A friend of mine who's very passionate about beers used to brew some too although I've never tried them before! It must be fun...
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About the reviewer
Chris Travers (einhverfr)
Ranked #4
Ranked #4
I live in a haunted house Beneath a tall and mighty tree With my wife Mia and my sons Wilhelm and Conrad Where I write software and carve runes It is a … more
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About this topic
Homebrewing is the brewing of beer, wine, sake, mead, cider, perry and other beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, through fermentation on a small scale as a hobby for personal consumption, free distribution at social gatherings, amateur brewing competitions or other non-commercial reasons.
Brewing on a domestic level has been done for thousands of years, but has been subject to regulation and prohibition. Restrictions on homebrewing were lifted in the UK in 1963, Australia followed suit in 1972, and the USA in 1978, though individual states were allowed to pass their own laws limiting production.
While legality of homebrewing varies from country to country, most allow homebrewing, some countries limiting the volume brewed by an individual, and even fewer countries allowing distillation of hard alcohol.
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Brewing on a domestic level has been done for thousands of years, but has been subject to regulation and prohibition. Restrictions on homebrewing were lifted in the UK in 1963, Australia followed suit in 1972, and the USA in 1978, though individual states were allowed to pass their own laws limiting production.
While legality of homebrewing varies from country to country, most allow homebrewing, some countries limiting the volume brewed by an individual, and even fewer countries allowing distillation of hard alcohol.
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