Thanks for coming to Homemade Beer!

The normal batch of homebrewed beer is five gallons in volume, which is enough for 2 cases, or 48 12 ounce bottle of beer. The typical homebrewed beer is produced by boiling water, malt extract and hops together in a large kettle and then cooling the resulting wort and adding yeast for fermenting. Experienced homebrewers will make their own extract from crushed malt barley by a more complicated process of mashing the grain in boiling hot water.

With both cases, the wort is boiled for 15 min to an hour, to help remove some impurities, dissolve the character of the hops, then break down some of the sugar. The wort is then cooled down to a pitching temperature.

The cooled wort is then poured into the primary fermenter in a manner of aggression, as to aerate the wort. Sufficient oxygen is also necessary for the yeast’s growth stage. The yeast is then put
into the wort.

The primary fermentation will take place in a large food bucket or carboy. Sometimes it is left open but often stoppered with the carbon dioxide gas that’s produced by venting through a fermentation
lock.

The process of making microbrews takes a lot of time indeed, although you can take the necessary short cuts once you learn more about how the process works. If this is your first time brewing, you should always use common sense and know what you are doing.

One of the best things about making your own homebrews is the fact that you can experiment with ingredients and brew your own creations. You can brew almost anything, providing you have the right
type of equipment – which can easily be found.

The term microbrewery originally originated in the United Kingdom during the late 1970s. Though it was originally used to reflect on the size of the breweries, it gradually came to reflect a different attitude and approach to adaptability, flexibility, experimentation, and customer service.

The term eventually spread to the United States, where it was eventually used to indicate a brewery that produces no less than 15,000 barrels of beer per year. The term microbrewery is now falling out of touch in the United States, as the term craft brewer is preferred.

During the early twentieth century, prohibition drove a majority of the breweries into bankruptcy because they couldn’t rely on selling bogus wine as wineries of that era previously did. After going through several decades of consolidation of breweries, most commercial American beer produced by a few large companies, resulting in a mild tasting lager of which Budweiser is a great example.

Some beer drinks will consequently crave a variety and turn to homebrewing and eventually start doing it on a much larger scale. When they need inspiration they’ll turn to Britain, Germany, and Belgium where centuries old tradition of artisan beer and cask ale production have never died out.

The popularity behind these products was the fact that they trend was spread quickly, and hundreds of smaller breweries popped up, attached to a bar where the product could be enjoyed by all. As microbrews gained in popularity, some became more than just simple microbrews, as they catered to a broader range of beer.

Normally, American microbreweries will distribute through wholesalers in traditional three tier systems, then act as their own distributor and sell to retailers. Selling includes tap rooms, restaurants, or even off premise sales.

I hope you find beer brewing as enjoyable a hobby as I do.