Homebrewing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other meanings, see Homebrew
Homebrewing typically refers to the brewing of beer on a very small scale, as a hobby for personal consumption or free distribution at social gatherings.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early restrictions: from 1900
Alcohol has been brewed domestically throughout its 7000-year[1] history.
Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, the history of homebrewing was circumscribed by taxation and prohibition. One of the earliest, modern attempts to regulate private production that affected this era was the Inland Revenue Act of 1880 in the United Kingdom; this required a 5-shilling home-brewing license[2]. In the US, 33 states had prohibited the production of alcohol by 1920. These laws were famously only repealed in 1933[3] after a period of bootlegging and illegal manufacture being used to fund organised crime. Following the privations of World War II, the cost of the license to citizens still on rationing[4] severely restricted the pursuit of home-brewing as a pastime in the UK.
[edit] Liberalisation: post 1960
Liberalisation began in English-speaking countries in April 1963, when UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Reggie Maudling removed the need for the 1880 brewing license[5]. Australia followed suit in 1972, when Gough Whitlam repealed Australian law prohibiting the brewing of all but the weakest beers and wines as one of his first acts as Prime Minister[6].
In the US, when prohibition was repealed with the 21st Amendment, home wine-making was legalised. Homebrewing of beer should have also been legalised at this time, but a clerical error omitted the words "and/or beer" from the document which was eventually passed into law. Thus, the home-brewing of beer remained illegal for several decades.
In November 1978, Congress passed a bill repealing Federal restrictions on the homebrewing of small amounts of beer. Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, signed the bill into law in February 1979, and many states soon followed suit. However, this bill left individual states free to pass their own laws limiting production.
[edit] Development of the craft
The opportunity to produce alcoholic beverages at home was seized upon enthusiatically, although brewing cultures developed differently with trends dictated by the legal and commercial situation of the legalised territories at the time.
In the UK, many pioneers were home winemakers owing to the greater availability of information and ingredients. These included C.J.J. Berry, who founded wine brewing circles in Hampshire and 3 other English counties; began producing Amateur Winemaker magazine and eventually published First Steps in Winemaking[7]. Perhaps the most vocal proponent of home beer making was Dave Line, who after also writing for Amateur Winemaker wrote The Big Book of Brewing in 1974.
The US, having an established home winemaking culture, moved rapidly into the brewing of beer; whilst in Australia, Coopers, an Adelaide beer-brewing supplier acted to provide immediately for demand, again bringing home beer production to prominence. Within months of legalisation in the US, Charlie Papazian founded the Association of Brewers. In 1984 Papazian published The Complete Joy of Home Brewing.
This and Line's work remain popular texts to this day alongside later publications such as Graham Wheeler's Home Brewing: The CAMRA Guide.
[edit] General information
[edit] Basic principles
Brewing relies on the conversion of sugars into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide by yeast through fermentation. Fermentable sugars are typically obtained by steeping malted grain (malt) in hot water during a process known as mashing. When malt is mashed at temperatures between about 60-70°C, enzymes available in the grain break down large starch molecules into both smaller non-fermentable starch-like molecules known as dextrins and into fermentable sugar molecules. Dextrins typically provide mouthfeel and sometimes sweetness to the final beer. The resulting solution, known as wort is run off from the mash during a process known as “sparging” and contains the sugars, dextrins, proteins and other molecules, many of which are carried into the final beer. After boiling with hops the wort is cooled to fermentation temperatures and added yeast begin the fermentation process.
Concentrated wort or malt extract is commercially available and can be used alone or in combination with grain homebrewing. Homebrewing kits are also available and they usually provide a hopped malt extract which can be fermented upon dilution with water and in many cases, the addition of some sugar.
[edit] Yeast
The home producer must then decide whether to introduce a yeast culture; or wait either for airborne yeasts, or yeasts from the original fruit or grain to infest the must or wort. The latter is known as lambic brewing[8].
At the home level, the introduction of a yeast culture is often preferred in order to save time and avoid possible infection by undesirable bacteria. One major exception is cider as apple skins retain significant amounts of naturally occurring yeast: as such in the UK, there has been a longstanding tradition of making farmhouse scrumpy by simply pressing apples and leaving the must to stand.
As with many disciplines within homebrewing, some practitioners are very interested in the choice of zymology. There are strong proponents of lambic brewing as well as enthusiasts who seek out and re-culture yeasts from favorite or local breweries. Choice of yeast is very important in the character of the final beverage. For example, homebrewers seeking to produce authentic lagers may choose lagering yeasts, which require lower temperatures for the most effective fermentation. On the other hand, a good champagne yeast tolerates the broader range of temperatures used in the champagne production process.
[edit] Preparation time
Preparation of a must or wort for brewing can take under an hour when working with concentrates. However, producing a fermentable wort from malted grains can take six or more hours before it is ready for pitching yeast. Both fermenting and maturation times are typically shorter for beer than for wine. However enthusiasts in either branch of the craft can make very drinkable beers, wines or ciders that are ready to drink in about 4-6 weeks.
Contrary to some of the myths about homebrewing, it does not necessarily require a large amount of space or produce unpleasant odors. However, the boiling of beer worts does produce a malty smell and some home enthusiasts prefer to undertake this part of the process in an outhouse.
[edit] Domestic batch sizes
Typical US batches of homebrewed beer are five US gallons (19 L) in volume. This makes roughly enough for two cases — or 48 12-ounce (355 mL) bottles — of beer. In Britain and Australia homebrew is typically produced in 5 Imperial gallon (23 L) batches, although more experienced brewers often progress to larger batch sizes.
Wine batch sizes vary considerably; from small, 1-gallon, brews to 5-gallon bins, depending on the brewer.
[edit] Equipment
[edit] Basic equipment
Equipment and books may be purchased through local home brew shops or online. Most equipment available through homebrewing suppliers tends to reflect the basic batch sizes of the country concerned; this is partly dictated by the batch sizes that local homebrew kits are designed to produce.
In the United States, typical equipment costs are approximately $60 plus the cost of a large kettle (about $35-$50). Ingredients for a typical 5 gallon batch range from $20 to $40 depending on beer style, using dry or liquid yeast and the store's pricing. Additional costs such as bottles (which may be reused with adequate cleaning) and sanitizers should also be anticipated. It is possible to produce beers using domestic kitchen equipment, but as it is reasonably inexpensive, most enthusiasts quickly buy some specialist equipment.
[edit] Minimum equipment
Whilst many home brewers choose to have a broad variety of equipment on hand; however, good results can be achieved for all types of beverages with very little equipment. It is necessary to have a good quality sterilisation solution and, of course, something in which to store the finished product.
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Typical minimum equipment requirements for different homebrew techiques Getting Started
Trying Own Recipes
Working with Ingredients
Advanced Methods
Beer Kit Extract Partial Mash Full Mash Fermentor, Syphon Tube.
Boiler / Large Pan Fermentor, Syphon Tube, Hydrometer.
Boiler, Fermentor, Syphon Tube, Secondary Vessel, Thermometer, Hydrometer.
Boiler, Mash Tun, Fermentor, Syphon Tube, Secondary Vessel, Thermometer, Hydrometer.
Cider Kit Concentrate Juice Pressed Apples Fermentor, Syphon Tube.
Fermentor, Syphon Tube, Secondary Vessel, Hydrometer.
Fermentor, Syphon Tube, Secondary Vessel, Hydrometer.
Fermentor, Syphon Tube, Secondary Vessel, Hydrometer, Cider Press.
Wine Kit Concentrate Juice Pressed Fruit Fermentor, Syphon Tube.
Fermentor, Syphon Tube, Secondary Vessel, Hydrometer.
Fermentor, Syphon Tube, Secondary Vessel, Hydrometer.
Fermentor, Syphon Tube, Secondary Vessel, Hydrometer, Fruit Press.
[edit] Custom Equipment
Owing to the expense of having even the simplest custom brewing equipment built, there is a considerable subculture of homemade equipment building. For boiling, the use of gas burners and large cooking pots can provide for both larger quantities and a more controllable brewing process. For cooling, wort chillers can be made from ice chests and picnic coolers. For primary and secondary fermentation, investing in larger plastic or glass fermentation containers, whether carboys or demijohns, is a typical upgrade. For storage and dispensing, five gallon soda kegs are often used.
[edit] The process
The homebrewing process can be broken down into the following steps:
- Making wort or must;
- Fermentation;
- Clarification;
- Conditioning;
- Packaging (in bottles, kegs or casks);
- Consumption.
[edit] Beer
Beer is first called wort, which is made from hops and liquor extracted from crushed grains or reconstituted malt extract. The wort may be made by a commercially processed extract available in dry or liquid form or by mashing grains. After brewing, once the yeast is added to the wort, it is now beer.
[edit] Liquor
Perhaps the most important ingredient of beer is water which, once purified by boiling, is referred to as liquor.
[edit] Kits
No-Boil Kits contain hopped liquid malt extract that, when reconstituted with water, produces wort. They are the easiest method available since the basic varieties typically don't require boiling or other preparations. Generally, the quality of beer from these kits is not on par with beer made from all-grain or malt extracts, but can be a good start for someone overwhelmed by the process.
[edit] Extract brewing
Having mastered no-boil kits, homebrewers can experiment with extract and grain kits or with their own recipes by boiling water, malt extract and hops together in a large kettle or boiler then cool the resulting wort before fermenting.
Extract brewing still saves considerable time against any mashed brewing processes; an extract brew can be completed from start to finish in around two and a half hours. As such it remains a popular home-brewing method.
Many homebrewers achieve excellent results with extract recipes. Boiling a quality extract with hops can produce good facsimiles of many classic brews. However, some brewing adjuncts, (other grains added to beer), need to be converted by enzymatic reactions involved in mashing to be useful in brewing; therefore some homebrewers use a method called partial mashing
[edit] Partial mash
The next step up from extract brewing is to use a diastatically active malt extract to convert starches from other beer adjuncts; such as flaked and torrifed barleys, flaked wheat and wheat flour into fermentable sugars. These extracts are currently only available in the tinned form.
Partial mashes are also popular amongst extract brewers as they do not require any investment in mashing equipment and add only a short time to the wort preparation process.
[edit] Full mash
The most advanced method is to manufacture extract from crushed grains by mashing the grain in hot water. The bulk of the grains must contain a malted grain, typically barley. Mashing requires an vessel known as a mash tun. This method is typically known as full mash or all-grain brewing.
Quick cooling and isolation from the ambient atmosphere is needed to prevent early bacterial contamination or oxidation of the wort. Often, cooling is hastened by the use of thermal heat exchangers, informally, wort chillers, which often consist of copper tubing immersed in the wort, through which cold water flows. For larger volumes of wort, a counter-flow chiller can be used, in which the hot wort flows through copper tubing which is jacketed by a second tube (often garden hose) through which cold water is run in the opposite direction from the wort's flow. A more primitive and ineffective method is to immerse the pot in a sink full of ice water.
[edit] Fermentation
The wort prepared for fermentation by cooling it down to pitching temperature, typically near room temperature. Refer to yeast specifications for individual pitching temperatures.
The cooled wort is poured into the primary fermenter in an aggressive manner, so as to aerate the wort; sufficient oxygen is vital for the yeast's growth stage. Advanced homebrewers may further oxygenate the wort by bubbling filtered air or even pure oxygen through the cooled wort. The yeast is then pitched (sprinkled or poured) into the wort. If a dried yeast is used, some brewers rehydrate it first to reduce 'lag time', or the time taken before the yeast starts working. Although more expensive than dry yeasts, a number of liquid yeasts are also available, offering a range of flavor characteristics that allow the brewer to more closely approximate various beer styles.
Primary fermentation takes place in a large glass or plastic carboy or food-grade plastic bucket, nearly always sealed, but traditionally can be left open. When sealed, the fermenter is stoppered with the carbon dioxide gas produced venting through a fermentation lock. During this time, temperatures should be kept at optimum temperature for the fermentation process. For ale this temperature is usually 65-75°F / 18-24°C, and for lager it is usually much colder, around 50°F / 10°C. A vigorous fermentation then takes place, usually starting within 12 hours and continuing over the next few days. During this stage the fermentable sugars (maltose, glucose, and sucrose) in the wort are consumed by the yeast, while ethanol and CO2 are produced as byproducts by the yeast. A layer of sediment, the trub, appears at the bottom of the fermenter, composed of heavy fats, proteins and inactive yeast. A sure sign that primary fermentation has finished is that the head of foam (krausen), built by bubbling of CO2, falls.
[edit] Conditioning
Often, the beer is then racked (siphoned) into another container, usually a carboy or keg, for aging or secondary fermentation. Fermentation is actually complete, so the term secondary fermentation actually refers to conditioning. Racking is done to separate the batch from the afore-mentioned trub so that it is not used as food, as this can give the beer an off-flavor. Racking also helps separate the beer from sediment, making it less likely to find its way into the finished product. During secondary fermentation some chemical byproducts from the primary fermentation are digested, which considerably improves the taste. Secondary fermentation can take from 2 to 4 weeks, sometimes longer, depending on the type of beer. Additionally, lagers are aged at this point at near freezing temperatures for 1-6 months depending on style. This cold aging serves to reduce sulfur compounds produced by the bottom-fermenting yeast and to produce a cleaner tasting final product with fewer esters. Some homebrewers will keep the batch in the primary fermenter, called single stage fermentation, for the entire process. The potential drawbacks include added sediment in the finished product and a greater risk of off flavors. If fresh, viable yeast are used, however, off flavors should not be a concern. The tradeoff is this eliminates the need for a second container, reduces labor, and reduces the likelihood of contaminating the batch with bacteria, or oxidizing it, during transfer to the second container. This is a good beginner strategy, especially for those not skilled with racking.
Once this secondary fermentation is finished, the beer is ready for carbonation. There are two methods of carbonation. The first method does not require much capital expenditure per batch but is more time consuming. About 3/4 cup of corn sugar (dextrose) or other fermentable sugar is added to the beer, which is then transferred to bottles and then capped, or placed in a keg. The fermentation of the priming sugar in the closed container by left-over yeast suspended in the beer creates carbon dioxide which then dissolves into the beer. This takes 1-2 weeks. The second method involves pressurizing carbon dioxide into the beer into a special type of keg - either a Cornelius keg, the kind used in restaurants for soda storage, or a pressure barrel. Canisters of carbon dioxide, or soda chargers, can be released into the pressure barrel directly. The carbonation process then occurs almost instantaneously.
Using the first carbonation method, sediment will remain at the base of the bottles after completion. At this point it is referred to as the dregs, and an experienced homebrewer learns how to decant the beer, with minimal contribution to the taste of the beer in the mug. Some wheat beers, however, demand the sediment be rotated through the beer before it is served.
When using natural carbonation, the fermentation process restarts, although in a much smaller scale. The yeast must ferment the sugar, then clean up the byproducts of fermentation as in the secondary phase. Because the yeast population is much smaller, the process can take up to and beyond two weeks beyond full carbonation. Once the bottle/keg conditioning phase ends, the beer begins aging. Aging typically rounds out any rough edges in the beer and can remedy many imperfections. Some beers such as wheat beers are considered best with little to no aging, while bigger, higher alcohol beers can benefit from age for years.
During all stages attention to sanitation is essential. All items that come in contact with the wort or brew, must be soaked in a sanitizing solution and thoroughly rinsed, or immersed in boiling water.
When using malt extract, additional steps can be taken to add different flavors. Specialty grains are malted grains that do not require mashing. They are commonly steeped to add flavor, body and color at the beginning of brews. Sometimes hops are added at later stages for aroma and flavor, or dry hopped, (added just after secondary fermentation). Malto-dextrin, oak chips, and numerous other flavoring can also be experimented with.
There are several instruction books available. Some are more detailed than others, but homebrewing can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. The basic process does not require a great deal of technical knowledge, and the results are very much under the control of the brewer.
[edit] Brewing culture
Sometimes referred to a craft brewing, there are many strands to the culture surrounding home-brewing. In the US, homebrew radio stations and brewpubs have become popular over the last 20 years, both have a tradition of promoting live, unpasteurised beers. In the UK, CAMRA and homebrew circles have helped to promote the craft and cask-conditioned ale over pasteurised keg beers. This having been said the vast majority of beer consumed both sides of the Atlantic is keg beer.
Patience is required in homebrewing. The whole brewing process can take from two weeks to several months or even years, depending on the style of beer. Some enthusiasts brew beer in far larger quantities than the typical 5 gallon batch, sometimes as a prelude to commercial production. It is not unusual for a homebrewer to have several batches in different stages of completion to permit the dispensing of quality homebrew at short notice.
People homebrew for a variety of reasons. Homebrewed beer can be cheaper than commercially equivalent brews, however most homebrewers customize their recipes to their own tastes, which tends to be more expensive. For instance, hopheads, or fans of bitter beer, can hop their beer far beyond what would normally be considered excessive. Dark beer enthusiasts can create beers, such as Russian Imperial Stout[9]. or Porter, that are the antithesis of the paler style that is commercially dominant, particularly in the US. Additionally, homebrewers are able to create ‘specialty’ beers that are either extremely rare or entirely unavailable on the open market. Moreover, homebrewers have complete control over the amount of alcohol produced (based on the amount of fermentables placed into the wort), allowing for the production of beers containing very low amounts of alcohol or very high amounts of alcohol.
Some homebrewers strive for perfection of specific styles of beer and enter their products in competitions. Others simply brew to have styles of beer on hand to drink and share that are otherwise commercially unavailable, or in an unacceptably poor state when they are available. Others, with access to extremely large quantities of bio-materials (grains, rice, beets, potatoes, etc.), produce their own alcohol fuel for powering farm equipment, as well as cars and trucks, at a considerable cost-savings relative to paying for fuel at the pump.
One of greatest draws of homebrewed beer is the opportunity to enjoy beer that is 'live'. Since almost every beer available is pasteurized, it is almost impossible for the average beer drinker to enjoy beer in its natural state. Pasteurization requires the beer to be cooked, which results in the disappearance of any carbonation. Commercial brewers collect the boiled off alcohol, mix it with the pasteurized beer and force carbonate the brew. The disadvantage of this is the fact that all of the yeast is killed in the process. Therefore, the beer tastes considerably dissimilar from ‘live’ beer (that is, beer containing live yeast). Moreover, the beer will not age without live yeast. Homebrew is never pasteurized, therefore the carbonation present is naturally produced by the yeast, the taste is a more natural flavor, and the beer will age, changing in taste, texture and color over time. Without homebrew, the general public would not be able to enjoy beer in its natural state. The one exception is a type of beer occasionally offered by pubs and breweries known as ‘cask conditioned’ beer, which, like homebrew, is not pasteurized.
[edit] Legality in the USA
Many homebrewing related articles and books mistakenly claim that, in 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed into law a bill explicitly allowing home beer and winemaking, which was at the time illegal as a holdover from the prohibition of alcoholic beverages (repealed in 1933). In fact, the U.S. Congress passed an Act in 1978 exempting a certain amount of beer brewed for personal or family use from taxation. President Carter signed the Act, which addressed other issues as well.
26 USCS § 5051(a)(1) provides for the imposition and rate of federal taxation on beer in the United States.
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- (a) Rate of tax.
- (1) In general. A tax is hereby imposed on all beer brewed or produced, and removed for consumption or sale, within the United States, or imported into the United States.
- (a) Rate of tax.
26 USCS § 5053(e) provides exemptions from federal taxation for beer brewed for personal use.
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- (e) Beer for personal or family use. Subject to regulation prescribed by the Secretary, any adult may, without payment of tax, produce beer for personal or family use and not for sale. The aggregate amount of beer exempt from tax under this subsection with respect to any household shall not exceed
- (1) 200 gallons per calendar year if there are 2 or more adults in such household, or
- (2) 100 gallons per calendar year if there is only 1 adult in such household.
- (e) Beer for personal or family use. Subject to regulation prescribed by the Secretary, any adult may, without payment of tax, produce beer for personal or family use and not for sale. The aggregate amount of beer exempt from tax under this subsection with respect to any household shall not exceed
States remain free to restrict, or even prohibit, the manufacture of beer, mead, hard cider, wine and other alcoholic beverages at home. For example, Ala. Code § 28-1-1 addresses the illegal manufacture of alcoholic beverages in Alabama, and no other provision of Alabama law provides an exception for personal use brewing.
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- Ala. Code § 28-1-1 - "In all counties of the state it shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to have in his or its possession any still or apparatus to be used for the manufacture of any alcoholic beverage of any kind or any alcoholic beverage of any kind illegally manufactured or transported within the state or imported into the state from any other place without authority of the alcoholic control board of the state, and any person, firm or corporation violating this provision or who transports any illegally manufactured alcoholic beverages or who manufactures illegally any alcoholic beverages shall, upon conviction, be punished as provided by law."
However, most states permit homebrewing, allowing 100 gallons of beer per person over the age of 21 per household, up to a maximum of 200 gallons per year. Because alcohol is taxed by the federal governments via excise taxes, homebrewers are restricted from selling any beer they brew. This similarly applies in most Western countries.
In the United Kingdom one may produce an unlimited quantity of fermented beverages. They are not however permitted to distill or sell their products.
[edit] National Associations
- American Homebrewers Association
- Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP)
- Canadian Amateur Brewers Association
- Craft Brewing Association UK Homebrewers Organisation
- National Association of Winemakers UK Home Winemaking Organisation
[edit] Brewing Glossary
- Brewing Terms - Glossary of brewing terms.
[edit] Media about Homebrewing
- Brew Your Own Magazine - Homebrewing Magazine
- Zymurgy Magazine - Homebrewing Magazine
- The Brewing Network website - Terrestrial and Internet Radio / Podcast
- North Queensland Craftbrewers Radio Show - Internet Radio / Podcast
- Basic Brewing Radio - Internet Radio / Podcast
[edit] References
- ^ Wikipedia: History of beer. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
- ^ Wikipedia: Dave Line (Biography). Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
- ^ Wikipedia: 21st Amendment - Background. Retrieved on 2006-10-11.
- ^ Wikipedia: Rationing - Civilian rationing. Retrieved on 2006-10-11.
- ^ Brewers Contact: Journal of the Craft Brewing Association. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
- ^ Adelaide Times Online. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
- ^ National Association of Winemakers (UK)
- ^ Lindemans - Commercial Belgian Beer Site. Retrieved on 2006-10-14.
- ^ Line Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy 1978 p59
[edit] See also
| Homebrewing |
 |
|---|---|
| Beer Judge Certification Program • Charlie Papazian • Dave Line • Fermentation Lock • George Fix • Homebrewing • Homebrewing beer • Mashing • John J. Palmer • |
