Getting to Know your Malted Barley

Two row barley in the field.

With an embarrassingly large variety of grains available to the homebrewer these days, it can be difficult to make choices among them.  There is so much to consider. For instance, a small amount of dark crystal malt will result in the same color as a larger amount of lighter crystal malt, but the flavor and aroma will not be the same.  It is necessary to have some understanding of the malting process, and to develop familiarity with the different types of malts to make choices that will result in the beer ending up the way you want it to.

The Malting Process

A discussion of the malting process could easily consume all of the space intended for this article.  To stay focused, we will cover it as concisely as possible.  The grain (typically barley, but others such as wheat or rye are also used) is steeped and germinated.  Read the rest of this entry »

Can I make my own beer?

Really?

If you can boil water, follow instructions, and keep things clean, the answer is yes! There are differing “levels” of home brewing, from very simple to fairly complex (but all are doable):

All-in-one kits: If you are wanting to dip your toe into home brewing, but not quite ready for a commitment to getting the usual brewers equipment, then these are for you. These kits contain everything you need, are relatively inexpensive, easy to use and produce good beer – Mix, Brew, Bottle, Drink!. The only con is that the ingredients come all pre-mixed, so you don’t have the same control as with extract and all grain brewing.

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