There is no better way to get into beer crafting than with an easy-to-follow home brew kit. These kits usually come with everything you need to brew and bottle your beer, from brewing equipment to ingredients to bottling supplies.
How to brew:
The first step in the brewing process is a process called mashing. This is where the grain (typically barley) is placed in a large container and mashed with warm water to extract sugars from the starches within the grains.
Mashing concentrates the sugars in the grain, sanitizes the wort and helps control important factors such as flavour and body that are present in the final brew. It also allows the brewer to add hops at this stage, which contribute to the overall aroma and flavor of the finished beer.
Boil: The wort is then transferred to a fermenting vessel where yeast cells will begin to take up residence and convert the sugars into alcohol. The brewer can also add other ingredients during this time, such as spices and fruits for additional flavour.
Yeast: The brewer can use a variety of different strains and varieties of yeast in their brewing, as each is able to perform a particular task. The most commonly used strains are a hybrid strain known as ale yeast, which produces a light-coloured beer with a delicate, fruity and floral flavour, and a wild-culture strain, known as lager yeast, which produces a darker, maltier and more bitter tasting beer.
