Craft beer is a special type of beer made by a small-scale, independent brewery. These beers have more flavor than mass-produced macro brews, but they’re still made with the typical ingredients: malts, hops and yeast.
A great way to discover the world of craft beer is by going local and supporting your hometown brewers. They’re often very passionate about their craft and work hard to make a difference in their communities, using locally sourced ingredients, hosting events and giving back to charity.
How to Make Beer
To start, brewers heat water and cracked grain (called malt) together in a vessel called a “mash tun” or “kettle.” This process turns the starches from the malt into sugars and starts the yeast-making fungi working.
Yeast then feeds off the sugars in the wort, transforming them into alcohol and CO2 as it goes along. This step is the most time-consuming part of the brewing process, and can take a long time to complete.
The next step is cooling the wort to the proper temperature for fermentation. During this time, the yeast will begin to convert the sugars in the wort into alcohol and CO2, as well as important flavour compounds.
While the brewing process can be intimidating at first, it’s actually quite simple. The key to a successful brew is good sanitation and attention to detail throughout the entire process. To sanitize your equipment, simply wash it with warm soapy water and rinse it thoroughly. You can also use an effective no-rinse acid sanitizer, like StarSan.
