Brewing beer

There are 4 basic ingredients in beer, barley malt, hops, yeast, water. Getting the proportions right is going to be tricky as that’s another way you can vary the mix. Controlling the quantities and making sure the ingredients don’t go off is going to be another interesting challenge. Combining different hops and malts makes it interesting along with speciality ingredients. The sugar is also an important aspect to consider. This is not completely necessary but will make it a lot quicker. A pale ale, black IPA, smoked ale and a stout will be nice as well as specialities ie Belgian when I have got it figured out. Getting the right equipment is also going to be key along with a good place to practice this art. Price and availability are going to be key factors as well as time. The yeast foam or barm from the top is very good in making bread. That is another challenge onto itself. Bottle conditioning or kegging are going to to be more challenges as they change the beer but also help its shelf life.

Water

Different types of water around the world affect the taste of the beer, whether it’s filtered, carbonated or has lots of minerals dissolved in it.

Grains

You have things that are quite common like wheat, oats and rye or you can add actual breakfast cereal.

 

Malts (barley)

Same goes for the various malts. Crystal for pale or Chocolate for porters etc.

 

Hops

So there are many ways to vary a beer because there are so many different hop varieties and the same hop grown in a different country will taste different as well.  You can add hops at different stages of brewing as well as adding different hops for bittering, aroma and finish.

Yeasts

Wild/cultivated yeasts are also different. Plus you have dried, fresh or instant yeast. Dried requires proving and may have additives like the instant but fresh will be organic. Cultivated yeast is more likely to be pure but less flavourful as its commercial. There are different yeasts for cider, wine and lager as well which can be used along with the Belgian style Saison.

Sugars

This helps the yeast to work quicker making more carbon dioxide and alcohol. You can use lots of different kinds eg. white, brown, molasses, maple and golden syrup, honey, brewers sugar.

Speciality ingredients

Fruit, spices and herbs. You can also add lactose, coffee or chocolate.

Carbonation

You can carbonate the beer at the end of its brewing process however this generally makes lager which I will not be making. You can also choose not to carbonate your beer at all. There will probably be some residual carbonation from the yeast depending on how much you let it ferment, type used and the sugar, as well as amount added.

Equipment

Whether it’s canned, kegged or bottled all makes a difference to how it’s served and how long it lasts. Canned tends to be under more pressure and therefore, more carbonated as you can adjust the pressure easier on a keg to account for this. Bottles are subject to light and oxidation so are more likely to taste skunky. Cans can give beer a metallic taste as well.