Home Beer Making

The brewing of beer is an ancient craft, believed by many archeologists to be over 10,000 years old. The first domesticated grains were wheat and barley, with archeological evidence of these crops first being grown in Mesopotamia around 7000 BC. Beer making, as it depends primarily on these grains, surely made its entrance to human history shortly after the domestication of these important food crops. The first beer could have been accidentally produced. Stored grain, becoming wet, could have fermented naturally, producing beer. And the resulting brew undoubtedly both smelled and looked good to someone, who tasted it, and experienced the first hangover in history.

Making beer at home was illegal in the United States before 1978. In November of that year, President Jimmy Carter signed the bill which allowed the brewing of up to 200 gallons of beer at home. Since that time interest in the craft of home brewing has been increasing steadily and many home owners have taken up the craft. High quality ingredients are available to the home brewer, and excellent craft beers can be made in the home with the investment of just a little time.

Making a batch of beer in the home can take as little as two to three weeks from the time the brew is made until the bottles are carbonized and ready to drink. Modern equipment and beer making kits have greatly simplified the home brewing process, creating a fun hobby for many people. Home brewed beer can be cheaper than commercially brewed beer, but the real reward in brewing beer at home is the ability to customize your brew to your own taste. Fruits, herbs and other ingredients may be added to the wort, imparting different tastes to the finished brew.

Modern brewing involves many steps in the transformation of grain, hops, yeast, and water into the sparkling, invigorating beverage we call beer. This page is a greatly simplified outline of the steps a commercial brewing company uses to make beer

Traditional beer making is a very intricate process! If you are interested in making beer, and are afraid that the process is way too complicated, don’t despair. Modern technology has come to the rescue with a variety of new products, which take the complexity out of the home beer making process.

It is easiest to begin with a starter kit. The kit will contain all the necessary items needed to brew your first batch of beer, except, of course, the water.

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