The home brewer can also produce an almost limitless variety of beers, but they will all generally fall into one of the main categories of beer. These categories are as follows:-
Bitter beer. - This is usually a fairly hoppy beer, with a medium to strong alcohol content. Bitter will come in different colours and flavours, but will always have a slightly bitter finish.
Pale Ale. - Sometimes referred to as "Light Ale". This is a beer that would more normally be drunk as an accompanyment to food. Being a light, not too strong beer, not as hoppy as bitter. It should have a clean refreshing taste.
India Pale Ale. - This is another version of bitter beer. Somewhat stronger and more fully flavoured than Pale Ale. With more hops and malt. It should still retain a clean taste.
Brown Ale. - One of my personal favourites, as it can be very easily personalised to your individual taste. A traditional brown ale can be dark brown to amber in colour, and has a very slight sweetness due to the use of lactose in the brewing process. It is only slightly hoppy, and often mixed with other beers by drinkers in pursuit of an individual taste.
Irish Stout.- This probably needs little description due to the popularity of Guiness. A very dark beer in appearance, very full flavour, and quite bitter. Traditionally it has a thick, creamy head. Something of an acquired taste, those drinkers who have persevered with it tend to be lifelong fans. It is relatively easy for the home brewer to produce a very acceptable stout.
Sweet Stout. - Or Milk Stout is a less bitter version of Irish Stout. Not quite so heavy or dark, with a more foamy head.
Oatmeal Stout. - This stout falls between the two previous stouts. Being not as bitter as an Irish Stout, and not as sweet as a Sweet Stout. It has it's own flavour by the use, as the name suggests, of oats in the brewing process.
Barley wine.- This is a very sweet, heavy beer, with a high alcohol content. Commercial varieties often around the 10% ABV mark. High for a beer. Usually golden in colour, with just a touch of bitterness in the aftertaste. Usually served in small glasses. Not recommended as a session beer. This is quite a difficult beer to get right for the home brewer, but worth the effort.
Lager.- An increasingly popular beer for the home brewer. Again, not easy to reproduce but well worth it when it comes good. Pale in colour, and light bodied, it has just a touch of hoppiness. To brew a good lager it is essential to use a bottom fermenting (lager) yeast.
These are the broad categories, and most home brewers will produce a beer pretty similar to one of them. A common mistake with many home brewers is to get a kit and make whatever beer it makes, and either stick to it and get bored. Or not like it and give up. I can assure you that using the right ingredients and the right recipe you can find not just one beer that suits you, but many. And you won't be bored.
1. Yeast.
Yeast comes in two forms, liquid and dry.
Dry yeast, also known as active yeast, must be kept dry. Any moisture will affect the brewing and fermentation process. Dry yeast is a living organism that multiplies, eats sugar, and produces alcohol and carbon dioxide as waste products. Most dry yeast is stamped with a freshness date so you can tell if it is fresh or has been sitting around for months. The expiration date on the yeast will be several months long, but it is best to use the yeast as soon as possible for the best tasting home made beer.
Commercial brewers use liquid yeast. Liquid yeast is very high quality yeast. It can also be matched much more precisely to the type of beer you are making. Liquid yeast comes in larger quantities so before you invest make sure you like your recipe or a variation.
2. Water.
Tap water is all you need as long as it has good taste. If your water tastes bad pre-boil it. Bring it to a boil and let it cool. You can also try filtering the water, but will not want to use distilled water.
3. Malt Extract.
Like yeast, malt extract comes in both liquid and dry forms. The dry form is a powder. Malt extract will make your brewing process much easier and give you a better product.
Malt extract comes in hopped and unhopped versions. Malt will give color, taste and body to the beer and generally provides the grain flavor. If your malt extract does not give you the taste you want, try a small quantity of specialty malt until the flavor is just right.
4. Hops.
Hops are the sugar in your brew.. They add sweetness to the beer. They also add the herbal taste and smell. Oddly enough, hops also provide bitterness to your beer. The two different types of hops provide either aroma or bitter qualities.
In most cases bittering hops are added at the beginning of the recipe while aroma hops generally are not added until after the boil.
As with most recipes these 4 key ingredients provide the backbone and structure to your beer. What you add to them is the key to making great beer that will make you the most loved friend in your circle.
Both Chris Haycock & Josie Olson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Chris Haycock has sinced written about articles on various topics from Internet Marketing, Email Advertising and Investments. Chris Haycock is an information publisher. One of whose many hobbies is home brewing. Preferring the taste and variety of his own product to those commercially available. For more information go to:. Chris Haycock's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.
Josie Olson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Insurance, Homeowners Insurance and Food And Drink. Josie Olson brews beer in her own kitchen. To learn secrets of brewing and get 100s of recipes visit . When not brewing Josie spends her time planning. Josie Olson's top article generates over 74000 views. to your Favourites.