Over the past few years, I have received hundreds of emails from readers of my . I've gotten questions ranging from "What is Homebrewing" to "what is the IBU of ? ounce of Fuggel hops combined with 1 ounce of cascade, in a 30 minute boil?" Here's a list of the most commonly asked questions about this fascinating hobby.
Is homebrewing beer difficult?
How do I learn to homebrew beer?
Is the beer any good?
Can I make liquor, like Gin, or Rum?
Is it expensive to start?
Can I make Budweiser?
I heard that bad homebrew can make me sick, or even blind, is that true?
Is it legal?
Can I make homebrew beer that has high alcohol content?
How long does it take?
Is Homebrewing Beer difficult
The answer is a quick and simple, no. There is really nothing HARD about it. It does take some time, and you have to very diligent about things like sanitation. Basic homebrewing essentially consists of washing and sanitizing your equipment, boiling some water, adding ingredients, putting the batch in a fermenter, adding yeast, waiting (the hardest part), and then bottling your beer. None of it is hard
How do I learn to homebrew beer?
There are dozens of resources to use to learn to make great homebrew. And learning is something you can continue to do, as you get better and better and more involved in the learning process.
There is a very good book, considered "Indispensible" by most homebrewers. That book is , by Charlie Papazian. This book will show you everything you could possibly want to know, and then a whole lot more on top of that.
If you would prefer an online resource, you can take a look at my Beginner's Homebrewing Tutorial.
Is the beer any good?
Well, that's completely up to you. What kind of beer do you like? Are you using a good recipe? Was everything clean and sanitized. There are many variables that go in to the quality of homebrewed beer. But, there are just as many variables that go into making a pot of chili, or a good margarita. The cool thing is that you have complete control over the final product. Do you like sweet, heavy beers, like a Newcastle Brown Ale, or a Guiness? No problem, brew a similar beer. Or, like many, do you prefer a golden American lager, like Budweiser or Coors. No problem, brew that. It's up to you.
Can I make liquor, like Gin, or Rum?
The answer is yes, but I don't recommend it. There are off the shelf distillers available today that are specifically meant to distill water. But, the process of distilling liquor is the same, and requires the same equipment. However, "bootlegging" is illegal in all 50 states and at the federal level. You can face HUGE fines, and significant jail time. SO it is strongly recommended that if you want to drink liquor, go to your local liquor store.
Is it expensive to start?
No, not really, you need a fermenting vessel ( a 5 gallon glass water bottle, or a 5 gallon food grade bucket work great), some ingredients, an air-lock ($2), some bottles and caps. Of course, as you progress in the hobby, you can spend as little or as much money as you prefer. But, it's really not expensive to get in to the hobby at all. I should point out though, the you don't want to get in to homebrewing to save money on beer. It might be a few cents a bottle cheaper than buying it, depending on the kind of beer. But this is not a reason to start homebrewing. The fun and satisfaction of knowing you control the final product, from taste to alcohol content is the part the entices most homebrewer's to get started.
Can I make Budweiser?
I get asked this a lot, not necessarily Budweiser but, "Can I make X beer?", you fill in the X. I don't want to suggest to you that you will be able to precisely duplicate Budweiser, or any other beer. But, the point is, why would you want to. IF you want to drink Budweiser, go buy it. But, if you would like to make a great golden American lager, you can. Then you can experiment with the color, hops, alcohol content, aging, etc., and you may find (you probably will) that what you make is much better then Adolphus Busch ever dreamed of. It is also worth noting here that Budweiser, Coors, Miller, and most all of the beers that are so popular here in the US are lagers. Lagers are made no different than Ales, except that they must be kept at much cooler temperatures than when brewing an ale. This means that you require a spare refrigerator if you want to make lagers. For this reason, most homebrewer's start out with ales.
I heard that bad homebrew can make me sick, or even blind, is that true?
Absolutely not. In fact, even if you were to completely foul up your batch of beer, it might taste poor, but it cannot hurt you. No bacteria (which is the only thing that could cause your beer to make you sick) can survive in fermented beer. The idea that badly made beer can make you blind, or otherwise hurt you comes from confusion with distilling liquor, which, if done improperly, can cause you a lot of damage. But we don't distill beer. It is completely safe.
Is it legal?
Absolutely. In 1978, the federal government passed laws allowing adults to brew beer for their own consumption. Any adult can brew up to 100 gallons of beer in their own home. Households with 2 or more adults can brew up to 200 gallons per year. Let me tell you, that's a lot of beer. 200 gallons of beer figures out to be just over 2100 bottles of beer. Either that will be enough beer for you and your significant other, or you might wish to seek some help.
Can I make homebrew beer that has high alcohol content?
Yes. As mentioned before, when you make your own homebrew, you have complete control over the process. Simply stated, the more sugars you start with in your beer for the yeast to ferment, the higher the alcohol content. There are lots of factors here, like what kind of sugars (some ferment better than others), what kind of yeast you use, the fermenting temperature, etc. But, in general, yes, you have control over the alchohol content.
How long does it take?
This is one of those questions for which the answer must start with "it depends". There are many different "levels" of home brewing. Most start with what is called "Extract" brewing. Then there is intermediate and advanced brewing. But, in general, you will need 3-6 hours of actual brewing time, then anywhere from 2-8 weeks of fermenting and conditioning time.
Tim Sheets is an avid homebrewer, and publisher of the website.
Most marketers do some sort of web site linking as part of their overall marketing strategy. Here are a few questions that seem to come up most often, and, of course, the best way to work with each of them.
(1) Do reciprocal links still count?
Yes, but only if you remember "Quality Over Quantity." In the search engine world, sheer numbers still count for a lot. But there is some evidence to suggest that too many reciprocal links can hurt. Nevertheless, high quality reciprocal links are still worth pursuing, especially if they are from relevant sites with good content. Try not to link to sites that are not relevant to yours.
(2) I'd like to try reciprocal linking to see if it will help me increase traffic to my site. How do I get started?
To request a reciprocal link you send an email to ask the Webmaster to provide a link to your site. It's always a good idea to show him or her that you've actually taken the time to read their site and think it's worth having your link on it.
If you can, offer something of value in exchange for the link. It doesn't necessarily have to be money. Remember that webmasters are people and they value a good product or service. A respectful "pitch,? and an interesting or humorous angle will go a long way toward getting their attention.
(3) What do I do if the person I email about a link never responds?
It's fairly common for webmasters to miss your first email. Maybe their spam blockers caught it, or it was accidentally deleted.
The only way to find out is to send a second, follow up email. In my experience, few webmasters get upset if you send one polite follow up a couple of weeks later. Sometimes they even change their mind when they see that you're serious enough to send a personal communication. If you don't get a response after your second follow up, move on.
(4) Will links from high PR sites help me rank better for my keywords?
Not necessarily. PageRank does not determine how high your page will place for any given search. The term PageRank is not so much about ?rank? as it is a ?rating? of your page in terms of the entire World Wide Web. It's an indicator of how important and influential Google considers that page in comparison to all the other pages out there.
Google PageRank is a ?value? assigned to a web PAGE - not a web SITE. It's based on how many, and how important, the links pointing to your page are. PageRank can be anywhere from a PR0 (not ranked), to PR10, with 10 being the highest. Very few web sites ever achieve a PageRank of 10. The site you link to should have good PageRank - but not too far above your own.
(5) How do I find out who is linking to my competitors so I can either ask them for a link, or avoid them?
You should do the following in both Yahoo and MSN. Go to Yahoo.com and type in the following information from your competitor: linkdomain:thedomain.com
You will see a list of all the backlinks - sometimes thousands! Now go through all those results, study the sites, look for Webmaster information... all the usual homework.
Then you should do the same at MSN. Between Yahoo and MSN, you should find all of the important backlinks. A nice fringe benefit of this method is it will give you a good idea about how hard you need to work to get on the first page for your keywords.
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