There are a huge number of varieties of beer. This drink is considered one of the most popular in the world. You can also cook it at home. Moreover, from the minimum amount of ingredients, you can pamper yourself not only with classic varieties, but also with exclusive ones, for example, beer from pine shoots or from dried fruits.
Main ingredients of beer
Any beer must contain hops and malt. Hops are small inflorescences of a plant that very often grows in many summer cottages. First they are collected, then dried and crushed thoroughly. As a result of this process, a powder is obtained.
Malt is a sprouted grain. You can use almost any variety, but most often wheat, rye or barley grains become the basis for beer. Beer blanks are on sale, but you can just buy grain and germinate it at home. However, the easiest option is to purchase a special malt extract.
The basic principle of brewing beer
Regardless of the type of beer, the recipe for its preparation, as a rule, remains unchanged. You can change the ingredients, add them, but the sequence of processing is the main secret.
Prepare a large saucepan and boil three liters of water in it. Add 1 kg of sugar and bring the mixture to a boil again. You should have a fairly thick sugar syrup. Heat the malt extract in a bain-marie and mix it with the sugar mixture. The ingredients must be thoroughly mixed into a homogeneous mass.
Prepare the water separately. It is better if it is slightly settled. It is necessary to add cold water to the workpiece so that its amount exceeds the sweet mass by 8 times. The mixture is then poured into a selected fermentation vessel. The final and most crucial step will be the addition of brewer's yeast. Note that this refers to specialty yeast, not cooking mixes.
Yeast (no more than 50 g) is poured evenly into the prepared wort. The main thing is that they are evenly distributed in the liquid and do not turn into lumps. Immediately after the final procedure, close the fermentation vessel with a lid and place it in a cool place. The optimum temperature for brewing beer is no more than 20 degrees.
Within a week, the harvest must carry out the fermentation process. As soon as bubbles stop appearing on the surface, the mixture can be poured into separate containers. Add 2-3 teaspoons of hops to each bottle. Closed containers can be stored for quite a long time, but it is better to taste beer a week after brewing.
Homemade beer with additives
Any additives such as dried fruit, pine shoots or juniper are added during the malt stage. The base for beer is brought to a boil (water, malt, sugar), then dry fruits or other additives are poured into it. The mass is poured into a storage container, which must be tightly closed with a lid or gauze. The fermentation process is determined by the characteristic effervescent sound and the presence of bubbles. As soon as these distinctive features cease to appear, the beer is ready to drink.
Crimean homemade beer is prepared with the addition of pieces of black bread and cloves. This drink is distinguished by its original taste and so-called piquancy.
The most ancient recipe for making beer is a drink based on honey. In this case, the main ingredients are honey, hops and yeast. The proportions are calculated as follows: for 2 kg of honey, you need 50 g of yeast and 25 g of hops. Boil 10 liters of water in a large saucepan, add honey and hops. Bring the mixture to a boil and then strain by bottling. After a few days, the beer will be ready to drink.
