The innagural brew - Method

So home brewing has changed a lot since I last dabbled in the craft. My Pop chose the simplest method available (At the time), and used to buy big cans of what looked like molasses. He meticulously boiled it up to exact temperatures through a number of critical steps - it was not complicated, but quite involved. There were a bunch of steps and stages, different ingredients and a process to follow. .......and this was the easy way.


Well, not any more it seems. There's now a third option to home brewing, let's have a quick look at the three methods of brewing beer at home.

1. From Scratch

image source: http://beatler.com

This is the equivalent of cooking 'from scratch.' You start with the simplest of raw ingredients and work through every step of the process to an end result. You can measure and control every ingredient, and ultimately tweak every aspect of your brew. It's by far the most complex and expensive option, though truth be told it is never really overly difficult. Beer making is always shockingly simple (More on the simplicity later).

Local brewers supply shops will often pack up kits, like you see here on the right. Pre- measured baggies of oats, hops, barley, malts, and all kinds of other things that create the final beer's unique characteristics. Some day, bracieRSS will attempt a batch of beer from scratch like this, but we're going to start simple and work our way up to this method.

I feel that this is the pinnacle of home brewing methods. You can create and tweak to your exact preferences, and craft a brew that no one has ever had before. It is worth noting that this is also the most traditional way to brew beer, the origin of the craft.

2. From Malt.

This is how my Pop used to make his beer. The 'can of molasses' was actually a can of Malt. From my understanding this stuff is essentially a can of commercially concentrated flavors that are cooked and extracted from raw ingredients (see option 1, above).

This is done to simplify and standardize the steps required to make beer at home. And it works, it is dead easy to make beer this way.

Most people's impressions of home brewed beer, is a result of products like these. This is the most cost effective way to brew, and from my experience also creates the most middling results. That unique home brewed flavor, the foggy bottles with sediment - all trademark signs of this method of beer making. I quite enjoy it, but also have had the misfortune of enjoying many bad batches of beer brewed this way. bracieRSS will try some of these, but I expect to graduate up to option #1 quickly once we get established.

3. From Wort.

image source: vodkitchen.com

This is where bracieRSS is going to being our beer making adventure. In each of the above two options, different roads taken to arrive at the same point - a large bucket of wort.

Wort (Pronounced: 'wert') is a large bucket of flavor that is consumed by yeast to product alcohol. I'll break down what's really going on in this step later - but regardless of how you choose to make your own beer from home you will ultimately end up with a large pail of liquid called wort.

The thing about wort, is that it perishable, heavy, and better when fresh. For years the best way manufacturers had to get this stuff into your hands, was to concentrate it into a sticky molasses like syrup and can it (see option 2 above). ............think instant coffee, concentrated orange juice, or powdered milk. All serviceable products, in fact ideal for certain needs/situations - but far from ideal if you are shooting for the highest possible quality finished product.

This model all changed a couple of years ago, so I am told. Manufacturers found a way to package wort with out concentration, or risk of it going foul. It was a combination of innovative new packaging options, as well as some thought put into pH levels. Now days, you can buy exceptionally high quality packaged wort, ready to brew at home. This is where bracieRSS is going to start.

Here it is. It's like a giant box of wine, a sturdy cardboard box that contains a huge wine bag of wort. I opted for the 'Mexican Cerveza' flavor, for a Corona type of finished product.

Onward.