Beer Steins and Glasses

The History Of American Home Brewing

At first, home beer brewing was illegal in America, before the laws changed and made America one of the top producing beer countries on the 90’s… and now we see the decline once again with the tough economic times forcing many companies out of business and into bankruptcy. This has of course led to more and more people drinking to drown their sorrows, so to speak, but many more are actually turning this lust for beer into a productive past time by starting their own home brewery… and what a way to go!

As was mentioned, American home brewing has been very flexible through time. Back in the old America, home brewing was already a part of colonial lives. Even famous personalities such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were home brew aficionados.

However, there was a time of prohibition that was devastating to the American population. Prohibition meant that it was illegal to brew your own beer, and heavy fines where placed on people who broke this law… and what a shame that was… some people even went to prison for having a home brewery! Can you imagine a life without beer? Everybody had to content with a watered down lifeless beer – well not really beer but something which was a very poor substitute for it. Nothing substantially alcoholic was allowed and few took efforts in making their drinks less alcoholic but tasty. Unfortunately the American people had to suffice and deal with prohibition. This then led to shop owners renaming all equipment so it couldn’t be associated with running home brewery and started selling it on the sly to hardcore supporters of brewing beer at home. This was quiet easy because the equipment is fairly standard, including buckets, hosing, pots, pans, and other tidbits. The situation varied from state to state. In some states, only those selling home brews were caught while in some, brewing for personal consumption also meant facing legal charges. Good thing those laws have been since relaxed and prohibition has truly been and gone!

In 1935, the law was improvised a bit. Home wine making was allowed without taxes but to brew beer, the interested party must first secure permits and comply with regulations. But despite the heavy regulations, some beer advocates pooled their efforts to promote home brewing. One of the greats in the field, Charlie Papazian first entered the scenario during this time and taught home brewing classes. However, government maintained that unregulated home brewing was still unlawful as any type of brewing could still be employed by moonshiners.

But thankfully, in 1978, Jimmy Carter rescued the doomed souls of beer loving Americans and signed Senate Amendment 3534 allowing households to brew their own beer as long as they don’t go beyond 200 gallons a year. After the lifting of the prohibition on alcoholic beverages, it was home brew beer enthusiasts who worked hard to revive the brewing industry. Today, there are over 1,463 breweries in the United States, a much improved American home brewing state.

American Home Brewing is happening and booming today, so naturally it’s time to sit down, relax, and enjoy a home brew. For those still not up to scratch with home brewing beer, follow the link to discover more!

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Home Beer Brewing Supplies 101

If you brew your own beer, or would like to start this great hobby… you need to acquaint yourself with the home beer brewing equipment that you will require. There are kits and tools of the trade for all skill levels, it’s just a matter of picking the right ones.

It is advisable for you to ask someone who works at the shop to help you if you need clarifications regarding home brewing products. Some kits will allow you to brew a small batch such as 5 gallons, and others will allow you to brew much larger batches (for the more experienced)… so before you start buying equipment willy nilly, decide on how much beer you would like to brew and that will determine what equipment you will need.

When buying buckets for fermentation, make sure they are specifically designed to ferment your wort into drinkable beer. A fermentation bucket will include an airlock as not to let any air in that can spoil your unfermented beer. Moving along, some fermentation buckets come with a spigot, whilst others don’t. If you happen to have a fermentation bucket without a spigot, then simply buy a bottling bucket that has a spigot for ease of use. A spigot allows easier transfer of beer into the bottles on bottling day.

Extra supplies that you might need include a siphon to transfer your beer to the bottling bucket, and then into the bottles. For bottling, you will also need bottle caps and a sturdy capper to properly seal your bottles.

Grains, malt extracts and yeast are also essential because they are basically the source of your beer. How would you produce beer without them? Similarly, if you want to add flavor to your home brew beer you need to put in flavorings and spices such as licorice stick, spruce essence and dried ginger root. Aside from these, hops such as Cascade Leaf Hops can also be used to add taste to your home made beer.

To control the temperature of your beer and therefore improve its quality and consistency, you need a thermometer that gives an accurate measurement. In addition, you should include a hydrometer in your list of beer making must-haves because this instrument keeps track of the beer wort’s density rather than water density. By doing so, the hydrometer is able to determine if the beer is fermented enough for bottling.

Cleaning all your equipment before brewing and bottling is an essential task, so make sure that you also purchase all the necessary sanitizing liquids.

In sum, brewing your own beer can be a whole lot of fun… but before you can engage in it you must know the 101 on home brew supplies.

If you desire to home brew beer, then you must have the proper home brewery supplies and equipment. Miss out on these and you will have a random set off things good for nada!

Packaging Your Homemade Wine

Making homemade wine can a great hobby and a lot of fun to boot. There is nothing like the feeling of opening your own wine and knowing that what you created surpasses many of the high priced winery wines. However, while making wine may be fun, there is a bit of a learning curve.

There are some important things you need to have a real comprehension of before you begin making homemade wine. Learning the basics from websites, experts and books is a great way to begin your wine making. You can find the equipment needed at many places like online retailers and at specialty shops that cater to brewers.

Utilizing a wine kit is most likely the best way to begin making wine at home. These kits make it easier for beginners to succeed.

While it might be a good idea to use quality equipment for wine making it is more important to use top notch ingredients. The higher the quality of ingredients the better your wine will taste, but fear not, if you are on a budget you can still make wine from juice concentrate!

Different wine varietals will take a different time to process, but usually the time span is anywhere between eight and ten weeks. It is essential that you do not spoil your wine by drinking it too early, wine tastes better the longer it ages.

To find tasty recipes for homemade wine you can look in all places like websites and books and find recipes for wine from cherry wine to pinot grigio. A great idea for your wine is to give it as gifts and tailor the taste for that person. For a wine lover, nothing is better as a gift than some personalized wine.

Your packaging for your homemade wine can be just as important as the taste. The bottle shape and color, the kind of cork you use, and what you put on your wine label all give it that special something. The wine label, in fact, is the most important way to personalize your wine.

The wine label will give one the overall impression of the wine. Wine labels are used for logos, the name of the wine and putting personal messages on the bottle that is used as a gift. Sounds like so much fun!