Back in October of this year the news of an impending hop shortage claimed that prices will skyrocket for their favorite craft brew and that the price of hops in general would rise to all-time highs. If you are a micro/craft brewer perhaps the situation of the world hop market should be taken very seriously. If you are a homebrewer, how will this affect you?
These days, people have started consuming a lot of wine. The reason is that today, people are aware of the health benefits of drinking wine. A good amount of money is spend on wine consumption. However, the main difficulty most people face after purchasing wine is the storage of wine. People tend to spend a lot of money on purchasing wine but after some time, they feel that they have almost wasted their money. The reason is that the wine does not taste the same after some time. Now, this is because these people do not have any clue about how to store wine properly. Proper wine storage is very important for providing longevity to wine and also to enhance its taste while maintaining the quality.
Most home brew enthusiasts see having a home kegging system as a natural progression from novice to expert, much like going from extract to all-grain. However, even with all the positives of kegging your home made beer there are a few things you need to understand.
Wine is undoubtedly one of the great national treasures of France, and some of the most expensive in the world, like a vintage Romanee Conti red wine produced in Burgundy can set you back anything upwards of 1,000 for just one bottle.
It’s been nearly a month and you’ve waited patiently for your latest batch of homebrewed beer. The time has come and you open a bottle or pull the tap and begin to fill a glass of what you hope will be your next favorite beer (generally speaking my favorite beer is usually the one I’m drinking at the moment). The taste is great but the beer is hazy and not very clear. You know it taste good but it’s hard to convince your friends, who are used to buying and drinking sparkling clear beer, that the cloudy haze is alright to drink and really doesn’t affect the taste.
Unmalted grains such as corn, rice, rye, oats, barley, and wheat are called adjuncts. They are used in brewing beer and produce beers with added body and a greater brilliancy. Adjuncts also contribute to the flavor of the beer, for example, rice has a very neutral aroma and taste, while corn results in a full flavored beer and wheat adds dryness to beer. Adjuncts also can result in a final product with higher alcohol content without altering the flavor.
If you don’t have enough room or cash for a keg system but are tired of all the washing, sterilizing and time required to bottle your beer you can choose a product that is “in-between” bottling and kegging.
In order to begin brewing your own beer at home you will first need to have a taste for good beer. If you enjoy drinking Bud, Coors or Miller ad nausea you probably won’t care much for homebrew. However, if you have already acquired a taste for a variety of micro-brews and enjoy trying new and different beers then you are a prime candidate for brewing your own beer.
The homebrewer has two types of yeast to choose from; liquid yeasts or dry yeasts. For some this argument is similar to a “taste-great less filling” debate or “Ford versus Chevy” discussion. Good beer can be made from both dry and liquid yeast and both have their advantages and disadvantages. While many homebrew enthusiast claim that dry yeasts are poor fermenters and can produce undesired flavors since they are not as pure a culture as a liquid yeast others favor the convenience and lower cost that dry yeast offers.
Many people are intimidated by the task of selecting wine in a fine restaurant. This article is intended to provide a simple guide that will enable anyone to feel confident enough to choose a wine that will impress their dinner guests. The focus is on French and Italian wines.