Beer is a worldwide beverage. It was first coined in ancient Egypt. Today, beer is offered on store shelves in a huge assortment. But a home-made drink made by oneself has a more pleasant and rich taste than a store counterpart.
Features of Home Brewing
It is a misconception that it is difficult to brew quality beer at home, as there is no special equipment. In reality, everything is much simpler. You can use an ordinary pan, stock up with barley or wheat malt and start cooking.
There are many different recipes for making homemade wheat beer, but in the classic version, the traditional components are supposed to be used: hops, yeast, malt, water.
If you follow all the instructions and maintain the necessary pause, you end up with a homemade drink with thick foam and a pleasant taste. Filtration and pasteurization in home brewing is not required, which greatly simplifies the process chain.
Until the 16th century, most of the beer varieties were dark in color, since heavily roasted barley was used for brewing in those days. The technology for making light beer in the Middle Ages did not exist. The Weissbier wheat beer recipe (translated from German as “white”) involved the use of wheat malt.
Bavarian beer
At the end of the 16th century, the Duke of Bavaria issued decrees according to which barley beers were called lagers, and wheat varieties were called ales. After the creation of an updated brewing technology in the 19th century, they began to produce light malt. As a result, clarified Bavarian beers appeared.
German manufacturers of this popular drink have preserved ancient recipes, continue the traditions of their ancestors. The Weissbier variety since 1870 has become popular, popular all over the world.
Features of the technological process
Weissbier - wheat light beer, its recipe is passed down from generation to generation. Carl von Linde, who came up with a unique cooling technique, installed the first cooling coolers in a Munich brewery. Until such a technology appeared, ales were cooked only in the hot months to ensure full riding fermentation.
Lager camp lagers received in the winter using bottom-fermented yeast. The development of cooling technology allowed the brewers to work year-round. In the 19th century, light beers became elite in Bavaria and other regions of Germany.
Secrets of homemade beer
Malt is a cereal grain that is sprouted, coarsely ground. 3 kilograms of wheat grains are poured onto a baking sheet, poured with water. Three days later, wheat germinates . The grain is dried, coarsely ground, and malt is obtained . Malt can be prepared from any kind of cereal. The recipe for home-made wheat beer is simple, it does not imply ownership of the intricacies of brewing.
Home production is based on three components: light, dark, wheat.
Light ale
Wheat beer, the recipe of which will be given below, differs from what is offered in shops, bars, restaurants. Ale yeast during the fermentation process emit phenols and esters, which have the aroma of spices, flowers, fruits. There is nothing nicer than the smell of camp (grassroots) yeast. A keg of beer aged in a dark basement will delight you with its clean aroma and pleasant taste. Classic ale is considered the brainchild of Britain. To make it, you will need English hops, as well as yeast stamps from the Old World. The drink has a moderate bitterness, fruity and hop aroma, an unusual malt taste. The British often serve the finished beer to the table in oak barrels, add hops immediately after the start of fermentation.
Backfill:
- 3 kilograms of Pilsen malt;
- 1 kilogram of Munich malt;
- 0, 2 kilograms of caramel malt
- dry and liquid yeast.
For bitterness, hops are added to the must.
The fermentation process lasts from two to three weeks. Then you can pour beer into bottles. A week it is kept in a warm room, then for 14 days it is placed in a cool place for full maturation. Upon receipt of brown ale add 150 grams of burnt malt.
Brewing classic wheat beer
The birthplace of a delicious drink is Bavaria. They still appreciate this wheat beer. The recipe is distinguished by the use of barley with the addition of 50 percent wheat malt. Cereals do not have a grain shell; filtering problems are possible. When preparing a drink such as wheat beer, the recipe involves the use of special yeast. They are gentle, light, tasteful. The fermentation process produces an unusual clove and banana flavor.
For filling, 2 kg of Pilsen and wheat malt will be required; 1 kg of Munich malt
The duration of fermentation is 2 weeks. Then the beer is poured in bottles, aged 7 days. This variety does not imply long-term storage; it is consumed in a "young" form.
The art of home brewing
This is not a simple matter, therefore not everyone decides on a similar process. Many are limited to buying a bottle of beer at the grocery store, saving time. If you decide to make homemade wheat beer, the recipe can be selected taking into account the ingredients available.
In addition to water, the classical brewing of a wheat drink needs three more main components: malt, brewer's yeast, and hops. We do not recommend “experimenting” with yeast, it is better to immediately purchase them in a specialized store. Do not forget that the final result of brewing beer directly depends on their quality. Malt and hops can be made on their own, but this will require free time. Decided to make wheat beer at home? Recipes have a nuance: to produce a light drink, malt must be dried in natural conditions. Dark varieties require additional roasting of malt, as well as the addition of a special caramel variety.
Brewing malt is a germinated and dried barley grain without breaking the hard shell. It is husk that is a natural filter in the process of brewing beer. This ingredient should be sweet, not drown in water. Before use, the malt is ground in a roller mill, leaving the shell intact.
The recipe for light wheat beer involves the use of aromatic hops. For dark beer, bitter hops are selected. Before using this ingredient in home brewing, carefully examine the bumps. Their shades should be yellowish or reddish.
Yeast is taken alive and dry, and it is better to use spring or filtered water for home- brewed beer . The amount of sugar should not exceed 8 g per 1 liter of drink. If you decide to brew Belgian wheat beer, the recipe allows the replacement of granulated sugar with natural honey.
Home Brewing Equipment
First of all, you need to pick up a large enameled pan (25-30 liters). In its lower part, it is desirable to embed a tap to drain the drink. In addition, you need a container for the fermentation process, a thermometer, gauze, plastic and glass bottles for the finished beer, a narrow silicone hose. To cool the wort, you can independently make a chiller ("refrigerator") from a copper tube.
The recipe for a classic wheat home beer
Wheat beer, the brewing recipe of which we will present, is especially popular among connoisseurs of this drink. For its manufacture in your own kitchen, it is important to comply with all recommendations on the temperature regime, pay special attention to the preparatory period. The equipment is thoroughly washed, dried before brewing. Otherwise, microbes will fall into the wort, the mash will turn sour, and time and money will be wasted.
Next, the necessary ingredients are prepared: 32 liters of pure water, 5 kilograms of wheat malt, 25 g of brewer's yeast, 45 g of hops.
25 liters of water are poured into the pan, heated to 80 degrees. Ground malt is placed in a gauze bag, dipped in hot water. The pan is closed with a lid, left for 2 hours, observing the temperature regime (at least 72 degrees). This temperature is considered optimal for saccharification of malt. After 2 hours, it is increased to 80 degrees, wait 5-10 minutes. Then they take out the malt from the pan, add the remaining water. Then the wort is brought to a boil, the resulting foam is removed, 15 grams of hops are poured into the pan, and boil for another 15 minutes. The full wort preparation time is 1.5 hours. Next, the drink needs to be cooled quickly. The probability of infection of beer with harmful bacteria depends on the cooling rate. The pan is transferred to a bath pre-filled with cold water. Then the wort is poured 2-3 times through cheesecloth, placed in another container.
The next step is brewing yeast. If you choose Bavarian wheat beer, the recipe involves the use of roasted malt. Yeast after adding to the wort, mix thoroughly. In order for the beer to turn out to be “lush”, you must completely follow the instructions indicated on the package of yeast. The capacity is put on fermentation in a dark place where the temperature does not exceed 22 degrees. Fermentation is carried out for 8-10 days. A water trap is placed on the container, carbon dioxide bubbles will be released as fermentation takes place. The readiness of beer is evidenced by their absence during the day.
Beer carbonation
Want to get a “lush” wheat beer at home? Recipes for its preparation include carbonization, that is, filling the drink with carbon dioxide. A similar procedure is performed to obtain a thick and dense foam. The process itself is quite simple. Sterilized bottles are taken, sugar is poured into them (at the rate of 8 grams per liter of beer). Next, the drink using a narrow rubber hose is poured into bottles. Leave 2 cm to the top so that the beer can “breathe”, tightly close the neck with a cork. In the secondary fermentation process, young beer is saturated with the right amount of carbon dioxide. The quality of the drink can be improved by leaving it alone for 2-3 weeks in a dark place.
Wheat beer: recipe, description, nuances of the process, you need to study before proceeding with home brewing. Excellent home-made beer made by yourself will have a strength of 4-5 percent. When closed, the drink can be stored for up to eight months, it is advisable to drink an open bottle in 2-3 days.
Homemade Beer Recipe
Do you like dark wheat beer? The recipe for its home-made is quite simple.
½ bucket of barley malt is stirred in a barrel with 2 buckets of clean water, left for a day. The mixture is poured into the pot, add a teaspoon of salt, boil for 2 hours. Then pour 6 glasses of hops, cook another 20 minutes. Filter through cheesecloth into a barrel, cool, pour a cup of brewer's yeast, a cup of sugar syrup, mix, leave for 10 hours. Young beer is ready to drink a day after its brewing.
English beer
Barley, oats are added to fresh bread, mixed, dried grains. Grind them in a mill, pour them into a pan. Pour 1.5 buckets of hot water into it. The components are mixed, left for 2-3 hours, then carefully drained.
After taking out the bread from the oven, thoroughly sweep it out, pour 8 pounds [3.63 kg] of good oats or barley, stirring it constantly with a wooden spatula, dry it, making sure that the grains not only do not burn, but also do not fry. Dilute molasses with warm water, pour into a liquid, add hops, boil. After cooling the liquid, fresh yeast is poured into it, beer is left for two weeks. After 14 days, the beer is filtered, it is ready to drink.
Conclusion
True beer lovers prefer to make their favorite drink with their own hands, rather than buying in stores. Possessing the technology of creating this popular drink, you can not only save material resources, but also not be afraid for your health. In this home-made beer, the use of preservatives, harmful chemicals is not intended. The classic recipe for a wheat home-made drink is based on natural and human-friendly ingredients: malt, yeast, hops. If you wish, you can experiment with the degree of roasting grain, getting beer in different shades. What could be more pleasant after a sauna or a Russian bath than a mug of cold home-made beer?