Working in the beer trade for over a decade I have seen many price rises occur, usually twice a year regardless of any government levied taxation. Prices have risen by almost 53% over the last decade in the UK. Imported beers are now being produced under license in huge breweries and the cost of running a licensed premises has increased due to many factors including rises in utility bills, commercial rates and the minimum wage.

Undoubtedly it is the end user of the product that pays the bill.

One day after paying what seemed like a fortune for a round of drinks with friends I thought to myself ‘this is wrong – beers made out of dirt…’. By ‘dirt’ I meant basic ingredients though dirt was my actual word of thought.

This was the start, the start of something surprisingly good.

The very next day I went to my local homebrew store. I walked through the door to be faced with an amazing array of plastic barrels, buckets, tins of ‘beer’ and shelves of bags of grains – all varieties of grains, sugars, beer enhancers. The list goes on. In other words I felt as though I really had stepped out of my depth. The hop was busy. There were people asking questions about clarification and filtering of wine, sparging arms and hop utilisation. I felt small and nearly left the shop with my newly gained bundle of homebrew confusion. Then I was cornered…

“How can we help?” I hesitated – to be honest I did not know where to start on the basis I had no idea the processes of making beer. “I’m interested in making my own beer” I muttered “but I haven’t got a clue what I need or where to start.” There was a slight pause and I thought that the woman was cursing my inadequate research into the subject. I was wrong.

“One moment” she said and disappeared into the back of the shop returning promptly with a batch of photocopied leaflets. “I will give you these leaflets on the three main ways of making beers.” These included step by step details on making beer from beer kits, malt extract brewing and all grain brewing.

She advised starting with brewing from commercially available beer kits as this was the most simple way to start yet taught the important methods of cleaning and fermentation. They also had a ready to go homebrew bundle which included all the equipment required and a high quality beer kit. This was becoming simple…

The starter kit included a fermentation bucket, a pressure barrel, a racking cane (syphon), hydrometer, thermometer, airlock, a choice of gas systems, sterilising powder and a choice of beer kit from their premium range capable of making 40 pints of beer.

Next she ran through the full process of brewing with the equipment in great detail, including using the hydrometer and thermometer and the option of bottling. An over detailed essay on water then followed but the little that did not go over my head was very beneficial.

I was sold but concerned about the reusability of the equipment particularly the pressure barrel – how many times can I us it ? She claimed that they prided themselves on the quality of the goods they sell and that despite the barrel being classed as a budget barrel it should last for years (of which it has along side the other barrels I have since bought).

Now, I have developed my hobby into All Grain brewing and still use all the original equipment from the starter kit. I enjoy going out to my local bars and trying the different beers and ales available with the nose of a connoisseur. Many of my friends have now been bitten by the homebrew bug and we spend many an evening sampling each other’s brews.

Conclusion

I really have to champion the homebrew shop. It is daunting to first walk in there with little or no idea but the help you will get is always top notch. Remember – these people are into the hobby themselves 99.9% of the time and they are there to sell.

If you are thinking about brewing beer for yourself then take the plunge. It is not expensive and quite refreshing to think that the beer you are drinking costs only about 20-30 pence per pint. The other day I went into a bar and was charged £3 for a pint of real ale. It hurt that this cost the equivalent of 10 pints of my own brew.

For a easy to understand breakdown of equipment needed and the brewing process visit Home brew made easy or do a Google search. Just don’t be inhibited by your lack of knowledge of the brewing process – it is easy.

Author: Keith Neill
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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