Home brewing beer is quickly becoming a very, very popular hobby but a lot of people don’t understand why anyone would want to brew their own beer.  They worry about loosing the space or making a mess during the process of making their own beer.  They would actually rather go to the store and by one of the generic brews.

Home brewing isn’t about convenience or even cost (though it can be less expensive once you have set up with your initial brew kit).  It is a fulfilling hobby for thousands and thousands of people that makes them happy (even before they sample the brew) and keeps them busy and instead of thinking about the economy they are trying to decide what combination of hops and grains they will use in their next batch.

For others it is an attempt to create something that has never been created before, they want to create a new beer that is a perfect match for their taste buds and gives them the satisfaction of creating a brew that is unlike anything else.

A lot of recipes you find produced by the large breweries have been handed down through generations of family brewers and this is the way it was historically done.  In the current era there is a greater understanding of what different hops, grains, yeasts and even the water can do to change the flavor of the end brew and there are very few family recipes that aren’t used by commercial breweries.

Because of the varying supply of hops, grains, pre-made malt extracts you can create a beer specifically for your taste.  Experimenting and trying different recipes is a large part of the fun of home brewing, not too mention the taste testing of you creative new home brew.

Even if you are brewing your very first batch of home brew beer you can still create an excellent beer simply by purchasing a brew kit that contains everything you need.  If it isn’t perfect then you can try to change it up a little and brew another batch to see if you have found perfection or not.

Brew kits make easy for anyone to create a good home brew and most of them come with instructions that will help you get your first home brew done easily but if you are like a vast majority of home brewers you will find that you aren’t quite happy with the end result and you will have some ideas on how to improve it.

Every home beer brewer has their own version of, “The Worlds Best Beer Recipe” but unfortunately not all taste buds agree.  That is the best part about creating you own home brew beer, is that you can tailor the recipe so that you will be making, “The Worlds Best Home Brew Beer” at least until you create the next batch.

Making your own home brew beer is something that you can do with just a little time and effort.  Once you find out that you can create great tasting beer at home, you will want to do it all the time. Forget buying beer at the store, you can have your own line of beer with flavors customized to your taste.

For your first home brew I recommend that you purchase a brewing kit with all the ingredients you need to make your first custom beer.  Once you have that under your belt you can buy all kinds of pre-made malt extracts pre-hopped or un-hopped or you can create your own wort (the liquid created in the mashing process) from a variety of grains and hops to bring out that specific flavor you are looking for.

If you are purchasing a full kit that includes the malt extract you will have to decide on what style of home brew you would like to make this varies from person to person and includes options like dark, pale and amber ales, English, German, American and even fruit beers, yes I said fruit.

Now that you have your equipment and your have chosen your style and flavor it is time to create the actual brew.

One of the most common mistakes made by beginning home brewers is that they overlook the importance of sanitation.  Everything and anything that will come in contact with your unfermented home brew beer needs to be completely sanitary.

Use of a commercial sanitizer is your best bet for this process.  Don’t rush this let the sanitizer have the time it needs to do its job and don’t forget to sanitize your stirring spoon as well as your fermenter.

Sanitizer can kill the yeast that will be critical to the creation of your home brew so you need to rinse everything very well to make sure the sanitizer is completely removed.

Combine your water and malt extract (either pre-made or your own custom mix) in your brew kettle and bring it to a good rolling boil.  Be careful that you don’t let it boil over.

The next step is to cool it down to below one hundred degrees Fahrenheit. A good way to do this is to place the brew kettle in a sink partially filled with cool water.

Now it is time to put your brew into your well sanitized, well rinsed fermenter and to top it off to the full mark (usually five gallons)

Then we will add the most important ingredient, the yeast. This not only make your home brew beer a true beer but it also has an effect on the flavor.  There is a wide variety of yeasts to choose from and again this will depend on your personal taste.

Let your home brew ferment from eight to ten days (usually until the bubbling stops) then let it stand at room temperature for a couple more days.  I know you want to try it right now but it is better to let it fully flavor.

Now you are ready to put your home brew into bottles.  Fill your bottles until you are about one inch from the top and put on the cap.  Depending on the brewing kit you purchased you might have to let it carbonate for a few days but some of the better brewing kits have carbonation pods on them so you can sample your brew earlier.

That’s it you are done and it is time to enjoy the fresh taste of your own home brew beer.