| The science of beer is an amazing thing; most beers | | | | and often roasted afterwards, depending on the |
| have only four different ingredients and from these | | | | style of beer the brewer intends to make. Darker |
| ingredients come an incredible variety of colors, | | | | roasts mean darker beer as well as a more full |
| flavors, and aromas. Naturally, the way that all of | | | | bodied flavor. |
| these different flavors and textures come about is a | | | | If you are working with a beer brewing kit, you will |
| lot more complex than just mixing together malted | | | | not generally be germinating and roasting your own |
| barley, hops, yeast and water - but discovering how | | | | barley, however. Instead, you can use the many |
| these simple ingredients interact to produce | | | | pre-made malt extracts available. They are easy to |
| everyone's favorite beverage is all part of the fun of | | | | use and come in any sort of flavor you are likely to |
| having your very own beer brewing kit. | | | | want - once you are more experienced as a brewer |
| You can also add other ingredients to add to the | | | | you can feel free to experiment with your own |
| flavor profile of your beer and indeed, there are a | | | | malted grains, of course. |
| great deal of different additives to choose from. | | | | Yeast |
| However, if you are just getting started as a home | | | | Yeast is what makes the magic happen. This |
| brewer, it is best to stay with the basics and branch | | | | microorganism feeds off of the sugar in your malted |
| out as you learn more and gain experience in the art | | | | barley and converts these sugars into alcohol and |
| of brewing beer. | | | | producing the carbon dioxide which makes beer |
| Water | | | | effervescent, turning your raw ingredients into beer. |
| Water is of course an important part of your beer - | | | | There is a complex set of chemical processes which |
| and believe it or not, the water you use matters to | | | | is involved, but if you are only interested in the |
| the quality of the finished product. If you have ever | | | | basics, that is what yeast does in the brewing |
| wondered if brewers advertise the fact that they | | | | process in a nutshell. |
| use "pure spring water" in the production of their | | | | Hops |
| brews simply as a marketing gimmick, wonder no | | | | These green flowering buds are what give beer its |
| longer. While the hops, malted barley and yeast do | | | | bitterness, balancing out the sweetness of the other |
| make up the largest part of a beer's flavor, there is | | | | ingredients and acting as a natural preservative to |
| no doubt that water makes a difference - do not | | | | give your beer a longer shelf life. There are a lot of |
| brew with tap water (unless you are crazy about the | | | | different types of hops available and the type you |
| flavor of your local municipal water supply, that is). | | | | choose will affect the flavor profile and character of |
| Malted Barley | | | | your beer. |
| While beer can be (and sometimes is) brewed from | | | | There you have it - the four important ingredients |
| other grains, it is barley which is by far the most | | | | which are responsible for the wonder that is beer. |
| commonly used and it is what you will almost | | | | They are all that is in the vast majority of the |
| certainly start with when you first get a beer | | | | world's greatest beers - and these are the main |
| brewing kit. So what exactly is malted barley? It is | | | | ingredients you need to be worried about as you |
| actually pretty simple - it is barley which has been | | | | begin exploring the world of brewing with your beer |
| allowed to sprout to produce sugars and then dried | | | | brewing kit. |
