| The history of making alcoholic beverages is | | | | are flowers which provide a natural preservative |
| essentially the history of home brewing. Historians | | | | quality and bitterness to the beer. |
| believe that beer was originally discovered by people | | | | The third ingredient is yeast. Yeast may be the most |
| of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Barley was a | | | | important beer making ingredient. Yeast is a living |
| staple grain of this area and it was soon learned that | | | | creature that lives off the ingredients in beer. It is |
| if the barley got wet and was allowed to germinate, | | | | responsible for converting sugar to alcohol and carbon |
| it would become sweet and could be used in foods | | | | dioxide in the fermentation stage. |
| like bread. This process is known as malting. | | | | The final ingredient is water. This is an important |
| It didn't take much time after the discovery of | | | | ingredient considering that beer is 90% water. For |
| malting to discover beer. Someone probably allowed | | | | better tasting beer, it's best to always use quality |
| their malted barley to get wet and remain exposed | | | | water. |
| to the elements. Perhaps wild yeast contaminated | | | | Beer is made from simple ingredients, but the |
| the exposed liquid. The yeast then took hold and | | | | process of brewing beer can be a little bit more |
| multiplied generating a bubbly liquid of alcohol and | | | | complicated than it seems. If you love beer, you |
| barley that soon became the first beer. | | | | might find home beer making very enjoyable. |
| Today, there are many people who enjoy home | | | | Here is an overview of the beer brewing process: |
| beer brewing. The main ingredients include malted | | | | Steep and boil malt and hops <br />Ferment for |
| barley, hops, yeast and water. Like wines, beers | | | | one week <br />Transfer to secondary |
| have many different flavors. This is caused by | | | | fermenter for two weeks <br />Transfer to |
| differences in the the type of malt, the moisture | | | | clarifying keg for one week <br />Transfer to |
| content, the type of barley used and the | | | | serving keg <br />Pressurize beer keg to |
| temperature used in the kiln. | | | | carbonate for 7 days <br />Serve! |
| Malted barley, also known as malt, is barley that has | | | | Many people who decide to make beer at home |
| been soaked in water until it starts to sprout. A kiln is | | | | often choose to buy a beer making kit. This is often |
| then used to dry it out. Barley has a hard husk, is low | | | | the easiest way to get started, so you can begin |
| in protein and high in starch, making it perfect for | | | | enjoying the satisfaction of making your own beer at |
| brewing beer. | | | | home. |
| The next crucial beer making ingredient is hops. Hops | | | | |
