Wine Tips

Distiller's Yeast (DADY) (1 lb. bulk pack)
$7.99 Midwest Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies

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Beginning Homebrew Enthusiasts – How to Get Started

The art of brewing beer is nothing to roll your eyes or laugh about. It is as serious as it is fun and takes more than just a thirsty attitude. Beer brewing is not only an art, it is a science that has created an entire culture of advocates, professionals, and Friday night fans. As I delve into the art and science of brewing beer, I am fascinated by the idea of creating and sharing a beverage that I can call my own, all the while being resourceful under my own roof. It is a fun, easy, and relatively cheap process.

The start-up cost for my entire brewing kit was just over $200, but I do believe I did get a couple of things I didn’t necessarily need at the time. Essentially it comes down to ingredients and materials. The materials are the bulk of your costs up front. But the idea is that you can reuse most, if not all, of your materials for future batches. Google was my friend in helping me find a local home brew shop here in Fullerton, Ca. I found Addison Homebrew Provisions to be a very helpful in gathering the best materials for my first brew. A great resource to help you learn how to brew and what items you need for your kit is a book called How To Brew by John Palmer. I found the book online for free.

Don’t pour boiling water into plastic carboy!

As I said before, brewing a personal batch of beer is a pretty simple procedure, but it is almost just as easy to mess it up as it is creating a perfectly fine beverage. The key is SANITATION! Everything you use must be sanitized just before using it. If not properly sanitized then your beer could become contaminated with bacteria, thus spoiling your beer. Lets face it, after spending about $200 and then putting hours of labor into your brew, you really don’t want to spoil it by making a stupid mistake…..

The art of brewing beer requires cleanliness and patience. My first brew took about five weeks from making the *wort to opening my first bottle. I made a California Common style beer, much like *Anchor Steam. My first batch produced about 4 1/2 gallons of beer, which came out to be two dozen 22oz bottles. It turned out great and it has propelled me into the world of crafting beer. “Wort is what brewers call the sweet, amber liquid extracted from malted barley that the yeast will later ferment into beer ” (Palmer, John, How to Brew). The photo on the left is my wort that I am stirring in its beginning stages of what will become a California Common style beer. What you see in my hand is the first bottle off the line. The picture in the middle is a five gallon carboy that contains the fermenting beer.

Stirring the wort

That’s me holding the first bottle off the line.

Exploring the world of beer and wine has led me to some pretty cool places, in a local sense. I have to say one of my favorite bars to go to is a place called Vinatero Wine Shop in Uptown Whittier, Ca. It’s a small place with a elegant and friendly atmosphere. The shop has won several awards including best wine shop and best wine bar over recent years. In addition, Down Town Fullerton is a lively scene for college students and locals alike. There are plenty of bars, night clubs, dance floors, and karaoke machines scattered throughout DTF, as the locals like to call it (haha, very funny). Beer encompasses an entire culture of people dedicated to the art, science, and enjoyment of beer. The people who actually have an idea about good beer and wine are some of the most interesting people I have met.

The wort is in its fermentation period. As it ferments, the liquid will “blow off” yeast bi-product (foam).

A very useful tool in helping you read and share ideas about beer is a website called http://beeradvocate.com/. Here you can educate yourself by reading reviews on all types of beer, blog about certain styles and names, and learn from the people who know beer best. But be weary of beer and wine snobs (much different from beer and wine geeks as noted on beeradvocate). So check out your local beer and wine shops and explore the culture of beer, responsibly and respectfully.

About the Author

Dallas Hammons is a an inspiring home brewer with his own website that gives readers an all-inclusive look into the world of craft beers and home brewing. This hobby is more than just a lame excuse to support a drinking habit; rather, he finds that the world of crafting and tasting beers has been a very interesting experience as well as an exciting industry to get involved in. Much like the culinary arts, crafting beer allows him to create and express himself in a tasteful and resourceful manner. Visit his website to learn more about beer and home brewing.

Making Fruit Concentrate Wine – Part 5

Wine Yeast (10 Packs) Montrachet Red Star for Wine Making $6.99 First yeast strain selected by the University of Davis, California. Largely used in the United States of America. Ideal strain for big volumes of wine when winemakers are mainly looking for a secure fermentation. Well adapted to the production of high quality red and white wines, in which varietal aroma complexity is desired. Optimum for the production of full-bodied red and white wines….

Premier Cuvee (10 Packs) Wine Yeast $6.98 …

Beer Making Measuring Kit-DIGITAL KITCHEN SCALE-Weigh up to 6.5 lbs of Ale Hops, Yeast, Grain, Fruit, & more! $23.99 This electronic scale is one of my best sellers, and has been used within the home, as well as by professionals. Appropriate for all types of settings, ranging from home kitchen or office, to restaurants, small breweries, delis, bakeries, and more, this scale is PERFECT FOR WEIGHING YOUR MOST-USED RECIPE INGREDIENTS, like hops, brewers yeast, sugars, activator, grain, fruit, and more! The durabl…

Lewis Labs – Brewer’s Yeast $26.39 …

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