homebrew/WHY BREW YOUR OWN?
Many people brew their own so they can drink cheap beer. But while we like the fact that the more (homebrew) you drink the more you save (in latin, multi bibus, multi conservatus) there are other reasons we brew our own.
Brewing is relaxing. Depending on the method of brewing, you can spend an hour or a day making a beer. There's nothing like deciding what sort of beer you're going to make, visiting the local homebrew shop, chat to the owner about beer while buying the ingredients then returning home to make a great brew.
Then there's the taste factor. It's easy to make a beer that will taste better than most commercial brews on offer. With a bit of practice, you shouldn't have any trouble giving some imported and boutique beers a run for their money.
The Homebrew Myth
There are many myths about homebrew. In fact, most of the bad things you hear about homebrew are just not true. Here are some of the untruths:
- Homebrew is stronger than “normal” beer. You can make homebrew as strong or as weak as you like; it all depends how much sugar or malt you add. Our strongest, Imperial Stout, was about 8.2%, but most are in the 4-5% range. You can make light beer, too, if you really must. Two readings from a hydrometer, which comes with most homebrew kits and available at homebrew shops, and a simple calculation give a fairly accurate measure of the alcohol content.
- Homebrew bottles explode. One of the most common questions is: “How often do your bottles explode?” It seems everyone has a story about exploding bottles of homebrew (although it is always about dad, an uncle or a friend). Bottles won't explode if you bottle when the beer has finished fermenting and add the recommended amount of sugar to “prime” each bottle. It's as simple as that.
- Homebrew means killer hangovers. This defies science. Dehydration and vitamin B deficiency are the main causes of hangovers. Yeast contains vitamin B and alcohol draws it out of the body. Homebrew is bottle-conditioned and contains yeast sediment, so as you drink homebrew you replenish vitamin B. Most commercial beer is filtered, so don't have any vitamin B. Bottle conditioning also means preservatives are unnecessary. Do you really know what you're drinking? And how many commercial beers are preservative-free? Thank God for science.
- Homebrew doesn't taste any good. This is just not true. It's pretty hard to make a bad homebrew. Most bad beer is caused by bacteria other than the yeast you add multiplying in the wort and producing off flavors. Scrupulous cleanliness is very important and will avoid infections and ensure tasty beer.
As you can see, homebrew is not as bad as some may have you believe. So, read on, learn how to make beer and give homebrew a chance.
