Home beer brewing is a great hobby, very rewarding and it gives you the chance to brag, just a bit, to your mates. But you need to get it right otherwise you could become the laughing stock of everyone, as well as being out of pocket financially.

Every step through out the process of home beer brewing needs to be done carefully and by the book, otherwise the final product can be compromised. This article is about the importance of controlling the fermentation process so that you finish with a great product time and time again.

So, what is fermentation?

Very simply, fermentation is the natural conversion of sugar to alcohol by using different types of yeast. Yeast produces equal amounts of alcohol and carbon dioxide. The yeast cell consumes the sugar, which is in a liquid form and then excretes alcohol and carbon dioxide along with other flavors.

Yeast needs oxygen for this process to take place, so once most of the oxygen has been used; the yeast will go into a suspension period which gives it the time to gain maximum contact with the sugar. Once the yeast has consumed most of the sugar it will begin to clump and settle out of its suspended state.

Yeast come in all types, e.g. Larger, and Ales, and have very different properties which you need to have some control over. Larger beers tend to develop over a longer time and at a cooler fermenting temperature therefore produce a smoother, cleaner beer. Ales on the other hand tend to operate at higher temperatures and over a shorter period causing the beer to have a richer and even fruity favor.

It’s very important to keep your Fermenter in a good controlled environment so that there are no outside influences that can interrupt the fermentation period. I discovered a web site that, along with many other things that you could find interesting, that has a video on building a fermenter that can be used in all extremes of weather from very hot to freezing, without affecting the out come of your beer. In fact I’ve found that I’ve been able to produce some very consistent beers over and over again.

To make your own beer is very rewarding and finding and using small tips from all the other expert can be very helpful. Find out more by visiting the web site below,

Cheers

Mark