Homebrewing
Saturday, March 3, 2007
I got some steam-crimped barley at ~$8.00 for a 50# sack awhile ago. I didn’t know the condition of the barley at the time, but my intention in buying it was to try malting it. When I opened the sack, I saw the barley was destroyed and in no shape for malting. I even did a test malt to prove this. However, I decided to try to brew with it anyways. I had to get rid of it, so I needed to use a lot of it. Something like a Belgian Tripel would be OK.
Malt is a grain that has been germinated so that it begins to grow; the enzymes in the seeds convert the starches into sugars. The germination is then cut short, leaving a kernel that had converted some starches and began to produce enzymes. It's like brewing with little grain fetuses.
I'm going to share here my experiences with a most basic process that doesn't require any special equipment. This way, you can walk away from the experience without spending much money, and you'll know if you are into it. I am going to share how to make a little over a gallon of beer from extract, hops, water, and yeast.
This is a compromise of different flavors that the household seems to like. It doesn't really adhere to any BJCP category. The closest I think would be a Classic American Pilsner, but the hops are modern and hence unconventional. We wanted to experiment with the apricot and clementine flavor of newer hops. In the end we did like it despite not being hop heads.
Makes 5 gallons.
Grain bill:
