Specialty Grains Can Make Your Homebrew Beer Unique

Making your own beer in your home can be a very fulfilling experience. It is often more affordable and easier than you might imagine. Perhaps the best part about making your own beer is the fact that you get to mold it into whatever you would like it to be. There is no set flavor or style, you have full reign over what your beer will taste like.

One of the factors that can affect how your beer will taste is the use of specialty grains. It usually takes 2-3 hours to brew your own beer using specialty grains. The first thing you will want to do is take the cracked grains and soak them in very hot water. If you quickly elevate the temperature to about 170° Fahrenheit, you will soon find that you have added a distinct color, as well as additional flavor.

If you are interested in trying to add even more flavor, then you may want to mash the grains. Mashing the grains means that you will keep the grains in the water at a specific temperature, this temperature will be determined by the style of beer that you want to make.

After the grains have been soaked in the hot liquid for an extended period of time, you will want to strain them. Lautering, as it is often called, may be followed by the running of more hot water over the grains. Simply run the hot water through the grain bed so as to make sure that you extract all of the sugar that is hidden within the grains.

Once this is done, you should be at the point at which you will want to bring the water to a boil. But make sure that you only do this for a short time and then turn off the heat, at this point, you can add the malt sugar.

After you have added the sugar, begin boiling the water again make sure that you do not over- boil! Simply aim for boiling the water for about 80 minutes or so. You might want to use this time to re-sanitize all of the equipment that you will be using to store your beer. Next, add whatever hops you would like in to the beer, once those are added, bring the temperature down, getting it to about 90° Fahrenheit.

Add some concentrated wort to your fermenter, you should already have put some cold, clean, filtered water in there as well. It will help to make sure that the water is filtered, as chlorine tends to add a not-so-pleasant taste to beer. You will now want to make sure that the ending temperature is to be at about 70° F. Add some yeast, and then lock it all up nice and tight. Once you have completed this step, you are done!

This is merely one of a dozen ways to make your own beer. Nothing compares to brewing a tasty beer like a Classic American Blonde Ale in the comfort of your own home. One of the really rewarding aspects of the whole process is the fact that you have the means to add your own touch to the beer you make. Using specialty grains is one of the many ways you can create a distinct flavor.