Have you been plagued by uninformed friends and family members who swear that they know beer better than you?

Well, it’s time to tackle the top beer myths and demolish them once and for all.

Myth number one: Only men homebrew - women don’t drink or make beer.

Not true! Although there are a huge number of male homebrewers and beer drinkers, there’s also a large number of women who do the same - and this number grows every year.

Myth number two: For best results, you must bottle your homebrew inside of green bottles only.

Nope! Brown bottles are best - they keep out the most light. Exposure to light is a sure-fire way to ruin a good batch of beer.

Myth number three: Bitter beer is bad beer.

Okay, let’s get this straight: Whether a little bitter or a lot, all beers have a bitter flavor. The reason for this is the use of hops, which is required for the authentic beer taste. So if your beer is bitter - it’s just fine as it is.

Myth number four: The only reason to homebrew is because the alcohol content is higher than beers you can buy at the store.

This is simply false. The reason this myth exists is because of bad information: Many beers you buy show the alcohol content by weight, while alcohol content is measured by volume when homebrewing. Quite often the homebrew beer matches the similar alcohol content of the store-bought brands, if not being just a little more or less. The reason to homebrew is the fun and the delicious result.

Myth number five: Homebrewed beer is ruined if the bottles are not kept refrigerated.

Truth is if the bottle has not been opened, just return the warm beer to the fridge. Once cold, it will taste just as great as before. The only ways to destroy a good homebrew is to let it sit out open to the air, or set a clear bottle of brew in the sun for a long time.  

Now you know the truth - these beer myths have been completely busted. However, there is one more that is the number one complaint: Homebrewing is hard work. Nowadays, with prepared malt extracts and six-gallon fermenters, it’s no more difficult than making bread in a bread machine. Just mix the ingredients, cap the fermenter, and let the yeast go to work making you beer.

Get your free guide to homebrewing and 13 easy and delicious recipes right now. Start making your own tasty brews. Have fun. Go to http://www.freehomebrewguide.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/home-brewing-articles/beer-myths-busted-956407.html

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For extensive links and additional information visit: SimpleHomeBrewing.com

Making beer at home couldn’t be easier than with the Mr. Beer kits . It takes 21 days total to finish a batch. That only entails about 20 minutes of actual work though.

If you can boil water, you can make beer, guaranteed. It tastes great too! If you don’t believe me, watch the video linked below. I ordered my own kit to try it out for myself. Let nobody say I don’t practice what I preach

Starting your Batch:

1) Sanitize everything with the easy to use 1 step no-rinse sanitizer
2) Fill the keg with a measured amount of water to the line.
3) Pour out a few cups of the water and boil it, adding the Booster package to the boil. Take the pot off the boil
4) Stir in the can of concentrated extract and add the boiled batch back into the keg.
5) Add the yeast and close the lit. Wait 14 days and then go to the bottling step.

Easy Bottling:

6) Add a small measured amount of sugar to each bottle that came in your kit and fill with beer from the keg.
7) Wait 7 more days for the beer to carbonate. Store in the fridge and enjoy your new brew at your leisure. Be sure to save at least 1 bottle to show off to your friends!

Why should you make your own beer

• SAVE MONEY! Make your own WINE / BEER FOR PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR! ($1/bottle of wine 25 cents/bottle of beer)
• CUSTOMIZE YOUR WINE / BEER to your taste. You take FULL CONTROL OF THE TASTE!
• IT’S EASY! - Anyone can do this stuff. Just watch the videos below to see for yourself how simple it really is.
• FRIENDS AND FAMILY LOVE IT. I gave my mom a couple of bottles bottles of spiced elderberry wine for xmas 2 years in a row and she was genuinely disappointed when she didn’t get any the next year. I thought I was being cheap, but she loved it! I even made custom labels and made it look professional and bought very nice velvet wine gift bags for $1/each at the dollar store!

Which Kit to buy?

There are a range of kits available starting at about $49. That’s not bad at all considering it makes 2 gallons of beer and the kits are completely reusable. Refill kits are considerably cheaper because you’re re-using the same bottles and keg over and over. Considering a refill pack for the kit costs $9.95 and makes 2 GALLONS of beer, you’re making beer for pennies on the dollar after your first batch.

There are a variety of beer flavor/styles available. If you can imagine it they probably have a kit pretty close to what you’re looking for. For more info on Mr Beer or to check out their available kits visit the Mr Beer website.

You might also enjoy this youtube video on how to use the Mr. Beer Kits: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZBZ86ZS1uI

James enjoys a myriad of hobbies from computer gaming, paranormal research, web design, teaching & adult training, natural healing & herbalism to making his own wine and beer. He is an avid home brewer and has been for many years specializing in traditional honey and fruit based wines. More recently he has begun serious study into beer recipes and methods and plans on producing a series of beer videos on youtube to match his “super simple winemaking” videos that are so popular on the site.

Project websites include:

http://simplehomebrewing.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/home-brewing-articles/easy-beer-brewing-with-mr-beer-822671.html

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Leaving Your Beer Alone to Become Great

To become a real “master” of brewing beer, you have to understand every aspect of what happens during the brewing process.  When you get home from the beer brewing supply store with your kit or your little baggies with the supplies to make a fresh batch of beer, it is sometimes hard to imagine that those raw materials will result in a delicious batch of beer that you made yourself.  But by understanding each step, you can become quite adept at making beer at home.

The cycles of making beer are each important as you take them order.  From sterilizing your equipment, to purchasing the supplies and then on to boiling and brewing and fermentation, each step is important.  But that last step, fermentation and aging is unique from the rest because it is the step that calls for you to not be interacting with your beer, adjusting the equipment or preparing the brewing ingredients.  It is the step that calls for you to use patience and tender loving care to leave your beer alone as it ferments.  But the fermentation process is just as crucial if not more important than any of the preparation steps.  That is because it is fermentation that genuinely turns the mixture you have cooked up on the kitchen stove into a wonderful tasting beer you will be proud to serve to friends and family.

There are two phases of fermentation which is the primary stage and the secondary stage. Both are important. During primary fermentation, the yeast and the sugars that are in the wort you so carefully prepared go through a long chemical interaction which releases carbon dioxide as a byproduct.  Now during this phase, you want to get that CO2 out of those fermentation bottles because if you leave them in there, the bottles will explode.

The need to get that carbon dioxide out of the fermentation bottle without opening up the fermentation to outside air entirely is one good reason to buy specialized fermentation equipment because they will come with air release devices that will utilize an airlock system to release the CO2 buildup but keep a level of separation between the outside environment and your fermenting beer.

Once you have the bottles prepared and the wort in place, its time to find a cool dark place in the house to place the fermenting bottles.  Don’t give in to the urge to put them in the refrigerator because that will just stop the fermentation in its tracks.  A room that sustains a constant 65-75 degree temperature is good.  Now that the fermentation process is underway, you do what is often the most difficult maneuver for any home beer zealot.  You leave the beer alone and let the ingredients make magic in those bottles for about two weeks.

Secondary fermentation is the next and final phase except if you choose to age your beer to enhance the flavor.  But the second fermentation is where you add some additional sugar and you strain out the sediments from the primary fermentation and trap the mixture in sealed bottles this time.  The CO2 build up is not as extreme so the danger of exploding beer bottles is gone and the carbon dioxide creates that bubbly attribute to your beer that will give it a wonderful head and taste.  Both phases are necessary and you will give your beer another couple of weeks in this stage before it will be ready to drink.  But after you have a little taste, if you want to let the beer continue to process and age, maybe even in wood containers to add a rich flavor to the brew, this is just you being the Brewmeister that will result in wonderful tasting beer to serve to your friends and family.

Thanks for stopping by! Please share with us your home brewing experiences, ideas and tips.