All About Wine And Its Goodness!

So you have decided that you want to make your own beer right? Wonderful choice and a great way for not only having that robust one of a kind flavor beer that you enjoy but a budget friendly way to always have your own brand on hand.

Since you have gone through all of the necessary steps to create your own beer it only makes sense that you should apply a label that is distinctively you.

Here are some quick and easy steps to design your own beer label after you make your own beer:

1. Start with a good graphics program.  If you don’t have one, there are some great design softwares on-line, both free and for a cost. For the more advanced, then Adobe Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro are excellent programs.
2. Next decide on the type and size of label you plan on using. Pre-stick labels are a little easier because they come in different sizes which allows you to pick the one that works with your bottle of beer.  The only problem with pre-stick is they stick, meaning if you make a mistake or re-use your bottle it will be more difficult to remove.  You can also buy labels on-line if you prefer not to use the ones available in office supply stores.
3. Now you are ready to design. Once you are in the graphic design software, create a new document approximately 5 to 5 1/2 inches by 4 to 4 1/4 inches tall for a standard beer bottle or 3 by 4 for a smaller bottle. Any taller or wider will be too large. For the best results, it is good to use a resolution of 300 dpi.
4. Next, create a rectangle approximately 3 inches wide in the center of your label in order to get a good vision of what someone will see when they look directly at the front of your bottle.  This rectangle will be your guide.
5. Now it is time to release your artistic side.  You can either use the text tools to draw within your rectangle to create your label or add any commercial clip art to the label to enhance the design.   Draw your beer label in the rectangle with the pertinent information such as the name of the beer, the date the beer was brewed, and design and the style of beer so they will be visible to the eye immediately.  Remember, this is your beer and the label is your creation which speaks distinctively to you and your individuality.
6. Next begin printing test copies.  Print one test copy first on regular paper (not the labels) to be sure it is exactly as you envisioned. Use the same printer as you would for the printing of the final labels.
7. Once a test copy is printed, cut it out and tape it on the bottle to see how it will look.  Be sure to look at it thoroughly from every angle to be sure it looks good.
8. Go back, make any corrections necessary and print another test sample.  Continue the cycle until you are happy with the end result.
9. Once satisfied, print the labels out on your label sheets, cut them out, peel off the backing and apply to the labels on the bottles, being careful to apply smoothly without wrinkling.  These printable labels can be found at most office supply stores.

It is fun and creative to make your own beer.  Make sure you follow through this process from the brewing to the bottling and labeling to make a beer you can be proud of and enjoy for a long time to come.

If you would like to make your own beer but think that it may be too involved relax. Only a few pieces of equipment are necessary. In fact you may already have some pieces. Don’t worry about buying a lot of fancy equipment. Keep it simple and the money you spend will soon be offset by how much you are going to save making your own home brew.

If  this is the first attempt to make your own beer your best bet is to start with a beer kit.The first item you need is a fermenter. Basically a plastic pail made of food grade plastic with a lid.

A carboy; usually glass. This is where a lot of the magic happens. Fermentation takes place here.

Plastic hosing  for transferring from the fermenting container to the carboy. You will also use when bottling. In addition to these pieces of equipment, you may need airlocks, stoppers, and various tubing. If this is your first time make sure you purchase a beer making kit.

A hydrometer to measure the beer’s gravity before and after fermentation. Basically, it tells you how much of the sugars have been converted to alcohol, helping judge the stage of fermentation.

Another piece of equipment you may want to invest in is a brew kettle. For your first attempt at home brewing you can buy a pre-made ingredient kit. With these kits, you don’t have to go anywhere near your oven to brew beer.

Of course you will need bottles. You may already have these. If you don’t have any beer bottles laying around there are lots at your nearby recycling depot.  Five dozen is more than enough.

A bottle capper is an important piece of equipment and may or may not be included in a starter kit. Make sure that you have one of these available, along with a good supply of new caps by the time your batch of brew is completed.

Finally some miscellaneous items you will want to have on hand  are a bottle brush, a cleaner,TDC and a sanitizer like BTF or Sani-Brew.

So you see there really isn’t much equipment needed to make your own beer. It takes about three hours to make your brew and then you just have to be patient for a couple of weeks.

So you have followed all of the steps required to make your own beer and you are now ready for the bottling. Very soon you will be able to partake in your own home brewed beer.  Up to this point here is where you are:

1. The barley has been soaked in hot water to create the fermentable sugars.
2. The malt sugar is boiled with hops for the seasoning and then the solution is allowed to cool.
3. Next the yeast is added for fermentation.
4. The yeast ferments the sugars, releasing ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide.
5. The main fermentation is complete.

Now you are ready for the final and possibly the best step to make your own beer.  Bottling your brew.

First get prepared to bottle.  Place the primary fermenter on a chair, counter or a table directly above the bottling bucket which you should have placed on the floor. When moving, be careful not to disturb the sediment inside of the fermenter (you don’t want that nasty sediment to find its way into your brew). Now take the plastic hose and attach to the spigot on the primary fermenter with the other end in the bottom of the bottling bucket. Pour your priming solution into the bottling bucket and then open the spigot on the fermenter and allow the beer to flow freely into the bucket, mixing in with the priming solution.  When the beer is finished flowing, close the spigot, remove the hose and clean it.

Now you are ready to bottle.

Place the bottling bucket back onto the counter or wherever you had it before you moved it to the floor and line up all of your bottles underneath. Place the hose into one of the bottles being sure it is all the way in and then open up the spigot on the bottling bucket and let the beer start to flow. When the beer gets close to the top of the bottle, quickly pull the hose out and immediately place it into the next bottle. When the hose is removed the bottle, the level of the beer will drop so be sure to leave about one inch of airspace at the top. In other words, it is a good idea to pull the hose out when the beer is at or near the top of the bottle as it will settle once the hose has been pulled.  You could also opt for a bottle filler which makes it easier and less messy. They can be found for less than $3 so it could be well worth the investment.

As soon as all of the beer is drained from the bucket, it is time to cap the bottles.  This needs to be done quickly as exposure to the elements is not good and can cause bacteria and fungii to form.  Depending on the type of cap you have, you either need to twist them on or if you are using metal caps, then use a bottle capper. Once all of the bottles have been capped, check for any leakage and replace any caps that are leaking.

You are still not quite ready to drink the beer.  Find a cool, dark place to put your bottles in while the second fermentation takes place.  A basement is usually a good choice as long as the temperature is a consistent 60-70 degrees.  Leave it there for a minimum of two weeks.

After the two weeks or longer, it is finally time to enjoy your home brew.

Learning how to make your own beer is not only fun and a great hobby but less expensive and more enjoyable than buying from the rack.  Enjoy the fruits of your labor and experiment with flavorings until you find your perfect brew.