Welcome to Homebrewing!

For More Information Visit: Bluff City Homebrewers Midsouth Malts Learn all about home brewed beer Better beer has brought about quite a few beer enthusiasts who want to learn how to brew their own. "There are 27 different styles of beer," says Mike Lee, treasurer of the Bluff City Brewers. "There is a lot to learn that people are not aware of." The "brew" dates back some 6,000 years to the Sumerians who discovered the fermentation process when someone happened upon an abandoned bowl of bread. Eventually, this led to the creation of a drink that filled people with such a feeling of exhilaration and blissfulness that they considered it a gift from the gods. Lee owns Mid-South Malts, which carries home-brew supplies and has a reference library. It also serves as the meeting place for the Bluff City Brewers. The meetings give members a forum for discussion and for passing along tips on improving brewing procedures. Members also can purchase brewing supplies at Mid-South Malts. 741 N White Station Rd Memphis, TN 38122 View on map Give Mike a call for all your brewing needs at 901-682-1293

Homebrewing typically refers to the brewing of beer and similar alcoholic beverages (and sometimes soft drinks) on a very small scale as a hobby for personal consumption, free distribution at social gatherings, amateur brewing competitions or other assorted generally non-commercial reasons.

In general, beer homebrewing is identical in process to commercial beer brewing. Home brewers can select from ingredients identical to those used in commercial brewing, in addition to a wide range of post-market customization as well.A homebrewing kit consisting of hopped malt extract, yeast and instructions

At present, homebrewing kits are commercially available which usually provide a (liquid or dry) malt extract, yeast and, depending on the kit, hop-extract.

Patience is required in homebrewing. The whole brewing process can take from two weeks to several months or even years, depending on the style of beer. Some enthusiasts brew beer in far larger quantities than the typical 5-gallon batch, sometimes as a prelude to commercial production. It is not unusual for a homebrewer to have several batches in different stages of completion to permit the dispensing of quality homebrew at short notice.

People homebrew for a variety of reasons. Homebrewed beer can be cheaper than commercially equivalent brews; however most homebrewers customize their recipes to their own tastes, which tends to be more expensive. For instance, hopheads, or fans of beer with prominent hop flavors, can hop their beer far beyond what would normally be considered excessive. Dark beer enthusiasts can create beers, such as Russian Imperial Stout. or Porter, that are the antithesis of the paler style that is commercially dominant, particularly in the US. Additionally, homebrewers are able to create ‘specialty’ beers that are either extremely rare or entirely unavailable on the open market. Moreover, homebrewers have complete control over the amount of alcohol produced (based on the amount of fermentables placed into the wort), allowing for the production of beers containing very low amounts of alcohol or very high amounts of alcohol. Finally, some homebrewers also try to make low-ethanol content beers, which are almost always much less calorie-dense (as less ethanol or sugars are in it). This allows them to make beer which will not heavily affect their weight. 

Some homebrewers strive for perfection of specific styles of beer and enter their products in competitions. Others simply brew to have styles of beer on hand to drink and share that are otherwise commercially unavailable, or in an unacceptably poor state when they are available. Others, with access to extremely large quantities of bio-materials (grains, rice, beets, potatoes, etc.), produce their own alcohol fuel for powering farm equipment, as well as cars and trucks, at a considerable cost-savings relative to paying for fuel at the pump.

One of greatest draws of homebrewed beer is the opportunity to enjoy beer that is 'live'. Since almost every beer available is pasteurized, it is almost impossible for the average beer drinker to enjoy beer in its natural state. Pasteurization requires the beer to be cooked, which results in the disappearance of natural carbonation. Commercial brewers collect the boiled off alcohol, mix it with the pasteurized beer and force carbonate the brew. The disadvantage of this is the fact that all of the yeast is killed in the process. Therefore, the beer tastes considerably dissimilar from ‘live’ beer (that is, beer containing live yeast). Moreover, the beer will not age properly without live yeast. Homebrew is almost never pasteurized, therefore the carbonation present is naturally produced by the yeast, the taste is a more natural flavor, and the beer will age, changing in taste, texture and color over time. Homebrew is one way the general public can enjoy beer in its natural state, although some draught beer offerings are not pasteurized. Another exception is a type of beer occasionally offered by pubs and breweries known as cask conditioned beer, which, like homebrew, is not pasteurized.