Turning your hobby into a possible career

For the home brewers who want to maybe turn this hobby into a career it can be a very difficult thing to do. The current laws that are in place for small breweries are very constricting. However a new beer tax bill that Mike Crapo and John Kerry introduced to congress in March will hopefully make it easier for small breweries to compete. In Idaho we have dozens of local breweries and wineries that struggle to compete. If this new bill is passed it would create an additional 19.9 million dollars each year. This can help the locals expand their business and create new jobs and new small brewers throughout Idaho and the country.

the steps in the home brewing process

When making your own beer it is very important to follow the steps in the process it can be a little confusing when just beginning. The first step in the process is finding all the equipment such as bottles and an airlock stopper. They are generally not very expensive. After this you should pick out a beer kit with flavors you may enjoy. Most experienced brewers will create their own recipes but there are premixed recipes available for beginners. The third step is boiling your beer. In this step you mix together your brew kit with water and boil the batch for ten to fifteen minutes. It is very important to use purified or distilled water during the boiling process. If you use tap water or chlorinated water you will end up with a very bad tasting bitter beer. Step four is probably the most important of the whole process, fermenting. You will need to pour the yeast into your cooled beer and put the air tight seal on the top of the container. Fermenting should take between a week and ten days. At the very end of the process right before you bottle your own batch of beer you should prime the beer which involves adding a small amount of sugar right before actually bottling the beer. Generally between 8 to 15 weeks of aging the beer will have its peak flavor

A few reasons to start brewing your own beer

The great Benjamin Franklin was once quoted as saying, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. The United States loves their beer and on average drinks more than 6 billion gallons per year; that is second in the world only to China. Out of the fifty states Idaho ranks twelve on that list with 30.4 gallons of beer consumed per person each year. If you love beer but think the big brands of beer like Bud, Miller, and Coors don’t have any taste, or lovr micro-brews but can’t always afford them home brewing may be something for you to look into trying. It is a great hobby and once you have purchased all the necessary supplies for your first batch it can actually save you quite a lot of money. The finished product has much more flavor than the major brands and is cheaper than purchasing a micro brew.