Nano-brewery?
So, where to begin? What is a nano-brewery?
I've always loved beer and have tried my hand at producing some too using basic extract kits purchased in budget stores such as Wilko's.
As a scientist, I found the process of brewing very methodical but the the results were never quite what I wanted. I usually opted for producing 40 pints and storing it in a pressurised plastic keg. The beer never kept for long and my impatience often put pay to any chance o
f a decent brew.
This change more recently when I was introduced to all grain home brewing by my soon to be brother-in-law Rob when he purchased a range of bespoke kit (cool box mash tun and coffee urn boiler) to begin making his own brews from scratch.
I chipped in on a couple of brew days and began to learn the trials and tribulations of all grain brewing on a small scale. (I'll cover this in another post perhaps...)
After a little reflection and some time spent researching, I decided that I wanted to brew in my own kitchen using my own kit - but, I wanted to keep the process simplistic and as cheap as possible. People have been making beer for millennia - how hard can it be?
My first port of call was the local army surplus to purchase a large stock pot. I opted for a 16 quart pot that equates to around 8 litres (in hindsight, I think I need a bigger pot!). Next, a 24L cool box from Go Outdoors - job done. I had a lot of the other kit required from my previous brewing ventures.
After some more careful research, I discovered the concept of 'Brew in a Bag' and decided that this was the best option for my small set up. It really has proven to be an effective and efficient way of extracting the sugars from the malts whilst keeping the housekeeping and cleaning to a minimum.
So back to the topic - what is a nano-brewery? I really like the idea of brewing from scratch and this has given me the outlet to do it. Brewing in tiny batches allowing me to refine and experiment as I go. As you can see, my daughter loves to get involved in the process too! Over the coming months, I intend to record and reflect on the experimentation process of brewing different beers from all grain kits. This blog site will track that process.
I've always loved beer and have tried my hand at producing some too using basic extract kits purchased in budget stores such as Wilko's.As a scientist, I found the process of brewing very methodical but the the results were never quite what I wanted. I usually opted for producing 40 pints and storing it in a pressurised plastic keg. The beer never kept for long and my impatience often put pay to any chance o
f a decent brew.
This change more recently when I was introduced to all grain home brewing by my soon to be brother-in-law Rob when he purchased a range of bespoke kit (cool box mash tun and coffee urn boiler) to begin making his own brews from scratch.
I chipped in on a couple of brew days and began to learn the trials and tribulations of all grain brewing on a small scale. (I'll cover this in another post perhaps...)
After a little reflection and some time spent researching, I decided that I wanted to brew in my own kitchen using my own kit - but, I wanted to keep the process simplistic and as cheap as possible. People have been making beer for millennia - how hard can it be?
My first port of call was the local army surplus to purchase a large stock pot. I opted for a 16 quart pot that equates to around 8 litres (in hindsight, I think I need a bigger pot!). Next, a 24L cool box from Go Outdoors - job done. I had a lot of the other kit required from my previous brewing ventures.After some more careful research, I discovered the concept of 'Brew in a Bag' and decided that this was the best option for my small set up. It really has proven to be an effective and efficient way of extracting the sugars from the malts whilst keeping the housekeeping and cleaning to a minimum.
So back to the topic - what is a nano-brewery? I really like the idea of brewing from scratch and this has given me the outlet to do it. Brewing in tiny batches allowing me to refine and experiment as I go. As you can see, my daughter loves to get involved in the process too! Over the coming months, I intend to record and reflect on the experimentation process of brewing different beers from all grain kits. This blog site will track that process.
Comments
Post a Comment