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Secret Recipes of America's Best Home Beer Brewers

Brewing beer is equal parts science and art. Buy beer and you get a lot of science. Brew your own beer and you get the perfect taste...fresh and tweaked to perfection. In addition to drinking the best tasting beer around, you will wow your friends with your new skills.

You can start out with items you have in the kitchen right now. There is no need to buy specialty equipment to give home brewing a try. Soon you will be impressing your friends with your own secret recipes and then you can find specialized brewing tools readily available online.

Tired of the same old brew? You can make good beer fresh your first try. You can make excellent beer with a little practice and modification to your perfect taste. There are hundreds of recipes that will keep your taste buds tantalized. Here are variations of 2 unique home beer brewing recipes to get you started.

Sweet Darkness: A Stout Extract

6.75 lbs Australian light syrup
1 lb chocolate malt
1.25 lbs black patent malt
12 oz crystal malt
2 oz. Kent Goldings hops (whole leaf)
12 oz lactose
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp citric acid
1 package dry yeast

Instructions: Add syrup and enough water to make 3 gallons. Bring mixture to a boil. Boil 10 minutes then add hops. Boil for 5 more minutes. Turn off the heat and add the chocolate and black patent malts in a grain bag. Steep the mixture about 10 minutes. Sprinkle grain bag with about 2 gallons of boiling water. Add lactose, salt and citric acid. Chill and pitch your yeast. Ferment for 2 weeks. Bottle for 2 weeks.

Brown Ale: An Extract

.5 lb #60 crystal malt grains
.5 lb chocolate malt grains
.25 lb black patent malt grains
2 oz Fuggles (4.5%) boiling
.5 oz Williamette (5.3%) finishing
7 lbs Alexander's Dark LME
2 tsp gypsum
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pkg Brewer's Choice (Wyeast) #1095 British ale yeast

Procedure: Steep crystal malt grain, chocolate malt grain and black patent malt grain to a rolling boil. Remove from heat. Add LME, gypsum, cinnamon and yeast. Bring to boil again. Add Fuggles and Williamette hops for 45 minutes. Ferment for 2 weeks at room temperature. Let stand in bottles for 2 weeks before bottling.

All ingredients can be found at specialty retailers online or in your community. Once the brew is ready invite the guys over and show off your newly acquired home beer brewing skills. You will soon be the envy of your friends.

About the Author

Josie Olson brews beer in her own kitchen. To learn secrets of brewing and get 100s of recipes visit Home Beer Brewing. When not brewing Josie spends her time in the national parks. Join her at U.S. National Parks or join her golfing at Good Golf Store

Author Profile: OurAmericanParks

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