Читать книгу Morrissey’s Perfect Pint - Richard Fox - Страница 8

Like everything in life, there are rules and shortcuts that can make it all so much easier. Here come Morrissey and Foxy’s Top Tips for brilliant brewing.

1. Use High-Quality, Fresh Ingredients.

Like everything else, you get what you pay for. Fresh ingredients make better home-brew. Simple. If you started with dry yeast, move up to liquid yeast. Store the ingredients properly. Most will go off over time so use them up quickly. You know what that means? More Beer!

2. Do your Homework.

Making a decent home-brew is a craft, and the more experienced you become, the better the beer. Browse the internet for advice on techniques, find a local artisan brewer (there will be one) and pester them until they take out a restraining order. Whether their beer is good, bad or ugly, they’ll know some mistakes to avoid, and possibly have gems of advice to scatter your way. Check out some of the top beer books which are easy to find these days. Basically turn into a beer bore.

3. Keep it Clean.

Proper cleaning is essential if you want to make really good beer. Anything that is going to come into contact with your beer needs to be spotless, so keep your kit sterilised. If you don’t, bacteria and other infections will get a grip and spoil your brew. Don’t end up with a pint of ‘Olde Thrushe’. The period just before fermentation is when beer is at its most vulnerable. See the Directory page 145 for specialist cleaners.

4. Cool the Wort Quickly.

Cooling your wort quickly will reduce the chance of bacterial infection – placing its container in a sink filled with cold water and ice cubes will do the job. Though contamination isn’t harmful, it can make the beer taste and smell like road kill.

5. Amounts and temperatures.

In addition to doing your homework, there’ll be a certain amount of trial and error with ingredients and processes. To start with, try to follow the recipe guidelines closely. At least you can blame someone else if it doesn’t work. After a few batches, however, you’ll find out what works best and what’s total bollocks.

6. Buy long-term Kit.

If you are new to brewing, you’ll probably buy an off-the-shelf kit to get started. Nothing wrong with that. If you like brewing (and you will), make the next stage up count. Get some decent kit that will last you in the long-term, rather than something you’re going to have to trade up from next year. Speak to the experts (see page 145) or your brewing Yoda. They’ll point you in the right direction.