Home beer brewing kits are a popular choice for people who enjoy making their own brewed beers. The kits allow brewers to make their favorite type of beer, such as lagers, ales or stouts. Brewers also get to control the alcohol content and the taste.
Significance
Home brewing kits are inexpensive and, other than replacing the ingredients for the beer, can be used over and over again. Kits make it easy for even the novice brewer to create a beer that tastes good. Once the brewer has established a routine, the kits allow him to re-create his recipe as many times as he wants.
Function
Beer brewing kits put everything a home brewer needs in one place. Because all the equipment is included in the kit, the brewer needs only to add water and other ingredients to make the beer. Once the beer is bottled, the kit equipment can be sterilized for another batch. Many hobby brewers never advance beyond their original beer brewing kit, finding that the kit has everything they need, except for the bottles.
Types
The most common home beer brewing kits include a plastic brew bucket, air lock, hydrometer and siphon hose. Larger kits also include a bottle capper, bottle cleaning brushes and stir paddles. Many kits include a CD or DVD and recipe books. For the serious home brewer, kits with stainless steel equipment can be purchased, but these are cost prohibitive for anyone who is brewing as a hobby only.
Considerations
The federal government allows individuals to brew up to 100 gallons of their own beer and wine a year. A household with two adults is allowed 200 gallons a year, which is the maximum allowed. The beer brewed must be for the individuals' own use and not to be sold in any capacity without a license.
Benefits
Brew kits allow the brewer to experiment. Not only can she try to make a recipe similar to her favorite store-purchased beer, she can also try exotic, foreign or fruit-flavored beers. Depending on the recipe, home beer brewing kits can save the brewer money, compared with the cost of store-bought beer.
Warning
Like all alcoholic beverages, home brewed beer can cause intoxication. Brew kits should be used only where they are out of the reach of children. Kits should be washed and sterilized before use to remove any harmful bacteria that may remain from previous batches.
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