Green Beer

No, Not for St. Patty's Day...

You Can Brew Your Own Beerby Megan Phelps
The first time you’re presented with a homebrewed beer, you might feel a bit skeptical. After all, the bottle is all wrong. It doesn't have a label, and it might even be a little dusty, as though it’s been sitting in the corner of someone’s basement. (And maybe it has.) But if you do drink that bottle of homebrew, you’ll discover that most homebrewed beer not only tastes as good as store-bought beer, it’s often a lot better. And — what a nice bonus! — it’s probably cheaper, too.
Homebrew has distinctive flavors.The best thing about homemade beer is its variety, because when you make your own, you can experiment with any ingredients or techniques that you choose and create beer with interesting and unique flavors.
Unfortunately, the most successful American beers are not a very diverse group, and tend not to have very strong flavors. Microbrews offer a much wider range of styles and tastes, but because these beers come from small breweries, they’re not always easy to find, and in many parts of the United States, you can’t order beer or wine by mail. (The laws about shipping alcohol are complicated.)
There’s another problem with shipping beer: It doesn’t always age or travel well. If you drink imports, the beer you like may taste quite different in its country of origin than it does by the time it gets to your refrigerator. When you brew your own, you have much more control over the process.
Homebrew is green beer.Of course, the beer isn’t literally green unless you go a little crazy on St. Patrick's Day and throw in some food coloring. (Also, “green beer” is a term for beer that’s still too young to have developed its full flavor — again, not what we're aiming for here.) But from an environmental standpoint, brewing your own beer is definitely green. Here’s why:
It's very, very local. Bottles of homebrew don't have to be shipped cross country or overseas, which saves a lot of energy.
When you brew on a small scale, you can compost the spent grain and hops. Alternatively, spent grain makes great feed for chickens and pigs, if you happen to have some around.
You can even seek out local and/or organic ingredients, something it's hard to find in commercial beer. Don’t expect to find everything locally, but you may be able to find one or two ingredients nearby. For example, here in Kansas, you can grow hops in your garden, or even find them growing wild. A good source for organic ingredients is www.breworganic.com.
Getting started is simple.Brewing is a craft, and many people brew for competitions. Some even become professional brewers. But although advanced homebrewing techniques can be sophisticated, making your first batch of beer isn’t that complicated. It will probably be drinkable, and you can find everything you need in a simple kit for about $60 or $70. (Look for these from local homebrewing supply stores, or order one online).
Once you start brewing, the ingredients are inexpensive: Dollar for dollar you can drink better beer more cheaply if you brew your own than if you buy it. It's easier to start with malt extract, but brewing with whole grains is even cheaper and gives you more options.
If you're looking for homebrewing advice, you'll find a slew of helpful books with techniques and recipes, as well as two magazines: Brew Your Own and Zymurgy. You’ll also find a lot of likeminded people. You can count on finding other homebrewers at online discussion forums (try www.homebrewtalk.com), local brewer’s clubs, homebrew competitions or microbreweries.
We’d love to hear about your experiences with homebrewing. Feel free to share your triumphs, failures or even a recipe in our comments section.