Beer mixes for mini-breweries: features, types and reviews

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-02 13:48

The process of making an intoxicating drink from real products is quite complicated, it is very difficult to make it at home. As an alternative raw material for the production of products, beer blends were invented, which are now actively produced on an industrial scale.

General product description

It's worth starting with the fact that any person who is fond of this kind of activity knows for sure that only 4 ingredients are needed to produce such a drink - m alt, hops, brewer's yeast, drinking water. Beer blend is a dry extract of the three main components. In other words, it contains dry m alt, yeast and hops. All of this is in powder form. What type of beer will be obtained in the end will depend on the dosage of the components in the mixture - light, dark, soft, bitter, etc.

When purchasing a beer mix for a microbrewery, be sure to consider the capacity of the vessel, as well as the volume of the package.

Dark varieties producers

Currently there are severalfirms whose products are one of the most popular. Among the producers of dark beers, such well-known companies are: American Brown Ale, Stout, Canadian Red Lager.

The first name is a mixture from an American manufacturer, which is based on dehydrated m alt. This component gives the drink a taste of caramel, as well as a slight bitterness. The finished product, which is made on the basis of this extract, is recommended to be consumed at a temperature of 10 to 12 degrees Celsius.

The second copy is the Irish version. Most often, the beer that is produced on the basis of this beer mixture is distinguished by the fact that it has a pleasant coffee or chocolate taste. Such a drink can even be found in pubs, where it is served under nitrogen gas, which makes its foam creamy.

The latest production is produced by a Canadian company and is intended for the production of an unusual red beer. A distinctive feature of this extract is that in its consistency it resembles a cream, and also has a caramel red tint. This beer blend is considered one of the best.

Pros and cons of raw materials. Domestic production

Of the undoubted advantages of this product, several of the following points can be distinguished:

• the process of making the drink is very simple;
• high availability of raw materials;
• low cost of goods that are based on a mixture;
• wide range.

Of the disadvantages of mixtures, quite stronglywhat stands out is that they are tied to a certain kind of brewery.

If we talk about domestic production, it is important to tell about one detail. Manufacturers are engaged in the manufacture of not only dry raw materials, but also liquid m alt. To understand the difference, it is worth knowing one fact - you can use liquid m alt not only for the production of beer, but also for making homemade whiskey. In addition, since there are no company costs for delivery from abroad, it will not be difficult to buy beer mixes in Moscow or any other city, and the cost will be much lower than that of imported goods.

Making the product by hand

Of course, before you start making, you need to buy a brewery. The most common product was Mr. Beer. The characteristics of this device are almost ideal for home production of a hop drink. The process itself takes from 14 to 21 days.

After the brand of the beer mixture has been chosen, it must be dissolved in 5 liters of drinking water, which will be heated to a temperature of 40-50 degrees Celsius. Next, mix the composition thoroughly, and pour the resulting suspension into a barrel. After that, it is necessary to add cold water so much that it reaches the control mark on the barrel. At the same time, brewer's yeast is added. Further, the resulting mixture in a barrel should be stored for a day in a dark and dry place with a temperature of 22 to 23 degrees.

Here it is important to know that the duration of fermentation will depend on the quality and type ofmixtures. If the extract is stored incorrectly, then a negative fermentation of the drink will occur. In order to return the normal fermentation of the hop liquid, you must either add more brewer's yeast, or slightly increase the temperature of the wort. You can determine whether a drink is ready by its appearance. When the fermentation process is over, the beer will be considered ready. After that, you can subject the resulting liquid to filtration, while saturating it with CO_{2. The product is then bottled. The ripening process takes place in these containers.}

Inpinto and COOPERS blends

Inpinto beer blend is a product manufactured by Lion, a New Zealand company. It is worth noting that the company is considered one of the world leaders in the production of such mixtures. Using the m alt extracts of this company, you can produce drinks such as Czech, German, Irish, English, Belgian.

COOPERS beer blend is also a worthy competitor. This company made sure that the buyer could find out about the color, as well as the bitterness of the product from the inscriptions on the package. Each batch has a certain parameter that corresponds to the color and bitterness that can be obtained using 1 kg of the product. In order to determine this amount, it is necessary to multiply the color or bitterness value by the amount to be diluted. The answer received is divided by the volume of beer that will be produced. For example, the color 90 EBC means 901.7/23, where 1.7 kg is the mass of the dry mix, and 23 liters is the volumebreweries.

What you need to know about the mixture

There are a few things you need to know before you start cooking. The use of a dry extract is justified only for the production of a hop drink in equipment with a small capacity, which is not designed for the process of boiling and mashing m alt. It is also very important to know that one of the key elements that affects the final taste of the product will be water. The taste of the drink also depends on its quality. The best beer brewing option is bottled water.

How to choose?

Naturally, when choosing a dry mix, one should first of all give preference to the one that will correspond to the taste preferences of the buyer. The components of the product influence the formation of taste. The primary raw material that affects the formation of taste is m alt. The type of beer will depend on the type of this ingredient. For example, if you want to get dark beer, then you need to look for roasted, black, chocolate, etc. types of m alt. The "breed" of yeast also plays a very important role. Depending on this parameter, the fermentation process will change, which will also influence the formation of the final taste of the product in its own way. Type of fermentation can be top or bottom.

Reviews about beer blends are very different, but most of them are still positive. For example, some people have noticed that if you lower the fermentation temperature of the Mr. Beer mixture from 22-23degrees to 18, then the taste is much better, but the duration increases by a week. If we talk about, say, COOPERS mixtures, here, too, users noted a good taste, a light shade, as well as a slight precipitation of yeast.