Introduction
As human beings, our lives are mostly crowded by work and we are left with little time to spare for ourselves. Making the best use of the free time we get is therefore very important. Hobbies which are activities that we engage in for pleasure present the best way to use our free time. As a matter of fact, few people spend their free time pursuing hobbies despite the importance attributed to leisure activity. The reason for this is mostly lack of a suitable hobby.
With this in mind, I shall propose home brewing beer as a hobby of choice to you my friend. Through this paper, I shall demonstrate that home brewing beer is a fascinating and rewarding hobby that many people could enjoy over a lifetime. I hope that by the end of this, I shall have positively influenced you to take up this most engaging hobby.
Home Brewing Beer
Home brewing beer is the process of producing small amounts of beer through fermentation for personal use. This activity is mostly carried out by people as a hobby. Home brewing has a rich history spanning thousands of years and it far precedes the mass production of beer that we are currently used to. Before undertaking home brewing, one needs to have a firm grasp of the overall process of brewing.
The brewing process can be broken down into a number of major steps which are; malting, boiling and fermenting. After fermenting, one may proceed to filter and package the drink appropriately. While the procedure may vary, the basic steps are as follows. One crushes the malt into a hop bag and lets it steep into water. The grain infused water is then let to boil and after it has started boiling, the bag is removed and the malt extracted into the brew pot.
This procedure results the formation of the wort from the grains. If desired, one can use hops to flavor the beer. The next step involves the preparation of yeast and then mixing it with the wort in a fermenter. Fermentation is the scientific process which makes the brew alcoholic. It occurs as a result of the chemical changes that result from yeast converting sugar into alcohol. The fermentation process requires a large sealable plastic container to act as a fermenter.
However, the fermenter will require a fermentation lock to allow the carbon dioxide produced by the process to escape while keeping gas from getting into the beer. The fermentation process will try your patience since you will be required to wait for a varying number of days depending on your specific recipe.
There are a myriad of advantages that you can gain from taking up home brewing. To begin with, home brewing is that it involves various facets which ensure that it does not become boring. To begin with, one has to go to the home brew supply store to obtain the necessary ingredients. The basic ingredients that you will need are grains, yeast, flavoring of your choice and water.
The mere obtaining of the ingredients is a fascinating experience even as you see and smell all kinds of grains before deciding on your choice grain. One you begin home brewing, you will be constantly searching and learning so as to perfect your craft. This dynamic nature of brewing is what makes it most desirable as a hobby.
This hobby will also enable you to save a significant amount of money. Commercially available beer is expensive to purchase as a result of various taxes and the need of profits by the beer makers. By taking up home brewing, you will be able to save big costs since home made beer is significantly cheaper. In addition to this, home brewing will enable you to create a wide variety of beer flavors for yourself.
There is an endless possibility on what one can brew and in addition to the recipes available in home brew supply stores; one can come up with their own unique recipes. As such, home brewing has the makings of a good hobby since ideally; a good hobby should be involving and not monotonous so as to keep the person interested.
As a matter of fact, worthwhile hobbies demand an investment of interest and energy. The same applies to home brewing hobby and I should forewarn you that this hobby shall require you to make use of math and science and your problem solving skills. Your attention to details shall also be honed as you go through the various brewing stages.
You shall also be required to demonstrate good project management skills as you go through the detailed steps of beer making. These skills that you gain from home brewing will make you more productive even as you engage in work and other activities in your life.
Conclusion
As you can see, hobbies do not just happen and one has to plan and execute them. The home brewing beer hobby that I propose will be involving since the brewing process will involve time and effort on your part. I must admit that it will take some time before you perfect home brewing but I assure you that you shall find pleasure in every effort you invest to gain competence in this activity. The rewarding sense of satisfaction that you shall have when you pour and drink the beer you made by yourself will make every effort worthwhile.