Brewing
St Arnoldus the patron saint of hops and brewers
By Rocky | April 20, 2008
Being a Sunday we thought we would pause for a religious moment and tell you about good old St Arnoldus or Arnulf or Arnold to his mates. St Arny is the patron saint of the hop pickers and the Belgian brewers. He was born in Flanders in Belgian around 1040 and lived to a ripe old age in those days of around 47 and was a career solder before joining the Benedictine monastery in Soissons France. He became a hermit for a few years before becoming the Abbot of the monastery before becoming the bishop. The abbey brewed beer under leadership at the monastery. Today in Brussels they have a special day in July where they remember Saint Arnoldus with a huge parade which they call the ‘Day of Beer”.
Topics: Brewing, Europe, Festivals / Events | No Comments »
Brewing - The Ingredients - Malt
By Rocky | April 11, 2008
We have decided that Thursdays will be brewing day on Hoppsy. Every Tursday we will have a story which will help you brew your very own delicious beer in your spare room or shed. If you have any tips which could help other brewers start up or improve their brews please drop us a line, we would love to hear from you! We are firstly going to talk about ingredients today’s ingredient is Malt.
Malt is made from cereal grains including wheat and barley, rice or even maize, barley is the most popular in beer productions but many brews use a combination of malts and different types of the same grain. The malting process occurs when the grain wet and is allowed to germinate quickly. It is then dried in a kiln before the plant develops too much. Sometimes grains are toasted to make darker beers adding additional colour and flavor to the brew. The malting process develops special enzymes what are required to turn the grain’s starches into sugars and also enzymes that help break down proteins that the yeast needs to do its work. For the unexperienced brewer you can purchase what is called malt extract from your brew shop where the malts have been made into a syrip like product where you only need to add water and yeast and additonal sugars to produce your brew.
Topics: Brewing | No Comments »
Beer Pizza - what an easy and tasty treat
By Rocky | January 13, 2008
It is really hard to find two things that go together so beautifully than beer and pizza. Well have we got a great recipe for you and it is so so easy- a beer pizza. The best thing to use is that yeasty goo at the bottom of your brewers bucket next time you brew beer. But if you don’t brew don’t worry you can make it using your favorite kind of beer, but we suggest one that hasn’t been processed to much- see if you can get a micro brewery beer or even a bottle of your mates home brew. That way there is plenty of yeast and you are sure you will get great results.
1st job is to put a 2 cups of flour in a bowl with a pinch of salt and a knob of butter or margarine and pour in enough of your beer or brew slurry to make the flour into a dough. Knead it for a few moments and put in a covered container somewhere warm for 2 hours. Knead it again, and leave it another hour before rolling it out into a pizza shape and placing it on a greased tray. Put on your favorite pizza toppings and sauce- and pop it into a hot oven. 20 or so minutes later you will be tasting the best pizza base you have ever tasted- absolutely delicious. Experiment with different types of beer and you will get some very tasty variations- dark beer works really well with chicken and mushroom pizza.
Topics: Brewing, Recipes | No Comments »
Brewers Wanted!
By Rocky | January 2, 2008
We are developing a brewing section on Hoppsy and need your help. If you have any tips or ideas which could help other brewers please send us a tip: http://www.hoppsy.com/send-us-a-tip/
Topics: Brewing | No Comments »