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There is a story about a well know homebrewer who wanted to try to grow and malt his own barley for brewing. The story goes that after the wildlife were done w
by camiller 16y ago
There is a story about a well know homebrewer who wanted to try to grow and malt his own barley for brewing. The story goes that after the wildlife were done with his barley patch and losses during winnowing he had managed to turn 50 pounds of seed into 20 pounds of barley.
- weaksauce 16y agoI would think that the hops are the determining factor in cost and taste of beer. there are just so many varieties of hops and there is a shortage right now because of the subsidies in other industries pulling farmers away from it to focus on corn. (I think it's corn but it has been a while since I read it) The owner of sam adams brewery had a hop subsidy to small brewers at the prices he could get to help foster the microbreweries around.
- camiller 16y agoI don't think he was doing it to necessarily save money but to have more control over the process, or possibly to create a under-modified malt suitable for decoction mashing. None the less, he turned 50 pounds of seed into 20 pounds of seed. There are 50+ types of specialty grains, each with distinct flavor and color contributions to the beer. In a more malt forward style like a scotch ale the grains certainly do provide a lot of the flavor profile, and there are at least 100+ strains of yeast for that matter. Actually hop prices have dropped to half or less of their highs during last years shortage. Disclaimer, I work part time at my local home brew shop to support my brewing hobby with the employee discount.
- weaksauce 16y agoInteresting. I didn't know that the hop prices fell. The craft beer prices have increased a bit since then. Need to support the local brewers though.