Brewing is the actual process of alcoholic beverages and alcohol through fermentation. This method is used with beer production, although the term can also be used for other drinks as well. The term brewing is also used to refer to any chemical mixing process as well.

The process of brewing has a long history indeed, which archeological evidence tells us that this technique was actually used in ancient Egypt as well. Many descriptions of various beer recipes can be found in Sumerian writings, which are some of the oldest writings of any type.

Even though the process of brewing is complex and varies greatly, Below, you'll find the basic stages relating to brewing.

1. Mashing - This is the first phase of brewing, in which the malted grains are crushed and soaked in warm water in order to create an extract of the malt. The mash is then held at constant temperature long enough for the enzymes to convert
starches into fermentable sugar.

2. Sparging - At this stage, water is filtered through the mash to dissolve all of the
sugars. The darker, sugar heavy liquid is known as the wort.

3. Boiling - The wort is boiled along with any remaining ingredients to remove any excess water and kill any type of microorganisms. The hops, either whole or extract are added at some point during this stage.

4. Fermentation - The yeast is now added and the beer is left to ferment. After it has fermented, the beer may be allowed to ferment again, which will allow further settling of the yeast and other particulate matter which may have been introduced
earlier in the process.

5. Packaging - At the final stage, the beer will contain alcohol, but not too much carbon dioxide. The brewer will have a few options to increase the levels of carbon dioxide. The most common approach is force carbonation, via the direct addition of CO2 gas to the keg or bottle.

After it has been brewed, the beer in normally a finished product. At this point, the beer is kegged, casked, bottled, or canned. Beers that are unfiltered may be stored for further fermentation in conditioning tanks, casks, or bottles to allow smoothing of harsh alcohol or heavy hops.

There are some beer enthusiasts that consider a long conditioning period attractive for various strong beers such as Barley and wines. Depending on the beer enthusiast and what he likes to drink, it will vary.

TROUBLE SHOOTING HOME BREWING

Stuck fermentation
Stuck fermentation occurs when your beer fails to ferment to completion. This can result from the use of old yeast or poor ingredients. The best way to take care of this problem, is to prevent it from starting. To do this, you should:

1. Re-hydrate the yeast by adding it to some water and adding wort to the yeast an hour or more before you pitch. This will help ensure that your yeast is still active.
2. Use an all malt or a recipe that has a lot of it, as yeast needs nutrients to stay
alive. Corn and sugar lack these nutrients. If your yeast still fails to survive, it cannot reproduce. For this very reason, distilled water shouldn't be used when making beer.

Under carbonation
If you've used the proper amount of priming sugar and your beer is still flat, it's probably due to the fact that you didn't properly rise the sanitizing solution from the bottles. If too much sanitizer is left in the bottles, it can kill the yeast, which results in flat beer. The only way to prevent this is to stop it from happening. Over carbonation Over carbonation can cause your beer to turn into a foam disaster. It can result from these causes:

1. Too much or uneven priming sugar. You should measure your primer carefully and dissolve it thoroughly in boiling water and allow it the proper time to cool. Before bottling, make sure to stir this into your beer.
2. Bottling your beer too early can also result in too much carbonation.
3. Poor sanitization is also a cause. If you allow your beer to come in contact with wild yeast, it can result in over carbonation and possibly even off flavors.
4. Bottles that are under filled can also contribute to over carbonation. You should
allow 1/2 inch of head space to allow your beer time to pressurize.

By taking the proper time to fix problems, you'll ensure that your brew comes out great every time you brew it. If you happen to run into a problem, always take the time to rationize it before you rush into fixing it. If you rush into fixing a problem, you may start another one.

You should expect problems, especially if this is your first time brewing. Even for expert home brewers, problems can occur from time to time - which is something you'll learn to deal with.