Ingredients for homemade beer, listed in categories. Let's see what is almost necessary to prepare homemade beer at your own home or even in whatever brewery. Malted grain: this is the main ingredient, it is obtained from the “malting” of barley, and its colour and therefore its use are determined according to the drying level. Hops: they are the female flowers, with a typical cone-shape, of the herbaceous climbing plant Humulus lupulus. In brewing, they are used to make bitter and preserve beer. Yeast: available either dry or liquid, it allows the alcoholic fermentation during which the sugar pass into the alcoholic brew. Malt extracts: they are obtained from an appropriate malted grain processing, they exist both dry and liquid and of various colour types, some malts can be used as basic ingredient for partial mashed or e+g beer. Gelled grain bill: usually, they can be found of wheat, barley, and oat, but also of rice and corn. Herbs and Spices: they give peculiar and spicy flavours, often used in Belgian beer. Sugars: from candied sugar to dextrose (or grape sugar), they are necessary in some cases to increase the alcoholic level or even for the secondary fermentation in the bottle; brown sugar gives a caramel flavour and darkens the beer.
