Ingredients

"Making tasteless beer is not easy but the big guys have the experience, skill, and technical knowledge to do it." - Michael Jackson (beer writer - not the gloved wonder)

A first class beer needs first class ingredients. Try to buy the freshest ingredients you can. A local homebrew shop is the best place to start, however if one is not nearby many shops are online and will ship anywhere in the U.S.

All beer consists of 4 basic ingredients: Water, sugar (grains), hops and yeast. Other ingredients (i.e. wheat) are typically added to change the flavor and characteristic of the beer. Below is a brief description of each ingredient and what it contributes to the beer.

	Water - Beer is 90% water, so be sure to use the cleanest water you can find.
	Sugar (malt) - Typically malted barley is used in the brewing process. Some large brewers use rice or corn to add sugars to their beers. This is an easy way to increase the sugar content but it takes away from the flavor.
	Hops - These vine grown cone shaped flowers add bitterness to the beer and help balance the sweetness of the malts.
	Yeast - This tiny microbe is responsible for converting the ingredients into alcohol. Home brewers will use either an ale or lager yeast to make their beer.