The Dangers Of Home Brewing

In reality, brewing alcohol of any sort is a relatively safe hobby to learn. Yes, there are many precautions to be taken, but think about it this way: man has been brewing alcoholic beverages for at least 10,000 years, if they were brewing that long ago, it is probably pretty safe for us with all our scientific tools, and perfections over the years.

In all reality, brewing soda is probably more dangerous than brewing beer or wine. When soda is bottled, it is bottled when sugar content is still high and the yeast are meant to create carbonation. It is necessary that the soda be refrigerated at the correct time, otherwise too much carbonation will be produced and the bottle can explode. When we brew beer we allow the yeast to more-or-less run it's course. The CO₂ produced is allowed to escape through a vent - the blowoff tube. When this vent becomes plugged and the CO₂ is not allowed to escape, the bucket can blow it's top sparying beer and hops all over. Neither of these circumstances are particularly dangerous - they are just messy.

Another problem with home brewing occurs when conditions are unsanitary. There are many different types of cleaning solutions that sterilize tools used, and it is important that these solutions be used. If beer becomes contaminated with the bad-yeast it can overrun the good-yeast and leave your beer tasting sloppy. If this happens when brewing wine, it can turn your wine into a vinegary solution comparable to an old bottle of Carlo Rossi.

Another problem, one that I have run into, is the creating of a recipe. It is important to truly know what one is doing, and think it through before creating a recipe. My mistake came when I did not factor in additional Maple Syrup when calculating the gravity. Consequently, I created a beer with a massive amount of alcohol, and used a very small portion of hops. And this, this is where the biggest problem of home brewing comes into play: consumption.

When home brewing we often enjoy the process of creating a batch, and for many of us, we cannot store massive quantities of beverages, and so the only way to create a new batch, is to create space. The only way to create space, is to consume your creation. And this is where the home brewer truly needs to be careful.