What's your favorite beer?

Weisse Luft

Technically speaking, any fermented beverage made from any malted grain and using either saccaromyces cervisiae or s. uvarium as the yeast is a beer.

The beer commonly found in stores is typically fermented with the latter, sometimes called s. carlsburggenesis. This yeast produces a lager, so named because it must be stored or aged cold to drop the yeast out of suspension. It also ferments at cooler temperatures.

Homebrews can be much closer to traditional beers because the malt is usually from one type of grain. A single malt in other words. Most commercial beer uses a different type of barley which allows use of cheaper grains due to higher enzyme levels in this six row barley. Traditional malts are made from two row and have only enough enzymes to convert the starchy endosperm into a fermentable mix of sugars.

Yes, one can brew lagers at home. A spare refrigerator, set up for higher temperatures (50 F), are commonly used to keep the brewing process at the right temperature.

I brew my own from scratch. Well, I buy malted barley for $28 per hundred pounds. That makes about 40 gallons. Total cost with hops and yeast is still under $1 per gallon and its far better than what you can buy in the store.

My favorite is a coffee stout which I developed long before Drew Carey and Buzz beer. I crystalize a portion of the malt with cracked coffee beans...