Some ingredients missing in my country (need alternatives)

[banash]

In Saudi Arabia (the worst country ever) we don’t have some ingredients like malt extract, specialty malts, hops, etc.

As I understood I can do it the old fashioned way by germinating barley, wheat, and other grains thin mash it.
My questions are:
What is malted barley? Is it barley germ?
What are hops exactly and can I brew my beer without hops?
What ingredients do you recommend in my situation?
any other tip u feel it will help

 

[david_42]

Malted barley is barley that has been sprouted slightly and then dried.

Hops (Humulus Lupulus) are native to the UK, but grown in many other areas. You can make beer without hops by using other bittering ingredients, this is called gruit.

You can ferment almost any grain by germinating it for a couple days, then adding yeast.

 

[509inc]

Isn't Alcohol banned in Saudi Arabia and from how I understand it the punishment is severe.

 

[robertbartsch]

My freind lived their for 3 years. Some beer was permitted to be flown in for foreigners only but it was not easy to get.

Don't get caught brewing if it is not legal - severe punishments are common.

 

[MVKTR2]

Hey look on the bright side, you can purchase all the fully automatic weapons you want, even grenade launchers and such... I say start your own arsenal or take up building sand castles it'll be a lot better for your health. Wouldn't want you loosing a hand for the hobby!

As for your question i would think you'd have VERY limited options. However as you can purchase unmilled wheat, feed grain barley & corn I believe with LOTS of research, planning, patience, & just a bit of luck you should be able to produce some fairly simple beer like beverages. There are obviously tons of bittering alternatives, simply do some searching. For yeast you could use bread yeast. Another source might be a vitamin/natural foods store or market as hops and yeast like microbes such as acidophilous are available there.

Good luck & Schlante,
Phillip

 

[hoppymonkey]

There is another post on from a guy in UAE and he said it was legal to brew at home and nothing else. As in he can and brew and drink, but can't bring it anywhere else or give any away. IS that the deal there as well? I love beer, but it isn't worth a caning.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I've been to Turkey a few times. The Turks are 97% Muslim.

Beer and other alcohol can be had almost anywhere...oddly enough they call it "medicine".

Personally, I'd move to another country...

 

[banash]

Malted barley is barley that has been sprouted slightly and then dried.

Hops (Humulus Lupulus) are native to the UK, but grown in many other areas. You can make beer without hops by using other bittering ingredients, this is called gruit.

You can ferment almost any grain by germinating it for a couple days, then adding yeast.

so I can simply geminate grains then mash it then add some sugar,water and yeast and finally ferment it for two weeks?

Isn't Alcohol banned in Saudi Arabia and from how I understand it the punishment is severe.

My freind lived their for 3 years. Some beer was permitted to be flown in for foreigners only but it was not easy to get.

Don't get caught brewing if it is not legal - severe punishments are common.

yes, Alcohol is banned in Saudi Arabia but it is been sold in the black market for a very expansive price for example a 1 liter bottle of black lable whiskey is sold for $600.....
this market is illegal and very hard to find, you will have to have special connection... thats if you are Saudi or any nationality other than European or Americans, its very easy for them...
We can also get a local alcohol very easily but its a very bad quality liquor and it might damage your health in 5 years.
the punishments for dealers are 2 to 5 years jail... but for buyers and drinkers it is nothing... I know that you thought that there is a saver punishment but no its not ... I am a saudi and I can do anything here except getting a good quality beer looool
Although there are saver punishments in drugs issues like hash and weed...

 

[banash]

Hey look on the bright side, you can purchase all the fully automatic weapons you want, even grenade launchers and such... I say start your own arsenal or take up building sand castles it'll be a lot better for your health. Wouldn't want you loosing a hand for the hobby!

As for your question i would think you'd have VERY limited options. However as you can purchase unmilled wheat, feed grain barley & corn I believe with LOTS of research, planning, patience, & just a bit of luck you should be able to produce some fairly simple beer like beverages. There are obviously tons of bittering alternatives, simply do some searching. For yeast you could use bread yeast. Another source might be a vitamin/natural foods store or market as hops and yeast like microbes such as acidophilous are available there.

Good luck & Schlante,
Phillip

Thank you that was useful

There is another post on from a guy in UAE and he said it was legal to brew at home and nothing else. As in he can and brew and drink, but can't bring it anywhere else or give any away. IS that the deal there as well? I love beer, but it isn't worth a caning.

In UAE alcohol consuming and brewing is allowed... there are hundreds of bars.

 

[banash]

I've been to Turkey a few times. The Turks are 97% Muslim.

Beer and other alcohol can be had almost anywhere...oddly enough they call it "medicine".

Personally, I'd move to another country...

yeeeeh its a medicine
I wish that I live in another country but I cant, here is my business, family .... etc
but believe me its really the worst place ever, afghanistan sounds worse but I don't think so

 

[banash]

Should I add sugar after mashing? or the sugar in the germinated grains is enough?

 

[homebrewer_99]

Mashing converts the starches in the grain to sugar...

 

[Patirck]

If you can find a single bottle of beer, you could perhaps harvest the yeast from that. This is a good time to learn about yeast harvesting so you can continue to use the same batch of yeast over and over for 5 or 10 batches.

I've heard of recipes that use ginger (like you get in the supermarket) for bittering instead of hops. I've seen hop extract being sold - if you can get your hands on something like that it would last a long time and go a long way - especially if you make non IPA style beers.

As for grains - I know rice is used in a lot places to make beer but I'm unsure about the malting process for it. I am sure that rice is readily available in SA in many varieties. Perhaps someone could chime in with a way to malt rice. I think something else to keep in mind is that if you have efficiency problems during the mash process, you can up the alchol content with a bit of table sugar (say a pound or two for a 5 gallon batch.

Another issue I see is the bottling kegging process. If I may ask, how do you plan on dealing this?

 

[banash]

Mashing converts the starches in the grain to sugar...

Thanx,

If you can find a single bottle of beer, you could perhaps harvest the yeast from that. This is a good time to learn about yeast harvesting so you can continue to use the same batch of yeast over and over for 5 or 10 batches.

I've heard of recipes that use ginger (like you get in the supermarket) for bittering instead of hops. I've seen hop extract being sold - if you can get your hands on something like that it would last a long time and go a long way - especially if you make non IPA style beers.

As for grains - I know rice is used in a lot places to make beer but I'm unsure about the malting process for it. I am sure that rice is readily available in SA in many varieties. Perhaps someone could chime in with a way to malt rice. I think something else to keep in mind is that if you have efficiency problems during the mash process, you can up the alchol content with a bit of table sugar (say a pound or two for a 5 gallon batch.

Another issue I see is the bottling kegging process. If I may ask, how do you plan on dealing this?

I dont have problem in yeast, I can use bread yeast.
I will try ginger for bettering.
We have rice, barley, wheat, and all grains.....its not a problem
I will try adding some sugar
about bottling I daont care at all Im gonna drink my bear straight over from the barrel

 

[FreedomForAll]

I'm from Saudi Arabia and I can help you find all you need

 

[Vale71]

And you're only 8 years late...

 

[Beer Nuts]

And you're only 8 years late...

You damn near killed me.

 

[bracconiere]

Saudia Aarbia, he's probably still being flogged!

 

[Gnomebrewer]

And you're only 8 years late...

Or maybe 9...

 

[KA_IPA]

I'm from Saudi Arabia and I can help you find all you need

Never too late , where can I find Malted Barley? And what is the best way to order Hops online?

I have tried to malt my on barley few times, it is not very efficient!

 

[FreedomForAll]

Sorry but I'm just here

And you're only 8 years late...

 

[Vale71]

Don't worry, it's a common rookie mistake. In time you'll learn to look at how old a post is before jumping into a possibly dead discussion.

 

[Malek]

That’s really useful guys, after 10 years he still can help me wallah
I’m looking for malted barley, I tried my best to malt at home but it way more difficult and space occupying than I thought. If you ever came here after a decade or so please enlighten me with your experience man! @FreedomForAll

 

[bracconiere]

I tried my best to malt at home but it way more difficult and space occupying than I thought

only if you try to learn how to do it from the internet.....

 

[bracconiere]

soak for an hour, drain, keep moist and let breath....i just put the cooler on it's side with the lid closed to drain it...

dry with a box fan on sweater drying racks....one day is enough...

kiln in the oven at it's lowest setting for 12 hours....

blow off the rootlets in front of a box fan, by slowly passing it back and fortth between containers....

you're the proud owner of malted barley!!!


got to be less difficult, and space consuming, then what you'll need to use it to make beer!!!

 

[bracconiere]

Malted barley is barley that has been sprouted slightly and then dried.

don't forget the kilning, otherwise it will taste bad....

 

[Malek]

I just purchased a food dehydrator. I found a couple of articles about it.

I have a question; how would I know if my row barley is good to be malted?

 

[Cayfeco]

.

I would love if you can help. Let me know if u can. Thank

 

[Krasdale]

What about malt sodas like goya malta and maltstar. They have the flavor you are looking for. Also grape nuts or other malt cereals with digestive enzymes from the pharmacy.