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Homebrewing is like almost any other hobby; it can be done simply and low-cost or be as complex and expensive as YOU want to make it. It's up to you as to how much time, effort and money you are willing to spend.
Homebrewing can be as easy as boiling water. There are malt extracts that come in dry and liquid form. The dry is a fine powder and the liquid resembles molasses. The easiest (and quickest) way to make beer is to buy a malt extract kit. It will probably come with hopped extract and a pack of dry yeast.
First a few definitions are in order:
Beer - an alcoholic beverage made by brewing and fermentation from cereals, usually malted barley, and flavored with hops and the like for a slightly bitter taste. (From Webster's Dictionary) ...the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water. (Reinheitsgebot {German Purity Law} adopted in 1516). The most common definition of beer is a beverage that is made with at least Malt, Hops, Yeast, and Water. The first recorded record of dates back to the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians over 4,500 years ago!!! Some historians even theorize that the leading factor to people settling (instead of hunter/gatherer) is to cultivate barley for the use in beer.Malt - is used interchangeably for malted barley, dry malt extract and malt extract. Malted barley is the barley kernel (seed) that is dampened and allowed to germinate. It is then dried and kilned (baked at a low temperature). Depending on the time and temperature of the kilning process, the malt color will vary; all the way from the lightest pale to black. The kilning will also affect the favor profile as well.
Yeast - similar to bread yeast, they are the little bugs that do most of the work. Yeast are one cell organisms that ingest simple sugars and excrete 2 vital ingredients for beer; alcohol and carbon dioxide. Yeast is available in two forms for homebrewers; liquid and dry.
Water - So you think you know what water is, do you? Well, until you have a Ph D. in Chemistry you just think you know what water is. 90% of beer is water so any minerals in the water will affect the taste and body (mouth feel). For example, if you want to make an authentic English Pale Ale, here's what your water should have in it: Calcium 268, Magnesium 62, Sodium 30, Sulfate 638, Chloride 36, biCarbonate 141 (in Parts Per Million, PPM). But if you are doing a Pilsner you want: Calcium 7, Magnesium 2, Sodium 2, Sulfate 5, Chloride 5, biCarbonate 15. You got all that? I didn't think so but don't let this scare you, you can still make great beer without worrying about your water. This is part of why the hobby can be complex if you want it to be or as simple as boiling water.
Hops - Hops are the flowers of a viney plant. The favor and bitterness will vary from variety to variety. And even from seasons and locations. Hops haven't always been used in beer. Hops are relatively "new" to the scene. They only been used for the last 200 or so years. Hops were used to prevent spoilage when beer was shipped or stored.
Wort - Wort is the unfermented beer, complete with hops and yeast.
