Maybe you've been following my column on our blog, Your Weekly Libation, and my tapestry of booze has enticed you. Maybe you're a drink-fixated foodie looking to move from smoothies and teas into a more exciting area. Maybe you saw the word ?beer? and started drooling like one of Pavlov's dogs. Whatever the reason, you're here and eager to make your own beer!
How easy or difficult is the process? That depends entirely on how much you want to influence the outcome. Whatever the method, prepare to commit some cash; at least $40 for an all-in-one kit, or up to $150 to make things from scratch. It's worth the costs, however, when you finally crack open a bottle of your own personal beer and down it with glee.
The first option for the amateur brewer is to pick up an all-in-one beer kit. Mr. Beer, the most well-known, offers four different kits, from the $40 Deluxe Edition all the way up to the $150 Ultimate Edition. Another brand to consider is the $130-150 Starter Home Brewery set (which uses a glass carboy and organic ingredients). These sets don't do all the work for you, but they do cut down on use of raw ingredients or jerry-rigged equipment. By using a kit, you'll possibly save money and definitely ensure consistency. But all the ease of production comes at a price: good luck customizing the flavor of your beer using a pre-made brewpack.
For the truly discerning brewer-to-be, it may seem necessary to do everything yourself. This allows for much more experimentation and creativity; it also has a much smaller margin for error. It's best to buy a brewkit first, experiment with it, and move on to custom beers once you're comfortable. If you are, and you've made sure to properly sterilize all your equipment (via steam dry in the dishwasher or a diluted bleach soak and rinse) there are three broad phases to beer creation:
Brewing
For this, you'll need a brewpot, a recipe, a kitchen strainer, at least 2.5 gallons of water (most brewpacks and recipes call for 2.5-3 gallons), and a rolling pin (to crush your grain ingredients). What ingredients you need depends on what kind of beer you're making. A Simple Ale, for example, might contain:
3 lbs. light dried malt extract
8 oz. crushed crystal malt
1 oz. Northern Brewer pellet hops
1 pkg. brewers yeast
3/8 C. sugar, for bottling
But different beers require different amounts of even the most basic ingredients. The brewpot is where you prepare the beer ingredients?the ?wort??for fermentation. Use a large (at least 4 gallon) metal pot, ideally stainless steel or ceramic-coated. Using an aluminum pan will work, sort of, but your beer will end up tasting funny. And with a process as long as this one, the final result had better be good! Once you've prepared the wort, you're ready for the second phase.
Primary fermentation
For this, you'll need a serious fermenting container. No skimping with a two-liter bottle, here. Some sites suggest you use a fermenter made specifically for brewing, with a stopper and spigot; others show how to employ things like water cooler bottles. Whichever kind you use, pour in (?pitch?) your brewer's yeast. Here is where the the infant beer shall remain as the yeast parties down inside, chowing down on the sugars within the wort and giving off carbon dioxide. To prevent the the whole thing from going kablammo like an oversized Wort Grenade, you'll need an airlock, a simple little plastic doodad which constantly releases the building CO2. It forms an airtight seal between the fermenter's stopper and the outside world. You can make one fairly easily, but plastic airlocks generally go for about $1, and I'd say that's a dollar well spent. Place the container in a dark, cool place, and prepare for the hardest part of your brewing experience: waiting.
After feasting for 10-14 days, the yeast should be done with all the sugar. It's time for your beer to go into the third phase?
Secondary fermentation
What? But we already fermented it once! True, but we've been letting out the CO2; secondary fermentation takes place in sealed bottles, trapping the CO2 and giving the beer its foamy, fizzy carbonation. But since the sugars from the wort are all gone, you'll need to add some ?primer? sugar before bottling. Prepare a primer by boiling 3/8 a cup of sugar in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes, then pouring it into another container large enough to hold your beer. Siphon the beer into this new container carefully; your goal is to leave behind as much of the sediment as possible. From here, pour/siphon/spigot the beer into bottles and?wait some more. Argh! Let the beer age for another 7-10 days in that same cool, dark area from before; finally, pop open a bottle and have a taste.
If it's nectar from the gods, great! Let it continue aging and drink as necessary; start on your next batch, too! Time it right and you'll constantly enjoy homemade beer in your fridge. Play around with recipes; add ingredients to the malt like honey or molasses; have fun like the brewmaster you are!
Some good recipes utilizing your homemade beer from the site include:
The process of homebrewing can be as simple or as difficult as one makes it. This article is meant to simplify the process and outline the basic elements of homebrewing for beginners. It is recommended that you first purchase an equipment kit from your local supplier or online. These generally cost between $60 and $100 and include the essentials you need to get started such as a fermentation bin, bottling bucket, racking tube, fermentation lock, and additional accessories. Now, let's get ready for our first brewing session. Cleanliness is of utmost importance. Make sure your brewing area is clean, organized, and your equipment is sanitized. For the sake of simplification, we'll brew what I like to call an ?in-and-out? kit. One of my favorites that falls into this category is EDME's Red Devil Ale. This particular kit comes with a 4lb. hopped can of malt extract and a pack of dried yeast. The only additional ingredients needed are 2lbs. of dried malt extract and five ounces of corn sugar for priming. Some people may still prefer to add hops for aroma, but this is not completely necessary as our can of malt extract has already been hopped. We begin by bringing ? gallon of water to boil in a stainless pot. Then, we add the entire contents of the can of malt extract and the additional 2lbs. of dried malt extract. Continue stirring to avoid scorching. Also, adjust the heat. We're not looking for a rolling boil. Rather, a light boil at about 160 degrees Fahrenheit for about five to ten minutes is perfect. Once this is complete, remove the pot from the burner. We can now pour three gallons of cool to lukewarm water into the fermenting bin. Be sure to pour from a reasonable height so as to add oxygen to the water. Next, pour the mixture (wort) from the pot into the fermenting bin, and top off the bin with additional water until the total volume is at five gallons. Place the lid on the fermenting bin to avoid the introduction of potential contaminants, and allow the wort to come to a temperature of between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, you may add the yeast, and thoroughly stir with a sanitized, stainless or plastic stirring spoon. Place the lid and fermenting lock on the bin, and stand the bin at room temperature for approximately seven to ten days. When fermentation appears to have stopped, the beer is ready for priming and bottling. Siphon the beer from the fermenting bin to the bottling bucket making sure to transfer the smallest amount of the yeast sediment as possible. Stir about five ounces of corn sugar into one cup of boiling water. Add this mixture to the bottling bucket, and stir. Now, siphon the beer from the bottling bucket into individual bottles. Cap each bottle and store at room temperature and away from any light for about two weeks. In all, your beer should be ready for consumption within four weeks from the original date of brewing.
Both James Smylie & Dominick Famiano are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
James Smylie has sinced written about articles on various topics from Food and Drink, Food and Drink and Food and Drink. Recipe4Living has tens of thousands of recipes, a growing userbase, and tons of features that would make any foodie drool. There can never be enough cooks in our kitchen, so stop at. James Smylie's top article generates over 5400 views. to your Favourites.
Dominick Famiano has sinced written about articles on various topics from Wine and Spirits, Beer and Food and Drink. Dominick Famiano is a homebrewer and webmaster of , a social networking site for homebrewing and beer enthusiasts. He also manages the informational site. Dominick Famiano's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.