How Can I Brew My Own Beer?
For the beginner it might seem like an overwhelming and complicated process but at it’s core, just about anybody can brew their own beer. Whether you’re an everyday after work drinker or just somebody who likes to kick back ever once in a while with a cold one, you can easily make your own beer without braking the bank.
That’s great news, right?
Brewing is not rocket science, but it does take patience, trial and error and perseverance to make some great tasting home brewskies. With home-brewing kits readily available and the craft brewing business exploding over the past decade it’s likely you have a friend of two who either brews their own beer or knows somebody who does. With all that said there are some important steps you need to take that will give you the best end product.
Follow the steps below to learn how to brew out of the convenience of your own home.
The Items You'll Need
Depending on the quantity of beer you want to brew and the taste you want to produce, you will need to pay close attention to quantities when prepping. Make sure your specifications are up to standard. Of course, these are open to modification.
The Process
Important hygiene precaution you have to take seriously before you start your brewing process: Do not put the mixture into the fermenter without first sanitizing the latter. Sanitizing will require you to only add a gallon of water to some ounces of bleach and then use a sponge to clean both the fermenter and the lid. Secondly, also ensure you clean up your bottles and other tools (including bottle filler, siphon hose, and racking cane, etc.) before filling them with the final product. Follow the same process you use for sanitizing the fermenter.
Ready.Set.Go
The Prep Stage
- Soak the malt extract in separate cans of hot water for a few minutes (between 1520 minutes) in order to make the extract soft.
- Pour the measured gallons of water into the kettle and let it boil to a boiling point.
- Add the extract to the boiling water and thoroughly stir until the whole substance has dissolved in the water.
- Place the back of the kettle on the stovetop and boil the wort (the resultant product from the mixture of water and the extract) for about 30 minutes.
- Stir occasionally until the boiling process is complete
- Then, finally add the hop pellets.
The Fermentation Stage
- Pour the wort into the fermenter and allow it to cool down for some minutes (normally at room temperature)
- Rehydrate the yeast, and then add it to the wort almost immediately. Do not stir!
- Pour and then replace the lid and lock it into a dark, room temperature place.
- Make sure you add some water into the air lock up to midpoint. This is to allow for proper fermentation. Come back to check after two weeks. In the process, take note that there is a rapid bubbling which results from the escape of carbon dioxide.
The Bottling Stage
- After all fermentation is done, try to blend together one cup of water with the corn sugar into a pot.
- Place the mixture on the stovetop for about 10 minutes to boil.
- Pour the corn sugar solution into the bottling bucket.
- Then siphon the beer gently from the fermenter to the bucket.
- Siphon the hose and attach them to the bucket and fill each bottle. Allow the filled bottles to cool down.
With a simple search in google one can certainly brew their own beer. As long as you take your time, plan ahead, and enjoy the process then it will all be worth it in the end. And of course….you get to drink the fruits of your labor!!
Let us know about your first brewing experience in the comment section below!
1 thought on “Homebrewing 101 – A Beginners Guide to Brewing Beer”
It’s true, I basically learned the basics of brewing with just a simple Google search, Youtube tutorials were so handy to have. It made learning a lot easier.