Easy Guide to Food And Drinks

If you would like to make your own beer but think that it may be too involved relax. You only need a few pieces of equipment. In fact you may already have some pieces. Don’t worry about buying a lot of fancy equipment. Purchase the bare minimum to get started and your investment will soon be offset by the money you will save.

If  this is the first attempt to make your own beer your best bet is to start with a beer kit.First of all you need a fermenter. Basically a plastic pail made of food grade plastic with a lid.

A carboy which is generally made out of glass. This is where a lot of the magic happens. This is where the fermentation occurs.

Tubing for transferring out of the fermenter into the carboy. You will also use when bottling. In addition to these pieces of equipment, you may need airlocks, stoppers, and various tubing. If this is your first time make sure you purchase a beer making kit.

A hydrometer to measure the beer’s gravity before and after fermentation. In a nutshell, it tells you how much of the sugars have turned to alcohol.

A brew kettle is an optional piece of equipment you may want to use. But one of the best ways to jump into home brewing is by using a pre-made ingredient kit for your first batch of beer. With these kits, you don’t have to go anywhere near your oven to brew beer.

Of course you will need bottles. You may already have these. If you don’t have any beer bottles laying around there are lots at your nearby recycling depot.  Five dozen is more than enough.

An important piece of brewing equipment that is sometimes included in this starter kit and at other times is not included is the bottle capper. Make sure that you have one of these available, along with a good supply of new caps by the time your batch of brew is completed.

Finally some miscellaneous items you will want to have on hand  are a bottle brush, a cleaner,TDC and a sanitizer like BTF or Sani-Brew.

So you see there really isn’t much equipment needed to make your own beer. You just need about three hours to make your beer and it will be drinkable in a couple of weeks.

So you have decided to make your own beer.  Wise choice.  Steps have been followed to finding the perfect brew, the wort has been made. Soon you will be ready to pop open that home brewed “cold one” and partake in your own brew.  But there are still a few stages to complete before that can take place.

Primary Fermenting Stage.  There are two stages to the fermenting.  Primary and Secondary.  The primary fermentation takes place after the wort has been made and is ready to start the fermenting process. The wort will begin fermenting within the first 24 hours and will continue fermenting for three to five days. Once you are able to see air bubbles rising up through the water in the airlock then your wort has begun fermenting. Begin checking your beer daily after the 5th day to see if it is completed fermenting.  You can tell if the fermenting is completed when the bubbling in the airlock has stopped completely or slowed to a pause of approximately 2 minutes between the bubbles. Be careful when bottling that the primary fermenting has completed since an incomplete fermentation can cause the bottles to explode.

Secondary Fermenting Stage. The secondary fermentation takes place in the bottles. At this stage the beer is bottled but is still not quite ready for consumption because it is not yet carbonated. Gather all of the equipment and supplies needed for this stage first.  Bottles, bottle caps, plastic hose, mixing spoon, saucepan and the bottling bucket.  Be sure everything is clean and sanitized before beginning.

To be sure you have enough bottles on hand estimate in ounces so you can use the size of the bottles as your gauge.  In other words, one gallon of beer is equivalent to approximately 128 ounces of beer so if you make 5 gallons of beer that would be 640 ounces or approximately 40 16-ounce bottles.  Always be sure to have extra bottles and caps on hand to cover for any misses or mistakes.  Don’t be penny wise and dollar foolish when opting to make your own beer.  If you don’t have enough bottles, you will have ruined a good portion of the brew you make.

Next you will need pure dextrose to make a priming solution which is used to make the remaining yeast in your beer carbonated. Start by dissolving 3/4 cup of the dextrose into two to three cups of water in your saucepan.  Bring the solution to a boil over medium heat.  Once boiling, cover, remove from heat and allow to cool for approximately 15 to 20 minutes.   After this solution has cooled, take your bottling bucket (be sure it is cleaned and sanitized) and place it on the floor directly beneath the primary fermenter which you can place on a chair, table or counter, whichever is most convenient; being very careful not to disturb the sediment on the bottom of the primary fermenter.  

Now attach the hose to the spigot on the primary fermenter and put the other end of the hose in the bottling bucket.  Take the priming solution and put it into the bottling bucket.  Once this is completed, then open the spigot on the fermenter and allow the beer to flow freely into the bucket to mix with the solution. Do not try and get the last drops of beer out of the fermenter as this will disturb the sediment and it may end up in your beer.

Once all of your beer has been transferred into the bottling bucket, close the spigot on the fermenter, take off the hose, line up all of your bottles on the floor underneath, put the hose into one of the bottles, open the spigot and let the beer flow. Once bottling has completed, let the beer remain in a cool, dark place for a minimum of two weeks before drinking.

The important thing to remember when you make your own beer is to keep all of your equipment clean and sanitized before you begin, as you move through the process, and before you put any of your equipment away.  Doing this will ensure that when you make your own beer it will not only be tasty, but safe to drink as well.

Enjoy and have fun!

Everyone wants a cold one now and then.  Too bad we can’t just reach in our fridge at any time and grab a brewsky to enjoy which doesn’t taste like the commercial brands that leave so much to the imagination and so little in the pocketbook. Well, the good news is you can.  Learning how to make your own beer is not as difficult as you might think and actually can be quite enjoyable.

The whole process to make your own beer may seem a little daunting at first but when it comes right down to it there are really only a few steps to follow in order to enjoy your own home brew.   Basically, it is 3 simple steps.

1) Boiling the mixture consisting of hops, barley and water (known as the wort)

2) Placing it into a fermenter with yeast

3) After fermentation, bottling it.

That’s pretty much it. Now of course, you also need home brew recipes along with good brewing equipment but overall, those are the 3 steps you need to follow every time you brew.

The very first step when learning how to make your own beer is to start with good, clean sanitized equipment. You can either purchase the equipment at a local brewing supplies store or on-line. It is extremely important to keep the equipment properly sanitized to prevent any bacteria from developing.  This equipment should be kept clean and sanitized THROUGHOUT the entire process. This environment is a haven for bacteria and fungi to grow so be sure to be extremely stringent when cleaning and sanitizing.

Next, bring 2 quarts of water to nearly boiling (steaming) and remove from heat. Add your beer kit along with any additional fermentables purchased according to the instructions on the packaging.  Fermentables can include dry malt extract, liquid malt extract, brewers sugar, rice syrup, demerera sugar or any combination to impart the unique flavor and taste you desire.   Each brings with it its own uniqueness.  Supply store owners are more than happy to help so don’t be afraid to ask for advice depending on the type of taste and outcome you desire.  This mixture is now called your wort.

Next, stir the ingredients ensuring that it is well mixed and dissolved.  Place a lid on the pot and let it simmer on the lowest setting for 10-15 minutes.  This helps achieve sanitation which is crucial.

Now add the contents of the pot to 4 gallons of COLD water which should already be in your primary fermenter and mix for approximately 1 to 2 minutes. This helps in the oxygenation of the wort prior to adding the yeast.  When the sides of the fermenter are cool to the touch, you can add your yeast.

The type of yeast you use also has an effect on the final flavoring of your beer so be sure to pick and choose wisely.  (If you are new at this, trial and error is part of the game).

Ferment as close as possible to the recommended temperature. Place the airlock on top of the mixture which will help to keep any bacteria from forming. After approximately one week, move the mixture to the secondary fermenter being careful not to disturb the sediment laying on the bottom of the primary fermenter.  The agitation caused by moving causes a second fermentation and this wort will remain in place for another week.

Once the second fermentation is complete, the bottling process can now start.

So that is pretty much it.  Following along the steps, asking for help at the local supply store, and doing some trial and error runs is a great start to learning how to make your own beer and stop being a slave to those “store bought” lackluster brands.