How to Home Brew: A Beginner’s Guide To Crafting Delicious Beer.
It’s a bold notion, but one that continues to attract individuals of all ages: brewing beer in your own home. Whether you’re an experienced enthusiast or a novice just getting the hang of things, home brewing can be an enjoyable, creative, and educational experience.
Above all else, brewing beer in your own home can give you complete control over the flavors, aromas, and ingredients of your favorite beer. From fermentation speeds, length of aging and bottling techniques, there’s a whole raft of small tweaks you can make to influence the outcome of your craft beer. In fact, now more than ever, people around the world are turning to home brewing to create made-to-order beer varieties.
So, if you’re one of the many considering home brewing beer, here’s our complete beginner’s guide to crafting delicious beer in your own home.
How to Home Brew Beer
Home brewing beer is a fairly simple and straightforward process, with the overall goal being to combine malted grain, hops, yeast and water to create a delicious alcoholic beverage. The process begins with the assembly and sanitation of brewing equipment, which includes a brewing pot big enough to accommodate five or more gallons of liquid, a large bucket (or plastic bottles) to hold the cooled liquid, a large spoon for stirring, a fermentation bucket, fermentation locks, and bottles and caps (if you plan on bottling your beer).
Next, the malted grains — typically barley, wheat or both — are mashed (or steeped) in hot water, which releases their sugar, as well as other compounds responsible for flavor, color and texture. This sugary liquid — known as “wort” — is then boiled, during which time hops may be added for a wide range of aromas, flavors and preservative benefits. Then, the freshly boiled wort is cooled down before being poured into the fermenter and left to ferment.
For most beers, primary fermentation is left to the active yeast and takes anywhere from 5 to 14 days, during which time the liquid ferments and the yeast converts the sugar present in the wort into alcohol. Afterwards, the beer is typically left to ‘condition’ for 2 weeks or more to allow the yeast and solids to settle, resulting in a clean, crystal-clear beer. After conditioning, the beer is ready for bottling and priming (adding a small amount of sugar for carbonation) or kegging.
Home Brewing Supplies and Ingredients
There is minimal equipment needed for home brewing, and most of it should be acquired from a local homebrew shop, online retail outlet, or specialty retailer. Below are the essential items you’ll need to get started brewing beer in your own home.
Brew Pot: Generally, the larger the pot the better, since you’ll need at least five gallons of working liquid space.
Fermenter: A large plastic bucket (at least five gallons) with a lid and airlock.
Bottling Bucket & Spigot: A food-grade plastic bucket with a spigot can be used to transfer beer from brew pot to fermenter and fermenter to bottle.
Bottles & Caps: 12-ounce beer bottles (at least 50 per five-gallon batch), and bottle caps.
Racking Cane & Siphon: A racking cane & siphon is used to transfer beer from the carboy between fermenters, bottle or dump the beer.
Thermometer: A thermometer measures the temperature of a liquid or vapor.
Hydrometer: A hydrometer measures the density of a liquid and serves as a great tool for gauging the progress of a brew session.
Air Lock & Stopper: An air lock and stopper provide a means for monitoring the fermentation because as the beer ferments, bubbles of carbon dioxide gas migrate up the air lock.
Bottle Filler: A bottle filler facilitates the transfer of beer from fermenter to bottle without splashing or foaming.
In addition to the equipment, you’ll also need a few ingredients to get the show on the road. Generally, most homebrewers purchase the ingredients they need from a local homebrew shop, online retail outlet, or specialty retailer.
Grains: Depending upon the beer variety brewed, the grain bill may include malts such as barley, wheat, and oats. Crystal malt and chocolate malts are also available for darker beers.
Hops: Hops add the signature bitterness and aroma profiles to the beer. They come in a variety of varieties, and each type contributes unique traits to the finished brew.
Yeast: Yeast converts sugar into alcohol, and contributes flavor and aroma components to the beer.Ales are fermented with top fermenting yeast, while lagers are fermented with bottom fermenting yeast.
Adjuncts: Adjuncts are optional ingredients used to supplement base malts and add extra body, flavor, and character to the beer. Common adjuncts include honey, malt extract, and fruit juices.
Water: Since beer is made up of roughly 95% water, having a good supply of clean, filtered or mineral-rich drinking water is essential for brewing beer.
Preparing for the Home Brewing Process
Homebrewing doesn’t just require the gathering of supplies, but also preparation of the workspace, as well as yourself. After acquiring the necessary equipment and ingredients, it’s important to sanitize all the items that will come in contact with the wort or finished beer. Sanitization helps to prevent contamination and spoilage.
Next, establish a good workspace. Set up a table or workspace in an area free from distractions and pets, with adequate ventilation. This is also a nice opportunity to get creative with your workspace, since it’s your chance to express yourself. Whether it’s decorating with kitschy beer-related items or finding unique spaces to display your brewed beers, take the time to make your workspace truly your own.
Lastly, wear the proper safety gear to protect yourself and your investment of time, money, and energy. Since heat and steam can escape from the brew pot if left unattended, it’s important to wear closed-toed shoes, long pants and, if you choose, an apron to protect your clothing and body from hot liquids or splashing. An oven mitt, gloves and safety glasses may also be useful.
Getting Started with Your Home Brewing Journey
Now that you’ve assembled the necessary equipment, gathered your ingredients, and prepared the workspace, it’s time to start brewing! There are a few common techniques for making beer – extract brewing, partial mash brewing, or all-grain brewing. All three styles can get you to a decent beer, though all-grain brewing is typically regarded as a more advanced technique.
For extract brewing, the brewer begins by dissolving malt extract into boiling water. After the grain is mashed, when in partial mash brewing mode, the liquid malt extract is added at the start of the boil, while boiling hops are added at various stages throughout the boil, as specified in the recipe. In all-grain brewing mode, the brewer combines malted brewer grains with hot water and boils the mixture, which is then cooled, hopped, and ferments.
Whichever method you prefer, the common thread is that the brewer must boil the wort, which is the unfermented, sugary liquid that is the major ingredient in the beer. Once the boil is complete, it is often a good idea to steep some specialty grains and all that remains is to cool the wort as quickly, and as cleanly, as possible. This is done by running cold water around the brew pot prior to transferring the wort, in either a fermenter bucket or carboy, for fermentation and conditioning.
Conclusion
As you can see, setting up a home brewery requires quite a bit of preparation and planning, but the rewards of having a consistent supply of delicious craft beer can be worth all the hard work. Once you get the hang of the home brewing process, you’ll find an endless amount of fun and experimentation can come from the comfort of your own home. So, what are you waiting for? Put together your brewing equipment, gather some ingredients and get started on your home brewing journey today!