It's easy, inexpensive, and fun to make your own beer at home and it will most likely be better than canned stuff.You'll get along great with your beer buddies.We'll show you how to get started and how you can grow your skills to make more beer.
Step 1: Keep it clean.
80% of the secret of success is clean.Everything that is going to come in contact with your beer should be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized.The easiest way to do that is to use an electric dishwasher set at the high heat setting.pathogens love to grow in the grooves left behind, so don't use a scrubber that will scratch the surface.After rinsing, soak in a bleach solution.
Step 2: It's a good idea to rinse everything.
Use very clean potable or distilled water if you want to rinse off bleach.Do not assume that the tap water is clean.One ounce (30ml) of bleach should be added to five gallons of cold water and one ounce of white vinegar.Do not mix the two together.The bleach makes the water more acidic.Let equipment dry instead of rinsing it.It's important to note that bleach can cause unwanted flavours in your beer, and that rinsing can introduce microorganisms to your equipment.One Step No-Rinse Sanitizer can be used if you want to sterilize your equipment properly.Beer making can be done just about anything you want, but proper sanitizing is the most important thing you can do.To do it right, take the time and the energy.
Step 3: Before you begin, prepare everything.
It also includes having your ingredients prepared and measured in advance.
Step 4: Take notes.
Before you start making your own beer, make a note of everything you do, from the cleaning process to the amount of yeast, hops, and specialty grains you use.This will allow you to reproduce any given brew, or provide a basis for experimentation and improvement.
Step 5: Put your grains in a container.
Put any specialty grains into a mesh bag and steep them in a large pot of hot water for about 30 minutes.The water should trickle out of the grain bag into the pot after the grains are removed.If you squeeze the bag, you will be giving your beer a bad flavor.
Step 6: Bring everything to a boil by adding the malt extract.
The times when the hops are added will be spelled out in the kit's instructions for your style of beer.Hops added early in the boil will contribute more bitterness, but at the expense of flavor and aroma.Hops added at the end of the boil will have a more pronounced flavor and aroma, but won't make much of a difference to the beer's bitterness.If you want a brighter and less bitter flavor, consider dry hopping your beer.
Step 7: You should chill your wort.
You need to cool the wort as soon as possible after you have boiled it.You can put the whole pot in a sink or bathtub filled with ice water.Don't splash or aerate the wort while it's still hot, it can make for some funky flavors.You should be able to transfer it to the fermenter once it's around 80F.
Step 8: You can pour the cooled wort into your fermenter.
The only time that splashing is encouraged is after the wort has cooled.As you pour the wort into the fermenter, it will deliver oxygen to the yeast.Exposure to air will lead to off flavors and aromas, so you want to minimize it.If you scoop the hops out, you've already got all the good stuff out of them.As you pour the wort into the carboy, strain it.Add 20 liters of water to make five gallons.You are ready to add the yeast.Some yeast require you to bloom prior to pitching, others don't.If you bloom them first, they will start working faster, but it's usually not a big deal.Attach the air-lock to the top of your glass carboy by putting the lid on it.If you want the beer to ferment properly, put it in a dark area with a consistent room temperature.If the air-lock hasn't started doing anything after 48 hours, you might have a problem such as dead yeast.
Step 9: Prepare for the bottle.
The activity from the airlock will slow down after a week or so.Leave it alone for two weeks to measure how long it has been since you started.The beer is ready to be drunk.The kit may have come with some sugar or dried malt extract.This is used to make your beer taste better.Cool the sugar by boiling it in water.Add it to the empty, cleaned and sanitized bucket or to your beer.
Step 10: The brew should be transferred.
Use your cleaned and sanitized plastic tubing as a siphon to transfer the beer as gently as possible, so that there's little or no aeration.If you can, try not to put the trub into the bucket.Attach the clean and sanitized bottle filler to the plastic tubing and the bottom end of the spigot.If you only use one bucket, it is important to let the beer settle after stirring in the sugar solution.There is something on the bottom of your beer.
Step 11: Get your bottles ready.
If you are using a bucket, open the spigot and put the bottle in a bottle.The beer will flow if the bottlefiller is pushed to the bottom.If using the one bucket method, fill the tube with water and place the open end in the beer in a bottle or sink and press down to let the water flow out.The airspace at the top of the bottle is almost perfect if you fill each bottle just to overflowing.When all the bottles are full, cap the bottle with your handy bottle capper.
Step 12: The age of the brew should be brief.
The bottles should be kept at room temperature for at least a week.
Step 13: Get some water.
Carefully pour the bottle into the glass.The beer will give you serious beer farts if you leave about a quarter inch in the bottle.
Step 14: Enjoy.