Brewing beer at home is fun and easy. You can save a lot of money if you are fond of enjoying good quality beer. You can follow our basic steps to enjoy your own beer at home.
To make your own beer you will need the following ingredients:
- Hops
- Malt extract in liquid or dry form
- Specialty grains
- Yeast depending on the kind of beer
All these ingredients are available in a DIY kit.
First, you need to steep the grains. For this put the grains into a mesh bag or another teabag like bag and steep them for about 30 minutes in 2 gallons of hot water. Remove the bag from the pot and let the water drip out itself. You don’t have to squeeze the bag as it may cause the beer to get an astringent like flavor.
The malt extract needs to be added to this mixture and boiled once. The hop gives a flavor, aroma, and bitterness to the beer and hence is added at different intervals. The kit that you buy will spell out the time when you should add the hop. This boiled liquid is called wort and it needs to be cooled down as soon as possible after boiling. The best way to do so is by placing the pot in a sink filled with icy water. You can simultaneously stir it gently to aid the cooling process. Once the temperature is around 27 degree Celsius splash the wort to the fermenter.
Before fermentation starts, scoop out the hop and add more water to the liquid. Once the mixture is about five gallons add yeast. Depending on the yeast, you may need to pitch it. It is ideal to pitch the yeast so that it blooms and works faster. However, it is not necessary. Now air-lock the fermenter for minimized air exposure. Place it in a dark corner where the temperature remains consistent. After 24 hours the air-lock should start bubbling away. In case you don’t notice bubbling after 48 hours you may have a problem with the yeast.
After about a week, when you see the bubbling has slowed down leave the mixture for another week. Add dried malt extract or priming sugar that was in the kit. This will provide carbonation once you bottle the beer. Pour this brew in clean and sanitized bottles and cap them carefully. Store these bottles for a week or two at room temperature and then refrigerate them.
Enjoy this beer whenever you feel thirsty!