Make Your Own Beer If You Want Something Different And A Fun Challenge

Posted by | Uncategorized | Posted on November 23rd, 2010


If you want something different in a brew and like fun challenges, you can make your own beer with a few simple kitchen tools that nearly everyone has. A large pot, funnel, thermometer, plastic tubing, rolling pin for dough and a fine strainer are all that you need to get started, along with the various grains used in the brewing process. Some people choose to order the home brewing starter kits. They can be handy as well, but much less cost effective, for those who want the challenging of keeping within a budget as well.

The next step involves getting together the ingredients and finding a good recipe. Many recipes are geared for larger batches. If you want something smaller, simply divide the recipe in half or a third. This will allow you to experiment with different variations, without wasting too much at once.

Dried malt, crystal malt, pelleted hops and yeast are the main ingredients. You will also want sugar for the bottling process. The grains then need to be crushed. There are various methods for doing this. The most basic involves using a large plastic storage bag and a rolling pin commonly used for baking. The grains are then added to the pot of water and cooked at a low heat, then allowed to steep for several minutes. When the grains have cooked for the right amount of time, the remaining grain portions that have not cooked down are then removed with a filter or strainer, from the pot. The pot is then brought to a boil and the malt is added. At this point, things can get sticky so the pot must be attended, to keep it from boiling over.

The solution is then cooled quickly. One method is to stick to pot used for cooking the grains into another larger pot, with a cool water or water and ice bath. Stainless steel works well for this task, as it cools quickly and evenly. Now the brew is ready to be poured into a bottle used for fermentation. This can be a large glass bottle that holds several gallons or a heavy plastic container such as one that is used on a water dispenser. When the liquid reaches room temperature, the dry yeast can then be added. The fermenting bottle must then be placed in a cool dark area for a week to a week and a half, so the fermentation process can take place.

It is important to remember that all equipment used in this process should be sterilized. This is done to prevent the growth of any unwanted organisms. Using a solution of bleach and water or boiling are both good ways to sterilize equipment. What you use may depend on which pieces of equipment are being sterilized. The brew is ready for bottling after the 7 to 10 days. Each bottle must have some boiled sugar added, before the brew is added, to give it the carbonation that all brews require. The tubing is used to siphon or move the liquid from the fermenting container to the bottles.

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Step By Step Home Made Beer Instructions

Posted by | Uncategorized | Posted on October 25th, 2010

Are you looking for something fun and different to do with friends? Why not try and make your own beer. The task is a relatively simple one that requires a few ingredients and very little money to complete. Take the basic beer recipe and change it up to make it your own. One important thing to remember is beer smells very bad when it is fermenting so make sure the location you choose is away from other people.

There are a few simple items that you will need to purchase prior to getting started. You will need twelve two liter bottles, cleaned out and dry, make sure they have twist on caps. Locate a one gallon bucket and make sure it includes a lid. Finally purchase seventy four inches of siphoning hose, hose clamps, a hydrometer, a thermometer, and a very large pot. This entire list of stuff can be found in any local hardware store. The final ingredients are yeast, sugar, and malt extract. Once you have all the stuff you need be sure and sterilize all your brewing equipment prior to actually making the beer.

In the bucket pour in 2.7 gallons of cold water and boil 7.5 gallons of water. Add a can of malt extract to the boiling water and let it go for about twenty minutes. Mix sugar together with corn syrup and once the sugar has dissolved and then pour the mixture into the cold water. Continue to add liters of cold water until the bucket is full. Add the yeast and cover the bucket with the lid. Don’t seal it or the lid will blow off from the pressure of the beer as it ferments. Do not remove the lid for six days while keeping the bucket in a location that is between sixty two and sixty eight degrees.

Next place the bucket of beer onto a table and place your two liter bottles on the floor protected with a towel. In each two liter bottle place two teaspoons of sugar at the bottom and then siphon the beer mixture into the bottles. Place the cap on each bottle and tighten as much as you can. Turn each bottle over to mix the sugar into the beer. Finally place the bottles in a dark, warm location for two or three days and then move them to a cooler location. After four days your beer should be ready to enjoy. For enhanced taste you can add licorice, molasses, hops, or herbal teas to your beer to create a taste all your own.

There are some places that sell beer making kits that include everything you need to brew and bottle your own beer in one convenient box. These kits retail for around one hundred and fifty dollars and include a brewing recipe to follow. Brewing your own beer can also have an impact on the environment. By bottling your beer in two liter soda bottles that you have cleaned out, you are saving those bottles, as well as aluminum cans used by beer companies, from ending up in a landfill.

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