So, you want to know how to brew your own beer at home! Welcome to the epic world of home brew. The best way to learn is by doing (or should we say brewing), but here is an overview to help you learn just the basics.
*Please note this is not intended to be a comprehensive guide, but an educational reference.
Brewing Basics
Let’s start with the basics. Here’s a quick look at what happens during the beer brewing process:
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The grains are malted. To make beer, you need malted grains. “Malted” refers to a process that changes starch to sugar. You can buy the grains after they’ve been malted, so you won’t have to worry about handling the malting process yourself.
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Next they are brewed and fermented. During brewing and fermentation, the malted grains (commonly barley) are steeped in boiling water to make “wort.” Hops, a type of flower, are added for flavor, bitterness, and aroma.
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Yeast is added. After brewing, the wort is cooled and yeast is pitched into the wort to produce alcohol.
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The beer is carbonated. The beer is then fermented and conditioned to produce carbonation. This can be done in kegs or bottles. Typically, beginners start with bottles, and if they can’t get enough of homebrewing, they graduate on to kegs.
3 Methods for Brewing at Home
While the brewing process will always involve the four basic steps, there are three methods you can use to brew beer. These are extract brewing, all grain brewing, and partial mash brewing.
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Extract brewing is when you already have the malt ready to add into the boiling water (it’s pre-prepared).
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All-grain brewing requires you to prepare the grains (put them in a sack and boil them).
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Partial mash brewing is a combination of the two that helps beginners transition from extract brewing to all-grain brewing.
If you’re just getting started with home brewing, extract brewing is the easiest way to learn.
How to Make Beer at Home: Everything You Need
Equipment
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Brewing kettle or stock pot
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Sack / mesh bag (if you are doing all-grain brewing)
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Thermometer
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Scale
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Hydrometer
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Fermenter and air lock
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Funnel
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Bottles, capper, and bottle caps
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Bottling wand
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Auto-Siphon
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Stir Spoon
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Sanitizer solution (we recommend Star San)
Ingredients
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Water (spring water is ideal)
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Malts (cereal grains like barley)
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Hops (you can use something ready to just drop into the brew, like Hopzoil)
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Yeast
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Priming sugar (if bottling)
You can get ingredients such as yeast, malt, hops, and priming sugar online or from local home brewery stores.
How Long Does It Take to Brew Beer at Home?
Brewing beer at home is a time-consuming process that requires patience. Depending on the type of beer you are making, it can take a month from brew day to take that long-anticipated first sip.
Here is a rundown of how long each step generally takes:
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The actual brewing takes a few hours.
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Fermentation takes anywhere from a week to a month or even more.
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Bottling and conditioning takes a few more weeks.
This is why so many serious brewers end up switching to kegs from bottles. Kegging makes the process quicker and easier, and you’ll save so much time and money long term.
How to Make Beer at Home, Step by Step
No matter what beer you want to make, there are four basic steps:
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Prepare
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Brew
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Ferment
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Condition/Carbonate
How to Make Beer: A Closer Look at the Steps
1. Prepare
Gather everything you need to get started, and get ready to do a little cleaning first. Anything that touches any of the beer ingredients after your boil must be sanitized first.
Then it’s time to steep the grains. Steeping is similar to making tea — place the sack of grains in hot water and wait. The water should be 148° to 155°F. If the water is too hot or cold, it can ruin the beer.
Spring water is best. Tap is not advised unless you know what is in it, since minerals and chemicals often found in tap water can damage the integrity of the beer.
Tip: The brewing process can get messy. If you have the capability, you may want to brew outdoors on a propane burner to avoid a sticky pot of wort bubbling over onto your kitchen stove.
2. Brew
You’ll start by steeping the grains in hot water for 30 to 60 minutes or more, depending on your recipe. To ensure a consistent temperature, you can turn off the heat once the water is between 148° and 155°F, and let the grains steep in the pot with a lid.
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When the timer goes off, remove the grain (also called “mash”).
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Add the dry malt (or liquid malt). Make sure it is dissolved and that none of it is stuck to the bottom of the kettle or stock pot.
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Turn the heat back on and boil the water, then add the hops when it has reached a rolling boil.
Keep in mind that the longer you boil the hops, the more bitterness you’ll get in the beer. The less time you boil the hops, the more aroma you’ll get. If you don’t want to experiment with hops right away, start with a beginner’s kit or a simple recipe until you get more familiar with the brewing process.
If you are working with a specific recipe or a beer kit, you may need to add specific hops at specific times during the boil. This is done to make the flavor of the beer more complex. Keep an eye on your timer so you remember to add the right hops at the right times.
After steeping, it’s time to chill the wort. You can do this with an ice bath in your sink. The goal is to get the wort down to roughly 67°F, which can take an hour. Sanitize anything that touches the wort, including your thermometer, before it touches the wort.
3. Ferment
Sanitize the fermenter if you haven’t already. (You’ve probably picked up on this theme by now. It really is important to sanitize everything.) Then transfer the chilled wort into the fermenter and add brewers yeast. You may want to top it off with spring water to make up for the amount that boiled off, but it isn’t necessary.
Put the lid on your fermenter and give it a good shake to mix everything together. Your fermenter might come with a “bung” to close the hole in the lid, or you might need to cover it with your finger. Sanitize your hands first!
Next, you’re going to ferment and condition the beer in a cool, dark place. The recommended temperatures can vary depending on if you are making ale or lager, but under 70°F is generally good. A few important points to keep in mind during this part of the process:
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Your beer can take a week or more to completely ferment and condition.
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Do not expose the beer to sunlight or it will spoil (this is what the term “skunked beer” usually refers to).
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Do not open the fermenter. Oxygen will change the color of the beer and make it stale and sickly sweet.
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When the bubbles stop coming, the beer is almost ready to be bottled.
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You can use a hydrometer to confirm when the beer is done fermenting. This is much easier for a beginner than guessing.
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You may notice a sediment-like substance, called “trub,” at the bottom of the fermenter. This is a collection of debris from the grains, hops, etc. Try not to get this into your beer when you bottle it. It can be annoying to have in your bottles, but it’s not harmful.
4. Bottle
When it’s time to bottle your beer, you should first — you guessed it — sanitize your bottles and bottling equipment.
A bottling wand is probably the easiest way to fill your bottles. Place a towel or cloth over your work space because this part of the process can get messy.
Once you fill the bottles, add priming sugar and cap the bottles. Priming sugar is often included in beer making kits. The type of priming sugar can affect the length of time it takes to fully carbonate your beer, so make sure you know ahead of time what to expect.
Now it’s time to wait some more. Carbonation can take a month or longer in bottles. During this time, the beer undergoes conditioning, where the yeast interacts with the sugar to naturally carbonate the beer over time.
Don’t forget to clean the stock pot, fermentor, and all your equipment thoroughly when you’re done bottling. The sooner you clean it, the easier, because if you wait there will be a hard sediment formed all over it.
Avoid Bottle Bombs
You have to be careful and precise during this time to prevent your bottles from exploding. This is very dangerous and can cause property damage and injury.
Things that can cause bottle bombs:
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Bottling the beer too soon
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Adding too much sugar or the wrong sugar
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Bottles getting too hot
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Infection getting into the beer
How to Make Beer at Home: Bottling or Kegging?
If you are not sold on bottling beer but you are also unsure about kegging, here is a quick look at some key considerations:
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Bottling home brew is better for beginners, especially if you’re learning this on your own.
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Bottles last longer unless you have a kegerator, in which case kegs last much longer.
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Bottling is cheaper initially and if you are only going to be doing this once in a while. If you make home brew frequently, kegs end up being more cost effective and time efficient in the long term.
Is Home Brewing Legal?
In the United States home brewing is legal. However, it’s important to check your local and state laws to make sure you understand any restrictions on alcohol content, ingredients, etc. You cannot sell alcohol without a liquor license.
Ready to kick off your new home brew hobby? Give us a call at (513) 325-7279 for personalized advice so you can find the equipment that will work best for you.