How to Brew Beer

Beer has been around for literally thousands of years, since it was first developed by the Egyptians as a food source for workers. Once the consistency of pea soup, beer is made from the fermented sugars of malted barley. Most often, it has a bold, deep flavor and a bright golden color. You can get your favorite beer from the nearest supermarket, but if you're adventurous, you can always brew your own!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 20-qt. brew pot (larger for larger batches)
• Large metal or plastic spoon (non-wood)
• Spoon
• Measuring cup
• Glass jar (at least 12 oz.)
• Fermenter (must be food grade)
• Airlock
• Sanitizer, such as bleach
• Thermometer
• Beer ingredients (malt extract, barley, hops, water, yeast)

1. Clean all of your equipment, even if you've only just taken it out of the package. There could be residue from construction on it, which can ruin the flavor of your beer, and could be potentially hazardous.

2. Bring 2 gallons of water to a boil and pour into the fermenter.

3. Soak your yeast to rehydrate it. This helps return it to an active state faster than you could by just placing it into the fermenter. Just add about a cup of warm water to the yeast and wait about 15 minutes for it to rehydrate.

4. Add the malt extract to the boiling water (which by now you should have allowed to cool a bit). Make sure there are no clumps in the extract, stirring vigorously to prevent them from forming.

5. Mix in the hops (or extract).

6. Leave the mixture to boil for an hour. Make sure there are no overflows during the boil, which is possible given the thickness of the mixture.

7. Cool the water rapidly after the hour-long boil. This is best done in a shallow bath of cold water in a sink or bathtub. Just be sure you don't get any of the cooling water in the pot!

8. Pour the rehydrated yeast into the fermenter.

9. Add in the "wort," the boiled mixture of malt extract and the hops.

10. Wait 2 weeks, and mix the priming sugar with the beer using a new container. You will need to siphon off the beer in order to get it to flow into the container holding the priming sugar. The priming sugar is what will carbonate your beer.

11. Allow the yeast and sediment in the beer to settle in the priming sugar, then bottle the beer. There should be enough beer for roughly 48 bottles.

12. Give the bottles 2 more weeks to ferment and carbonate. This gives the yeast enough time to metabolize the priming sugar completely and carbonate your beer.

13. Chill the beer in the refrigerator after the beer has been carbonated. This preps it for serving.

Tips & Warnings

• Buy a home brew kit. This is especially beneficial for beginners who don't have immediate access to select ingredients. With a home brew kit you just have to invest in a few other items of equipment, as almost everything you need is included in most major kits.
• Start your brew with unhopped syrup. This lets you choose which hops and flavors you want to add to the beer later, instead of being stuck with a specific flavor.
• It's very important that your equipment be cleaned and sanitized in between uses. Contamination can build up on the equipment from the yeast or just from your hands. Make a checklist when you brew beer to remind yourself of all the parts that need to be properly sanitized.

Resources

• Learn more about brewing at HowtoBrew.com

Who Can Help Sponsored

• How to Lose 30+lbs Guaranteed. Try it Free.