How to Make Your Own Beer at Home

Bottle your own beer.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, American men should drink no more than two alcoholic beverages per day and women should restrict their intake to one. A 12-ounce beer constitutes one alcoholic beverage. Keep these numbers in mind if you decide to make your own beer at home.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Large pot
• Primary and secondary fermenter
• Thermometer
• Sanitizer
• Air lock
• Beer-making kit
• Yeast
• Bottles and caps
• Sugar

1. Sanitize all the equipment you will use to make your beer. This is a crucial step, as any bacteria will have weeks in a perfect environment to grow.

2. Add the beer kit mixture to water in a large pot and bring to a boil. The packaging of the home beer kit will specify the amount of water and time to do this. The mixture is now called the wort.

3. Add the hops. Hops add bitterness and flavoring to the beer.

4. Add the mixture to the primary fermenter, topping off with additional cold water to get to about 76 degrees F and 5 gallons.

5. Add the yeast. This is called pitching the yeast. Place the airlock on top to seal out bacteria.

6. Wait about one week, then move the mixture to the secondary fermenter, being careful not to disturb the sediment on the bottom. The agitation caused by moving will cause a second fermentation. The wort will stay here for another week.

7. After the second fermentation is complete, you can bottle the beer. Usually you do this by adding a small amount of white sugar to each bottle, filling it with beer about 2/3two-thirds of the way and sealing with a cap. The remaining yeast will eat the added sugar. causing a natural carbonization of the beer.

8. Chill and enjoy the beer after another week or more. Waiting at least a month will provide the best taste.

Tips & Warnings

• When starting out it's a great idea to get a Mr beer kit. It'll have everything necessary to make great beer at home.

• Keep the primary and secondary fermenters at about 76 degrees.

• The longer your beer sits in the bottle the better it will taste.

• Experiment with different beer kits, they'll all make great beer at home.

• Sanitize everything, and when your done, sanitize again. Remember any errant bacteria will THRIVE in the fermenter!

• Do not overfill when bottling, they might burst when the pressure increases.

Resources

• Drinking and You: Sensible Drinking