How to Make Homebrew Beer
Homebrew beer is a way to cut costs for your beer drinking or it can be a hobby to discover the perfect beer blend for your palate. Simple homebrew beer can be made with very little equipment and the ingredients can be purchased in a can at any brew shop. Some grocery stores carry the malt extract kits which include the ingredients and the yeast needed to make homebrew beer. The all-in-one kits will generally produce 38 pints of homebrew if you follow the instructions. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 5 gallon food grade plastic bucket with lid, or 5 gallon carboy Drill with 1/4 bit Air-lock Carboy rubber stopper Malt Extract kit in a can Sugar Water Three to four feet of food grade plastic tubing Beer bottles and caps
Instructions
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1
Wash and sterilize the bucket or the carboy. Use as little soap as possible, rinse and then rinse a second time with boiling water to sterilize the inside of the container.
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2
Use a drill to place a hole in the center of the bucket lid. This hole will hold your air lock in place. Wash the lid and sterilize.
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3
Pour the contents of the malt extract can and two pounds of sugar into the bucket or carboy. In cold weather, you may want to place the can into a pot of warm water to make the extract pour easily from the can.
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4
Bring a half gallon of water to a boil, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
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5
Pour the cooled, boiled water into the bucket or carboy. Stir to dissolve the sugar and to distribute the malt throughout the mixture.
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6
Add 34 pints, or four and one-fourth gallons of cool water to the extract mixture.
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7
Sprinkle the supplied yeast package into the mix.
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8
Fill the air-lock half full of water and insert into the hole in the lid. If you are using a carboy, insert the air-lock into the center hole of the rubber stopper.
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9
Place the lid on the bucket or the airlock into the neck opening of the carboy.
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10
Place the brewing mixture container in a warm place and allow to ferment for seven to 10 days.
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11
Check the brew after seven days to see if it is still fermenting. If air bubbles are still rising in the air-lock, let the mixture set another day or two and check again.
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12
Siphon the beer from the container into beer bottles and cap. Take care to keep the siphon tube off of the bottom of the container so you won't disturb the sentiment on the bottom.
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Tips & Warnings
You can vary the taste of your beer by adding more or less sugar to the mixture. The personnel at a brew shop can help you select the correct malt extract and other ingredients for different types of beer. Most shops carry beer making kits where you get all the equipment needed in a single purchase price.
References
- Photo Credit KYares
