We Tried Making Beer....
In honor of National Beer Day, (Yes, thanks the beer gods, it’s real!) we’ve brewed our very own beer to share the experience with you.
We love a good beer, and sometimes we wonder what kind of crazy stuff is in that mass-produced brew we’re drinking. So we decided to try our hand at making our own!
And now we pass the knowledge onto you. Go forth, drink and be merry!
THE SETUP
So where do you even begin when making beer? The best place to start, especially if you’re a first time brewer, is to buy a kit.
But then, they have to go and make it difficult - there are two types of kits. The good news is you can make great beer with both!
The first kind is an ingredient kit with perfectly measured hops and grains all ready to boil into wort (beer juice before it’s beer… we like “beer juice” better ourselves but that’s neither here nor there), or a wort kit, with a bag of wort all ready to start fermenting.
Most kits have great instructions with step-by-step directions, and here are some of our favs.
1. Williams-Sonoma’s IPA Beer Making Kit ($44.95)
2. Brooklyn Brew Shop’s Beer Making Kit: Bruxelles Blonde ($40.00)
3. Brew House®’s Stout Beer Kit ($45.70)
GET STARTED
DON’T PANIC! This looks overwhelming, but we promise YOU CAN DO IT (said in a motivational chanted).
For your first time, we recommend you start with a 1-gallon kit that will brew about 8-12 12oz beer bottles. Always follow your kit’s directions because every recipe is different, but the general process is the same.
1. Get to know your kit. It’s your new best friend. A friend that gives you the delicious nectar of the gods…
Your kit should include grain (the sugar needed to ferment to alcohol), hops (the flavor and aromatic element that makes beer taste beer-y), yeast (because otherwise nothing happens), sanitizer (clean it up), a fermenting jug (to hold your beer), an airlock (to release the CO2), and a thermometer.
2. Sanitize everything. Seriously, do it. It’s annoying and repeated throughout the process, but it’s really important.
Good kits come with a packet of potassium metabisulfite (say that 5 times fast), or a sanitizer brand like StarSan or C-Brite. Brewing sanitizers are safe to use in beer, wine, and cider brewing.
Because we’re dealing with yeast, we want to make sure all of the equipment is as clean as possible because any contamination can not only make your beer taste bad, it won’t even activate. Combine your sanitizer with water and soak all of your equipment and anything else your beer will touch. We can’t stress that importance enough!
MAKE YOUR BEER
1. Mash it up. Follow your directions exactly for this process. Brewing is a science first; an art second.
Heat water to 160° and add your grain and stir gently until it looks kind of like oatmeal. Bring down the temperature and hold it between 140-150° for about an hour. Stir occasionally and monitor your temp. After the hour is finished, bring the mash up to 170°.
2. Strain it out. In a new pot heat water to 170°. Find a friend to hold a fine strainer over the pot, and strain the grain mash into the new hot water catching the mash and passing through just the liquid. This is your wort (beer juice).
*TIP: Feeling adventurous? Taste the wort. It will be sweet which is a good thing! Sugar equals alcohol in the brewing world. You should have about 5 liters of mash if you made a 1-gallon kit.
3. Boil it down. Bring your wort to a boil and then turn the heat down when it starts to foam. The boil is usually an hour long process. Your recipe will tell you at what time to add specific hops. Your house will start to smell very aromatic!
4. Ferment. This is where the magic happens! Make an ice bath in your sink, place the pot in it, and monitor the temperature drop until it reaches between 60-75°.
Find your friend again to hold your funnel and strainer in the top of the sanitized glass carboy while you pour the wort into the fermenter. Pitch your yeast into the beer and shake until combined. Screw the airlock into the lid of the carboy to allow the CO2 to escape.
The beer should be pretty active in the first five days, bubbling and foaming. If it does not start in the first 24 hours, the yeast did not activate, and you may need to buy a yeast booster to get the party started.
Let it sit in a dark place away from extremely cold or hot temperatures. 70° is preferred. (the bottom shelf of a pantry or even a hall closet is a good place to hide your beer for the 2 week fermenting period).
BOTTLE IT
Once the fermenting is done, get your hands on some beer bottles. You can save your empties, or buy a set with caps. Size doesn’t matter, (so they say…) but remember to clean and sanitize thoroughly.
Fill as many bottles as you can with what is left in your wort. Add priming sugar or (even better) carbonation drops to each bottle. Cap them and let sit for an additional 2-3 weeks to allow the carbonation to build up.
BOTTOMS UP
Finally, stick a few brewskis in the fridge to chill and enjoy! 5-6 weeks from start to drink!
Have a favorite beer you want to clone? Once you’ve done this a time or two, find a recipe book and make your favorite craft brews at home.