subject: Make Your Own Beer – The Microbrewery [print this page] You probably already know that the cost of beer keeps increasing every time you go to buy it. Well, how would you like to make your own beer? Brewing beer at home can save you a bundle of money, and is not as hard as you think it might be. Could you use some tips on how to make beer at home so you don't have to pay so much at the store? Then just follow these step by step instructions for making your own beer.
Items needed
The equipment and ingredients will need to be assembled before you begin home brewing. Included with the equipment is a 5 gallon aluminum kettle, a standard skimmer, a large funnel, a rolling pin, and a thermometer. Some other equipment needs are a 5 gallon container of bottled water, two 3 foot sections of 3/8" flexible tubing, a 5 gallon scratch proof plastic bucket, and glass bottles with caps for the finished beer. The ingredients for the home brew can be purchased at any brewery supply shop, or ordered through the internet. The following ingredients will need to be purchased, 1 pkg. yeast for brewing, 1 oz. of pellet hops, 1 pound crushed crystal malt, six pounds of light dried malt extract, and 1 cup of sugar for bottling.
Boiling Beer
The brewing process begins with crushing the crystal malt with a rolling pin until it is a coarse texture. Use the water from the 5 gallon plastic container of water and fill the aluminum pot to within 3" from the top of the pot, then add the crushed malt to the water. Turn the burner on the stove to medium, and heat the mixture to about 155 degrees ,then cover the pot and let stand for 30 minutes and skim with a strainer to remove as much of the malt as possible. When the malt has been removed bring the water back to a rolling boil. Then add the hop pellets to the boiling water and let it continue to boil for about 60 minutes. After boiling, the mixture will need to be removed from the heat and steeped for ten minutes.
Yeast aging
Pour out the extra water from the 5 gallon water container, because you will use it as a fermentation container. Pour the mixture into the container using the funnel. The pkg. yeast will have to be added to the container. A hole will have to be drilled into the cap to hold one end of the clear tubing. A seal at the cap can be made by melting some wax around the tube where it meets the cap for an airtight seal. The other end of the tube needs placed in a cup of water and the container needs to be placed in a cool dark place for 7 to 10 days.
Bottle the beer
The second fermentation requires you to measure 1 cup of sugar with 1 cup of boiling water, then set it aside to cool. Now pour the sugar water into the scratch proof plastic container, and siphon the beer from the fermenting water bottle in with it, carefully avoiding the sediment at the bottom. The beer can now be bottled and set aside for a week to ten more days before you can drink it. Now your beer will cost less because you know how to make beer at home. Brewing beer at home is easy and now that you can make your own beer you don't have to buy it anymore.
