That cold one might taste even better if you knew the labor of
love behind it.
OK, so it might not taste nearly as good as your favorite
store-bought brew, but making your own beer can be a fun experience
nonetheless.
That cold one might taste even better if you knew the labor of love behind it.
OK, so it might not taste nearly as good as your favorite store-bought brew, but making your own beer can be a fun experience nonetheless.
And the best part is, you don’t need to shell out hundreds for a copper kettle or any other fancy equipment – your very own homemade beer can be done on a budget.
First, you’ll need a 10-gallon, food-grade plastic pail with a lid. Cost: about $12.
Then, you’ll need a 74-inch food-grade vinyl-tubing siphon hose. Cost: About $2.
Next is a hose clamp, about $1, and 12 2-liter plastic pop bottles with lids, about $2.
You’ll also need a hydrometer, around $8.
Finally, you need a large pot or a turkey roaster, the most expensive item on the list for about $40.
Now that the goods are out of the way, it’s time to get cooking. For the basic brew, you’ll need one 40-ounce can of any flavor of malt extract you prefer – dark, light or stout.
You also can buy “pre-hopped” extract, which will give your beer more of a hoppy flavor. The last ingredients are 1 teaspoon of brewers’ yeast and 6 to 7 cups of regular white sugar. Alternatively, you can use 8 to 9 cups of corn sugar.
It should be noted that using two cans of the malt extract and no sugar improves the taste of the beer, although it increases the budget.
To prep for brewing, the key word is cleanliness. Clean all equipment with warm, slightly soapy water, then rinse well to remove all residue. Sanitize the equipment using household bleach mixed with water at a concentration of 1 tablespoon of bleach to 1 gallon of water. You also can use a no-rinse acid sanitizer, which cleans well and leaves no aftertaste. If the 10-gallon pail is new, first wash it with a mixture of water and baking soda to get rid of the plastic smell.
Now for the brewing. First, pour 10 liters of fresh, cold water into the pail. In the large pot or turkey roaster, bring to a boil 7 liters of water. Add one can of malt extract to the pot. Stir and cook uncovered for about 20 minutes, then add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
Pour the mixture quickly into the pail so as to add air to the mixture. The more air the yeast gets from the beginning, the better chance they have at multiplying – a good thing in the world of brewing beer.
Next, pour some bottled drinking water or tap water into the pail until the mixture is room temperature. (If using tap water, boil it first to kill the bacteria, then cool to room temperature.)
Test the mixture using a clean, sanitized thermometer. At this point, the pail should be a little more than half full.
Next, sprinkle in the yeast and stir well. Set the lid on the pail but don’t cap it too tightly, as the pail could explode from the carbon dioxide gas that is produced. Keep the pail covered and avoid unnecessary opening.
The beer will be ready to bottle in six to 10 days, depending on the temperature of the room and how much sugar is used in the brewing.
To be sure the beer is ready, you can use a hydrometer. Set the hydrometer into the beer and spin it once to release the bubbles, which can cause a false reading. When the beer is ready to bottle, the hydrometer should read about 1.008 for dark beers and between 1.010 and 1.015 for light beers.
If you don’t want to buy a hydrometer or simply prefer doing things the old-fashioned way, you can judge beer-readiness by tasting. The concoction should not be sweet and should have no or very few bubbles.
To bottle the beer, set the pail on a sturdy table and set the twelve 2-liter bottles on the floor, with newspaper or towels underneath to catch overflows and drips.
With a funnel, put two teaspoons of sugar into each bottle. Siphon the beer into the bottles, being careful not to disturb the sediment on the bottom of the pail.
Tip the pail as you near the bottom. Try not to splash the beer too much when bottling, as too much oxygen can lead to a strange taste.
Leaving a little bit of airspace, screw the bottle caps on tightly. Turn each bottle upside down and shake to dissolve the sugar on the bottom.
Set the bottles in a warm area for a few days, then store in a cool, dark spot. You can enjoy your beer within a few days of bottling, but the taste will improve over time.
Once you’ve made a few trial batches, experiment with your beer by adding different flavors that reflect your own personal taste.
Some suggestions include mixing in a cup or two of molasses, a few sticks of licorice or herb teas to the malt while it’s cooking.
Source: Brew Your Own: The How-to Homebrew Magazine
