If you’re a frequent and loyal patron of a local tavern, then you may have enjoyed the full-bodied flavor of homemade beer. Homemade beer has a solid taste, goes down smooth, and has that crisp finish that keeps you coming back for more refills at the tap. For many beer aficionados, there’s no other substitute for beer made at home; even the best and most expensive beers available on the market could not match the flavor, depth, or character of a homemade brew.

Making beer may sound like complicated chemistry, but you don’t need a sophisticated laboratory or overly expensive tools from a bygone era to make beer. If you’re interested in making your own beer, here are some hints and tips to get you started.

How Beer is Made

Beer is a beverage made from fermented grains. Beer has been consumed since the dawn of civilization. Beer is the third most popular drink in the world, following water and tea. The bitter flavor of most beer comes from hops, although some beers can also be flavored with herbs, spices, and even fruits.

Compared to liquor, beer has a relatively low alcohol content (between 4% to 6% of the total volume). Before beer became a beverage meant for enjoyment, beer was a food source. Beer is produced in very much the same way all over the world, with differences in flavor. Today, the beer and brewing industry produces global revenues reaching up to $300 billion.

Types of Beer

For true beer aficionados, beer is not just a quick and popular way of getting drunk. There are many types of beer to choose from, all of which can be made at home with the right ingredients and tools. Different beers have rich flavors, but also have a very rich history and heritage:

• Ale is a quick-fermenting beer that is made without hops. The yeast used to make ale remains on top of the brew and ferments the grains faster, giving the beverage a smooth, light, and fruity consistency.
• Lager is the most common beer sold on the market today. Unlike ale, the yeast used to brew lager settles to the bottom, fermenting the grains at a lower temperature and at a slower pace than ale. The fermentation process gives lager a deeper, more full-bodied flavor than ale.
• Flavor-infused beers are beers flavored with herbs, spices, or fruits. Flavored beers are especially popular among homemade beer enthusiasts, because a brewer can experiment on the many different flavors that can be added to beer.
• Stout and porter are dark, heavy beers made from fermented, roasted grains. Stout and porter are particular favorites in Ireland. A very popular and world-famous brand of stout is Guinness.

What You’ll Need

Making your own beer is easy provided you have the right tools and ingredients:

Ingredients

• Seven pounds of barley malt
• Hops
• A packet of brewing yeast
• One and a half pounds of milled grain
• Two thirds of a cup of corn sugar

Tools

• One five-gallon beer bucket with an airlock and spigot
• One three-gallon stainless steel pot
• Wooden spoon
• Clean cheesecloth
• Bottle capper
• Beer bottles with matching caps (around 40 to 60 bottles)

Safety Precautions

Before making your own beer, remember to keep your mini-brewery absolutely clean. Small particles of dirt or bacteria can ruin the taste and the quality of the beer, and interfere with the fermentation process. If the fermentation process is contaminated, you may run the risk of brewing a toxic beer that is not fit for human consumption.

Make sure that you’re using only the highest-quality ingredients when brewing your own beer. When it comes to preparing and brewing beer, you get what you put in. The overall taste and quality of the beer depends on the quality of the ingredients you use; if you use bad ingredients, you’ll end up with bad beer. Try to establish contacts with farmers and distributors who provide top-quality ingredients at a fair price.

Steps

Here are the steps you need to do to make your own beer:

Step 1

Heat three gallons of water in a pot, and bring it up to a rolling boil. The temperature must be between 150 and 180 degrees Celsius. Once the water has reached a rolling boil, remove it from the heat. Steep the barley in the water for about 30 minutes. (If you want to propagate barley, read how to grow barley)

Step 2

Strain the grain from the pot, and bring the water back to a rolling boil. Turn the heat off, and then steep the barley malt in it for about three minutes. Bring the water back up to a boil. Add the hops and allow the ingredients to simmer for about an hour.

Step 3

Five minutes before the one-hour boiling time, add the aromatic hops. Turn off the heat, and bring the water down to room temperature. You can speed up the cooling process by immersing the pot in a half-filled tub of water.

Step 4

Pour in two gallons of clean water into the beer bucket, and fill the bucket with the brew. If you want to flavor your beer with aromatic herbs or spices or fruits, now is a good time to flavor the brew.

Step 5

Pour in a packet of brewing yeast into the brew, and close the bucket with the airlock. Make sure that the beer bucket is absolutely airtight; no amount of oxygen should be able to enter the bucket during the fermentation process. Depending on your taste, you can allow the beer to ferment for between one to two weeks.

Step 6

Boil the corn syrup with a cup of water until you get a thick, frothy sweetener. The process takes about one to two minutes depending on the quality and the purity of the sugar. Mix the sweetener with the brew, and agitate the bucket a bit to start carbonation.

Step 7

Now it’s time to fill up and cap your bottles. On some beer buckets, the filling and capping process can be done at one convenient step on the spigot. To prevent overfilling that may cause the bottles to explode, fill the bottle one inch shy of the brim. The beer may now be ready to drink, or chilled to give the beer that distinct cold taste.

While home brews will never be a substitute for beer that’s readily available from the supermarket, there’s something delicious and unique about home-brewed beer. With these tips to help you make your own home-brewed lager or ale, drinking becomes a more interesting and fulfilling experience. If you enjoy reading this article, you’ll surely be interested in learning the 10 Cool alternate uses for beer.

Your own homemade beer will taste great, but it’ll be more delicious if you drink it at home, in the comfort of your own bar. Learn how to make a fantastic home bar with just a few easy tips.

Watch The Video

How to Make Beer Part 1

How to Make Beer Part 2

How to Make Beer Part 3

How to Make Beer Part 4