Every variety of beer starts with the same four basic ingredients — malt, hops, brewing yeast and water.
Water makes up 90 per cent of beer, and you will need to ensure the water is suitable for beer making, which it generally is in Australia.
Malt is the source of sugar in beer. While barley is the recommended grain, you can use a variety of grains, including oats or wheat, as long as they’re milled and malted first.
Hops are cone-shaped flowers that influence the flavour and aroma of the beer. You can add them at different stages of the brewing or fermentation processes to yield different results.
Yeast is what turns your wort into alcohol. During the fermenting stage, the yeast will interact with the sugars in the wort and turn it into beer.
Selecting the right kit
When selecting a home brewing kit, choosing one that will suit your skill level and needs is important. For first-time brewers, you want a kit that will include most, if not all, of the equipment and ingredients you will need.
Starter kits should include sanitiser and cleaner, equipment for the fermentation process, as well as the ingredients and instructions.
Bottles are a bonus, and if your kit doesn’t come with a brew kettle or stirring spoon, you can use a large stainless steel stock pot and a steel spoon for these instead.
Just make sure to clean and sanitise them both properly.
Using malt or brewing extract not only simplifies the process but also makes it a lot shorter, as brewing your grains and making the wort entirely from scratch can add many more hours to your brewing time.
Process
There are five simple steps to home brewing. Your instructions will cover everything in the brewing process in depth, but these are the five basic steps you will follow.
Preparation
You first want to clean and sanitise all of your equipment. Your kit should come with a sanitiser, possibly a no-rinse one. If not, they can be purchased separately from where you get your brewing supplies.
Brewing
To make the wort, you first will steep your speciality grains in the water, removing them after the required time. Then, you will add your malt extract, bring the wort to a boil and the hops and boil for around 60 minutes, or as per your kit’s instructions.
Then, you will chill the wort in an ice bath to stop the process. If you have a wort chiller, now is the time to use it, but if not, you can fill your sink or a tub with water and ice and place your pot in there.
Fermentation
Once your wort is chilled, you then transfer the mixture to your fermentation vessel that came with your kit. Add your yeast, seal the vessel and install the airlock. Follow along with your kit’s instructions to see how long you will need to ferment your beer.
Bottling
Once your beer has fermented, you can now begin the bottling process.
Make sure to properly clean and sanitise both the bottles and the caps, and follow your kit’s instructions to see how to properly prepare your bottles so you can pour the mixture in.
Once your bottles are filled and sealed, they will still need some time before you can drink, around two weeks.
Drink your beer
After those two weeks, your beer will now be ready to enjoy! Refrigerate your drinks or enjoy them at room temperature, whatever your preference is, but be proud of your new creation.
Home brewing is an addictive hobby, so by the time your first batch is done, you’ll be ready to move on to your next.
Next time, experiment with different flavours, like adding fruit to your brew or making the wort from scratch. With beer making, the possibilities are endless.
