Thinking About Brewing?

December 27, 2015

Posted by Samuel R. Atcherson

Thinking about learning how to brew your own beer? There are plenty of different reasons why people might start making their own beer. Perhaps they've tried homebrewed beer and thought, "Hey, I bet I can make this too!" Perhaps they got tired of buying a six-pack of expensive craft beer, thinking they could make it cheaper. Perhaps they wanted to try to clone a beer that they can't get locally. Perhaps they are comfortable making things on their own that beer was just another skill to add. Whatever the reason, brewing beer at home can be satisfying and people rarely turn down a homemade product.

The Best Way to Learn to Brew Beer

The best way to learn how to brew your first beer is to do it with someone who's done it before. SERIOUSLY. You might be thinking that would take the fun out of it, but quite contrary. You see... you can learn a lot of brewing terminology really quickly, you can see the steps in action (a good teacher will make you perform all the steps), you'll appreciate the importance of cleaniness and santization, and you're probably going to partake in some homebrewed beer or other craft beer while you're making it. Of course, all that's not required. You can also learn from a good set of instructions and from a multitude of YouTube videos that are out there on the good 'ol Internet.

More Than One Way to Skin a Cat

There are several ways to make beer, and it helps initially to know the basic ingredients (see The Main Ingredients of Beer). Every brewer knows the truth... brewers make wort (sugary liquid) while yeast makes beer. We just have to help the yeast get there. So how do we make wort? Take a look at Figure 1. On the left of the spectrum is extract and on the right is all-grain. Above the spectrum you can see some of the basic categories of making wort (e.g., hopped extract, unhopped extract, ... all-grain). Below the spectrum you see a variety of continuums that describe what can be expected of extract and the same for all-grain. Most first-time brewers start with extract, many (not all) may make their way to all-grain. It should not be assumed that extract cannot make good beer, but it can be assumed that moving towards all grain can give a brewer greater flexibility with ingredients and flavor, much like a chef in a kitchen with raw ingredients. Even today, I continue to dabble in all methods depending on my time, finances, and purpose.

Figure 1.

So how can you get started? Although you could buy a kit online like I did with Mr. Beer, I am in favor of visiting the local homebrew stores (LHBS). The folks at my two LHBS are really nice and very knowledgable. They've heard every possible question, and to them, there is no such thing as a dumb question. If they don't know the answer, they'll find it somewhere. They can help you with a starter kit based on what you have at home, and they can slowly help you build your setup based on your own resources. The best part of going to the LHBS is that you'll be able to see the variety of grains, hops, and yeast available, and you'll undoubtedly spend some time window shopping to figure out the direction you want your own homebrewery to go as you browse through the equipment options such as the size of glass and plastic carboys to the draft and kegging equipment. If you start hanging around other brewers, you'll notice that everyone's setup is completely different, and that's the beauty of this hobby. When you're ready to start upgrading, your LHBS can help you with all the pieces to make it work. Get to know these folks by name, ask questions, and they'll get to know you. And... if there is a local homebrew club, consider joining it.

Patience is a Virtue

Once you start brewing, you'll have beer to drink in about a month's time. If you don't have the patience for this, just stop right here and go find another hobby. But if you can wait, you'll figure out quickly that starting is always the hardest part. The smart brewer will never run out of homebrew if he or she has beer at every stage of the process at any given time. You know what I'm saying? Envision drinking your chilled homebrew while making another batch of homebrew while there's a batch of homebrew fermenting in your closet while another batch of homebrew is conditioning in bottles. It's the gift that keeps on giving!

Basic Equipment

To get an idea of the kind of equipment needed to get started brewing, see the lists below.

Basic Brewing Equipment:

Pot

Metal stirring spoon

Thermometer

Scissors

Muslin bag (i.e., grain sock) or strainer (if mashing)

Sanitizing liquid or powder (follow instructions for use)

Fermentation vessel (usually 1 or 2 gallons)

Airlock mechanism

Basic Brewing Ingredients:

Ingredients to make wort (see Figure 1)

Water (tap, spring, and/or distilled water)

Sanitizing liquid or powder (follow instructions for use)

Basic Bottling Equipment and Ingredients:

Small racking cane (autosiphon)

Bottling wand and tubing (4-6 feet in length)

Brown PET plastic or glass bottles

Bottle caps

Bottle capper

Measuring spoons (e.g., teaspoon)

Priming sugar (regular table sugar will do)

As this was my first lesson, the lessons that follow will mostly mirror my journey as a homebrewer. Check back often for new lessons.

Thinking About Brewing?