Making alcohol at home is a simple process which need not involve the purchase of expensive home brew kits. The basic equipment and ingredients are cost-effective and relatively easy to acquire.
There are many factors which a professional brewer will consider when making a beer but this article deals only with the production of a very basic product, but a beer nonetheless.
I intend to cover more in-depth processes in later articles such as specific beer recipes, cider production, wine production and the manufacture and use of a simple home distillation device for the purpose of making spirits. So, without any more delay, let's get started.
First, we will deal with equipment. You will need:
- A large pot (around ten liters is ideal)
- A large sterile plastic pail (for this example, 10 gallon)
- A length of sterile hose
Ensure that all of the equipment is clean and sterile before use. The pot will be used to boil the ingredients and can be obtained from any shop selling cooking utensils, that is, if you don't already have something at home. It is always worth having a look in charity shops as the larger ones usually have a good selection of pots and pans at very reasonable prices, not to mention the fact that you are helping out your fellow man...or animal...depending on the charity.
Pails specifically designed for brewing are available in specialist stores and are quite inexpensive. The important factor to consider is that the container needs to be sterile, watertight and made of a material which will not contaminate the beer. I have had good results using a typical household dustbin but make sure that
- it's a NEW dustbin and
- that you wash it thoroughly after purchase otherwise your beer will taste like plastic.
The hosing will be used to siphon the beer into it's ultimate containers so this too needs to be made of a sterile material, ideally vinyl. This can be found in any self-respecting hardware store.
Now for the ingredients, you will need...
I will say again, to make a beer with a more distinct character and greater depth of flavor, more ingredients are required but we are only concerned with simplicity and economy here. The malt extract and yeast are available from any specialist brewer outlet but many pharmacies stock these and they can also be found in large supermarkets. If you can't find sugar, you might as well give up now.
Now try to put these things to use and you will be happy to learn that this is only slightly more difficult than finding sugar and easier than cooking a tasty Bolognese sauce from scratch. Again, for those of you with difficulty obtaining sugar, ready-made beer is available in taverns and licensed premises all over the world.
- First, pour about 10 liters of fresh, clean water into the pail. Tap water is fine but bottled mineral water will yield a purer beer.
- Bring 7 liters of water to the boil in your pot and add a can of malt extract. Stir the mixture uncovered for about 20 minutes. Malt extract usually comes in 40oz cans, which is sufficient for this project but if you prefer a richer beer, you can use more.
- Add 6-7 cups of white sugar and stir until it has dissolved.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, quickly chuck the mixture into the pail. The more violent this action, the better as it traps bubbles of air which aid the fermentation process, but try not to make too much of a mess.
- Top up the pail using clean water until the mix reaches room temperature, about 22 degrees Celsius, then sprinkle a teaspoon of yeast and stir well.
- Once you are happy that the brew is well mixed, lightly cover the pail and leave the mix to ferment for about 10-12 days at a temperature of around 20 degrees Celsius. It is important from now on to avoid agitating the beer. Avoid any knocks or movement of the liquid or you will end up with a cloudy beer, swimming with sediment.
- After this time, use the hydrometer to check the readiness of the beer (the reading should be between 1.009 and 1.012). If, after two or three readings, you aren't satisfied, just leave the mix for another couple of days and try again. In the absence of a hydrometer, you can just taste-test making sure that it isn't sweet-tasting.
At this point, you are ready to bottle the beer. You can use a normal screw-cap bottle for this but the best ones, at least aesthetically, are the glass bottles with the old Grolsch-style stoppers.
- Place two teaspoons of sugar in each bottle.
- Using the tubing, siphon the beer from the pail ensuring that you do not siphon any sediment. Make sure you leave a sizable gap for in each bottle.
- Cap the bottle securely, turn it upside down and shake to dissolve the sugar.
- Leave the bottles in a warm area for two or three days then move them to a dark, cool place for storage. The beer should be ready to drink after another couple of days, but the longer you leave it, the better it will taste.
And it's as easy as that folks, all it takes is a little time, money and patience and you can officially call yourself a brewer and what better way to celebrate the fact with a tasty homemade beer?
