Making your own beer is something special and very exciting !  You can ask any amateur brewer, a craft beer has usually a better taste than commercial beers and especially when it is your own product. You definitely feel the hop inside and you don’t have the impression of drinking donkey piss !

In the commercial world, massive beer production is owned by 3 main companies which do not have the same goal than you, they want the most flat and simple beer taste so that many people appreciate it at a wider scale and buy their cheap products. This is why craft beers are a great alternative and a niche market which starts cropping margins of the big guys. As these guys don’t like much competition or see an opportunity to increase sales, the big brewers have started to buy known craft beer sellers around the world but unfortunately changed a bit the recipes for scale economy reasons. Basically, they just killed the original taste and this is another fake crafted beer on the shelves or tap ready to fool you, shame on them !

Unless you are a real “connoisseur” and I am sure you will become more knowledgeable after some time studying the subject, stirring your own beer will become the ultimate solution to find the taste which suits you best !

Step 1 : Brewing in a Bag process

There are many ways to brew beer but one of the oldest and very effective way is to brew in a bag. This was initially considered controversial, many brewers believed it produced inferior beer to all grain methods. However, nowadays it’s use is fairly widespread and is maybe the simplest method to obtain a tasty crafted beer !

I will explain briefly below the process before going into detail later on :

Malt (all grain) is placed into a brewing bag and soaked in hot water (around 70 C).
After an hour or so the bag is removed and drained, leaving behind a sugary liquid known as wort.
The wort is then boiled again with hops that are added to contribute bitterness, aroma and taste.
After cooling, the wort is aerated and yeast is added before fermentation for 10-15 days.
The bottling process is taking place after addition of some sugar to enable carbonation during 30 days.

Step 2 : Equipment

You will need to invest in some equipment before starting to brew beer, here is a short list below :

  • 1 x 50 Litre Brewing Aluminum kettle
  • 1 x Aluminum colander (to avoid burning the grain at the bottom)
  • 1 x Burner and a propane bottle
  • 1 x 30 Litre Bucket with Lid, Grommet & Airlock.
  • 3 x Hop brewing bags (always good to have spares)
  • 1 x Wort brewing bag (for the grain)
  • 1 x Siphon
  • 1 x Hydrometer.
  • 1 x Thermometer.
  • 1 x Steriliser product.
  • 1 x Mixing Spoon/Paddle.
  • 1 x Crown capper.
  • 1 x Pack of crown caps.
  • 50 Empty pints or 100 half pint bottle / a mix is fine as well.
  • Bottle Drainer

 

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The good news is that you can easily find some brewing kits or bundles online for 50€ with most of the listed elements, count circa 150€ investment in total (quickly amortized).

 

Step 3 : Main Ingredients

You will need to gather few ingredients to brew your own beer, these are listed below :

  • Water : tap or bottle water, it is up to you but this may influence drastically the taste. I personally use water from bottles.
  • Beer kit (Grain + Hops)
  • Sugar

 

Step 4 : Brewing Tips