United Nations of Beer

How To Make Beer

Foreword
By UNOB Secretary General

This series on homemade beer came about because I was intensely curious. I had heard so much about the subject, even gone so far as to buy a book. But something was holding me back from trying.

Like many of you reading this, I felt there was not enough information available to help me get started. Being a global beer organization, the United Nations of Beer began a search for Home Brew Delegates to create reviews and articles aimed at, well, people just like me.

Start off the best way with a Coopers All In One

This introduction article will merely scratch the surface of home brewing beer. As the series continues, we'll show you more detail of each method, including reviews of kits, equipment, books, DVDs and other beer brewing items.

Our experts, Home Brew Delegates Jared Birbeck (Australia) and J. J. Sylvia IV (USA), will take you on a journey, from first steps into kit brewing, to the steps up the podium to collect your medals at homebrewing competitions!

If you have any questions for our experts, please submit them below.

If we receive enough questions, then we'll create a special section for your Q&A.

How to make beer: an introduction

By Home Brew Delegate, Jared Birbeck

There is an enormous range of beers available to buy from around the world. You can get anything; a lot of it is quite good, too.

But, for a lot of people that isn't enough. They want more, more flavour, more freshness, a more hands-on approach and for a lot of people, less cost. So despite the rise in the number of different beers available, many people are moving towards self beer brewing.

Anyone can make a decent beer at home regardless of the style of home brewing you choose to adopt, from pre-hopped kits, through extract and part mashes to full mash, all grain brewing.

How to make beer: ignore the noise

There will be experienced brewers that will tell you that great beer brewing happens only by brewing all grain. There will be those that tell you that extract or kit beer won't be as good as the commercial beers.

It simply isn't true. There have been some great beers produced with very little set-up. In fact, there are times when kit beers score better in competitions than their all-grain equivalents.

Why learn how to make homemade beer? Many people start brewing to save money. They make beer at home for a fraction of the cost. For some this is as far as it goes.

For a number of others, especially those that take those next steps of partial mash brewing or full mash brewing, cost becomes less of an issue. Yes, they can still make great beer at a fraction of the cost per brew compared to buying commercial brews, but they spend more on the equipment to make the beer.

How to make beer: the golden rules

Learning how to make home beer can be as little or as much as you want it to be. You can go the whole package and spend thousands of dollars on your home brewery and keg system; or you can do as little as buy a fermenter; and everything in between.

Regardless of the style of brewing you choose to adopt, there are two golden rules that cannot be broken, if you want to learn how to make beer you'll want to drink afterwards!

How to make beer rule one: keep things clean and sanitary
How to make beer rule two: temperature control

If things that come into contact with your brew are not clean, then the brew may become infected. The resulting beer will taste awful and likely need to be thrown away.

In respect of temperature control, the fermentation temperature must be kept down. Pre-hopped tins often tell you to ferment at 27 degrees. That is far too high. 18-24 for an ale is best. Lower for a lager.

How to make beer: kit beer brewing

So you want to know how to make beer. Where should you start? The best start is kit brewing, for example, with Coopers beer kits. This is where you brew using a pre-hopped tin of malt extract.

Most pre-hopped tins are aimed at matching commercially available brews. They are easy to drink and easy to brew. It is a simple process of combining the malt extract with water to make up a brew. Add the yeast and it's away. This is how to make beer brought right down to absolute basics.

The danger is that an inexperienced brewer will focus on alcohol content. Trying to make a high alcohol content beer in your first few brews will make beers that turn you away from home brewing.

Keep it simple. Kits will tell you to use ordinary sugar to make up the alcohol content, but a better brew can be produced by adding dried or tinned malt extract (including pre-hopped tins). Adding another tin of the same kit, or even a different one, can create a wonderful beer. There have been a number of brewers that have scored well in competitions using this technique, including me.

How to make beer: extract home brewing

Tired of kit brewing and not sure what the next step is? Extract brewing. This is similar to kit brewing, but the malt extract you use won't necessarily be pre-hopped, normally it won't be. If it isn't, then you need to boil the malt extract and water with hops to add bitterness and flavour. The flavour is better and you have greater control over the end product.

The only additional piece of equipment you need here is a pot to boil the wort (beer before it becomes beer) in before it goes into the fermenter and, perhaps, something to chill the wort before adding the yeast, but it's not strictly necessary.

Many brewers make extract brews, never adding grain, and make some great beers choosing to spend their money on kegging equipment.

How to make beer: speciality grains

Where to from there? This is where we step into adding speciality grains. There are a number of grains we can add to brews to add depth of flavour and colour without having to "mash".

It's an easy process. Take something like a crystal malt, which can add a caramel type flavour well suited to beer. All it requires is steeping in hot water. It makes a world of difference to the end result. No extra equipment is needed at this stage, you could easily use what you have around the house.

Adding specialty grain can add wonderful depth of flavour to both extract and kit brews and will improve your beers significantly. A number of home brew shops will sell pre-packaged kits that use a tin of pre-hopped extract with a pack of dried malt, dextrose (a sugar substitute), hops for flavour and aroma and some specialty grains to steep.

How to make beer: partial mash

Once we are past steeping, it's into partial mash territory. Partial mash involves replacing part of the malt extract used in extract brewing with a base grain, such as an ale or pilsner malt. In order to extract the sugar from the grain, we need to mash it, or simply put, combine it with warm water. This enables the enzymes in the grain to convert the starches into sugar.

Sound complicated? It happens on its own, so all the brewer needs to do is get the right temperature for the water (normally around 66 degrees). If you get the temperature wrong, it's no huge deal while part mashing, as long as we still within 5-10 degrees of our target, it will still make good beer but it may be sweeter or drier than expected, depending on which side of the ideal temp you erred on.

Part mashing can usually be done using things you have around the house for normal batch sizes, such as an old esky, or pot. You can mash in the pot you do the boil in, although that can result in a bit of juggling later on.

Those that do full mash brewing will advise you to get a dedicated mashing vessel (mash tun). While not strictly necessary, it is a good idea. But bear in mind, this could just be a large food grade bucket that you've wrapped in blankets for the mash to keep the temperature stable. It doesn't need to be an esky with a false bottom or an insulated stainless steel pot.

How to make beer: all grain home brewing

Finally comes all grain brewing, or mash brewing. At this stage there generally is no malt extract in sight, only grains. The grains are mashed to convert the starches to sugar and the resulting "sugar water" boiled for an hour or more with hops to create the base for the beer.

This can be done with minimal equipment. A cheap pot, an old esky and that's about it. But for many, by the time you have become an all grain brewer, brewing is less of a hobby and more of an obsession. Many have spent thousands on their set-up and are always looking to improve or upgrade. I am always adding to my own brewery, buying new equipment.

How to make beer: conclusion

Making your own beer at home can be made as simple or as complex as you are ready for. Why not try it and start making your own great beer?

How to make beer: where next?

Coopers beer kits

If you're looking to take baby steps in how to make home beer, then Coopers home brew beer kits are great

Green Beer recipe!

Looking for a way to make Green Beer for St. Patrick's Day? We can help!

Hop to it

What's the deal with beer hops? Our experts give you the lowdown on buying, growing and using them

Extracting the best

A simple introduction to brewing beer using extract