So You Want to Make Your First Batch of Homebrew?

Submitted by dkiplinger on

This guide contains all of the information you will need to make your first batch of beer. It was written in such a way as to relay only the necessary information needed to brew a batch of homebrew in an attempt to keep it as short and simple as possible.
Equipment needed:

  1. 12 quart or larger pot. Stainless steel is the best, however an enamel (with no chips) or aluminum pot will work just fine
  2. Big spoon to stir the wort (wort is what the beer is called before it is fermented)
  3. 7 gallon fermentation bucket with a tight fitting lid that has a hole drilled in it for a rubber stopper and airlock (this is available from your local homebrew retailer)
  4. 5 gallon carboy (a glass water jug)
  5. 2 Rubber stoppers. One that fits the hole in the lid of the bucket and one that fits the carboy
  6. One Airlock that can be used for both the bucket and the carboy
  7. 5 to 6 feet of vinyl tubing (also available from your local homebrew retailer)
  8. Racking cane and bottle filler
  9. Enough empty bottles to hold 5 gallons of finished beer. If you get the flip-top type (like Grolsch), you will not need to buy a capper or caps. You can usually buy them back from a store, restaurant, or bar for the price of the deposit.
  10. Kitchen strainer (either a wire mesh or plastic pasta strainer)

Note: If you don't know what any of the pieces are in the above list, don't worry. Your local homebrew supply shop will be able to help you find what you need.
Ingredients for an amber ale:

  1. Two 3lb. bags of amber dry extract
  2. 1 oz. Whole hops (use Cascade, Fuggles, or Willamette)
  3. 1 to 2 packages of dry ale yeast
  4. ¾ cup of corn sugar

Brewing Instructions:

  1. Put 1½ gallons of water and all of the extract into your pot and bring it to a boil. Careful, it will want to boil over in the beginning
  2. Once your boil has stabilized (usually about 5 to 10 minutes), add about ¾ of the hops to the boil
  3. Boil for 45 more minutes
  4. While boiling, sanitize your bucket, lid, stopper, and airlock with a solution of 1 ounce of bleach to 2 gallons of water with an exposure time of at least 5 minutes. Rinse well with hot water and the place lid on the bucket to prevent contamination while you wait for the boil to finish
  5. After the 45 minutes, turn off the heat and add the remaining hops
  6. Cover thepot and add one gallon of cold water to the bucket
  7. Pour the boiling hot wort through a strainer and into the bucket
  8. Top off the bucket with cold water to the 5 gallon mark (it is wise to find out where the 5 gallon line is on your bucket BEFORE you brew your first batch)
  9. Sprinkle the yeast onto the wort, cover the bucket, attach the airlock half full of water, and wait. Place the bucket where the average temperature is between 65F and 75F
  10. When the bubbling in the airlock slows down (about 5 to 7 days), siphon the beer off of it's sediment into a sanitized 5 gallon carboy using the sanitized racking cane and vinyl hose
  11. Affix the sanitized airlock and stopper to the top of the carboy and wait until the bubbling stops completely (about another 7 days)
  12. Measure ¾ cup of corn sugar and dissolve into � to 1 cup of boiling water.� Let cool
  13. When the bubbling stops, add the cooled sugar solution to the sanitized bucket and siphon the beer off of it's secondary sediment into the bucket as well
  14. The movement caused by the beer filling the bucket should be enough to mix the sugar evenly with the beer but you should gently mix the sugar/beer solution to make sure.
  15. Siphon fill your sanitized bottles using the bottle filler and then cap them
  16. Wait another 7 to 14 days and your beer should be carbonated and ready to drink. Note: make sure to store you bottles at room temperature while they are conditioning.� If they are too cold (under 65F) they won't carbonate.

There, that was easy, wasn't it!
For more information and a FREE online book, go to How to Brew.com
Although the information on this page is enough to make a batch of beer, it only scratches the surface on the techniques and principles of homebrewing. There are many books that are available through your local homebrew retailer that can help you grow with your new hobby. Joining and participating in KLOB is another great way to learn more about homebrewing and meet other people who are interested in the hobby of homebrewing. Click here to get information about our next meeting.
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