How to Make Homemade Beer

Homemade Beer

• Scale
• 16-cup stainless steel pot with lid, cotton brewing bag or cheesecloth
• 1-gallon bucket with lid or 1 1⁄4-gallon carboy
• Airlock
• Four 1-quart (1 L) airtight glass bottles

Ingredients (for 16 cups)

• 2 lb 3 oz malt extract
• 6 cups filtered water
• 1⁄2 cup  dry bittering hops
• 6 cups  cold filtered water
• 1 packet dry beer yeast
• 2 tsp granulated or raw cane sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Wash and sanitize all containers and instruments.

2. In a large pot, add malt extract to 6 cups filtered water and mix thoroughly. Bring to a boil over high heat.

3. Place hops in the brewing bag or on cheesecloth, bundle and tie in a knot. Add to pot and steep in boiling water for 30 minutes (maintain a boil, but watch that it doesn’t boil over). Remove from heat. Remove hops and add them to your compost.

4. Add 6 cups cold water to mixture to cool it down to between 65°F and 77°F.

5. Oxygenate mixture by shaking pot vigorously to produce bubbles.

6. Use a sanitized instrument to stir in yeast. Transfer mixture to bucket. Seal airtight and set airlock. Let ferment at 68°F to 77°F for 6 days or until mixture no longer produces bubbles.

7. Refrigerate bucket (under 50°F) for 24 hours, until beer settles.

8. Carefully pour beer (without raising sediment) into sanitized bottles. Add 1⁄2 tsp sugar to each bottle before sealing. Let ferment in a warm area (77°F to 90°F) for 14 days, then refrigerate.

To consume when necessary — that is to say, on days of rest and after a long, hard day’s work. Keeps for 1 month in the refrigerator (if well hidden from others!).

Courtesy of Fermentation Revolution: 70 Easy Recipes for Sauerkraut, Kombucha, Kimchi and More by Sébastien Bureau & David Côté © 2017 www.robertrose.ca Available where books are sold.