Be Your Own Brew Master

Ok guy, you’re a huge beer enthusiast. You’ve dabbled a bit with ales and lagers, made memories with stouts and lost many more with Hefeweizen (damn ze Germanz!!!). So what new fermented territory is there to cover since you’ve conquered the world’s finest beers?

Our Recommendation: Brew Your Own Beer!

These days home brewing is made easy for the beer hobbyist with the advent of smaller fermentors that can be stored in any small space, like right between your George Foreman Grill and the Magic Bullet. And don’t worry; you won’t be out in the woods like uncle Ned making moonshine in your overalls. Unless that’s what you’re into. 

There are a few online brewing distributors to grab your equipment from but if you’re a novice, we’d point you in the direction of Mr. Beer. You can get a convenient all-in-one brewing package for under $100. If you’re on a beer budget (no pun intended), choose the $49.95 premium box because it includes the basics without the frills. 

Steps are fairly simple and the package has it’s own brewing book incase you need more description:

Step one: A sterile environment makes great beer. Clean everything that will come in contact with your sauce; pots, siphons, mixing sticks, and especially those grubby claws of yours. 

Step two: Brewing the wort creates the body and taste of the beer. Wort is the combination of the malt extract, hops and other flavoring ingredients. I recommend cooking it a bit beyond the recommended time, which is usually between 45 minutes to an hour. 

Step three: Don’t rush the yeast. This is where the science experiment really goes freaky. Yeast convert your wort to beer as a by-product of digestion – yes, you’re essentially drinking excrement. College bingeing memories will never be the same. Let these guys do their job for a few days. Little tid-bit of info to impress your beer bros: that layer of sediment at the bottom is what the Aussies eat for breakfast – vegemite.

Step four: Bottle and wait. This is where most novice brewers tend to drop the ball. Bottling is the last process where the yeast have slowed down tremendously and start to give the flavor to your brew. So it’s important to be patient and sanitary when you’re pouring and capping. The Mr. Beer kit gives you some plastic bottles and caps to do this very easily. When you decide to expand your horizon, there are glass-bottling kits that will give you an authentic feel to the experience. And if you’re hardcore or an alcoholic, you can buy the reusable 1 liter growler and brag about it during your AA meetings.

In Conclusion: Now remember, beer brewing is a process of sweet… err, bitter frothy love mixed with the timings of Kama Sutra. The whole process from hops to hammered happens over the course of a month depending what you’re brewing and how long you can hold out. Give the bottles at least 2  – 3 weeks of proper storage before you start to taste it. My personal experience -  keep a few around for a month or two longer. Then you can notice how much the taste and body can change over time.

Good luck and happy brewing my friends.

Click Here to Get Mr. Beer for Only $39.95!

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