Do you enjoy drinking craft beer and real ale? Have you ever thought about starting your own micro brewery to brew your own home made beer? Well, this is the guide for you!
In this guide we will go through everything you need to start home brewing your own beer, ready to enjoy with friends and family. And potentially to start your own brewery. From choosing the right beer bottle to explaining the ingredients and other equipment. We have all the information you need.
Brewing beer is an art form and involves both artistic flair and scientific know how. Being able to combine flavours and ingredients at precise quantities and timings is a tricky task. But once you know what you are doing it can be really fun.
According to History.com people have been brewing beer for at least 5000 years!
hard evidence of beer production dates back about 5,000 years to the Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia. Archeologists have unearthed ceramic vessels from 3400 B.C. still sticky with beer residue, and 1800 B.C.’s “Hymn to Ninkasi”—an ode to the Sumerian goddess of beer—describes a recipe for a beloved ancient brew made by female priestesses
So with a long history, beer is one of the worlds most popular alcoholic beverages. And with that long history comes a great wealth of knowledge that we can tap in to to make our own home made beer.
What ingredients will you need?
Hops!
Depending on which hops you choose it will affect the type of beer you make and the flavour! In the next section we will explain a few different options.
Malted Barley!
The malt you use will determine the colour of your beer and the flavour. Malt is used to create a sugary liquid call wort.
Yeast!
This will create the alcohol within your beer and adds to the flavour along with the hops and malt.
Water!
Yes! Beer contains water. You will need a good supply to make your beer.
What equipment you will need?
Fermenting Bucket!
This is where the magic happens. Your beer will be made in here.
Airlock and Grommet!
To allow air to escape from your fermenting bucket while your beer is brewing.
Hydrometer!
For testing the strength of your home brewed beer.
Thermometer!
To make sure you get the right temperatures for different brewing stages.
Steriliser!
Everything you use needs to be sterile. So that your beer ferments properly and stays fresh!
Siphon with Anti Sediment and flow control!
This is for transferring your beer from your fermenting bucket to the bottles!
Mixing Spoon or Paddle!
This is pretty self explanatory. You will need to stir your beer at different points during the process
Bottles!
You will need some sturdy glass beer bottles to house your beer in and to finish the fermenting process. Below is our guide to which bottles are best.
Bottle Capper!
Along with some beer bottles you will need a bottle capper to apply crown caps to your finished bottles.
What beer will you make?
This all depends on personal taste and preference. Will you make an IPA? A lager? Or a stout?
The combination of different hops, yeast and barley will affect the type of beer that you make. So it's best to do some research and plan exactly what type of beer you want to make.
When you become more comfortable brewing and creating beer you can start to experiment by adding different hops and creating different flavours. This is one of the joys of making your own beer at home.
Which bottles will you use for your home brewed beer?
We have a large range of beer bottles which are perfect for home brewers and micro breweries.
In fact, we've written a whole blog on the best bottles for home brewed beer!
The best bottles for beer are again down to personal preference. We love our growler bottles because they make a huge statement and look amazing.
For a more budget friendly option we also stock standard 330ml beer bottles and 500ml beer bottles. Which are a great and cheap way to bottle your freshly brewed beer.
Why not bottle some beer for yourself in a growler and some in smaller bottles to give away to friends and family. Who knows, your small micro brewery could turn from a hobby in to a small business and beyond!
Will you be setting up your own micro brewery? Or maybe you just want a small home brew set up?
Whatever the case make sure you head over to our online glass bottle shop to purchase all the bottles you need for your upcoming project.
If you want to read more about brewing beer you can check out Paul's blog where he documented his first adventures in homebrewing!
All the best
The team at Sen5es