Making beer for the first time can be scary. But there is a great online and offline community that can provide support and advice. But making that first step will raise all kinds of questions. What I need to know? What I need to buy? What is beer actually made of? We have all been drinking beer and for sure you are a beer lover. But what do we really know about our favorite drink? Is it all that hard to make it at home?

Beer is an alcoholic beverage made from fermenting malted grains, using a special type of brewer’s yeast and hops with the addition of water. So there are four main ingredients in beer, malted grains, water, yeast, and hops. With these four ingredients, you can make beer. The story is simple as that. But of course, for making beer at home you will also need some additional equipment.

This is the list of basic things and techniques in the process of making beer at home. It can give you an idea of what is it all about. And also what you will need before you impart on the journey of home brewing.

Basic ingredients

To make any beer you will need to start by selecting your malted grains. Each type of beer will require a different type of grains, and sometimes even more than one type. There are so many types of beer but the general distinction is between lagers and ales. For some beers, grains will be light in color which will result in pale color beer. For other beers, grains can be roasted and dark which in turn will result in dark color beer. Each grain will add its specific flavor and color to the beer.

The second ingredient for making beer is water. As a starting homebrewer in the beginning you don’t want to trouble yourself with water chemistry. That is something you can start thinking further on while perfecting your skill. The main thing you should know about water as a beer ingredient is to avoid using chlorinated water. So you can start with store-bought water, spring water, or dechlorinated water.

For making beer we use a special type of yeast called brewers yeast. There are two main types of brewers yeast, lager yeast, and ale yeast. What is important to know about yeast is that it thrives in different temperatures and that is something that you will have to have under your control. Brewer’s yeast is easily found online or in homebrew stores. It comes in two main forms, dry yeast, and liquid yeast. There is going to be no beer without yeast.

The last ingredients are the hops. Hops are green flowers that provide the beer their bitterness and aroma. There are many different types of hops and can be used in fresh, frozen, or dry forms. Some types of beers use different types of hops. And also the amount of hops in the beer will vary from beer to beer. Hops can also be bought online or in your local homebrewing store.

Different techniques to make beer at home

Extract brewing is the easiest technique to recommend to all beginners. All the malts will be already extracted from the grains and you will receive them in liquid or dry form. This makes it easy and fast to prepare your wort. Extract brewing requires less equipment, space, and time and that is why it is the perfect place to start.

Partial mash is a combination of extract brewing and all grain. For some of your wort, you will use liquid extract and for some, you will use all grains. This technique is great for homebrewers who want to go to that next step and learn more about different types of grains. By doing a partial mash you can improve the flavor and quality of your beer.

All grain brewing doesn’t use any malt extract. So all the flavoring will come directly from the grains. This technique requires more knowledge, equipment, space, and time. That is why is most common to start with extract brewing and as your knowledge and experience increase you can move on to partial mash and then finally to all grain brewing.

List of necessary equipment

When you start to make your first beer there are great starting kits you can get online. They will have all the things you will need to make your first couple of beers. Then as the process becomes more complicated and if you transition to all-grain brewing the list of equipment needed will grow with your skills. Be sure to check if some of the equipment you’re missing can be bought second-hand. People sell things they don’t need all the time so you can look for good deals. The basic list of equipment is not that complicated.

• A large stainless steel pot. Depends on how large your batch of beer will be but I recommend 4 gallons or more.
• 6-gallon fermentation bucket or a fermenter. This is where the beer will ferment, so you need it to be larger than your pot.
• 6-gallon plastic bucket for sanitizing or bottling. There is a lot of cleaning and sanitizing in the process of making beer, so this will be essential.
• Airlocks and stoppers
• A racking cane to siphon the beer from your fermenter.
• Hydrometer
• Food grade sanitizer as I previously mentioned there will be a lot of cleaning and sanitizing.
• Bottle caps, bottle capper, fermentation grade bottles, and bottle wand if you are planning to bottle your beer.
• Thermometer, make sure it is waterproof and calibrated.
• 4 small nylon bags for adding hops.
• Large stainless steel spoon.

I know there are a lot of things to think about and to learn. With time and patience, you will have a chance to be creative. Maybe the first couple of batches will taste horrible but that happens to all of us. We all make mistakes. What is important is for you to enjoy starting this new hobby. And after a couple of accidents when your skill becomes better share your result with your friends and family. I’m sure they will give you some input. Be sure to check online brewing groups for more great advice and beer recipes. Start small. Choose a simple recipe and keep at it until you are happy with your result. Welcome to the homebrewing world.