Have you ever wanted to make your own beer but were afraid it would be too difficult or complicated to do?  The good news is if you can boil water and keep your equipment and work area clean you can brew your own delicious beer at home (preferably in the garage!).  Getting into brewing isn’t as difficult as many people think and the cost of beginner’s equipment makes homebrewing a hobby accessible to most people.

The easiest way to brew your first batch of beer is by combining water and malt extract to make the wort which after fermentation will become beer.  Malt extract comes in two forms; a thick syrupy liquid malt extract (LME) and a sticky powdered form called dry malt extract (DME).  Both version work well and have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Liquid Malt Extract:  LME typically comes in 3.3lb cans or plastic jugs of various weights and can come pre-hopped or unhopped.  This syrupy form of malt extract is easy to work with and can quickly be stirred into water to make the wort.  Canned LME is supposed to have a shelf life of up to two years and LME in jugs should be good for several months.  When buying LME always try to buy the freshest cans or jugs available to help make sure your finished product is the best it can be.  Because LME is roughly 20% water, opened containers should be used as quickly as possible to ensure freshness and prevent mold.  LME comes in many varieties (pilsner, light, amber, dark, wheat, etc.) and is the most affordable malt extract option.

Dry Malt Extract:  DME is usually packaged in sealed bags of 1 or 3lbs but can also be found in 50lb bags as well  and is always unhopped.  This powdered form of malt extract is quite sticky but can easily be measured out and dissolves reasonably quickly in water with some dedicated stirring.  Because DME contains 1% water or less by volume it is much less susceptible to molding and unused portions can be resealed in plastic bags and kept in the refrigerator almost indefinitely.  Also, due to the low water content, DME has more fermentable sugars by weight.  This means that you can use 20% less DME than you would need of liquid malt extract to make the same beer.  While it has a great upside, DME typically doesn’t come in as many varieties as the liquid variety and also usually costs more as well.

Essential Equipment For Making an Extract Wort

-         Brew Kettle (preferably at least 4 gallon (16qt) capacity)

-         Brew Spoon (stainless steel or food grade (HDPE) plastic)

-         Measuring Cups (glass or food grade plastic for measuring out ingredients)

-         Quick Read Thermometer (for determining wort temperature)

-         Nylon or Muslin Steeping Bags (OK, not essentially but highly recommended!)

See?  We told you it wouldn’t take that much equipment to make your first extract wort!

Procedure 

After choosing a recipe and assembling your equipment and ingredients it is finally time to start making some beer!  Fill the brew kettle with about three gallons of water and place it on the biggest burner of your stove and begin bringing up the temperature by choosing a medium-high setting.  If your recipe calls for LME this is a good time to begin to get it ready by gently heating the cans or jugs in a water bath in a separate pot.  Because the LME is so thick slowly heating it up helps it thin out some and makes it easier to work with.

Many recipes call for the use of specialty grains to add flavor, aroma and color to the wort.  Some people consider the use of specialty grains to be more of an intermediate method and not necessary for the beginning brewer.  While the Homebrew Garage agrees to a point, we fell using specialty grains is so easy that even a first time homebrewer can do it with confidence and that the benefits far outweigh the effort of the extra step.  If you don’t have a grain mill you can often ask your local homebrew shop to crush the specialty grains for you, or failing that you can always put them in a thick plastic bag and crush them with rolling pin.  If you do it yourself remember you want to crack the grains open, not make flour!

Weigh out the specialty grains according to your recipe and place them in the steeping bag tying it off close to the open end to allow the grain room to swell up.  Disposable muslin bags are cheap and can be used a few times, or more durable and reusable nylon bags also work well.  As the water in the brew kettle nears 150 degrees Fahrenheit, add the steeping bag filled with the crushed specialty grains to the kettle.  Soon after you add the specialty grains you will notice the water in the brew kettle taking on some color and grain aroma.  Stir the bag around and feel free to dunk it in and out of the water taking care not to burn your fingers.

Your goal here is to extract as much of the color, taste and aroma out of the specialty grains as possible.  You want to steep the specialty grains for 20-30 minutes while keeping the temperature of the water under 170 degrees.  If you let the temperature get too hot you run the risk of extracting harsh flavors that will compromise the final flavor of your beer.  At the end of the 20-30 minutes fish out bag and discard the used grain.  By taking the extra time to steep specialty grains you have given your beer more body, better head retention, deeper color and more complex flavor and aroma!  We told you this step was worth doing!

After the specialty grains have been steeped it is time to add the malt extract.  If you are using LME carefully remove it from its warm water bath and open the cans or jugs.  If you are using cans pour the syrup into the brew kettle and use a clean spoon or spatula to scrape all the goodness from the sides and bottom of the can.  In the case of jugs pour in the syrup and then swirl a small amount of warm, clean water inside the jug to get as much of the syrup out as possible.  If the recipe you are using calls for DME (many recipes call for a combination of LME and DME) measure it out per the recipe instructions and add it to the brew kettle.  Which ever kind of malt extract you are using make sure you stir well with your brew spoon to thoroughly incorporate it into the water.  DME tends to clump up when first added to hot water to make sure to stir diligently until all the power is dissolved.

Congratulations!  You have now made an extract wort that is well on its way to being a crowd pleasing beer!