How to Make Beer
The Complete Beer Brewing Guide

Brewing Equipment

Ingredients for Beer

Beer Making Procedure

Beer Recipes

About Beer Brewing

Although you, the home brewer, can obtain good results by blindly following a recipe, you will achieve greater enjoyment and better results from an understanding of what you are doing. Now, we shall have a simplified look at the process of brewing, to see what we do and why, then in later chapters we can discuss the details.

Basically, we add yeast to a sugar solution, then by the process of fermentation, the yeast converts the sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide gas. Strictly speaking, for the product to be called beer, part or all of the sugar must come from some form of malted grain, which of course gives the beer its malty flavour with which we are accustomed.

With commercial brewing, the sugar is extracted from the malted grain by mashing with water at a strictly controlled temperature for a period of many hours. The resulting liquid is then boiled with hops which gives the beer its characteristic bitter flavour and aroma. Hops also acts as a preservative. The liquid, at this stage called the wort, is then ready for inoculation with the yeast.

With home brewing, the mashing process is too tedious and most home brewers prefer to use either liquid or dried malt extract.
The basic process of brewing is the conversion of sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide gas. Anything else we add to, or do to, the wort, is simply done to improve the flavour or head of the product.
After fermentation is complete, assuming a good beer yeast has been used, nearly all of the yeast will sink to the bottom of the container and we can draw off almost clear beer into our bottles.

A little sugar is added to each bottle and the bottle capped. During storage, this extra sugar will be fermented to produce the carbon dioxide gas required to give the beer sparkle and head. This usually takes from one to two weeks depending upon the temperature, but most beers are improved by a longer storage than this. However, at first, probably you will want to try your beer as soon as possible to see how it is progressing.

The original fermentation is called the primary fermentation. The fermentation in the bottle is called the secondary fermentation. The addition of sugar to cause this secondary fermentation is called priming.

This brings us to two points worth noting.

Firstly, since the beer must ferment in the bottle to produce the required gas in the beer, inevitably we get some sediment in the bottle. If we use a genuine beer yeast, the sediment should be quite firm on the bottom of the bottle, allowing us to pour off perfectly clear beer leaving very little dregs. Particularly if we allowed the beer to mature in the bottle for a few weeks. In addition, if we allow the beer to settle well at the end of the primary fermentation, we should be able to produce beer with a bottle sediment not much thicker than a sheet of paper.

Secondly, we must be careful to prime with the correct amount of sugar. Too little sugar and the beer will be flat. Too much sugar and we risk burst bottles or the beer spurting out as soon as we remove the cap.

At this time we should note that the most common mistake made by beginners is to bottle before the primary fermentation is finished and all of the sugar used. This of course has the same effect as priming with too much sugar. Then, when more sugar is added in the priming, the result can be disastrous. Some beginners, and surely their wives too, know of the mess caused by burst bottles or a geyser of beer when the cap is removed. Later on, we will discuss ways of making certain that the primary fermentation is finished.

With commercial brewing, at the end of the primary fermentation, the beer is passed through very fine filters and pasteurized. This removes and deactivates the yeast, giving a clear and brilliant beer. This prevents any chance of a secondary fermentation.

Unlike home brewers, commercial brewers do not need to gas their beer by a secondary fermentation. This is done by adding pressurised carbon dioxide to the beer at the time of bottling or drawing from the keg. The filtering and pasteurizing also removes any chance of bacterial or other contamination spoiling the beer during maturation. Also, they are able to add sugar to sweeten the beer. If the home brewer wishes to do this he must add lactose, a sugar not fermented by ordinary yeasts.