U-Brew

There are two ways to make beer. The first, and arguably the easiest, involves going to a “u-brew” store where everything is provided. U-Brews were really popular in the mid-nineties, but few remain in operation today. Some of the reasons for their decline are due to high operation costs and strict government regulations.

For first time brewers, this is a good place to start. You simply call ahead to book your brew time, when you arrive, everything is setup and ready to go. You decide what kind of beer you want to make, and yes, they do carry popular brands like Canadian and Coors Lite. The staff will guide you with your selection and step you through the whole process.

The first phase takes about 90 minutes. The second phase (2 weeks later) is the bottling phase, and requires an additional 90 minutes. You will end up with approximately 135 - 140 bottles of beer. The average cost per bottle is $0.74 -$1.00.

Home Brew

The second way to make beer is definitely more complicated, and will require a lot more effort on your part. It can be broken down into three main events: brewing, fermentation and bottling
Getting Started

The brewing process requires the following equipment:

1. 20 qt. brew pot made of stainless steel or enamel-coated metal. Do not use aluminum or a chipped enamel pot - it will cause the beer to taste funny.
2. large stirring spoon (non wood)
3. tablespoon
4. glass measuring cup
5. 12 oz glass jar
6. primary fermentor (purchase from homebrew store)
7. airlock and stopper (homebrew store)
8. sanitizer (restaurant bleach)
9. stick on thermometer
10. plastic hose
11. bottling bucket
12. bottles
13. bottle brush
14. bottle capper (if glass bottles used)
15. small bowl
16. saucepan
17. rubber spatula
18. oven mitts

Next, you need to select your mix, this can be purchased at a homebrew store and will contain all the ingredients needed to brew a particular style of beer. The kit consists of malt extract, yeast, and hops.

Sterilize Everything

The first and most important step in the brewing process is to clean and sanitize everything.

The next step is to create the wort. Wort is the sweet, amber liquid extracted from malted barley that the yeast will later ferment into beer. The primary fermentation process takes about 5 days to complete.

The next phase involves bottling and secondary fermentation and takes 10 - 14 days. Every step along the way requires very careful preparation and handling so the beer does not become contaminated.

According to Dan Small, owner of Dan’s Homebrewing Supplies, bottling is definitely the drudgery of beer making. A lot of people use kegs instead of bottles. The upfront costs are higher, but it saves a lot of time and energy in long run.

Costs

Homebrewing equipment costs approx. $60, and the ingredients range from $20 - $30 depending on the beer. If you’re re -using glass bottles, a capper is required and costs $20. One kit will make 60 regular bottles, costing on average $0.40 a bottle. This excludes start-up costs. There is money to be saved by brewing your own beer, but it is a time consuming hobby.

Kegs

While the upfront costs to use kegs are higher, roughly $300 for set up including a CO2 tank, you will save a lot of time in the long run. One kit will produce 42 litres of beer which can be split into two kegs. You will need a beer fridge to store the keg, or you can purchase one from Kegs to Go, see Tuesday’s blog, No Ordinary Beer Fridge.

While beer sold in the store is definitely more expensive, it does free up my time to devote to more worthwhile activities, like drinking it, and enjoying it with my neighbors.

Tomorrow is Beer Can Chicken.

Cheers,

Julie

PS If you would like a step-by-step guide to brewing beer, visit these sites:

www.howtobrew.com and www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/makebeer/makebeer.html

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 8:45 pm and is filed under Beverages, Entertaining. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.