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This page is continually improving.
This page is not intended as a sole source of information about homebrewing, but as a general reference for those interesting in learning basic homebrewing.
We have attempted to present the right amount of information in the best possible format, but this is not about creating a quick read.
Brew - Inspire - Enjoy - Repeat
On the History of Beer
Beer is considered the oldest human-produced fermented beverage in history. Some even consider it the catalyst for human invention. There are tons of books and articles published about the History of Beer. If you want to learn more, check out Wikipedia. For our purposes and to deal with any myths or concerns, we will cite 4 points.
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Beer making has been going on for much longer than stainless steel, plastics, or modern sanitation, starting as early as 5,000 years ago. If they can make beer back then and through the ages, you can make beer now.
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Beer making until the early 1800's was generally done in small batches at home and often by the matron of the house. Beer brewing for general consumption is relatively new. So, again, you can do this.
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Modern equipment and techniques, even at their most basic, allow you to brew a much better product with fewer issues, if you keep in mind a few basic things, which we will teach you here.
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Common Myths about Homebrewing...
Busted!!
I need to buy a lot of fancy, expensive equipment: NO
Your first homebrewing kit should be about $180, including a $40 recipe kit (ingredients + instructions) and all the necessary equipment. All the brewing equipment can be used again and again for subsequent batches. It pays for itself in about 3 batches.
I need a lot of space (because I need tons of gear): NO
If you have a counter area that will support a "Homer bucket" you are good...so about 2x2 feet. (Please do not use a "Homer bucket!" You'll need a food-grade bucket to brew in.)
I need to understand a lot of fancy "beer-geek-speak": NO
Impress your friends with your great beer, not your Scrabble scores. If you know how to boil, stir, and pour...you have the basics. Telling time and reading a recipe are also key skills.
I need to know chemistry: NO
People have been making beer for centuries under some "primitive" conditions. You need to understand sanitation and a few basic concepts. With these, your beer will be just fine.
What if I do something wrong? No one will die!
The worst you get is a "funky tasting" beer (aka "skunked" beer), from bacteria or mold infecting the beer during fermentation, usually due to sanitation issues. It may look/taste bad, but it is the same mold that grows on "moldy bread" and some are actually strains of penicillin.
I'll get in trouble with Alcoholic Beverage Contro (ABC)l! NO
Well, unless you break one of 3 simple rules!
ABC is not concerned with small-batch homebrewers if they follow these simple rules. It is when the homebrewer stops following the rules, that ABC gets concerned.
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Do not make more than 200 gallons/yr/household
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Do not sell or distribute your beer
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Do not give it to anyone <21
If you want to get ahead of the ABC, DO the following, especially if you're in CA or NY:
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Keep a record of your brewing (Brewfather app or even just a notebook.)
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Make labels that include: beer name, ABV%, date brewed, date bottled, and location brewed
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If operating a kegerator or serving area, make a sign that says: "Only the host can pour beer. Note: Homebrewed beer is not regulated or .......
See our ABC section for all the fine print, legislation, and details.
Beer's Basic Four Ingredients...
WATER
How's the water?
Beer, like people, is 98% water.
So ensuring the highest quality water is key.
We are lucky here in the SF Bay Area, we have extremely pure water that contains the right chemical levels to product excellent beer without major intervention, sometimes with water right out of the tap.
Note:
You might want to test you local water source. Definitely avoid really old corroded pipes. And check the requirements of the beer your are making, too.
Also avoid using distilled water, since it is lacking key chemicals that beer needs to taste correct.
MALT
How's my sugar?
Malt comes from wheat or other grains.
These grains are harvested, malted, and then kilned. Its sole purpose is to provide simple sugars for the yeast to consume in fermentation, though it also adds color and body to the beer.
Greating malt is done by subjecting grain to water, causing it to start to germinate (sprout). The germination is then stopped and the srprouted grain is dried, creating malt grain.
The malted grains are then toasted in a kiln. Think of it like roasting coffee. The longer the grain is toasted, the darker it becomes and the deeper the color and flavor. Like coffee, malt has a "toast" scale (Lovibond), which tells you the color it will give the beer and the amount of residual sugar in the malt.
Changing the malt will change the color, taste, and amount of alcohol in your beer.
If you're in Alameda, CA, check out Admiral Maltings, one of a few floor malting facilities in the US. They give tours, sell small-batch grain, and have a tasting room. Check them out.
HOPS
How's my taste?
Hops are about bitterness and aroma. They come in 1000's of varietals and the varietal as well as how it is used in the brewing process determines the impact on the taste and smell of the beer.
IBUs (International Bittering Units) are the measure of the amount of bitterness (0-170) in a beer that is caused by the hops. Most beers are between 5-120.
Each hop varietal has its own IBU. Like the Lovibond scale, this will tell you how bitter the hop will make your beer if it is added at the correct time in bittering ("Boil") stage.
Check your recipe and follow the prescribed timing, it is important.
Hops added in the first 30+ mins of the boil are for bittering, since more hop oils will be dissolved into the beer. Whereas, hops added in the last 0-15 mins are about aroma, since the oils do not dissolve, but remain more pungent.
Adding more hops after the "boil" is complete or leaving them in the beer for longer periods of time, will increase the bitterness of the beer. This is called dry-hopping and is the method of created any IPA.
Note: Hops are in the same family as the marijuanna plant.
YEAST
How's my alcohol?
Yeast does all the real work.
There is a saying: "Brewers make wort. Yeast makes beer."
During furmentation, yeast consumes the malt-derived sugars and metabolizes them into CO2 and alcohol. The alcohol is trapped in the fermenting solution (aka beer), whereas the CO2 is allowed to vent off through an airlock.
Yeast comes in many different names and varieties, but only two types:
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ale yeasts (brighter taste with lower alcohol yield)
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lager yeasts (stronger taste with higher alcohol yields).
Alcohol calculated by the ABV (Alcohol By Volume), which is a percentage of alcohol by volume in solution derived from taking 2 measurements and some basic division.
Experimenting with different types of yeasts can yield lots of different results.
Note:
If you find a yeast you like, try it on different recipes. Mastering the yeast is key to repetition and therefore, quality.
Ingredients
You will need to make 3 simple decisions at the very start. The beer you want to make will help make these decisions.
Note: Changing or substituting any of the ingredients will change the final beer you produce. In fact, the American IPA craze is really around changing the hops used in brewing.
Don't be afraid to experiment with these ingredients. You can start with a base recipe and then substitute something. Keep a record so if you like it, you can do it again.
Do you know which of these 4 basic beer ingredients is not mentioned in the Bavarian Beer Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot) of 1516?
Yep, it's Yeast, since yeast was not realized as a fermentation agent until 1857 by Louis Pasteur. Prior to that, fermentation was considered magic or a divine act.
Method / Approach
You will need to make 3 simple decisions at the very start. How you want to brew will help make these decisions.So long as you end up with about 6.5 gallons of properly chilled wort (pre-fermentation beer), you're great.
MALT
MALT
How will I get my sugar?
Yeast needs sugar to make alcohol (aka fermentation). The source of fermentable sugar in beer is malt. Sugar is "washed" off the grain and captured in the solution through "mashing" the grains.
All-Grain vs Extract Brewing
In "All-Grain" brewing, sugar comes only from the grain (hence the name), whereas with "Extract" brewing, you add essentially "grain molasses" (aka Extract) to get the required sugars.
Both "All-Grain" and "Extract" start with adding malt to water and heating it. "All-Grain" then forces that water through pumps to cycle it back over the grain many times. Think like washing clothes. Whereas, "Extract" does not cycle the water back over the grain, instead you add an Extract to the grain solution achieving the same result as with "All-Grain".
So, what is the right way to do this? There is no right or wrong way, so long as the end result is the same amount of fermentable sugar in the wort. Figure out what works best for you. Two things to consider:
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More grain = more time/more equipment/more steps
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Less grain = less time/less equipment/less steps, but more cost. Extracts tend to be more expensive, but not always.
Your choice. Either way, in the end, you get something fermentable.
How much malt?
Which malt?
Fermentable sugar comes from the malt, so the amount of grain is determined by the source of sugar and the amount of sugar required.
Partial-Mash vs Full-Mash
The choice of "All-Grain" vs "Extract" generally determines "Partial-Mash" vs "Full-Mash," too.
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"All-Grain" requires Full-Mash...only.
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"Extracts" are generally Partial-Mash, but some people will do a Full-Mash. This is a matter of preference, and consideration #3.
Note: Some recipes want more grain, i.e. a "partial full-mash". Always consult the recipe.
Your choice. Either way, in the end, you get something fermentable.
Selecting Your Malt
Remember, malt has a color index and the color of the malt will determine the color of the beer and its body. Consult your recipe, but also, once you start to understand more, don't hesitate to experiment. Just be sure to log any changes, so you can repeat the recipe again if you like it.
WORT
How much water
do I want to cool?
Fermentable sugar needed by yeast is derived through boiling and mashing malted grains. This is combined with boiling, however yeast as an organism cannot survive in a solution hotter than 69 degrees, so work must be cooled. to be the correct temperature to initiate fermentation vs. killing the yeast.
Partial-Boil vs Full-Boil
This decision has to do with the amount of "grain water" (aka wort) you bring to the boiling point and thereby the amount of wort you need to cool down before you can add the yeast. "Full-Boil" you bring 7 gallons to a sustained boil and then have to cool it, whereas with "Partial-Boil" you boil 3-4 gallons and then cool that down.
What volume of wort do I need?
A final volume of 5.1 gallons of beer requires starting with approximately 6.5 gallons of cool/correct temperature wort. How you achieve that depends on the method you use.
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FUll-Boil: You will use a wort-chiller or other means to chill down the wort.
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Partial-Boil: You will use a wort-chiller or other means, like Full-Boil, but you are cooling down half the volume of water. You also can use chilled water (or ice) to fill the wort to the required 6.5-gallon volume of wort.
With these basic decisions made, you should be able to consult your recipe and start selecting your ingredients and amounts.
Once that is all done, it is time to start your brewing.
Homebrewing:
The other ABCs (Alcoholic Beverage Control)
Purpose and Mission of the ABC
To regulate and govern the sale and taxation and the production, and distribution of alcoholic beverages within the State of California and to enforce the rules. It does not make the legislation, it enforces it.
Pre-Fermentation vs Fermentation
The Critical Line
There are two ways to create alcohol:
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natural/biologically through fermentation (yeast)
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chemically through adding chemicals
Both methods alter sugars to make alcohol.
Remember above, when we described the malt/grain based sugar-water and called it wort? Wort is pre-fermentation (no yeast has been added) and is not regulated by the ABC.
The moment you add the yeast, you also add the ABC.
Someone is likely saying, well what about bread, or cheese, or other things that have yeast? True. And they too are regulated, just not by the ABC.
California State Department of
Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC)
Contact Information
ABC, like many government agencies, subdivides itself. Here the key division is between retail units (which are based out of the district offices by county) and the state-wide non-retail unit.
If your intent is to sell, distribute or otherwise profit from alcohol, then your contacts are at the district offices.
If you are a club, hobbyist, or will not sell or distribute, nor profit from alcohol, you are considered non-retail.
Personal vs Commercial Production
If you are brewing for personal or commercial purposes, you are regulated by the ABC, simple as that.
If you are a homebrewer you can brew up to 200 gallons a year per household of 2. There is no license or permit required. And unless you start start serving it to people <21 or selling it, you should be fine. A few easy tips:
Keep a brew log of the brews you make, can be handwritten, or electronic or there are programs that assist with this that run about $30.
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Record brew dates, Alcohol by Volume (ABV) and ingredients
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Record the yield (final amount you produced)
Most brewing programs give you an easy way to do this, but again even handwritten works. The important thing is to be diligent, then if there is a problem, you can easily prove your production levels and outputs.
Labeling is a good idea. It gives that extra touch to your beer and allows you to state: beer name, production/bottling date, ABV, and include somewhere "Homebrewed in Your Town, CA. This also makes ABC happy. Keep a recipe log, like above. Most electronic programs do this for you.