Home Beer Making

The hobby of home beer making has developed from using questionable raw materials and baker’s yeast into a highly sophisticated hobby using top quality beer kits with dedicated brewing yeast and, although the quality has improved immensely over the years it is now even easier to make.
 

The concept of home brewing is simple and, subject to and let nature take its course. No messy boiling or the need to add sugar.following very easy to understand instructions, the quality is guaranteed. MASTERCLASS beer kits are made from 100% malted barley with the wort being boiled before the evaporation process to turn it into malt extract and canning. The result of this is that, to make a beer of supreme quality in the house, all that needs to be done is to put back the water evaporated out in our factory, add a sachet of yeast
 

Equipment required

25 litre Plastic Pail and Lid

Syphon Tubing

Sterilising Tablets or Powder

Airlock and Bung

Hydrometer

MASTERCLASS Beer Kit

In addition to this brewing equipment you will need to have a method of storing and serving your beer: this can either be in the form of a pressure barrel or returnable beer bottles with crown caps (non returnable bottles should never be used). These items are readily available through Home Beer and Wine Making Speciality stores

Directions

1. Thoroughly clean all equipment using a proprietary brand sterilising agent.
2. Empty the contents of the can into a plastic pail with 2 litres of pre-boiled water.
3. Make up the balance to 22 litres with cold water and stir until the malt extract is dissolved.
4. Add the sachet of brewing yeast and stir. Snap on the lid and ensure that the airlock is fitted and primed with water.
5. After 4 – 5 days fermentation will be complete and the beer will be ready to be transferred to bottles or barrels.
6. Add a small amount of sugar (as directed in the instructions) to the bottles or barrel. Then syphon the beer into the bottles or barrels taking care not to disturb the yeast which will have settled at the bottom of the plastic pail.
7. After 3 days transfer the bottles or barrel to a cool dry environment and leave until the beer has cleared. This will take up to 7 days for bottled beer and 21 days for beer in a barrel.
8. At this stage the beer is ready to drink but, like a good wine, will benefit from being allowed to stand for a while.

Home crafted beers are ‘cask conditioned’ which means there will always be a small amount of yeast in the barrel or bottle which will give the finished beer a natural carbonation. Care should be taken when pouring from the bottle to avoid disturbing the yeast which will have settled, not because it is harmful (in fact the exact opposite) but because it will make the beer cloudy which spoils it for those of us who drink with their eyes. Similarly when serving from a pressure barrel it is advisable to avoid ‘gushing’ as this will have the same effect of disturbing the yeast.