Made By Georgia

Dylan and I received our Mr. Beer home brewing kit and we’re wasting no time starting our first batch. The kit we got will make 2 gallons of the West Coast Pale Ale.

This article is not meant to teach you how to brew beer. Rather, it is our experience with making our own beer at home, using the beer kit we got for a great price online (thanks, Dylan!), and a way to share the things we learn about this craft.

So let’s get this party started!

Sanitize

An important note about this step is that you should sanitize all the equipment you’ll use, so it’s a good idea to gather up your tools. For this job, in addition to what came with the kit, we need:

• metal whisk
• stainless 1-cup measuring cup
• manual can opener
• small saucer

Brew

The hardest part of this step is stirring The Booster until it is completely dissolved. It took longer than I expected. Dylan and I took turns stirring with the whisk. It’s a powder that turns into clear crystals when you add it to the water. Stir, stir, stir.

To finish the “wort,” boil the solution and then stir in the Hops & Malt Extract, which is a thick liquid that comes in a can. Heating the can in hot water makes it easier to pour. This is also where you add the magical ingredient – yeast.

Wait

The instructions say to let your beer sit a minimum of 7 days, up to 14 days for better flavor, in a cool, dark place. We chose a small cabinet in our kitchen above the sink.

Summary

My first thoughts of home brewing is that it’s a lot like chemistry! It seems to be a cross between science, cooking, and crafting. It reminds me of growing peppers – you sew your seeds and wait to see what happens, and then you get to taste your efforts in the end.

See you in 7 days, and we’ll check our beer for cloudiness and give it a taste. In the meantime, here are some pictures of us making our first batch.

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