So I finally worked up the courage to brew my first batch of beer.
The whole idea of sterilization made me nervous. Screw up that step, and you screw up the beer. It is the first step, and you only learn if you made a mistake 3-6 weeks later.
But it is done. The 5-gallon bucket is in my basement, and the yeast is working away.
Here are some photos from my journey…
Start with 2 5-gallon buckets. Sterilize them.Then in a 4-gallon brew pot (that’s what I had), bring the water to 170 degrees and steep the crushed grains, seen here in mesh bags, for 20 minutes.Then add malt and hops and boil for 55 minutes. Remember to stir occasionally. Then add the finishing hops and boil for another 5 minutes.
Then cool the wort to 70 degrees, and transfer to the fermentor bucket. Then add the yeast. I was given the suggestion to add a bag of hops here to give it a little more flavor. So I tossed a mesh bag of cascading hops into the bucket. Sealed the lid. Labeled it. And put it in the basement.
