Home Brew - How to Brew Beer - Better Your Brewing! Download

Hint: If you just follow the instructions on your Coopers Kit, you’ll never brew the beer you really want…

Have your friends ever laughed at you after tasting a couple of your "not so good" home brews?


Well, firstly let me tell you you’re not alone. And secondly, I have to admit that at one time or another, I have had to say yes to all three of those questions…

You see, about five years ago, I thought home brewing was only for old alcoholic guys with nothing better to do. I assumed it was only possible to make lots of cheap, but barely drinkable beer.

But all this changed one Easter Sunday. I was sitting around with my three Uncles when it was time for all of us to get a fresh beer. My Uncle Greg jumped up and with a smirk on his face told us he’d make the trip to the beer fridge.

He brought back some long neck bottles without labels on them. I knew something was up, but wasn’t sure what. So I took a swig and didn’t really think anything of it. We’d been drinking Heinekens all day and this strange looking bottle tasted about the same.

Uncle Greg still had a big smile on his face and was looking at us waiting to get a response. I was just about to speak when he asked "How’d you like those ones boys? They’re one of my own. One of my home brews".

I had to do a double take. Suddenly the strange labelless bottle made sense, but the taste didn’t. I didn’t believe him at first, but after talking to him for a while, I began to learn a few things.

He told me that home brewing wasn’t just for old drunks, but for anyone who wanted to drink commercial quality beer at a fraction of the price. Being a broke uni student with a large thirst for beer, this sounded like the perfect thing for me.

So two days later when the shops opened, I rushed down and bought myself a home brew kit for about $80. I read through all the instructions and after hearing that home brewing is pretty damn easy, I set about putting my first batch on.

As I screwed the lid onto the fermenter I felt excited. The following 10 days were tough, I’m not the most patient guy around, so waiting for the beer to ferment wasn’t easy.

But then it was finally finished and it was time to bottle. I primed the bottles with sugar as best I could and then put them away where they could sit until they were ready to drink.

Two weeks later, I was like a little kid on Christmas eve. I couldn’t wait to pop open that first coldie and say goodbye to commercial beers forever. The thought of having my friends beg me for my "secrets" also sounded pretty good.

So I placed a couple of bottles in the fridge and as soon as they were cold enough, I cracked one open and poured it into my favorite beer mug.

After one cidery sip, my dreams had just about shattered. Instead of the crisp, fresh beer I was expecting, I had something that tasted more like flat apple cider. I was stunned.

So I quickly got on the phone to my Uncle and told him my dilemma. He had a laugh and mentioned that he knew where I’d gone wrong and that I should come around and watch him put a brew down.

The next weekend came around and over to Uncle Gregs I went. He took me through the process step by step and when I left, I felt I knew more than enough to make an excellent beer the next time.

While I hadn’t perfected it yet, I had certainly gotten a lot better. Over time I continued to brew, experimenting constantly to find out the best way to do this and that.

I read every book I could find. From general brewing information, to brewing chemistry and even how to run your own brewery. But it wasn’t until I took a three month trip to Europe that my brewing really went up a notch.

Being exposed to so many different styles of beer had really improved my brewing skills. Knowing how to make a slight tweak with the hops to make it taste slightly more bitter, knowing how to give a beer a slightly maltier taste, it was amazing.

So when I got home I decided to take my brewing to the next level. At one stage I nearly considered dropping out of engineering and taking up brewing science two hours away…

The day that I remember as my proudest moment in brewing was when I was having a few beers with friends.

We were drinking European beers (A combination of Heineken and Stella if I remember rightly) when I decided to pour a few glasses of my home brew instead. I was amused when no one noticed the difference.

At this stage, my friends knew I did home brewing, but had tried some of my earlier attempts and had a good time making fun of me because of it. But now it was different.

When I finally revealed that what they were drinking was actually my home brew, they were as gobsmacked as I was the day I learnt about home brew. I remember chuckling to myself as they all demanded to know how I did it. Can you imagine how that felt?

And so, one by one, I showed them my system for brewing beer. But I soon got sick of that. I’m a busy guy and it was taking up too much of my time. I realized I needed a guide or something.

Something that they could read once and instantly know everything that I’ve learnt over the past few years, the results from all my little experiments that I’ve run.

And so…

Home Brew - How to Brew Beer - Better Your Brewing!