Now Beer This: Brewing Your Own

Ugh. The whole COVID thing has really got us all down. We used to be able to freely go to bottle shops and fondle dusty bottles imported from deepest, darkest Europe, or even San Diego (pronounced, “SAN DEE AH GO”). We could sidle up next to complete strangers in bars and breweries and try wacky new beers we’ve never heard of, fresh from the tanks. Now we’re lucky if we can get a growler while standing in line wearing a face diaper. Alas.

There is hope, though! For those with a little patience and gumption, fresh and wondrous beers can still be had. Even better, YOU can make them AT HOME!

That’s right, THIS is the moment you become a HOMEBREWER!

Don’t you dare close this article! Come back here right now. Read this! You can do it! I promise!

What do you need, at a minimum, to homebrew?

• A stove (for inside brewing) or a gas burner (to be used outside)
• A pot, preferably 5 gal or bigger, but you can do with smaller (3 gal minimum)
• A bottling bucket
• Some tubing
• Some bottles, some caps, and a capper
• Ingredients/recipe

That’s really all you need. Can you add to that gear list? Of course! That’s part of the fun of homebrewing, building up your rig until it looks like the Millennium Falcon. But you can get by with the stuff above.

What I didn’t add to that list was a book. These days, books are on the edge of necessity, sadly. You can probably find all you need on the good ol’ interwebs, but I have to say part of what makes me all teary eyed about brewing is thinking about to my early days, where I would read a Sam Calgione book or a Randy Mosher book, trying to figure out how to do my own mash instead of relying on extract, or learning how to build a mash tun, or learning brew math. There’s something to be said for having that guide, in your hand, written by someone who has trodden that road before, and has conveniently laid it out for you. If you’re going on this journey, it’s your journey, so do it as you like, but I’d recommend getting a book.

You can ferment beer in a bucket! Who knew?

There are tons of book options out there, so do your thing. If I had to pick one, I would say starting with Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher would be your best bet. Yes, it’s a little on the advanced side, but it’s probably the one book that will take you the farthest in learning to brew and learning about beer in general.

Back to the point, you can make awesome beer at home. You just need the will and the stuff. There are tons of homebrew suppliers around. Carrboro’s Fifth Season is fantastic, and they have people on staff that can answer questions for you. Bull City is in Durham and also a great resource. But, as above, the interwebs abound with options if you’re not down with the in-person shopping still/yet.

This isn’t the article for telling you how to brew at home. This is just the pep talk to convince you that you can brew at home. Once you decide to take that first step, you’re on your way to making some memorable beer right at your own home. Don’t let Covid grind you down and take away ALL of your joy. Make some beer, make some joy, and tell COVID to suck it.

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.

‹

Now Beer This: Beers for Your Stupid Friends Who Don't Like Beer

Beer for your stupid friends who don’t like beer? Well, first, you shouldn’t be hanging out with those people. It’s 2020 and there’s enough negativity out there already. Ditch ’em. But if you can’t ditch ’em, then maybe you can turn ’em! This is actually one of my favorite past times: Trying to convince non-beer […]

Now Beer This: Christmas Gifts to and From Your Local Breweries

You might be surprised to hear this but sometimes I need a little inspiration for this article. I might just not have some fantastic beer knowledge to drop at the time so I’ll often peruse beer news sites to see if something jumps out at me. What I’m seeing in the past few weeks is really, really […]

Now Beer This: Election Results Panacea

We’re all probably going to need a really strong-@$$ drink soon, so let’s talk about super-high ABV beers! As with many aspects of brewing, there are no hard and fast rules. There is no one style that is always the highest in alcohol content, but high ABV (alcohol by volume, the traditionally accepted measurement of […]

Now Beer This: Craft Beer Needs Your Help

Talking about craft beer normally gets me all excited but I have to admit it’s kind of a downer these days. Every day I wake up and read about another brewery closing and it makes me terribly sad for the future of this industry, and selfishly sad for our ability to easily access top-notch beer. Who […]

Now Beer This: Black IPAs, the Oxymoron Beer Style

What does “IPA” stand for? India Pale Ale. Pale. That’s right. So when you call a beer a Black IPA, you’re obviously contradicting yourself; how can a beer be black and pale at the same time? How can we live with this!? Here’s the answer: Shut up. It doesn’t matter. Some people get their lederhosen […]

Now Beer This: Coffee Beers, 'Tis The Season

I am a study in contrasts, to be sure. On the one hand, I love traditional beer styles and brewing methods and curl my lip at new-fangled, fabricated styles. On the other hand, you throw some coffee into ANY beer style, and I mean ANY beer at all, and I’m probably going to like it. […]

Now Beer This: Where Do I Be Drinkin'?

It’s crazy times, I know. Many of us are scared to go out and do the things, and those that aren’t are very much hobbled by the rules – sometimes promulgated by government and sometimes reflecting the concerns of business owners – that restrict what we can and cannot do. If you’re a beer drinker in […]

Now Beer This: The Beer Nerd Preaches on Berliner Weisse

If you had asked me six or so year ago, what European beer style is least likely to become popular in America, I’d have told you “Berliner Weisse, almost certainly.” Why? Back in the day, there were two things that drove beer popularity: hoppiness and ABV. The Berliner Weisse does neither of those things well. […]

Now Beer This: Beers for Your Wine-Drinking Friends

We all have them. We might not admit it, but they are in our lives. They lurk at your get-togethers, Solo cup in hand, doing their best to fit in with the normal people. For all intents and purposes they look like normal people, but if you look past the friendly facade and into the […]

Now Beer This: Brewing Your Own

Ugh. The whole COVID thing has really got us all down. We used to be able to freely go to bottle shops and fondle dusty bottles imported from deepest, darkest Europe, or even San Diego (pronounced, “SAN DEE AH GO”). We could sidle up next to complete strangers in bars and breweries and try wacky […]

›