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{{BrewWiki Title|name=Brewing Your First Beer}}
Brewing at home for the first time? This simple guide takes you through your first batch of beer including what's needed, how to brew and how to bottle. A short guide for the new homebrewer on how to brew your first [Extracts[Extract|extract]] beer! Author's Note: John Palmer and Brad Smith have a new [http://beersmith.com/dvd "How to Brew with Malt Extract"] video/DVD which walks you through step by step brewing your first batch of beer, and is highly recommended for beginners.<table align=right><td>[[image:Beer_mug.png]]</td></table>
===Equipment Needed===
* '''Tubing & Clamp''' - to siphon the beer - most common is 3/8" ID food grade plastic tubing. Clamps are available at your brew store.
* '''An Airtight Fermentor''' - a 5 gal plastic bucket with lid, or a glass carboy. If you can afford it, purchase a glass carboy as they are easier to clean and don't leak. If you get a carboy you may need a large brush to clean it
* '''An Air Lock and Stopper''' - sized to fit your fermenterfermentor
* '''A Bottle Filler''' - available from your homebrew supplier - should be sized to fit your tubing
* '''A Thermometer''' - with a range of 0-100 C or up from 32-220 F
* '''Bottle Caps''' - New bottle caps sold at your brewing supplier - you need about 50 caps for a 5 gal batch
* '''A Sterilizing solution''' - Household bleach can be used, but it must be thoroughly rinsed to prevent contamination. Your brew store may also have other alternatives such as iodophor and starsan that also sterilize well.
You can purchase many of these items at your local brew stores or online. As you get more experienced you can expand on these kits or purchase more experienced kits from other sites.
===Ingredients Needed===
# Brewing the Beer - The pale malt [[Extract|extract]] and [[Hops|hops]] are boiled together with water for about an hour to sterilize the extract and release the bittering qualities of the hops. Frequently grains are steeped in the mixture prior to the boil to add additional color and flavor complexity.
# Cooling and Fermenting - The hot mixture (called [[wort]]) is cooled to room temperature and siphoned or transferred to a fermenter fermentor where it is combined with additional water to achieve the desired 5 gallon batch size. Once the mixture drops to room temperature, yeast is added to start the fermentation process. Cleanliness and sterilization are very important since the wort can be easily infected by bacteria while in this state. An airlock is used to keep the fermenter fermentor sealed during fermentation. Your beer will ferment for 1-2 weeks.# Priming and Bottling - Once the beer is fully fermented, it is usually siphoned to another container to prepare for bottling. Here priming sugars such as corn sugar sugar are mixed with the beer, and then it is siphoned into bottles and each bottle is capped with a bottle capping device.
# Aging - Once the beer has been bottled it needs to age for 2-6 weeks. During aging the yeast will ferment the remaining sugar you added and create carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide will naturally carbonate your beer so it is nice and bubbly. In addition, undesirable sediments such as excess yeast and proteins will drop out of the beer during aging and this will enhance the flavor of your beer. In some cases it may take several months to reach peak flavor, though it is usually drinkable after a month.
# Drinking - When the beer is properly aged - just put the bottles in the fridge and enjoy! There's nothing quite like a great beer that you made yourself.
==Drinking==
The blessed day has finally arrived to sample your creation. During the aging process excess yeast, tannins and proteins will settle to the bottom of your bottle. Get a clean glass, open your brew, and gently poor pour most of your beer into the glass leaving only the sediment and a small amount of beer in your bottle. Don't worry if you take a little sediment into the glass - it won't hurt you though it may not improve the taste of your brew. Smell the fresh beer, admire the frothy head, and then sip (don't guzzle) your first homebrew and enjoy! As always, please drink responsibly.
==See Also==
*[[Processes|More on the Brewing Process]]
* [[Extract Brewing]]
* [[Tips for Better Beer]]
* [[Moving to All Grain]]
==External Links==
* [http://www.beersmith.com/blog BeerSmith Blog] - Weekly Home Brewing Articles
* [http://www.brewpoll.com BrewPoll Home Brewing News] - Social News Site on Brewing and Beer
* [http://www.howtobrew.com/ How to Brew by John Palmer]
* [http://www.brewium.com/ Introduction to Home Brewing DVD by Brewium]
* [http://breworganic.com/tips/virtual_class.htm Virtual Introduction to Brewing Class]
* [http://www.homebrewguide.info Home Brew Guide] - PDF Guide on Home Brewing + 640 Recipes
[[Category: processes]]
[[Category:Glossary]]
