Amateur advice on creating bomb-ass beer.
This post relies heavily on my boyfriend’s experience with home-brewing, his personal research, and what I’ve learned helping in the process. Proceed with the caution that we are entirely new to this process and these are just our tips!
Home-brew Kits: depending on how intricate you want your setup to be, prices for kits range from about $40-$250. We found one from Northern Brewer for about $130 on Amazon. But the way you want to brew and the amount you want to brew will ultimately determine which kit to purchase. For beginners, a smaller batch version would be perfect until you’re comfortable working with more involved gadgets and brewing practices.
The Space: it’s important to have a designated space or area in your home or building in which you plan on brewing. We are currently working with a small 8×2 floor space jammed in the corner of our living room, but we make it work. You’ll want a space or a means to keep the beer covered, away from light, and warm enough to ferment. If you’re home isn’t temperature controlled or fluctuates, you may want to consider a heat wrap to place around your fermenting beer. These are relatively cheap (>$30). Avoid placing your beer near windows or natural lighting.
Waiting period: beer does not get produced overnight. There are certain lengths of fermentation it must go through to obtain its unique flavor and consistency. This is kind of the cool part if you’re into science and how solutions, yeast, grains, etc. work together and balance each other out. Many home-brew stores actually have recipes on their website that detail what components to introduce into your mixture and at what points in fermentation they are added, as well as how long a type of beer should ferment before consumption. So before prepping a batch, consider how many weeks you want to wait before enjoying your creation.
Do Your Research: go out to your favorite breweries in your area (drink and support local!) to figure out what kind of beer you enjoy. Ask questions from brewers and servers. Watch videos and read up on the best method for you and your workspace (our favorite YouTuber at the moment is the BruShow). And when you finish a batch, hand them out to your friends for honest feedback. Don’t forget to have them return the bottles to you for the next batch!
To follow along on our journey with home-brewing, or our favorite brewery stops, follow me on Instagram @dancinggibby. Happy brewing!
Staycation 
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