How to brew

If you haven't brewed before, making your own beer may seem as mysterious as alchemy. How can it be that you can mix together a few ingredients, add some water, sprinkle some yeast in and end up with beer?

It really isn't as difficult or amazing as it sounds (well, perhaps it is a little amazing!). Follow a few simple tips and you're well on your way to making a drinkable beer from a kit. Then, something as quick and easy as adding a small amount of grain or some hops to your beer willl take your brews to the next level.

And possibly before you know it you'll be bitten by the brewing bug and thinking about making all-grain beer. That is, buying the malted grain, mashing it to extract sugars, and boiling it up with the hops, just like in a "real" brewery!

This "How to brew" section outlines the different types of brewing, from the simplest kit brewing right through to all-grain brewing.

For all-grain brewing in particular it's not meant to be a comprehensive guide, but will give you enough information to get you started.

Once you've read this section, head to our forum to ask questions and discuss brewing with newbies and old hands.