Sometimes, nothing is as satisfying as when you’re making something yourself. Across the country, thousands of people dream of setting up their own home brewery. After all, if you’re a beer aficionado, obsessed by the different varieties and tastes, what could be better than being able to make your very own homemade flavor? Whether it’s you or your partner who has ambitions to brew your own ale in a rustic British fantasy, there’s no time like the present to get started! Setting up a home brewery isn’t as hard as it sounds, though there are a few things you’ll need to keep in mind.
Space and Equipment
The first thing you’ll need is space for your home brewery – and the equipment to fill it! A shed or garage is the perfect space (unless you want your home to fill with the smell of brewing hops), so make sure you’ve cleared a suitable area. You’ll then need to buy all the necessary equipment, including a brewing kettle, fermenter, and airlock. You can get all these in different sizes depending on the scale of your operations!
Drainage and Cleaning
When it comes to brewing your own beer, sanitation is vitally important. After all, you’re essentially fermenting your ingredients, so you want to keep any potentially harmful bacteria as far away as possible. Make sure you have sanitation equipment at hand so you can thoroughly clean everything surrounding the brewing process. It’s important to keep the area well-drained to aid with this, and the best option here is to look at implementing a stainless steel drainage system to keep any side product flowing easily away, keeping the brewing area itself sterilized, clean, and waste-free.
Ingredients
Once you have your set-up organized, you’ll need to make sure you have your ingredients! You’ll need malt extracts, hops, yeast, and water at the very least, though many beer recipes for specific craft beers require extra additions and flavorings to reach the perfect consistency and taste. If you’re planning to make lots of beers, it might be useful to buy your grain in bulk and find somewhere cool and dry to keep it stored. This will be cheaper and easier in the long run. Getting good quality ingredients is a key part of making good quality beer. If you’re looking for inspiration, you can also find some great recipes online that will tell you what specific ingredients and quantities you’ll need to use to create your favorite product.
Objectives!
Here’s a question – why do you want to start your home micro-brewery? The answer will affect many of your choices going forwards. If it is simply to make beer for yourself, you will probably need a smaller set-up than if you plan on hosting huge parties with lots of friends to enjoy your craft beers together. And, of course, if you have any ambitions to turn this hobby into a business opportunity, you’ll need to research licensing and jump through a whole lot more hoops before you can think about selling your beers to a wider audience.
