Homebrew

I have been making my own beers since late 2003. I found that manually capping bottles took far too long, so I now bottle my homebrew in swing-top bottles such as the 473mL Grolsch (see left). Thus far, I have only brewed beer from the kits that are available at most supermarkets, as opposed to making a mash from scratch. However, I have added additional ingredients to the mix at times.

Why brew your own beer?

Homebrew seems to have a murky reputation, of being vile, nasty and causing terrible hangovers. But in my experience, it is incredibly easy to make homebrew that looks and tastes just as good as commercial beer. This comes with some added bonuses: it is significantly cheaper to make homebrew than it is to buy beer; and there is the satisfaction of experimenting with various kits and ingredients to make all sorts of interesting and unique beers.

If you are interested in brewing your own beer, the single most important thing is to ensure that all of your equipment is properly sterilised. There are several ways to do this. Before you sterilise your equipment, you must clean it thoroughly -- especially your carboy. Most (if not all) homebrew setups include a sterilising powder, which you dilute and use to soak all of your equipment for several minutes. I find this tedious and an unnecessary additional cost. So what's the alternative? Just use some boiling water to instantly kill any bacteria.

My beers

Here are brief descriptions of some of the beers I have made.

Australian Bitter

Coopers Premium Selection
A very good bitter beer (see the 'Kit Reviews' link) that won't disappoint if you like your bitter beers -- very drinkable.

Australian Pale Ale

Coopers International Series
A very nice, solid brew that tastes pretty similar to the real thing. This is a beer that most people should enjoy.

Bavarian Lager

Coopers International Series
I have made several batches with this kit, and most people who have tried it liked it a lot. I generally make this a stronger beer -- normally up to 8% -- and for one batch I added about 5mL of lemon juice to a number of bottles. The resulting beer was somewhat cloudy (normally this kit results in a very clear beer) and the sourness of the lemon was a little too overpowering. I'm keen to try it again, but with less lemon juice (perhaps 2mL).

Canadian Blonde

Coopers International Series
This turned out to be a very nice blonde beer. Not a huge flavour, and certainly no match for Cascade Blonde (which is my favourite blonde beer by far) but it goes down very well. A very nice beer for the summer.

Dark Ale

Coopers Original Series
My first batch is currently in the carboy, having completed fermentation. I caramelised the sugars before I added them to the mash, and I have added varying amount of cocoa to a small number of bottles. Once these bottles mature, I will compare them, to determine how much cocoa (if any) best complements the beer. Then I will proceed with bottling the remainder of the brew.

Mexican Cerveza

Coopers International Series
My first batch is currently carbonating. Hopefully this will have more flavour than Corona -- I have added small amounts of lemon zest to all of the bottles, to see how it tastes. If I also add some Tequila, I may have my own Salitos.

Real Ale

Coopers Original Series
This kit produces a simple, crisp-tasting beer that tastes very nice, even at strong levels. I generally use 1kg of the recommended Coopers Brewing Sugar, as well as adding a good amount of Coopers Light Dry Malt. The resulting brew is typically around 12%, but tastes just like a normal-strength beer. It's great for putting a good end on a bad day, or slowly enjoying on a lazy evening.

Spicy Ghost Draught

Cascade
An interesting beer, although it didn't seem to be at all spicy, or bear much resemblance at all to wheat beer. Very light and clear, it is very, very drinkable without being bland or tasteless.