No matter what the season or the temperature, our creative artisans minds regularly turn to beer making and all of its delicious possibilities of what we can create next! Beer making is the right balance of science and cooking and an exciting hobby that will reignite your passion and heighten your appreciation for beer. A lot of people, however, are afraid that it might be too much of an effort and too time consuming, when really it only takes a few hours with the right equipment, right attitude, some drive and creativity, and a little patience. Not only are home brewed beers less expensive over time but they give you a chance to prove to your mates that you really can make a better brew than the piss that’s on tap at your local pub. In fact, home-made yeast/bottle carbonated brews last much longer and are less likely to go flat as opposed to commercial brews which may only last a year. If you are just an amateur at the very beginning of your brewing experience, a safe place to start is with “tins”. They are pre-hopped liquid malt extracts that come with yeast. They are very simple to make at home and a great starting point for anyone wanting to dive into the world of malt and fermentation. A few months ago, we had dinner at a German restaurant that was serving some awesome house brews using their full-grain nano brewery. This late-night drinking session of such prime German brews was the inspiration for our home-craft brew recipe. Therefore, with our artisans’ ingredients purchased and fermenter sterilized, we would soon be knocking steins and beer mugs with our own quick to make European Lager! Artisan's European Lager You will need:

• 1 can of Morgan's Blue Mountain Lager OR Cooper’s European Lager
• 1kg of Light Malt Mix or Morgan’s Liquid Brew Enhancer Tin
• 12g of Hersbruker Hop Pellets (boiling/mix phase)
• 1 Packet of Premium Yeast (US-05, Nottingham, S-04, Morgan’s European Lager)
• 12g of Hallertau Hop Pellets (Added as dry hop method on day 4-6 of ferment)

Procedure:

• Follow your usual cleaning and sanitizing procedures.
• Bring 2-4 litres of water to a gentle boil and steep hops for 10 minutes (you are essentially brewing a hop tea).
• Combine the hop tea, Morgan’s Blue Mountain Lager tin and the Light Malt/Brew Enhancer in your fermenter.
• Top up fermenter to 23 litres.
• With a sterile large spoon or whisk, vigorously stir the beer until the top foams.
• Ensuring the temperature is less than 28 degrees; sprinkle the yeast satchel over the beer. Fermentation will start soon and you will notice air bubbles in the airlock.
• Measure specific gravity with your hydrometer regularly, to ensure fermentation is constant until all sugar is gone.
• Towards the lasts days of ferment (or even bottling day) add the optional 12-25g of hops in the provided strain bag which will give the beer a more aromatic hop finish with less bitterness.
• When fermentation has finished, bottle the beer adding some priming sugar (or carbonation drops) accordingly and let the bottle rest for at least 5-6 weeks in a dry, dark and warm place (16*C - 22*C).
• Occasionally, give the plastic bottle a squeeze and if well firm, time to refrigerate to 4*C and crack a few open with friends to enjoy the spoils of the home brewer legend, that is YOU!

Wanting more of a challenge? If you’re looking to be a bit more creative and take of the training wheels, you can try your hand at making a brew from raw ingredients (i.e. malted grains and hops). If this is for you, then we have you covered with a full set of options for mini mashing systems such as the Grainfather, as well as basic components to create your own simple system. Shop here on our online store or see us in store for more tailored advice, or even keep an eye out for one of our upcoming brew workshops at https://weteachme.com/artisansbottega. Here are some products that we recommend to get you started on your brewing journey!

• A Flash Conical Fermenter with multiple valve ports, temperature control and all the modern accessories. The shape of the conical fermenter allows for settlement on the bottom and will allow you to flush out all the nasty yeast sediment, to allow your brew to mature and bottle cleaner beers.

• To keep that Fermenter heated we also recommend a Heater Belt!

• For great craft, pub quality beer, we suggest Fresh Wort Kits 15L carboys! What’s this you ask? We have done the hard work of a 3-hour grain boil for you. Just add 5lt of fresh warm water to gain a 1045-1055 specific gravity, pitch your yeast and hops and get going!

• Save hours bottling long necks to prepare for a party and get yourself a 134 Litre Kegmaster Keg storage and carbonating fridge and have beer carbonated and ready in 24 hrs. You get fresh beer on tap, plus, you can add a spare keg for sparkling wine, cider or water!

• Don’t forget a Digital thermometer to keep a close eye on the temperature in your fermenter and allow it to keep perfect temperature for optimum brew quality.