The Quick Beer/ Cider Kit Guide

This guide is written for brewing with The Homebrew Company’s starter kit.

1.Sterilise and rinse thoroughly everything that will touch the beer.

2.If using a one can kit, e.g. a Cooper’s kit, remove the labels and lid.

3.The yeast is under the lid.

4.Place the tin in a saucepan of boiled water. This will soften the extract inside the can. N.B. Do not have the water on the boil.

5.In a second saucepan bring about 2 litres of water to the boil. Add your 1kg of brewing sugar. This will dissolve the sugar and sterilise it.

6.When dissolved pour this 2 litres into the fermenter.

7.Open the can of malt and pour into the same fermenter. Swirl some boiling water inside the can to get all the extract out.

8.Stir this mixture to dissolve the extract into the 2 litres of boiled water/ sugar mix.

9.Top up the fermenter to the required volume with cold tap water. (Tip – I always top up my fermenter to about 1 cm above the 20 litre mark. This ensures a good mid strength beer every time ~ 4.5% alcohol).

10.When topped up give it a gentle stir to mix all. Take a sample and take a hydrometer reading. Note this down.

11.Stir the mixture vigorously to aerate the mixture. Add the yeast.

12.Leave somewhere warm for 7 days. On day 7 syphon the mixture to the second bucket. Leave the beer in the second bucket for a further 7 days. This helps clear the beer. (Tip – Take the little tap off the simple syphon and dump it. It only slows things down).

13.On day 14, its time to bottle. Place one Cooper’s carbonation drop into each of 40 500ml brown bottles.

14.Attach your bottle filling stick to the simple syphon. Suck to start the flow and bottle the beer. Cap the bottles.

15.Leave the bottles somewhere warm until they are fully gassed up.

16.When you are happy with the fizz level, place in storage.

17.Last but not least, drink them up!!