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Those of you reading this article might think “What the hell does making beer have to do with anarchy?”
If you stop to think about the hundreds of thousands of gallons of beer the collective college liver has to endure every year, and how much of that beer comes from huge mega-companies like Anheiser-Busch and Coors, the more you realize how dependent these companies are on you, the poor college student who can’t afford local microbrew. Hell, I would love to support my local bar and buy Maine beer but let’s face it, unless you are working full-time with good pay, there is no way you are going to be able to buy it as often as you want.
Therefore, I will introduce the first step towards liberation. Yes, my friends, you too can go to school and have lots of beer whenever you want. The only trick is fronting some cash right away to get started. Making homebrew is pretty cheap once you have all the materials to do it. Follow along closely and try not to spill any beer on this article when making your own – lamination might be a good idea. I will try to explain the details in laymen’s terms. Oh yeah, please don’t try this in your dorm. I don’t think Public Safety would appreciate your attempts to bring down the establishment by making beer on the stove in the basement of your residence hall.
Step 1: You will need a carboy. A carboy is a large glass container that looks like a water cooler. It holds about six
gallons of liquid. Along with this you will need about six feet of clear, plastic hose with ends that can fit into a beer bottle, a five gallon bucket, and two funnels – one that will fit in the end of a beer bottle and one that will fit in the end of the carboy. You also will need a bottle capper, a strainer or filter for the larger funnel and sanitizer for the bottles. A rubber stopper with a hole and a fermentation lock, sometimes called a bubbler, are needed for fermenting the beer once inside the carboy. Also, don’t forget the pot! The boiling pot, that is. One of those large enameled pots that you can cook lobsters in will work. You should be able to purchase all of these materials at a local brew shop -like the one next to the Natural Living Center in Bangor. A starter kit would probably be the best way to go if this is your first time brewing.
Step 2: I will give you the quickest and cheapest recipe for a decent homebrew. First, pick out a small package of hops and a five to six pound can of extracted barley – light amber or dark is most common, but hop flavored extract works well too. Now pick out some sugar – corn or honey. This is for the bottling process, the ingredient that will put the bubbles in your beer. The above ingredients can get you well on your way to brewing your very own beer. Can you believe it? There are plenty of extras that can be added in due time when you get better at brewing, but since this is for newbies, we will keep the process cheap and simple. Next issue, I will tell you all how to actually brew and bottle. Stay Tuned!
