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      Making your own beer is incredibly cheap per pint, is really fun, and yields very tasty results. This project requires no special equipment; you’ll probably find everything you need already in your kitchen. If you like the process, a whole new world will open up—you’ll find a new appreciation for small-batch beers, and you may decide that you want to play with the many different flavors that you can get from home brewing.

      We live in Portland, Oregon, which boasts more brewpubs per capita than anywhere else in the world and more varieties of small-scale brews than anywhere else in the United States. Given that my husband and I both really enjoy beer and making our own products, it seems almost inevitable that he would eventually take up brewing. He began with extracts—sort of a ready-made “kit” to brew with. Because he’s a foodie as well and has a highly developed sense of taste, he moved into whole-grain batches, learning about the subtle nuances that come with having more control over the process and that also yield a more interesting product.

      The following is my husband’s version of a small-scale batch, which is made without any equipment fancier than what you already have in your kitchen. Ingredients can be bought at a home-brew supply store or from an online supplier. Have your brew shop grind the malt for you; if ordering online, make sure that the supplier grinds the malt and doesn’t just ship whole grains.

      Materials/Ingredients:

      •Large bowl for mash

      •Colander or large strainer

      •Food thermometer

      •Large spoon

      •Two large pots

      •Funnel

      •Two 2-liter soda bottles

      •1 pound American 2-row pale malt

      •¾ pound (12 ounces) Maris Otter or British 2-row malt

      •¼ pound (4 ounces) medium crystal malt

      •1 ounce Fuggles (hops)

      •1 packet Muntons brewing yeast

      •Carbonation tablets

      •Water

      •Ice

      Step 1: Pour the malt grains into the bowl and mix them together. In a large pot, heat 2 quarts of water to 170 degrees Fahrenheit and pour it into the grain mixture. This is your mash. Stir it well, cover it, and let it sit for an hour. During this hour, stir it several times to keep the temperature relatively even throughout. Check the temperature periodically to maintain it at 145–150 degrees Fahrenheit.

      Step 2: Near the end of the hour, heat another gallon of water to 175 degrees Fahrenheit and pour a couple of cups into the mash.

      Step 3: Place your colander (or large strainer) over the other large pot. Spoon the mash into the colander. Gently pour the water from the mash over the grains, followed by the rest of the gallon of water you just heated. Pour the water over a large spoon so the water splashes over the surface of the grains rather than boring a hole in one spot. You want to rinse as much of the sugar and flavor off of the grains as possible to make a “tea” called sweet wort. This wort is the basis of the beer in that it contains the foods that the yeast will convert to alcohol and CO2 as well as the compounds that form the flavors of your beer. Once you’ve used all of the water to rinse the grains, you are done with the grains and can use them for muffins, dog biscuits, bird feed, or whatever you like.

      Step 4: Bring the sweet wort to a boil on the stove. You may need to add 1 or 2 cups of water to increase the total volume to about 2 gallons at the start of the boil.

      Step 5: Once the wort begins to boil, add half an ounce of hops. Boil vigorously, uncovered, for thirty minutes, and then add another quarter ounce of hops. Continue boiling for another twenty-five minutes and then add the rest of the hops. Boil for five more minutes and then remove the wort from the heat. Total boil time is sixty minutes.