Most people in England like a nice pint of beer. And if you drink or serve a fair bit of it, it may be worth learning how to make your own beer. We have good brands of artisan beers (including no-alcohol ones). But if you want to brew your own, here is the information you need.
Keep hops & other brewing ingredients away from young children and pets.
Never buy beers wrapped in plastic rings (some shops have stopped selling them). They are invisible in water, and often get stuck around birds’ necks and beaks. If you see any, rip the holes up and securely bin them.
Brewing is a skill that requires some studying as you have to know how to properly sanitise the beer for safety and then how to either put it in bottles or kegs.
You’ll also need to invest in a few pieces of equipment (like a brew kettle and mash run), and obviously find a safe space to brew in. Plus you’ll need to buy your beer-making ingredients like malted barley or malt, alongside hops and brewing yeast.
Home Brew Beer is a book to show you every step to make your own beer, with 30 spreads on home brewing techniques, alongside 110 recipes and 100 photos.
Learn how to choose the best malt, yeast and hops, and learn the base equipment you need to get started. Each recipe is suitable for the full-mash technique. Beer recipes include:
- London bitter
- American IPA
- Imperial brown ale
- Munich helles
- Ginger Beer
- Blueberry stout
- Belgian tripels
- Bohemian pilsner
- Mexican cerveza
Organic Vegan Beers (from River Cottage)
River Cottage Stinger Ale is made in collaboration with Stroud Brewery) is made with nettles, close relatives to hops, for a beer with a tangy kick and herby flavour. This beer is brewed using locally foraged nettles from hedgerows and field margins, yet leave space for more wildlife.
Nettles are home to many important pollinators including baby ladybirds (these look like little alligators, so always leave them for a few weeks to fly off, before foraging, if you see any).
Shangri Lager (also sold at Abel and Cole) is another organic vegan beer, made in collaboration with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at River Cottage. This combines the brewing experts at Freedom (that makes Helles organic vegan bottled beer (also in cans), a pale organic lager with a clean malt base and floral flavours.
This brewery is nestled near a small valley in Staffordshire, where the local village is known for its spring water. Its own lager is aged for four weeks, and uses cold water cooling techniques, to reduce energy consumption by a third.
