Old World Knowledge: Bathtub Beer Making 101

Why Should You Make Beer My Way?

I like to make beer from a beer kit, however, I do things differently. If you have made beer from a kit and have been disappointed by the cloudiness, taste, or sediment in the bottom of the bottle, I encourage you to toss out the instructions and try my method.

I have been making beer this way for over 20 years and always have excellent results. This method will yield clear, crisp, and tasty beer!

What could be more ancient than beer making? 7000 years of history in the production of beer and one of the oldest beverages known to mankind.

When I tell people that I make beer in my bathtub, they look at me in a strange way and it's no wonder. I don't actually make beer in my bathtub, I merely sterilize the equipment in the tub. I do this because I don't have a laundry sink in my home and I need a big vessel in which to splash around a lot of water and not have to worry about making a mess.

Day #1 of Bathtub Beer Making 101 (Sunday, April 07, 2013)

First, I sterilize the bathtub with Comet and a scrubby. Then rinse out of tub really well. I can not stress enough about keeping everything that comes in contact with the beer clean, including yourself. Wash your hands often and wear clean clothes.

Next, I clean and rinse all the equipment that I'm going to use for starting the beer. Then, I sterilize the equipment with Aseptox and water as per instructions on the picture above (ie. 1 Tbsp per gal of water).

Stir the aseptox and water solution.

Because I use only one gallon of water and Aseptox solution, I tilt and rotate the primary fermenter bucket so the solution will reach all the sides. Note that I have another smaller bucket underneath the bigger bucket so that the solution doesn't drain out. I also keep the solution in place for 15-20 minutes per side (ie: 4 sides = approximately 1 hour of time to sterilize the entire fermenter).

Today, I am using a beer kit ( see picture above.) One day I plan to try making beer from scratch. There is a grain elevator in Georgetown, PEI where I can get barley and other grains and I have a friend that grows cascade hops in his backyard. I hope to be able to use these products and make beer from scratch when I have a little more time.

When it comes right down to it, a beer kit only cuts out a couple of steps from the beer making process and it's cheap and easy to do. This beer kit cost me around $20 and another $4 for the dextrose, $1.60 for the caps and I already had the bottles from previous beer purchases. So, for an investment of under $30, I will get 5 and a half dozen beers which works out to be around .38 cents per beer. WOW!

Now you need to heat up the can (barley goop --- clearly not the technical term) in hot water for around 10 minutes. This will make it easier to pour later.

Get your sugar ready. I use one kilo plus one cup, I like my beer a little stronger. I have never actually taken the specific gravity of the must prior to fermentation so I don't know what the alcohol content is, I just know that this amount seems to work well.

Boil 3 and a half litres of water in a pot. Now, you want to open and pour your warmed up can of barley goop into your sterilized primary bucket, add the boiled water, and stir well. Add the dextrose and stir again to dissolve the sugar.

Top up your primary fermenter with cool water to the 23 litre mark and stir mixture really well. Make sure the temperature is no higher than 24 degrees Celcius before adding the yeast.