Make sure your equipment is clean and fully assembled. For this stage, you will need:

• Stainless steel brew kettle with grain bag
• Plastic spoon
• Fermenter with lid, tap, and airlock
• Sanitiser

Each recipe kit includes:

• Grain
• Hops
• Yeast
• Recipe instructions – this has amounts and timings specific to each kit

Fill the brew kettle with 9 litres of water  and heat to the mash temperature stated on your recipe sheet (inside the box with your ingredients OR on the product page for your kit).

Using a bowl or jug to hold the grain bag, pour the grain into the bag. Once the water has reached the correct temperature, gently immerse the grain bag in the water. Stir the grain inside the bag using a plastic spoon, making sure to break up any clumps. Be careful to not let the grain escape the bag.

Carefully tie the top of the bag and put the lid on the kettle to hold the heat in. Start a timer. This is your mash.

Turn off the heat. Carefully gather the top of the grain bag and slowly lift it out of the brew kettle, allowing the liquid (wort) to drain from the bag.

When the grain bag has drained, put it into another vessel – such as a bowl or a large saucepan – to cool while you carry on with your brew. Some more wort will likely drip out of the bag over the next 10 minutes – you can add this to the brew kettle.

Check the BOIL TIME shown on your recipe page and prepare a countdown timer, then bring the wort to a boil.

Begin your timer when you have a stable “rolling” boil.

Cool the wort down to approximately 20°C. Immerse the brew kettle in cold water or an ice bath.

Stir the water around the brew kettle to help it cool faster, and replace the water with new cold if it starts feeling warm.

Place the fermenter directly below the brew kettle and open the kettle tap. Go slow at first to control the flow.

After the first litre or so, lower the fermenter from the tap to let the wort splash a bit. This will add oxygen that will help your yeast grow.

Sprinkle the yeast onto the wort and fit the fermenter lid. The lid will “click” into place when it is properly sealed. Attach the airlock and half-fill it with sanitiser solution.

Fermentation usually takes 7-10 days. The airlock will bubble when fermentation is most active, but fermentation will continue even after bubbling stops.

Make sure your equipment is clean and to hand. You will need:

• Bottling stick
• PET bottles with screw tops x 10
• Sanitiser
• Table sugar or dextrose brewing sugar – for priming

Thoroughly sanitise the bottling stick, bottles including the caps, and the fermenter tap.

Put a bottle over the stick and open the fermenter tap. Push the bottom of the stick to the bottom of the bottle to begin filling. Stop when the bottle is full and carefully withdraw the bottle from the stick. This will leave the right amount of headspace in the bottle neck.

Gently squeeze the bottle until the beer is at the top of the neck, then cap the bottle. Squeezing removes air from the bottle so the headspace will fill with carbon dioxide.

Store the bottles at room temperature for at least a week to carbonate. The bottles will be firm to the touch once carbonated. Leave the beer for another 5-6 days – it’s then ready to drink. Refrigerate to keep in best condition.