Beer  is made with basically, water, barley malt, hops and yeast. The water, malt and hops

are boiled to produce a wort. This wort is cooled, put into a fermenting vessel, and the yeast is

added (pitched). This vessel is sealed with an air lock, and the beer is allowed to ferment (sugar

and water is turned to alcohol, carbon dioxide, etc) and age for a period of time. When the

fermentation is over, a bit of additional malt or other sugar is added (for carbonation), and the

beer is bottled or kegged. It is once again allowed to age for a period of time, during which the

additional sugars carbonate the beer, and the taste of the beer developes and ages. The beer is

then consumed.
 
 

This experiment is meant to be a simple guide to basic beer-making procedures. Most is based on

personal experience using malt extract instead of mashing grain. The intent is to use as little

special equipment or ingredients as possible, using whenever possible those things easily

obtainable at a grocery store or hardware store.
 
 

On Fermentation and Yeast

The process of fermenting is basically feeding sugars and nutrients in solution to yeast, which

return the favor by producing carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. This process goes on until either all

the sugar is gone or the yeast can no longer tolerate the alcoholic percentage of the beverage.

Different yeasts produce different results, and have different tolerance levels. Here is a table of

yeast tolerances:

   * Can go higher with time, but slows down greatly at this point.
 
  ** Can ferment at ale temps, but tends to leave cloudy results.

*** Baking yeast can be used in a pinch, and in fact works well with citrus wines, but can leave a      bread-like smell and taste in the beverage that some find objectionable.
 

    Practical details