How to brew beer at home - FULL process from start to finish

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Published 2023-12-13
I learnt how to brew beer and mead on a small scale at home, with limited equipment and space, in fact all the fermentation was done in my little bedroom! Check out all the amazing people who helped me with this project.
Cellarhead Brewery - cellarheadbrewing.com/
Beercosm where I bought brewing equipment - www.instagram.com/beercosm/?hl=en
Hukins Hops - www.hukins-hops.co.uk/
Jere meadery - jere-eu.com/en/welcome/
Black Mountain Honey - www.blackmountainhoney.co.uk/
Another brew shop I bought stuff from - www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/
Check out my Instagram - www.instagram.com/alex_smith1809/
Support the Just Alex Channel on Patreon - www.patreon.com/justalexsmith
Business enquiries - [email protected]

00:00 - Visiting a brewery
03:45 - Buying brewing equipment
05:52 - Making beer from a kit
10:47 - Buying more brew stuff
11:40 - Beer ingredients
18:45 - Brewing a pale ale from scratch
31:50 - Learning about mead
33:08 - Making a batch of mead
41:42 - Tasting my finished beer

All Comments (21)
  • @joentjee8405
    its impressive how you keep jumping into new hobbies / projects. very entertaining to watch as always.
  • @reneenolan8163
    One of the best things about these videos is the hospitality of others. Renews my faith in humanity every time.
  • @xionerebus
    Alex your ability to explain and make such a process interesting is superb..... I am an avid follower of both yourself and your brother and have already commented on what you both achieved bringing the fabulous pastime of angling to everyone. Now you have diversified I am now fascinated with fungi hunting and the photography of each different one I find..... But you cant claim to have converted me to beer as this was accomplished over many years and is still ongoing :). However the simplistic explanation on how beer is made was brilliant. Thank you đź‘Ťđź‘Ťđź‘Ť
  • @chemicalcabbage
    I've noticed beginners like yourself are much better at informing other beginners. I think it's because you know what you didn't know whereas a pro might take their knowledge for granted.
  • @Hallslys
    I have been brewing beer for more than a decade and this video was simply amazing. The way you went through the process of figuring out how to make beer was so nostalgic for me, and reminded me so much of my own journey of figuring out the delicate balance between water, malt, hops and yeast.
  • @RainusBrainus
    One of my goals in life is to brew my own wine from scratch. Homegrown sugar, fruit, and yeast. The optimism in this video and others you have made continues to encourage me. Cheers!
  • @HaasGrotesk
    I hate beer. I don't even drink anything with alcohol but I sat here for 50 minutes and watched you make beer. I really enjoy how you explain things and it's always very interesting to see what you'll be up to next.
  • @LeeBotton
    That was a lot of sugar (in the kit brew) so you were lucky not to get bottle bombs! As for the malt, it's worth noting that not all malts are 'diastatic', which means they contain the enzymes which will do the work of chopping up the sugars while in the mash. This is why pale malt, which is diastatic, is the majority of the grist for most beers except lagers. When malt is processed in the kiln for colour and flavour, it typically denatures the enzymes. Hence, if you tried to brew a beer with e.g. all crystal malt (caramelised) the mash would produce no fermentable sugars because no enzymes were present to do that work.
  • @Hannes_Lind
    Some tips for the next brew. Keep taking temp measurments during mashing since the mashtemp will go down over time and the fact that you need to take in calculation the grain temp when mashing in so you dont undershoot the temp. Beta Sacc rest is from 63C so if you undershoot you may not get full convertion of the starches and miss your target OG. If you have access to a chestfreezer or somewhere else cool stick the whole FV in there with the wort for it to cool down, or get a cheap plastic can of 20+ liters put the hot wort in it push as much oxygen out of it by sqeezing it and put on the cap and leave over night to cool down. Then by splashing to add oxygen pour the wort into your FV and add yeast, its an easy trick so you dont have to buy a colling spiral or a platechiller. And another tip for bottling - just and the bottling wand onto the tap and let gravity do the work no need for the siphon.
  • @user-ex5hb7fz5c
    Since I started learning to brew beer you are the first person to really explain everything so clear with no short cuts. U deserve a thumbs up. I will refer my peers to your channel.
  • @kyphosis_
    I've been binging your videos and what I love about them is the fact that you're a regular dude making mistakes and showing them. Keep it up Alex!
  • @tony_b
    This is good enough to be an episode on the discovery channel or something.. A+ .. great job Alex!
  • @Kirmo13
    You are such a good storyteller. 48 minutes and it felt like it was no more than 15. You're very skilled
  • @yashuu1575
    i never thought I'd sit down for 48 minutes and watch a random guy brew beer and mead, talk about all the technical details of brewing, and actually succeed. really loved the video, i respect your determination and excitement!
  • @pilsplease7561
    I used to brew beer both commercially and on a homebrew scale, Now I am a professional winemaker so if you ever get into winemaking I can help you out with telling you what you need and how to get it right. I produce 200 gallons of wine at home outside of work for experimentation purposes and for friends and family.
  • It’s a crime that Alex doesn’t have 1 million subscribes.
  • @chrisb2443
    What a fabulous video to watch! I’m quite jealous of your confidence to try all these different hobbies/activities, as well as all the good people you meet along the way. You’re living the best kind of life!
  • You have a great capacity to explain clearly, entertain and engage. It’s a real gift. A TV production company should really snap you up. Thank you.
  • One thing that jumped out at me is that you bottled before your gravity reading was 1.000 or less. In that case fermentation might not be complete, which is how you make bottle bombs. So what I normally do if I think it stalled (meaning it's above 1.000 SG and not moving anymore) is take a reading, and then take another 2 or 3 days later to see if it moved again. If it remains the same, it means it is done. Just be careful! Looking great so far - enjoy your fermentation journey!