By Cathy Swiney
Photos By Jody Roth
September 2005
Republished from Lake Norman Magazine.

The way Keith Royster saw it, there had to be more options to beer than what was available at the store. He wanted more flavor.

He found a solution in homebrewing. Legalized by President Carter in 1978, homebrewing is the practice of making beer at home. It appeals to many people because it allows brewers to make beer that suits their own tastes.
Royster, who had heard about the hobby while attending the University of Florida, brewed his first batch of beer at home 11 years ago with a college buddy.

“It was actually good,” the 35-year-old Mooresville resident says of that first homebrew.

“It turned out surprisingly well.”

Encouraged by that success, he jumped into the hobby. He laughs, remembering homebrew sessions held every weekend with the friend, when they would brew and then in assembly-line fashion move batches made two weeks earlier from fermentation to bottling.

“We were stockpiled with more beer than we could drink,” he says, noting each batch produced about two cases, or 50 bottles.

“We cut back to about once a month.”


Getting started

With fall just around the corner, Royster says, now, and in the spring, is the perfect time to try homebrewing because hot temperatures won’t damage the yeast used in making the beer.

Brewing beer at home is not complicated. For beginners, it doesn’t require much equipment to brew a batch — a stove, a 4- to 5-gallon stockpot, a glass carboy or plastic bucket, tubs for siphoning, bottles, capper and caps, and sanitizer. Kits costing $70 to $90 are available at homebrew supple stores (they don’t include a stockpot or bucket).

“You don’t have to get technical,” says Royster, a technology auditor for Bank of America. “You can keep it very simple and do it on the stovetop. That’s how I got started.”

For the brew itself, a can of malt syrup, which costs $11 to $12, is enough to get started. It contains the flavors, grains and hops and requires only the addition of warm water. Royster recommends buying two cans of malt syrup to make 5 gallons and suggests ignoring one instruction that comes on the can.

“It will instruct you to add table sugar. Don’t do that,” he says. “It’s like junk food for the yeast. It won’t add flavor and will make it a weaker beer.”

From start to finish, homebrews are ready for consumption in four weeks. The actual cooking process takes about two to three hours. Then the brew must ferment for two weeks in a glass container called a carboy. After it is siphoned, leaving the yeast behind, it is placed in bottles and capped. It must sit for another two weeks to allow the carbon to build up before it can be consumed.

A key to successful homebrewing is keeping the equipment and work area clean, mostly to avoid having the yeast produce unwanted bacteria, Royster says.

“Homebrewing is safe, but wild yeast will make the beer taste bad,” he says. “It produces a medicinal, Band-Aid type of flavor.” Royster says novice homebrewers needn’t get too worried about the details of a recipe.

“The process is more forgiving than it seems,” he says. “Start simple, but do your research. Then, slowly add steps to the process to improve the beer.”


Different styles and flavors

Time constraints keep Royster from brewing as much as he used to, but when he does, he heads to the basement, where the brewing system he built with three modified kegs is located. He also remains active in the hobby in other ways. He’s a member of Carolina Brewmasters, Charlotte’s homebrew club, and he provides Web page support for Homebrew Adventures, a supply store in Charlotte he co-owns.

Through the years, he estimates, he’s made 30 styles of beer. One of his favorites is Bridget’s Love Potion Saison, a classic golden-orange-colored beer.

“Saison beers are distinctive specialty beers from Belgium,” he says. “I like Belgian styles because they have intense citrusy flavors with the coriander seed and dried orange peel.”

For a sweeter taste, he enjoys making milk stouts, which are a sweet, very dark, full-bodied, medium-strength ale.

“Hoppiness is minimal,” he says of milk stouts such as Cream of the Crop Milk Stout. “It’s a sweet version of a Guinness. It’s an excellent choice for brewers with a sweet tooth.”

While Royster’s beer these days comes already made, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing for any homebrewer.

“It’s still good to buy commercial beers to compare against or to discover new styles,” Royster says.

Cream of the Crop Milk Stout (from Homebrew Adventures)
1 pound Crystal-120 malted barley
12 ounces roasted malted barley
8 ounces chocolate malted barley
1 pound flaked oats
5 pounds powdered malt extract (dark)
1.25 ounces Kent Goldings (bittering hops)
1 pound lactose
1 teaspoon Irish Moss (a clarifying agent)
London Ale yeast

Mill the malted barley (or have your store mill it for you), add the flaked oats, and place in a grain bag or cheesecloth. Steep in about 2 gallons of hot water (150° F is ideal) for about 30 minutes. Remove the grain and slowly dissolve the powdered malt extract. Bring to a boil, then add the bittering hops. After 45 minutes, add the lactose and Irish Moss. After 15 minutes, remove from heat and place in an ice bath to cool. Decant into fermenter. Remaining instructions are the same as for the Saison. (Approximate alcohol content: 4.5 percent.)


Bridget’s Love Potion Saison (from Homebrew Adventures)
8 ounces Belgian Caravienne malted barley
4 ounces Belgian Aromatic malted barley
6 pounds powdered malt extract (light)
1.5 ounces Styrian Golding (bittering hops)
1 teaspoon Irish Moss (a clarifying agent)
1 pound Candi Sugar
1 ounce Saaz (flavoring hops)
1 ounce Saaz (aroma/finishing hops)
0.5 ounce dried orange peel
1 ounce coriander seeds (mill/crack just before use)
Belgian strong ale or Saison yeast

Mill the malted barley (or have your store mill it for you) and place in a grain bag or cheesecloth. Steep in about 2 gallons of hot water (150° F is ideal) for about 30 minutes. Remove the grain and slowly dissolve the powdered malt extract. Bring to a boil, then add the Styrian Golding. After 35 minutes, add the Irish Moss and Candi Sugar. After 15 minutes, add the flavoring hops. Wait 10 minutes, then add the finishing hops, cracked coriander seeds and orange peels. Wait 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover pot, and place in an ice bath for rapid cooling. Cool to 70-80° F, so as not to kill the yeast.
Decant or filter the cooled unfermented beer (wort) into your fermenter and top up to 5 gallons with tap water. Vigorously stir or shake to add oxygen (necessary for yeast growth). Add yeast. Cover fermenter so that fermentation gases can escape but dust can’t get inside. Store in a cool, dark place (65-70° F). After 2 weeks, siphon beer off of the yeast sediment into your bottling bucket, dissolve 3/4 cup of corn sugar, siphon into bottles and cap. Wait for 2 weeks for carbonation to develop. (Approximate alcohol content: 7 percent.) Yield: about 2 cases of beer (50 12-ounce bottles).

Homebrew Resources

• Homebrew Adventures (www.homebrew.com), Charlotte homebrew supply store
  
• Alternative Beverage (www.ebrew.com), Charlotte homebrew supply store
  
• Carolina Brewmasters (www.carolinabrewmasters.com), Charlotte homebrew club
  
• www.brewboard.com, an online discussion forum
  
• “How to Brew” by John Palmer
  
• “Complete Joy of Homebrewing” by Charlie Papazian