All articles

Everything on Big River Homebrew, organised by topic.

Brewing Basics

• Extract vs. All-Grain Brewing: Which Should You Start? — Extract brewing uses prepared malt extract, so it needs less hot-side equipment, supports partial boils, and gives beginners fewer variables.
• Homebrew Equipment List: 12 Essentials (and What to Skip) — A complete homebrew equipment list has 12 essentials: a 4–5 gallon brew kettle, a 6.5-gallon food-grade fermenter bucket, an airlock and stopper, no-rinse…
• How to Brew Beer at Home: First Batch in 7 Clear Steps — Brewing beer at home takes seven steps: gather equipment and an extract ingredient kit, sanitize everything that touches cooled wort, steep grains and…

Bottling & Conditioning

• How to Bottle Homebrew: Priming Sugar, Caps, and Timing — To bottle homebrew, first confirm fermentation is finished with two identical hydrometer readings taken two to three days apart.
• Why Is My Homebrew Flat? Diagnose It Safely — If homebrew is flat, chill one bottle upright for 24 to 48 hours and test it before changing the batch.

Fermentation & Gravity

• How to Calculate ABV: The Standard Formula, Worked Out — To calculate ABV, subtract your beer's final gravity (FG) from its original gravity (OG) and multiply by 131.25: ABV = (OG − FG) × 131.25.
• How to Use a Hydrometer for Accurate Gravity Readings — Sanitize your sampling tool, draw enough wort or beer into a test jar for the hydrometer to float freely, remove bubbles, spin the stem gently, and read…