Making Beer

Bethel is what we call a "damp" city.  While most of the villages in this part of Alaska are completely dry, Bethel at least allows its residents to consume alcohol.  What makes Bethel damp and not wet is the fact that you can only consume alcohol here, you can not purchase it.  This brings about many creative ways to get alcohol into Bethel.  Like everything in Bethel getting alcohol here is very expensive.  You can bring it in yourself if you fly to Anchorage, but a ticket to Anchorage and back is about $400, plus hotel, plus car rental... quite the expensive beer run.  You can NOT have family or friends mail it to you through the post office (we found that out the hard way).  There is a small airline here that will go to Anchorage for you, pick up your alcohol and fly it back (legal bootleggers) but you're looking at a shipping fee of about 65 cents per pound, it adds up quick.  Or, you can order a kit and ingredients and make it yourself.  After trying all of the options above, we have found this last option to be the best bang for your buck!  In fact, as I write this, Mark is working on his second batch.  It takes about 4 weeks from stovetop to mug, but it's worth it.  The kit costs about $300 and the various recipe ingredient packets about $50.  The kit is a one time purchase and each ingredient packet makes about 5 gallons of beer!  If you live out here and enjoy a beer with dinner every now and then, this is by far the way to go.  

 The ingredients for a light wheat beer with a hint of orange and coriander.  It turned out to be a more complicated beer than some, but leave it to us to start out with the difficult brews first!

Always nice to have
help from someone
who has done it before

The hops

 After all the ingredients have been added, the brew simmers on the stove filling our small house with the yeasty, hoppy smells of a microbrewery.

 From the stove the hot brew is funneled into a carboy and then set outside to chill until its just the right temperature.  Once the right temp, we add the yeast.  Once the yeast is added the carboy is set aside in a warm area to ferment for about a week and a half.

After the fermentation period is complete, the green beer is separated from the sediment by transferring it from one carboy to another carboy.  Then... it sits some more.

Months of collecting bottles pays off as these can be reused and saved us from having to buy all new bottles.  These bottles are being sterilized in preparation for our beer.

Once the specific gravity is just right, we know it is time to add the sugar water and then bottle.






Each bottle is filled and then capped, no twist offs here!

                                                                                   

 The individual bottles go back into their warm hiding place for another couple weeks.  The sugar water finalizes the taste and creates the carbonation.  After the waiting period is up, the warm beer is transferred to a cold mug and enjoyed!  Bottoms up!