One thing that must be said for home brewing beer is that it is a long process. If you are looking for a quick and easy way to get beer, then a trip to the liquor store is going to be your friend. Expecting to be able to make your own beer in the space of hours or even a few days is only going to set you up for disappointment. It might produce something that you can drink, theoretically, and it might even get you a little bit buzzed, but it won’t be beer and it won’t taste like it.

No, you have to be in it for the long haul and this is what puts a lot of people off home brewing beer. The process takes time and, if you spend long hours tinkering to get it right and days waiting for it to be ready, you are going to feel a little bit cheated if you then pour your first glass and find that it tastes appalling. At that point, you have the choice to either give up or work out what you are doing wrong.

Many people will take the first option, feeling that home brewing is not for them. Those who take the latter option may have a limited supply of patience in the aftermath and give up after another failed batch. But this is the key – brewing is something that requires a great deal of patience. You can be sure that the monks who brewed those delicious Belgian beers had some false starts when they first set to brewing – and they couldn’t even scream obscenities when something went wrong. So make sure that you have the patience of a saint before you start home brewing.