It's the question almost every brewer has asked before they start: how hard is it really, to make beer?

The honest answer? Not as effortless as using an automated fermenter, but far easier than most people think. Making beer isn't about technical wizardry or years of training. It's about following a few simple steps, keeping equipment clean, and giving the process the time it needs. Get those right, and you’ll soon be sipping on your first self-brewed beer. 

So how do you brew beer? Let's break down what's actually involved.

The Beer-brewing Process in 4 Simple Steps

When using a brew kit, like the Coopers DIY Beer 23L, or Small Batch Brew Kit, brewing your own beer comes down to four steps: 

1. Mix 

The initial step involves combining your brewing extract with water to create the wort. This takes about 15 minutes.

2. Brew (Fermenting)

Sprinkle in the yeast and seal the fermenter. Over about a week, the yeast turns the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. When your hydrometer reading holds steady across 2 days, fermentation is done.

3. Bottling

Take a quick taste and smell to make sure everything's as it should be - if it is, you're ready to bottle. Just transfer your beer into bottles, add your carbonation drops, and you're done in about 20 minutes.

4. Conditioning

Store your bottles somewhere dark, and leave them to condition around 18°C for about two weeks. After that, simply chill, pour and enjoy!

Add it all up and your hands-on time is well under an hour. The rest is just patience. The yeast does the hard work - you're simply setting the foundation, and letting nature take over.

This is where a brew kit changes everything. Without one, traditional brewing methods can take several hours and require additional equipment and ingredients.

A Coopers DIY Beer brew kit comes with everything you need to get started, so you're not hunting down equipment or guessing at measurements. The recipe is mapped out, the ingredients are in your kit, and the process is outlined step by step.

What are the Challenges of Making Beer?

If brewing trips beginners up, it's rarely the steps themselves. It usually comes down to one of two things:

Sanitising

This is the one rule worth taking seriously. Beer is vulnerable to unwanted bacteria, and a contaminated batch is the most common reason for a ruined brew. The good news is that sanitising is quick and easy - it just needs to be done every time. Get into the habit early and it becomes second nature.

Patience

The other challenge is purely mental. When your beer is fermenting away, it's tempting to rush it into bottles or crack one open before it's ready. Resisting that urge is half the skill; good beer rewards those who wait.

What Skills do you Need to Brew your own Beer?

Brewing is like any hobby - the more you practise, the better you get. And the best part? You get to enjoy the process along the way. 

Your earliest brews teach you how fermentation behaves, how flavours develop, and how small changes shape the end result. Each batch makes the next one better, and your brewing skills improve as you go.

That's what makes brewing so rewarding. It's easy enough to start today, yet complex enough to keep improving.

The Verdict

So, how hard is it to make your own beer? Not hard at all - as long as you respect the basics: sanitise, sanitise, sanitise, follow the steps, and give it time. Master that, and there's very little standing between you and a glass of premium quality beer you made yourself.

The biggest hurdle is usually just deciding to start. With everything packed into a single box, a Coopers DIY Beer brew kit is the perfect place to begin your brewing journey.