Try “stout”, “Citra”, “Belgium”, “Oktoberfest” or “yeast”.

← Brewing school

🍺 Your First Homebrew: Equipment & a Simple Pale Ale Extract Recipe

The gear you actually need, plus an easy, forgiving extract pale ale recipe to get your first batch bubbling.

Brewing schoolBeginner4 min read

Your first batch of homebrew does not need a garage full of stainless steel. With a big pot, a fermenter and a few simple tools, you can brew a genuinely good pale ale in an afternoon. This guide uses malt extract, which skips the mash and makes brew day shorter and more forgiving.

Before You Start: Check the Law

Homebrewing beer for personal use is legal in many countries, including the US (in all states since 2013), the UK, Canada and Australia, but rules vary. Some places cap how much you may brew per year, some forbid selling homebrew, and a few ban it outright. Check your local laws first. You also need to be of legal drinking age where you live — and never distill at home, which is illegal in most places and genuinely dangerous.

Essential Equipment

Item What It’s For Beginner Tip
Brew kettle (at least 12–15 L) Boiling the wort Stainless steel is easy to clean
Fermenter (23–25 L) with lid Where the yeast works Food-grade bucket is cheapest
Airlock and bung/grommet Lets CO₂ out, keeps air in Fill with sanitiser or water
No-rinse sanitiser Kills microbes Star San or similar
Thermometer Checking temperatures A digital probe is fastest
Hydrometer and trial jar Measuring gravity and ABV Read at eye level
Long spoon Stirring Stainless or food-safe plastic
Auto-siphon and tubing Transferring beer Avoid splashing when bottling
Bottling bucket, bottles, caps, capper Packaging Use pressure-rated, non-twist-off bottles

Nice-to-haves include an immersion chiller, a bottle wand and a larger kettle for full-volume boils.

Sanitation: The Golden Rule

Anything that touches the wort after the boil must be clean and sanitised. Clean first to remove visible residue (no scratchy scourers on plastic), then sanitise following the product’s instructions. Most failed first batches come from poor sanitation, not bad recipes.

Simple Pale Ale Extract Recipe

Batch size: 19 L (5 US gallons) Estimated OG: ~1.052 | FG: ~1.012 | ABV: ~5.2% | IBU: ~30–35 (varies with boil volume)

Ingredients

  • 2.7 kg (6 lb) light dry malt extract (DME)
  • 230 g (0.5 lb) crystal malt, 20–40 °L, crushed, in a grain bag
  • 28 g (1 oz) Cascade hops — bittering (60 minutes)
  • 28 g (1 oz) Cascade hops — flavour (15 minutes)
  • 28 g (1 oz) Cascade hops — aroma (flameout)
  • 1 packet clean American ale yeast (e.g. US-05 or equivalent)
  • ~115 g (4 oz) corn sugar (dextrose) for bottling

Method

  1. Steep the grains. Heat 10–12 L of water to about 68 °C. Steep the crystal malt bag for 20–30 minutes, then lift it out and let it drain. Do not squeeze hard.
  2. Add extract. Turn off the heat and stir in the DME slowly to avoid clumps and scorching.
  3. Boil. Return to a boil, watching closely for boil-overs. Add the first Cascade addition and start a 60-minute timer.
  4. Flavour hops. With 15 minutes left, add the second Cascade addition.
  5. Aroma hops. At the end of the boil, turn off the heat and add the final Cascade addition.
  6. Chill. Cool the wort quickly to about 20 °C using a chiller or an ice bath.
  7. Transfer and top up. Pour into the sanitised fermenter and top up with clean, cool water to 19 L.
  8. Take a reading. Measure the original gravity with your hydrometer.
  9. Aerate and pitch. Seal and shake the fermenter for a minute or two, then sprinkle in the yeast.
  10. Ferment. Fit the airlock and keep the fermenter at 18–20 °C for about two weeks.

How Do I Know It’s Done?

Bubbling is not a reliable signal. Instead, take gravity readings two or three days apart. If they are identical and near the expected final gravity, fermentation is complete. Bottling too early risks over-carbonation and exploding bottles, so be patient.

Bottling in Brief

  1. Dissolve the priming sugar in a little boiling water and cool it
  2. Add it to the sanitised bottling bucket, then siphon the beer on top gently
  3. Fill sanitised bottles, leaving 2–3 cm of headspace, and cap
  4. Store at room temperature for about two weeks, then chill and enjoy

For more detail, see our guide to bottling, kegging and carbonation.

Common Beginner Mistakes

  • Skipping or rushing sanitation
  • Fermenting too warm, which creates harsh, fruity or boozy flavours
  • Opening the lid repeatedly to “check” on it
  • Bottling before fermentation is complete
  • Using too much priming sugar

Safety Reminders

  • Boiling wort is heavy and very hot — lift carefully and keep kids and pets away
  • Hops are toxic to dogs; dispose of spent hops securely
  • Use a burner safely and ventilate if using gas indoors
  • Drink responsibly and never serve homebrew to minors

What’s Next?

Once you’ve nailed this recipe, try swapping Cascade for Citra or Mosaic, adding a dry hop for extra aroma, or moving on to partial-mash and all-grain brewing. Every batch teaches you something new.