FAQ

Quick answers to the things people ask most.

The law

Is home brewing legal in Australia?

Yes, for beer, wine and cider you make for yourself. The ATO says home-brewed beer for non-commercial purposes, made with non-commercial equipment, needs no excise licence. Wine and cider are also outside the licence requirement.

You can't sell it, or offer it for sale, without the right licences. Sharing it with friends is fine.

Can I distil spirits at home?

Not in Australia, and not in most countries. Distilling alcohol needs an excise manufacturer licence, whatever the size of the still, and the ATO doesn't issue licences for personal use. See the distillation page for what is allowed.

Getting started

What gear do I need to start?

A fermenter (a glass carboy or food-grade bucket), an airlock and bung, a hydrometer, a sanitiser such as Star San, a siphon, and bottles or a keg. A thermometer helps a lot.

Can I use bread yeast?

It will ferment, but it tastes bready and gives up early. Brewing yeasts are cheap and far better: use beer yeast for beer, wine or champagne yeast for wine, cider and mead, and Kveik if your house is warm.

Measuring

What's specific gravity?

It's how dense your brew is compared with water (1.000). Sugar makes it denser. As yeast turns sugar into alcohol, the reading drops. You measure it with a hydrometer or a refractometer.

How do I work out alcohol content (ABV)?

Take a reading before you add the yeast (the original gravity, OG) and one when fermentation has finished (the final gravity, FG). Then ABV ≈ (OG − FG) × 131.25.

For example, 1.040 to 0.999 is about 5.4%. Every recipe page has a brew log that does the sum for you.

Fermenting

My airlock isn't bubbling. Is it dead?

Probably not. Lids and bungs often leak gas around the seal, so a quiet airlock tells you little. Check the gravity instead. If it's dropping, it's working.

It smells like rotten eggs. What happened?

Stressed yeast, usually from too little nutrient or too much heat. It usually fades. Give it time, and next batch use yeast nutrient and a steadier temperature.

How do I know it's finished?

When the gravity reads the same on three days in a row. Don't go by the calendar or the airlock.

Bottling and serving

What's a bottle bomb?

A bottle that bursts from too much pressure. It happens when you bottle before fermentation has finished, or add too much priming sugar. Always confirm a stable gravity before you bottle, and measure priming sugar carefully.

How long until I can drink it?

It varies:

• Hard tea and ciders can be ready in two to three weeks.
• Most beers take three to six weeks.
• Wines and meads improve over months.

Using this site

Is my brew log saved?

Yes, but only in your own browser. It isn't sent to us, so it won't follow you to another device.

Do I need an account?

Not to read recipes. You need one to post in the forum or suggest a recipe. Accounts are free, need only a username and password, and are for people 18 and over.

How do recipe suggestions work?

Send it in through Suggest a recipe. We review every suggestion. If we publish it, you are credited by the name you choose. You'll be asked to confirm it's your own recipe and to assign copyright to us, so that we can edit and publish it. The details are in clause 6 of the terms.