Urban Farm Projects. Kelly Wood

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      Boil the wort for thirty minutes after adding the hops.

      Step 6: Follow the directions on the yeast packet to rehydrate the yeast. This is the same process that you use when making bread—adding the dry yeast to a bit of warm water to revive the yeast so it is ready to go to work in your beer.

      Step 7: While the yeast is hydrating, place the big pot of hot wort in your sink in an ice bath. Stir the wort to cool it quickly to about 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

      Step 8: Pour the cooled wort through your strainer to remove the hops. Don’t worry if the liquid has some particles of hops left in it; these will settle out during fermentation.

      Step 9: To the cooled and filtered wort, add about half of the hydrated yeast (one packet is enough to make 5 gallons of beer), and stir vigorously to mix the yeast and aerate the wort.

      Step 10: Cover the pot with plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil and then place the pot in a closet or another dark area with a consistent temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit. As the yeast goes to work, it creates CO2 that will push its way out of the plastic wrap; this is desirable. The wrap is mainly to keep air and airborne impurities out. The pressure inside the pot will let gas out and keep the baddies from getting in, and the foil assists in keeping the plastic wrap in place.

      Step 11: Wait three to five days for the yeast to be done. You’ll see no more bubbles on the surface of the wort (now beer!), and the yeast will be settling down to the bottom of the pot. I like to brew on a Sunday so I can move to the next step on the following Saturday; this always allows enough time for fermentation to complete and the yeast to settle.

      Step 12: Sanitize the bottles with a diluted bleach solution of ¼ to ½ capful of bleach to a full 2-liter bottle of water. Let the solution sit in the bottles for ten minutes and then empty and rinse them with hot water. Pour one of the bottles out through your funnel to sanitize it, too.

      Step 13: Add three or four carbonation tablets to each sanitized bottle.

      Step 14: Fill the bottles with your beer by ladling it into the funnel. Try not to disturb the layer of yeast that has accumulated on the bottom of your fermentation pot.

      Step 15: Seal the bottles tightly so that the CO2 created as the remaining yeast in the beer consumes the carbonation tablets stays in the bottle and carbonates the beer. Put the bottles back in the area where you fermented and let them carbonate for a week or so.

      Step 16: Chill and drink. The beer may not be as bubbly as store-bought beer, but it will resemble a real English ale and should be tasty!

      Project 7: Fruit Cordials

      Why would you want to do this? This is an easier way to preserve berries than making jams or preserves, and the cordials can be used in many ways, not just in drinks. They can be given as gifts, used as natural cough syrups, or poured over ice cream or cake as luxurious dessert toppings. Some flavors can also be used as ingredients in exotic marinades or glazes.

      Why wouldn’t you want to do this? You don’t like sweet drinks, you don’t drink alcohol, or your family and friends don’t drink alcohol.

      Is there an easier way? There’s not much about this that can be easier. Straining out all of the residue is the biggest challenge, and that just takes time and patience.

      Cost comparison: Your homemade version will cost about half of what a store-bought bottle of liqueur costs—even less if you use your own homegrown fruit.

      Skills needed: No special skills needed—it’s pretty darn easy.

      Further refinements/learn more about it: You can take this to a higher level by experimenting with different fruit flavors or trying recipes for flavors other than fruit, such as Irish cream or coffee. Two good references are Making Liqueurs for Gifts (A Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin, 1988) by Mimi Freid and The Joy of Home Wine Making (William Morrow, 1996) by Terry A. Garey.