Let us begin with the bottom line: Yes, it is possible to brew beer at home. Yes, it will be excellent, far better than any purchased beer. Yes, it is possible to obtain all the equipment and ingredients in Israel. Yes, it is great fun to open for yourself (and the guys) bottles of excellent home-brewed beer. Yes, it is possible to brew every kind of beer at home. No, it isn't as complicated as it sounds. No, it isn't a lot of work. No, you don't have to wait a long time until it is ready. No, you don't need a large space in which to brew and store it. (It's even possible to do it in a small apartment, but preferably one with a bathtub.) No, it's not particularly expensive (and the equipment can be a wonderful and original present for yourself or a loved one).

And, therefore, there is nothing to dither about: Every beer-lover should transform himself or herself from a passive consumer into an active brewer.

After many years of imbibing, reading and visiting breweries, I can declare that nothing leads to a truer understanding of this ancient, simple and brilliant beverage - and in its wake, enjoyment of it - more than preparing it yourself at home, for the first time, in a simple plastic bucket.

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The simple way

Beer is made of four ingredients, the major one of which is found in every home: water. The other ingredients are malt, hops and yeast. The first two of these can be obtained together, in the form of a syrup that comes in large tins (usually weighing 1.8 kilograms). The yeast comes as a powder in a small packet, weighing 6 grams.

To brew beer, you basically need to heat a little water in a pot, and in it melt the syrup from the tin. You will then transfer the resulting liquid to a large bucket and dilute it with more water. What you get is a liquid called "wort." You scatter the powdered yeast on the wort and wait for it all to ferment for about a week. Then you add a pinch of sugar, transfer the liquid to sterilized bottles and seal with a cap.

In three or four more days, the beer is ready to drink. It's that simple. Is there a more complicated way to do this? Of course.

Malt: The main ingredient of beer, apart from water, is sprouted and roasted barley (there are some types of beer that are made from other grains - for example, wheat, oats, rye or buckwheat - but the vast majority are made from barley malt). The type of barley and the mode of roasting are the key factors in determining the color, flavor and special character of each type of beer. In its basic form, barley comes in grains, but novice home brewers will usually use malt syrup or powder. The syrup and the powder dissolve entirely in water, and therefore are far easier to use and produce excellent results in the home.

Hops: The female flower of the hops plant, which was added to beer in ancient times as a preservative, gives the beverage its characteristic bitterness and aroma. Hops flowers can be obtained in the form of small tablets that dissolve in the beer. Different types of hops will yield varying flavors, bitterness and aromas, according to the recipe.

Yeast: The single-celled creatures transform the sweet liquid that you prepare into effervescent and flavorful, alcoholic beer. There are two stages to home fermentation: one in the bucket (the sugars become carbon dioxide and alcohol) and the second in the capped bottles (the gasses have nowhere to escape, and the beer becomes effervescent). Most home brewers use ale yeast for upper fermentation (i.e., fermentation in the upper part of the wort).

Water: Beer production requires a lot of water, mostly for cleaning and sterilizing the equipment. As for the water in the beer itself, on the assumption that you aren't sitting on a well of pure water, it is possible to use plain drinking water if it tastes good. Any unpleasant taste in the water will also find its way into the beer.

With the basic equipment and the ingredients on hand (see box), you are now ready to get to work. The following instructions are for brewing from a kit of hopped malt syrup, which is recommended for beginners. With experience, it is possible to add other ingredients and to manipulate the final results to suit your personal taste.

Stage 1: Cooking

After washing and sterilizing the utensils, place a large stainless-steel pot (at least 7 liters) on the burner. Gently heat 4 liters of water. In the meantime, soak the tin from the kit in boiling water for a few minutes, to soften the syrup inside. Open the tin and pour the syrup into the water on the stove. Mix and cook on low heat, uncovered and without boiling, for about half an hour. Now add 1 kilogram of powdered malt (it is also possible to add sugar, as is indicated in the instructions, but this is less recommended) and mix until it dissolves.

When the malt has dissolved, remove the pot from the heat, cover with a lid and transfer immediately to a sink or a bathtub full of ice water, to cool the liquid rapidly (the blast of cold is intended to stabilize the beer and limit the amount of time of exposure to pollutants). After about half an hour, measure ten liters of cold water into the fermentor and transfer the lukewarm liquid into it.

You will have a volume of about 16.5 liters of wort. If you have a hydrometer, measure the original gravity. The desirable specific gravity is at least 1.040, preferably 1.050 (the specific gravity of water, for the sake of comparison, is 1.000). Although the kit is supposedly intended for a larger amount of water (for a specific gravity of 1.035), it is better not to be tempted to add it, as the resulting beer will be weak and watery. When the temperature gets below 30 degrees Centigrade, add the yeast, close the fermentation container with an air-lock and forget it for 24 hours.

Stage 2: Primary fermentation

The day after brewing, if the yeast was fresh and the fermentation container was properly sealed, bubbling will begin in the air-lock. This sound is music to the brewer's ears and a pleasure to his nostrils, because it is evidence that the yeast is acting and turning the wort into beer. Restrain yourself and do not open the fermentor, so as to reduce the chance of bacteria and fungi getting into the brew. After four days in the summer and up to two weeks in the winter, the yeast will have fully exploited the sugar potential in the wort, and the carbonation will stop.

A day or two after this happens, measure the final gravity with the hydrometer. It should be down to about 1.010 or less, and remain constant for 24 hours. At this stage it is possible to bottle the beer and also to calculate its alcohol content, according to the difference between the original specific gravity and the final specific gravity. See the calculator here: www.homebrewing.co.il/alcohol.html

Stage 3: Bottling and secondary fermentation

The most important part of this phase is the cleaning and sanitizing of the bottles. A bathtub full of water with chlorine and a bottle brush will help get rid of the dirt and the labels. At the same opportunity, also sanitize the second container, as well as the hose or the bottle-filler.

When everything is clean, transfer the beer, with the help of a long hose, from the fermentor to the second container. The location of the spigot, about 2.5 centimeters from the bottom of each of the fermenters ensures natural filtration and leaves most of the sedimentation in the primary fermenter. Now prime the wort with a small amount of sugar; this will feed the secondary fermentation in the bottles. The amount of sugar, between 70 and 150 grams for the entire batch, will determine the amount of carbonation in the beer, depending on the style of beer that is made. The calculator for the amount of sugar needed can be seen here: www.homebrewing.co.il/priming.html

After adding the sugar, fill and cork the bottles. About four days later (maybe a bit longer in winter) the beer is carbonated and ready for drinking, and it will even improve in the next two weeks. Cheers!