Ben Tries To Make Homemade Beer... An Experiment!!! | Sorted Food

Ben has been keeping a secret for 10 WEEKS?! He's been brewing up his own beer in the studio. Does it work? Watch to find out!
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[@kirstynguyen8983]

I feel like if there wasn't alcohol involved, the boys would've teased Ben much more about his supergeekiness

[@goldfishy38]

Mike's Ben impression is spot on!

[@Maazin5]

nearly died when it cut from Mike's impression to Ben saying the exact same thing

[@Exayevie]

The cut from the eyebrows, to the eyebrows, killed me!

[@derekgarman3749]

if you ever come back to the US, stop by our brewery for a day. we can go into the full science of beer and make a batch.

[@Experimentblack]

Derek Garman what is the name of your brewery?

[@karenrodrigues101]

Oooo look at Ben all in the zone with his homemade beer ! adorable 😊😂

[@FunkyFreshFood]

Ben's face when he's vigorously stirring 😂 3:13

[@simonj48]

If you think that's bad, just imagine what it looked like from the outside looking in the window...

[@katiemorrill4318]

'you have yeasty parts, and sometimes you can get treatment for that.' Ben, I love you!

[@VixeyTeh]

"You can get treatments for that." Totally broke Mike and Baz.

[@TheCyberwoman]

The reason you have to sterilize everything is because you only want the "domesticated" yeast. In the very olden times they'd catch yeast, or ferment with body yeast, or other less sterile ways. Like when one creates there own sourdough​ starter, there's a lot more chance. You could probably create a beer that way, but that would really be an experiment

[@sstrain8525]

TheCyberwoman in the Middle Ages, the Trappist monks who brewed beer viewed beer that didn’t sour as a miracle from God. If a beer sours badly enough, you end up with malt vinegar. Fine for fish and chips, but I wouldn’t want to drink it.

[@michaelhartley1458]

Wild yeast beer is called lambic. There are a few breweries that make this style, mostly in Belgium. Fermentation takes place in large open tanks, with cross ventilation windows to use the natural yeast in the local area.

[@TertiaryBrewing]

Nice video, shows how easy starting beer making can be. Brings back memories of beer kits from my brewing youth many years ago.

[@Esther-oz4ts]

I think we all secretly love it when Ben gets all sciency and geeky. I'm a non drinker and I thoroughly enjoyed watching this video.

[@mknappert]

I have been waiting literally years for a sorted homebrew vid!! Great job, Ben!

[@doublex1990]

I love when Ben gets all geeky and science-y

[@krizo96]

I started homebrewing mead a little while back, it's super easy and there are so many options and opportunities for experimentation with different ratios for sweetness, yeast types and all the other additives (fruit, spices etc.). Totally loving it so far, it quickly became one of my favourite hobbies!

[@andrevangraan5020]

I think it is great if you guys start in the home brew. As someone who has been brewing at home for close to 3 years now, I would say that it is a lot better to gently stir in your bottling sugar to the entire batch just before filling the bottles. That would ensure that all the bottles carbonate evenly, and if you add the correct amount, you won't get a fizz-over like the one at the end.

[@SortedFood]

Noted thanks!

[@spiderwrangler4457]

If you're stirring the priming sugar in, it's best to transfer to a second bucket first so you can get it off of the pile of yeast. You'll have more uniform carbonation, as each bottle will get the same amount, and less yeast ends up in the bottle, so less sediment and hop bits.

[@andrevangraan5020]

Ryan Bell Spiderwrangler spot on. Once @Sortedfood gets into full grain brewing, they won't go back

[@JJKChicago]

is anyone else in love with Ben's stubble

[@janmorrow]

6:52 laughed so hard i had to pause the vid - thank you for that educational yeasty moment

[@shirleycastle5170]

Wtg Ben, Good on ya. So pleased for you that all your hard work paid off and your beer tastes good. Enjoy

[@sophieOT7]

"Yeasty parts that sometimes u can get treatment for" 😂 😂 😂 I laughed so hard!

[@melanieanne6762]

two minutes...of vigorous...STIRRING! lol his face was priceless!!!

[@DonNorway]

7:30 The "foaming" of the bottle is a very common "small scale" brewer's problem. It foams because of a contamination of unwanted bacteria from the air either in the bottle or in the brewing tanks, or from the utensils used. People starting out brewing will often have these contaminations because their methods of sterilising and washing are not properly established yet.

[@DM-ig1fb]

I don't think Ben's ever looked as smug as 7.38. Bless.

[@InkyM4]

That awkward moment when Ben turns a chemistry lesson into biology class.

[@kittykaz7161]

Kudos to Ben, beer making is fun, rewarding and well in the long run cheeper than buying it from the shops. I've been making my own beer for a few years now....speaking of which time to crack one open :D

[@Georgie-Kate_B]

Cheers all the way from New Zealand! You guys are amazing! Come to nz for some great craft beer!

[@thegreatgildersneeze]

Six years later and "The Bell's End" still pops into my brain once in a while to crack me up in embarrassingly public places. Possibly one of the best "throwaway" jokes i've ever seen.

[@OyvindBjorgo]

For anyone wondering: the reason why you want your brewing equipment to be relatively sterile before fermentation, is that air contains wild yeast, and certain types of wild yeast can make your beer develop very odd flavors. Now, wild yeast is brilliant if you want to brew a spontaneously fermented beer style, such as a lambic. It is however not recommended if you are making a pilsner, IPA or any other style of beer that typically is not sour/tart and funky. Other wild yeast cultures can make your beer develop diacetyls, which is also used as a "fake butter" taste enhancement.

[@twizted8469]

Øyvind Bjørgo ive seen certain wierd brewaries that actually do theyre fermentation in the open air to get exactly that wild yeast so every beers a unique flavourr

[@stevenn1940]

The other concern is, of course, plain ol' bacteria. No one wants an infected beer/wine.

[@Jemima1377]

Thanks Mike for finally giving Ben another Brownie-point! That was overdue IMO... ^_~

[@goldfishy38]

OH NOOOOO BEN DISCUSSING NATURALLY OCCURRING YEAST ON HUMAN BODIES FEELS LIKE GETTING THE TALK FROM YOUR PARENTS WHO DON'T KNOW THAT YOU DON'T NEED THE TALK NOOOOOOO

[@luvevrybodybeautiful]

Cath Manuel Ben is daddy!

[@さおり-i4u]

no its fine, Ben is bae

[@nadkudo1798]

... DILF, then? :O

[@TheBeccabus]

I love that everyone else lost it, and Ben just kept on going!!

[@bcaye]

Oh, grow up.

[@roxanneturpin620]

I'm not sure why, but this was one of your best videos. Thanks!

[@dsr0116]

20 degrees C is pretty warm, even for an ale (you can get a lot of sweet tasting esters, and the beer itself is fermenting at a higher temp than ambient air). I've used a chest freezer with a temperature control for fermenting out my beers.

[@ninthusiva7546]

well done Ben. You deserved that brownie point for the amazing looking beer and the time you put into making it. 👌😊

[@3sonscider907]

Ebbers, if you wanted to reduce the amount of lees in each bottle, prior to bottling it is best to rack from your primary fermenter to a secondary fermenter leaving behind as much of the trub as possible. There will still be enough residual yeast suspended in the solution for bottle fermentation to occur. Its a simple win making technique that is used across the industry.

[@2AChef-n-BBQ]

I don't even like beer, but this is one of the best videos you have done. Very informative

[@g0mikese]

As a home brewer for 12 years I see sooooo many beginner mistakes in the process presented here... that said I likely made the exact same errors when I started, and in reality the difference between what I would have done and what you did only comes down to consistency and reliability. Brewing books and documents will stress the heck out of things like sanitizing equipment, using an airlock, and all sorts of technicalities. This is all just to make sure you don't get the rare bad batch (which would be clear from a terrible smell). So "Cheers!" for giving it a try and making your own!

[@Labelup01]

Barry at 1:10 gives the same gesture, your wingman gives you at the club when he helps you impress that lady you've been talking to

[@alwayspepperminttea]

Ben, you did good. Proud of you.

[@casvbr]

I loved the beer experiment, I currently study the first year of food technology....and I guess the home brew kit changed a couple of the steps of the normal process of brewing but it was fun to watch, great work guys!

[@dominicsmith8881]

The bell's end 😂😂 FANTASTIC

[@annemagee1182]

My dad made beer once, long long time ago. After he bottled it, he put the bottles in a cardboard box and put them at the back of the hall closet to do whatever it is that beer does when it's left alone in the dark. Then one night BANG BANG BANG -- the bottles blew open and sprayed all over the closet. Some of them even jumped out of the box. We thought it was hilarious but mum wasn't so thrilled.

[@sykessaul123]

My dad nearly got a bottle cap in the eye when he disturbed my alcoholic ginger beer that was fermenting in the fridge one day. Scared him half to death xD

[@Irishrachel1]

You guys should do a video on making iced tea! I love iced tea, it's great for summer but I'm not really sure of the best way to make it or what flavours to use

[@natashadavey7988]

I love Ben in hoodies. I find it strangely attractive

[@BeerMeetsWorld]

Glad you finally did a batch of beer! Get a few more under your belt, then try all-grain. You should try a wine making kit as well!

[@fieryskullface123]

You guys should do something with liquid nitrogen...maybe something like mini melts but with a twist? That would be cool

[@ChelseaJeanBentley]

I don't think I could deal with them loosing fingers to liquid nitrogen burns haha

[@josh.cohenmusic]

or maybe just dry ice

[@crazydoodler]

I think the one we'd have to worry more about if that ever happened would be Baz XD he'd sooo do something extra-worrisome.

[@callmeyourdai5y518]

ChelseaJeanBentley or blowing holes in their stomach. liquid nitrogen's more danger than its worth

[@karu6111]

right... that would be, indeed... coool

[@RolandDeschain1]

For a clearer beer, a few days before you bottle add a tablespoon of gelatin powder dissolved in warm water and just pour it over your your brew. Do not stir, It will help solidify the sediment at the bottom of the fermenter, leaving a lovely clear brew.

[@Lainey.Jo-93]

oh ben... only you can make yeast sound innocent and not so innocent all at the same time.

[@davefromage4331]

WOW!! It be AWESOME to do this at home!!

[@bleutitanium6513]

Good Job !!! Now with Home Brewing, I'd love to see you make other things. I make my own Sauerkraut and Kimchi. How about an episode on that, or Pickling? We all know you can pickle and ferment all kinds of veggies...

[@kathytiedje4767]

Centuries ago, they did boil beer before fermenting. This sterilized everything though that was not the purpose of boiling at the time. It was found to improve the flavor of the beer, and unintentionally, and unbeknownst to the Brewers, made the beer safer to drink than well water at the time.

[@decoydamsel]

This is completely Ben's week, he's so over the moon

[@Meeks143]

Go Ben! Super geek strikes back! Well done.

[@joeysvehla2309]

Do this again but with wine! I did it once and failed miserably because I can't follow long term directions, I respect Bens discipline. 😂

[@megan-wd8ng]

My papa used to make homemade beer and got me and my sister to help him and whenever Ben did something I could remember doing it those things about 8-9 years ago,it was so fun

[@eliten0Ob]

Dear SORTEDfood If you are interested, I'm a brewery engineer student from the scandinavian school of brewing, as well as a homebrewing instructor, and I would like to help you make an actual brew day episode, with all of the proper steps and procedures. Beer is simple to make, but can be made as sciency and as geeky as you'd like! If interested, just please reply to this message, and I will write a more official mail to discuss into further detail.

[@ashrap7422]

eliten0Ob k

[@ChelseaJeanBentley]

+

[@SortedFood]

You have just secured the opportunity to email [e-mail]... Would love to chat more!

[@BeerMeetsWorld]

Yes! All-grain brewing would bring out the geek in Ben even more, as well as learning about the malting process (Maillard reactions a plenty). :)

[@eliten0Ob]

You have now received a mail!

[@BeingAMonkey]

I once drank homebrewed beer. It tasted of acetone.

[@RICDirector]

LOL Ben! You just make another identical batch and check the SG of THAT. :) BTW...if you're ever in N. California (Chico, to be specific), there's a brewery of which you may have heard--Sierra Nevada Brewery, the one and original. Grow their own hops, send the spent mash to the university farm and get beef and veg for their restaurant in return. Would LOVE to see you guys do a piece on that--it's a full circle thing and utterly fascinating.

[@catdanelle3457]

My mom used to brew her own beer. There is something really fun about it. I never drank it, obviously, since I was a child when she would do it, but it was still fun.

[@gracfulgrace]

lmfao when you said the bit about the yeast and sometimes you can get treatment for that, i was not listening anymore. oh Ben, too funny

[@kristinabenson2758]

I work for a beverage distributor and 1 of our craft beer suppliers actually made a beer out of the yeast from the master brewers beard. Thankfully it was only available at the brewery & not in stores.

[@GiacomoRz]

No need for "sterilisation": sanitation is enough (kills *most* of the bacteria, far easier and quicker). Re the lack of sanitation and sterilisation in the past: remember that the beer is (and was) boiled (so sterilised!). The fermentation vessels were a bit more of an issue, and that's why beer in the ancient times was served "very fresh", would "go stale" quickly and was anyway mostly sour... Another important aspect: hops makes life much harder for bacterias (while not really affecting the yeast), and while your wort was already boiled (so contained all the hops additions), this is what further helped stabilise in the past. The late hops addition you did at the end of fermentation is called "dry-hopping" and it's pretty much done for flavouring and aroma purposes, rather than to increase shelf life.

[@IrmaU94]

i brewed beer as well and still got another kit here for a belgian blond beer. the first one was weizen. i must say mine actually looked slightly better. i suggest you use different bottles cause they look slighty flat. I used regular glass ones

[@cherub2918]

My dad made elderflower champagne a couple of times (you have to do it when elderflowers are fresh and in season as you need them fresh off the tree) but that tasted lovely! Just umm, if you're going to use plastic bottles like in this vid don't leave the "champagne" in your fridge too long like my uncle did because they're kind of like timebombs.

[@sykessaul123]

You can filter off the majority of the yeast so it doesn't carbonate anymore. Just gently siphon off the top part from your bottle after you're happy with the carbonation and stop when it gets near the yeast that's collected in the bottom.

[@CiderDivider]

Make mead!! It uses a lot of the same tools as making beer and you can customize it a lot more easily! Adding apples, mint, cinnamon... anything you'd like.

[@SortedFood]

+CiderDivider That starts with honey?

[@SortedFood]

+CiderDivider That starts with honey?

[@CiderDivider]

Yup! Mead is basically honey and water, along with yeasts and activators. Just as there are multiple styles of malts for flavouring beer, you can use all sorts of honeys (orange flower, clover...) that can help to customize your brew.

[@AnonEyeMouse]

Sooooo tempted to see the difference in the beer by alternating the sugar... say soft brown sugar, honey, fruit sugars etc...

[@conjure_mama]

omfg the pubs name 😂😂😂 the bells end 😂😂😂

[@MosdrasTheLight]

Ah reminds me of the summers in my childhood helping my dad brew beer in our New York basement . Fun with science . Maybe I can convince him to start it up again. Be nice to spend time like that with him again

[@garyvee6023]

Good on Mike giving the Browny point...., to make a truly amazing beer...., use real hops and raw sugar..., yummmmm.

[@matth3049]

Is this just Ben's lifetime dream to be a science teacher?

[@laureld01]

love ben's science bits

[@jkledis]

OMG - your process is very different than what we do in America. We boil everything - even the hops are added to the boil. Sometimes we had hops at different times in the boil. Hummm so weird so different - minus one brownie point.

[@007Decky]

Reminds me of an episode of Simpsons when Homer brewed the beer in the basement with bathtubs! (BTW, nice haircuts Ben and Barry!)

[@PhilBuildsThis]

Ben! with the malt extract, I'm not sure on your particular kit, but usually they tell you to boil the ingredients along for a certain amount of time to kill any off flavors that might have developed in the packaging as well as any nasty bacteria.

[@Astryca]

I remember when i brewed beer at school, we made everything from scratch, even extracted the sugar/ marmite thing from the malt.

[@SortedFood]

Brewing beer at school? We were at the wrong school.

[@Astryca]

Culinary school in Norway :)

[@Schachpferd]

Ben is my spirit animal

[@Adam_Garratt]

I made homemade beer a few years ago. It must have had an abv of about 10% it was that strong! I remember sitting in the living room with this huge keg next to me, and thinking to myself 'what a time to be alive'

[@pilsplease7561]

I made a Belgian beer 2 years ago, damn thing was 14.5% abv, found a bottle of it in my fridge! Damn thing is still good.

[@myksiealley]

3:26: Ben, I can relate to the struggle of finding the right word 🤓

[@Psychlopic]

Ben, you should really try making Mead as well (Nordic "beer" based around honey). A lot of the same methods, though I believe it's somewhat simpler, and you can incorporate a lot more different flavours into it.

[@Dav4122]

Psychlopic but it tastes like window cleaner for 6 months and at least mine only got good enough to share after a year

[@up4itgal]

Well done Ben!

[@Feralbyrd]

Do tepache next! It's a yummy Mexican fermented pineapple drink with spices in it. Fairly low alcohol content, because it's only fermented for a few days.

[@heyitsmeshaz]

In Australia, if you serve a beer with very little foam, you'll get told "You give bad head". So Ben - "you give bad head" XD

[@lemurwolf]

I watched this video ONCE and now KZbin won't stop showing me ads for craft breweries. Don't get confused, KZbin; I watched this video because of my love for the Sorted boys, not because I enjoy foamy yeast juice.

[@andorrasrevenge1683]

Ben pretty much kicks ass this whole video

[@Sir_Loin_Of_Beef]

If you're ever around Kraków, Poland, hit me up. I usually got about 4-5 varieties on hand and always game to brew another one and show some homebrew wisdom

[@aurelienbiechy]

Hi Ben, were not you concerned that the chlorine content in tap water would kill or disturbed the yeast? Isn't it recommended to use spring water instead (not the same budget obviously)?

[@missheniki]

I realise I'm more than a year late to this party, but I can't believe they didn't smell it fermenting away. My dad makes wine and used to make beer - you could always smell it during the initial 2 weeks before he moved it.

[@SirWussiePants]

I make beer and this is the weirdest kit I have ever seen. Usually a simple kit has the Malt Extract, some grains, and the hops. You get the water to a specific temperature and steep the grains, add Malt extract, and have hop additions every 20 minutes or so. Then you cool the wort and pitch yeast. The kit Ben did was all in one bucket and no steeping. Easier, but the issue is that you get different flavor profiles based on how long you boil the hops for, so just adding them to the end is called dry hopping and that is usually done as an addition, not in replacement of the hops that were added earlier. It also sounds like there wasnt enough (or any?) sugar added just before bottling. That additional sugar wakes up the yeast to produce more carbon dioxide which makes the bubbles and fizziness in the beer. I hope Ben graduated to better kits in the meantime. Brewing is fun!

[@BlackLotusC108]

i love how much you interact with your fans... i also want to go into culinary arts, can you tell me what im going to expect? please :) btw i always love your videos hilarious and factual and hungry lol

[@asparagussauce]

Ha, I just bought my brother a home brew kit (same fermenting barrel!) for his birthday, I'll have to show him this so he knows what to do! I'll be starting on some wine soon :)

[@jogreer9814]

I bought my father a Pico Brew machine for Xmas. He's made two beers and both were excellent. I'm not even a beer drinker.

[@jordanl2317]

I swear I've watched everyone from Gordon Ramsey to Brian Brushwood make beer- I even need to know it for my Biology GCSE- and I still can't tell you how you do it. It's one of those things you learn for a day then entirely forget

[@MikeDelphi1]

Look at the Jas towndsend and son's videos online. The Sediment at the bottom is called Barm and it was what was used to make BREAD in the 17th and 18th centuries.

[@dperezbalada]

Yeah! Now you're talking BIG! Ben, try out some whole grain receipt, instead of malt extract. Get some Pale Ale, Biscuit, Amber or Caramel and just a bit of Chocolate malts, around 2 kg. overall. Cover with 10 liters of 62º-70º C hot water to macerate for an hour (lower temperature=lighter beer, higher temperature=sweeter and stronger beer; but never surpass 72º C which would break the produced enzymes). Take the out the soaked malt and drain it as much as possible, and filter the liquid. Cook the beer worst around 90 min, when 60 min. remains, add the bittering hops (5 gr. ColumBus is my standard choice), then let it cook further, add more hops every 15 min. for flavouring the beer (each time, a mix of 2,5 gr. Santiam + Cascade is pretty good). Adjust hops according your taste. When the time's elapsed, stop the boiling process, add some dextrose, cane sugar or honey and mix for about 2 min. to air and dissolve the added sugar, then cool down the mix as quick as possible to 20º C. Add a traditional Ale yeast, and the reset is following the fermenting and bottling instructions on your video. You will end up with a slightly sweeter and darker beer called Brown Ale (I do not consider it American type due it doesn't follow the standard receipt). Dry hopping (adding hops like crazy during the fermenting process) does not suit this kind of receipt, if you do be gentle and use exclusively aroma hops such as Willamette.

[@stevenn1940]

Correction good sir: Beer (or at least fermented alcohol) has been produced by humans for millennia. Not sure on beer specifically, or at least the modern definition of it. Also, yeast consumes the sugar and produced 50% alcohol and 50% carbon dioxide by weight. Which is why they had you do the secondary fermentation in the pressure stable bottle, to give it some carbonation. I make wine as a hobby.

[@jesusduckingchrist6915]

Lol I home brew- that was rather funny to watch.

[@amykiernan8106]

We made a pale ale in college with in our food microbiology lab module. Every home making kit is different. Only took us 3 weeks definitely wasn't as long as that one thankfully

[@tmuzaffa]

Aw, well deserved brownie point, science boy!!

[@TheKangazoo]

Never brewed a beer like that, and never will, but it seemed quite accesible for people inexperienced with home brewing. Especially that you do not need a 30liter pot to boil your wort in. You just chuch everything in and hope for the best. One tip would be to make a sugar solution that you tip into the beer (or the bottles) before tapping. Much easier to control the amount of sugar. The lack of carbonation was either lack of sugar or that the beer has not fully fermeted yet.

[@SortedFood]

Thanks for the tips.

[@MrJdam0079]

Always been curious about trying a home brewing kit, what was the brand that y'all used?

[@katracaleigh1481]

Maybe it's a dumb question, but Ben said the yeast eats the sugar and converts it to energy to stay alive, and the byproducts are what give certain aspects of the beer. What eventually happens to the yeast? Do they have a short lifespan after they're reconstituted? Do they drown, are they ingested?

[@recreant359]

This was a very interesting way to brew beer, most of the recipes I used added hops during the boil or at the end.

[@NeilMcAdam9]

How much did all the equipment cost? I'm very interested in having a go myself!