How do you brew beer?
To start, it’s easy. Check out the article we did about brewing here. As we’ve been brewing for about three and a half years now, our system has advanced – click here to see the technical bits of how we brew.
Is it even legal to brew beer in Singapore?
Yes it is! You don’t need to get a license to brew beer in Singapore, and each household is entitled to brew up to 30 litres of beer a month. The Singapore Customs page here outlines the conditions for brewing beer in your HDB flat or fancy house.
How much space do you need?
Not much, really! We live in a HDB flat, and our kitchen is a narrow, 21-square-metre space, but it’s enough space for two people to get busy. It helps if your kitchen is close to a bathroom to make washing bigger objects like your pot or fermenter easier.
Do you need a lot of specialised equipment to brew beer?
Not really. You’ll definitely need a fermenter, a long spoon, hydrometer and the like to brew properly, but beyond the stuff in a basic brew kit, you’ll only need a nice, big pot to boil your wort, which you can get at Sia Huat or Lau Choy Seng on Temple Street. You’ll also need good refrigeration to store your beer while it ferments. We hacked a second hand freezer to keep the right temperatures for fermenting.
Does it cost a lot to brew beer in Singapore?
Yes, more than it does in the UK or US, for example. But still, it’s not very much more. Our typical brew costs about $2.50 per litre in raw ingredients.
Where do you get your ingredients?
We mainly get our grains from Neo at www.homebrew.sg, and import our hops from www.yakimavalleyhops.com or www.nikobrew.com.
What are some of the biggest problems you encounter brewing beer in Singapore?
Temperature control. It’s warm here and the heat and humidity do bad things to beer. We hacked a second hand freezer to keep the right temperatures for fermenting in our temperatures and ensure the beers come out tasting right. Nick did an experiment leaving beer our in Singapore’s natural heat and humidity and the results were awfullll.
What is the highest alcohol percentage beer you can brew?
24 percent. Most yeasts die by around 9 percent.
Do you sell your beers?
We can’t, unfortunately. One of the rules of homebrewing beer in Singapore states that we can’t sell our beers.
12 Comments
Great blog guys.
What is the brand of the electric mash kettle you use?
We got it from loy choy seng, it is there own brand, used for boiling chickens in. http://www.lauchoyseng.com/
Do you know what the product name is? Does it plug into a standard 13amp wall socket?
Not sure the product name but it plugs into a 13 amp supply.
Hey, just wondering if you ever have any issues importing hops in terms of customs here? I’m thinking of using Yakimavalley or Hops Direct, but might they get stopped on import and do you pay taxes etc. Thanks!
Yeh there is no issue I have done it plenty of times. Yakima valley is great as there shipping fees are reasonable. You will only pay tax if your order is over 400$ SGD.
If i purchase home brewing starter kits from Amazon US and ship it to Singapore. Will it impose tax charges by Singapore Customs?
As long the value is below the taxable threshold value you will not get taxed on it. But at 7% its hardly much tax anyways.
I mean this article lol:
http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2142251/indonesia-arrests-home-brew-booze-kingpin-after-dozens-die
This is a liquor and is due to methanol poisoning from distillation. Beer is not distilled and fermentation by-products are well controlled so you can not get die from drink homebrew.
Nice blog nice detail!
1 question, regarding the fermentation. Cause Singapore is hot, if during the fermentation process i leave it in the cabinet to avoid light. Will it ferment properly?
Yes you need temperature control otherwise you beer will taste wrong. Ideally get a wine chiller easiest way and set to 20c˚ for ale fermentation.