Home-brewing beer has become wildly popular in recent years, but many amateur brewers are using prepackaged kits or store-bought ingredients. In the first episode of its new alcohol series, the How to Make Everything team attempts to brew a wheat beer entirely from scratch.
While most wheat beers also contain barley, host Andy George uses only the leftover wheat from his previous sandwich-making exploits. George finishes the recipe with hydroponically grown hops and homemade yeast. With all of the ingredients in tow, he completes the process with the help of Northern Brewer brewmaster Brad Segall. Segall is skeptical that a 100 percent wheat bear will work — "it's definitely not a very traditional beer to make" — but when it's all said and done, he's pleasantly surprised.
"Wow, I'd say everything worked out nicely," Segall proclaims upon tasting the finished product. "Nice, light in color, light in body, a little bit under 5 percent in alcohol — some people say 100 percent wheat beer can't be done, but here's the proof."