HLM -Chapter 1432 Brother-in-Law, Don’t Do This

In fact, brewing beer is just a process, and homebrewing beer is quite simple.

First, crush the malt and put it into a mash tun to extract the wort. Bring it to a boil, then add hops at specific times. After that, rapidly cool it to below 20°C, pitch beer yeast that has been pre-cultured with wort, then seal it in a fermentation vessel with a one-way airlock and let it ferment away from light.

This fermentation process is very slow and takes at least a week. In other words, after everyone finishes making the beer, they’ll have to wait a week before they can drink it.

Looking at the two sealed fermentation barrels, Wang Bo asked unwillingly, “So we can only wait? Damn it—can’t we drink it now?”

“That’s not beer yet, just wort. Even if you drank it, you wouldn’t like it,” Old Rex said with a shrug.

Wang Bo sighed. “Fine. Then I’ll just wait the damn week to pass before tasting the good stuff.”

Fortunately, winter was a quiet season, and time passed quickly. Over the week, there weren’t many changes in Sunset Town—just slightly warmer weather and a few more tourists.

However, the number of domestic tourists didn’t decrease. Back home, it was gradually getting hotter, and many people wanted to escape the heat. Although New Zealand’s climate was a bit cold, its winter air quality was the best, which still made it appealing to quite a few people.

By late July, the week was over. After work, Wang Bo and the others rushed to the brewery.

Now the storage room didn’t just have two barrels of beer, but more than twenty. These were all brewed by the brewers over the past few days.

When Wang Bo entered the storage room, he went momentarily blind. “All these barrels look exactly the same. Which ones are ours?”

The old guide smiled. “Let me identify them for you.”

He walked around the fermentation barrels, then patted the two at the back. “Boss, these two are ours.”

Wang Bo said admiringly, “Sharp eyes. You really are a well-traveled old guy.”

Old Rex chuckled. “I’d love to take the compliment, but actually the fermentation barrels are labeled with the dates. Look.”

Uncle Bing, Hani, and Atulu all burst into laughter.

The two large barrels were carried out, but they still couldn’t be drunk directly—this wasn’t finished beer yet.

Beer brewed this way already contained plenty of carbon dioxide, but the flavor was a bit bitter, so some white sugar dissolved in cooled boiled water needed to be added.

Atulu poured in a pile of sugar and said, “No wonder some beers taste sweet when I drink them—it’s because sugar’s added. Come on, add more.”

Wang Bo knew about this. The sugar wasn’t added to directly improve the flavor, but to allow the yeast to undergo secondary fermentation in the bottle, producing more carbon dioxide, enhancing the beer’s flavor and creating more layers of taste.

Wang Bo only added sugar water to one barrel. For twenty liters of beer, about 180 grams of white sugar was enough—any more would affect the taste.

After thoroughly mixing the sugar water and beer, the old guide used a siphon to transfer the liquid into sterilized glass bottles and sealed them.

“Leave some space at the neck of the bottle,” he explained while working. “That way, oxygen can activate the yeast to break down the nutrients in the sugar water added later, producing more carbon dioxide that dissolves into the beer.”

Atulu opened the other barrel of beer. It didn’t need sugar—beer fermented for a week was still drinkable. Some people even preferred beer without added sugar.

After all, early brewing techniques didn’t include the concept of secondary fermentation.

Wang Bo had Atulu carry the beer barrel, and the group found a vacation cabin on the farm to stay in. Motak sent someone over with a grill, which they lit and placed a pot on top—perfect for hot pot.

Looking at the clear sky outside, Wang Bo said regretfully, “Too bad it’s not snowing. Eating hot pot and drinking homebrewed beer while it’s snowing would be amazing.”

“It’s fine, boss,” Atulu said. “Hot pot and beer are already great.”

Once the pot came to a boil, they started swishing plate after plate of lamb.

Atulu filled everyone’s beer mugs, and in an instant, nearly half the barrel was gone.

These beer mugs were huge—each could hold a full liter. Wang Bo felt the weight in his hand. He raised the mug and took a big gulp, the aroma rich and dense.

Uncle Bing, Atulu, and Hani were all seasoned beer drinkers, not to mention Old Rex. After a few sips, their eyes all lit up.

“Shit—why didn’t we start brewing our own beer earlier?”

“Rex, this beer you brewed is amazing!”

“Thanks. Honestly, it’s the water that’s amazing. I knew the town’s water was perfect for brewing beer!”

Tender lamb rolled in the pot, but no one had much interest in eating. They just kept raising their cups and drinking. A twenty-liter barrel of beer was quickly finished by six or seven people.

After emptying that barrel, they were still unsatisfied. They looked at each other, and Atulu said, “Boss, I’ll bring over the other barrel.”

Wang Bo shook his head. “Forget it. That one needs secondary fermentation.”

“It tastes pretty good even without secondary fermentation,” Atulu said.

Everyone nodded. Indeed, beer brewed using traditional methods was still fragrant and appetite-inducing.

Wang Bo didn’t allow it. His alcohol tolerance was average, and after drinking two liters of beer, he was already a bit dizzy.

Homebrewed beer had a much higher alcohol content than ordinary beer—what they brewed was at least ten percent. Wang Bo drank fast, which made it hit even harder.

Still, the dizzy feeling wasn’t bad. Wang Bo ate two pieces of meat in a daze, then felt full. He stood up, supporting himself on the table, and said, “Everyone, goodbye. I’m going back to see the kid.”

Uncle Bing stopped him. “Boss, you’ve had too much to drink. How are you getting back now?”

Wang Bo pointed outside. “My car’s right there. I’ll drive back.”

Uncle Bing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Is this beer really that strong? The boss is drunk.”

Atulu egged him on. “Let him drive, then we’ll arrest him.”

“Idiot. When he sobers up, he’ll beat you to death,” Hani said, rolling his eyes.

In the end, Uncle Bing had Motak drive Wang Bo home. When Wang Bo stumbled out of the car at the villa entrance, Zhuang Ding saw him and pounced, knocking him straight to the ground.

There were still traces of snow on the grass. With alcohol burning through his body, Wang Bo didn’t feel cold at all. Hugging Zhuang Ding, he started planting loud kisses all over it.

Zhuang Ding was stunned by the sudden affection, but it understood that kisses meant love, so it wagged its tail nonstop.

Little Wang and the chubby cats saw this and grew jealous, running over and jostling to get Wang Bo to kiss them too. Commander kept shouting, “Ah! Kiss me! Ah! Kiss me!”

Wang Bo ignored them and kept kissing Zhuang Ding.

Zhuang Ding was very pleased: You little bitches see now who’s the real favorite, huh?

The little girl ran out of the house and froze when she saw the scene. “Brother-in-law, don’t do that… are you trying to have sex with the dog?”