“Prost!” The two 16-ounce glasses clinked together in harmony with their elated voices as they toasted with the German “cheers,” and the thick amber liquid glided smoothly into their gaping mouths.

“You’re cursed if you don’t look at each other in the eye,” said senior kinesiology major Jackson Dehn as he raised his glass, following a custom he picked on a trip to Munich, Germany, the world’s beer capital.

The satisfaction of guzzling down quality beer has motivated dozens of students, like Jackson and his housemate senior government and politics major Jimmy Creegan, to brew their own homemade beer.

With the help of online instructions and beer kits, Dehn and Creegan are perfecting their technique and looking for the perfect brew. Their latest is called “Samuel Jackson” in honor of its dark color and the popular Chappelle Show skit.

“We are big beer fans,” Creegan said. “We started this semester because we wanted to do something cool before graduation. Every college student is capable of doing it.”

Creegan said they started producing “Das Manor Bier” (German for “the house beer”) after he had an epiphany watching the characters in the animated sitcom Futurama start their own brew.

“It was completely random,” he said.

Creegan said they jumped on the idea, did their research and paid close to $80 for their first beer kit complete with siphons and buckets reminiscent of the Prohibition era.

“Every batch yields about 48 bottles,” Dehn said. “We usually just experiment by using varying amounts of grain and it tastes great because it’s pure.”

The beer aficionados take great care in making sure each batch is high on taste and low on the impurities they say are too common in most commercial beer. They buy only natural spring water to boil the malts and hops that make up the wort – the still unfermented beer. They said it lends the beer a unique piquancy and higher alcohol content.

And while their living room may be less than tidy, Creegan says they are just as particular about keeping the operation clean.

“You wouldn’t know it by looking at our house, but we keep everything sanitized,” Creegan said. “The difference between a good and bad beer is its purity.”

The process can be long, but Dehn said the meticulous cleaning, cooking and waiting is worth it when you’re finally left with an ambrosial ale. This past Christmas, they brewed a sweet red drink they called “Ralph’s Red Ale” in honor of Terrapin football coach Ralph Friedgen. Creegan created labels for the beer using digitally altered pictures of yard sale treasures like the statue of Don Quixote that oversees the beer production.

He said the beer was a hit with everyone.

“It’s really a novelty to show off to friends,” Creegan said. “We’d put our beer up against anything at Franklin’s, Cornerstone or Bentley’s.”

In trying to perfect each batch, the pair looks primarily for smoothness, dark color, texture and a good aftertaste. Of course they stress it’s only a hobby. The brewing operation does not keep Creegan and Dehn from enjoying an occasional bottle at a local bar.

“We are not beer snobs,” Dehn said. “We still go out to Cornerstone and have our drafts. I even have Budweiser in the fridge.”

But both agree their thick, rich brews quench their deeper thirst.

“We prefer a full-bodied beer,” Creegan said.

Dehn went further: “A manly beer that will put hair on your chest.”

Home-brewing operations have been a popular mainstay of American culture since before Prohibition. When alcohol was banned in 1920, “bootleggers” and “moonshiners” concocted their fermented liquor under the veil of night to avoid the authorities.

Though Prohibition ended in 1933, it was only until 45 years later in 1978 that the federal government legalized home-brewing as long as the production rate remained below 200 gallons per year, according to the American Homebrewer’s Association. Each state has its own rules, but organizations such as AHA are lobbying for recognition in all state legislatures.

As long as the beer is not sold, homebrewers like Creegan and Dehn can enjoy happy spirits inside the dilapidated walls of their antique College Park home, which they call “The Manor.”

“Everyone can make a good beer to suit their individual tastes,” Creegan said smiling.

Contact reporter Arelis Hernandez at hernandezdbk@gmail.com.