By Bob Hannon
Okay so now you want to brew some Beer but you have no idea what is involved. Here I will try to answer any questions you may have. This page will be for the beginner and will cover the equipment, ingredients and procedures used in Homebrewing. I will have used all the following procedures with positive results. If I fail to answer any questions you may have please e-mail me and I will get an answer to you quick.
You may want to download a program of the internet titled Suds 4.0 it was written
by Michael Taylor. This is a great recipe formulator. I have linked the
page it is on. Check it out it works great!
Another good one is . It is put
out by Jeffrey Donovan and the Sausalito Brewing Co.
There are a few things we need to discuss before we get into the brewing process.
First and most important is Sanitation. Everything must be CLEAN, CLEAN and CLEAN. Anything that comes in contact with the WORT after cooking must be clean and sanitized. There is no shortage of products on the market to help you sanitize your equipment but all you really need is unscented household Bleach. Use about 1 1/2 tablespoon of bleach per 1 gallon of water. Rinse all equipment well before using (because the bleach really doesn't' taste to good and it isn't good for you). Do not use the bleach to sterilize any Stainless Steel equipment. Use an Iodine based product such as Idophor for this.
Second there is the equipment needed to brew. Here you can be as fancy as you want or as basic as you want. You will need a minimum of equipment though and here it is;
1) Primary fermenter with a lid, stopper and airlock. This can be food grade plastic or a glass carboy.
2) Bottling bucket with a spigot.
3) Siphon equipment(a piece of food grade plastic tube).
4) Bottle filler
5) A capper to fasten the bottle caps
6) Bottle Caps
7) Hydrometer with a sample tube.
8) Bottle brush.
9) Thermometer
10) 48 12 oz. bottles (empty). Make sure they aren't the twist off type use the returnable type.
11) A large stirring spoon. Long enough to reach the bottom of you bottling bucket without your hand touching the WORT(WORT?? you ask. This will be answered below).
12) A pot. This generally doesn't come with a kit. It is great to have a pot that you can boil 6 gallons of wort in but you can use a 16 quart pot and boil smaller amounts of water. Use a stainless steel pot or an enamel canning type pot(preferably).
You can get this equipment in a kit form for under $70. Go to the links page to find out more.
Third. Nomenclature (learn the lingo).
Here is a list of the more common words you may run across while Homebrewing. This is by no means a complete list but it should get you started.
Ale-----This is a Top fermented Beer meaning that the yeast does most of its work on the top.
Adjuncts----This is anything that is added to the beer that isn't Malt, Hops or Water and is used to alter the taste (like flavorings such as blueberry, cherry, etc) or the alcohol content of the beer.
Alpha Acid Units---- A measurement of Hops. Equal to the weight of Hops in ounces multiplied by the percent of Alpha Acids in the Hop.
Beer----This is the finished product of the fermented malt.
D.M.E.---This is Dry Malt Extract. It has had the liquid removed and will make about 20% higher gravity beers than Liquid Malt Extract.
Fermentation--- The whole reason for the page! The conversion of sugars into alcohol (Beer).
Gravity---This is the weight of the Beer relative to water (water being 1.000). You should take a reading right before you add the Yeast and before bottling.
Gypsum----Is added to harden your water. This helps with the coagulation of the proteins and the sediment of the yeast.
Hops---These grow on vines and are used to offset the sweet taste of the malted barley. They are available in three forms Pellets, Plugs and Whole Hops.
Hydrometer---A device designed to measure the Specific Gravity of your wort. You float the Hydrometer in the wort and take a reading where the Hydrometer and the liquid meet.
International Bittering Units---This is the standard for measuring the bitterness of beer. American mass marketed beers (Bud, Miller, etc) average between 11-15 IBU's while Guinness Stout comes in at about 50 IBU's.
Irish Moss---This is a dried seaweed. It helps clear the beer by attaching itself to the malt proteins before it settles out.
Lager----This is a beer made by using bottom fermenting Yeast. It is also fermented at lower temperatures than an ALE.
L.M.E.---This is liquid malt extract. This is basically wort that has been evaporated and condensed to about 80% solids.
Pitching----This is the term used for adding Yeast to the wort.
Primary Ferment---This is the time when the beer ferments most actively. It usually lasts about 3 to 7 days but may be longer depending on conditions.
Priming---The addition of sugar prior to bottling to carbonate the beer.
Rack or Racking----This is simply the transferring of the liquid from one container to another.
Secondary Ferment---- This is the clarification and conditioning stage. Done to prevent off -flavors during long ferments.
Starters----This will help to create more yeast from the same pack. It will speed up the fermentation. You can make one by adding either Dry Malt Extract or Corn Sugar to 1 cup of warm (90*F) water. Let this mixture set in a sterile jar that has been loosely covered (cover with clear plastic wrap) for about 30 minutes. You will see the churning and foaming. This is when it will be ready to pitch.
Trub---This is the sediment on the bottom of your cooking pot and/or your fermenter.
Wort---The name for beer before it is fermented.
Yeast---Yeast is a fungus that eats sugars. The by-products of this process is the creation of alcohol, carbon dioxide and flavorings. You can alter the taste of a recipe by doing nothing except changing the yeast. Try it! There are two types of Yeast. Liquid and Dry. Liquid being the better of the two because it is a more pure culture. You must start the liquid yeast a few days in advance of brewing.
Fourth. Here we will talk about Ingredients. What goes in to your beer can be as varied as the colors in nature. Your basic ingredients are Malt, Hops, Water and a little Sugar for priming. You also may want to add adjuncts but get familiar with the brewing process first by making a batch or two. You can buy Kits that include all the needed ingredients for a batch of Beer. These kits encompass just about every kind of beer you can think of. I would recommend this for the first couple of batches because they usually contain some pretty good directions. I STRONGLY URGE YOU NOT TO USE SUGAR AS A MAIN INGREDIENT IN YOUR BEER. If the recipe calls for sugar in large amounts please substitute either D.M.E. or L.M.E. This is important because the use of to much sugar will adversely effect the taste of the Beer. It may become cidery. YUK! And we don't want you to be turned off to Homebrewing because of a bad first batch.
Okay so now you're ready to brew huh? In the next section I will go over the Brewing Process with you.
Okay now lets talk about Brewing. I will go over this in steps.
1.) The Recipe
Have all the ingredients ready before you start. Use a Brew Log to keep good records of everything you do (I have enclosed a sample, feel free to use this one or use it as a sample for your own). Keep track of times, amounts and ingredients. This is a very important step. Remember you may want to make this beer again. It helps to keep track of what went right and also it may help you determine what went wrong. If you what some recipes go to the link page and check out some of the information there (especially Brewery-Cats Meow) or you can buy a kit. If it is your first time I would recommend an ALE kit. I say ALE because this is probably the easiest to brew. If you go to the link page you can find some companies that sell kits.
2.) Yeast Preparation
If you are using Liquid Yeast make sure the yeast is swollen and ready to go. If you are using Dry Yeast you must rehydrate the yeast before use. Follow the instructions on the packet.
3.) Water
The bigger your pot the more water you can SAFELY boil (up to 6 gallons) the better for your finished beer. Use a minimum of 21/2 gallons of water. It is at this point that I usually add a little gypsum to harden the water. Finally add any specialty grains that are called for in the recipe before you turn on the heat. Remember to put them in a grain bag first!
4.) Adding Ingredients
Right before the water begins to boil remove the specialty grains dipping them first like a tea bag and discard. Once the water achieves a rolling boil turn off the heat and add the extract. Stir the mixture, now called WORT until all the extract is dissolved. You don't want any to stick to the bottom of the pot and burn as this will produce off flavors in the beer. Turn the heat back on and watch carefully now. The wort will have a tendency to boil over. If you stir vigorously at the onset of the foam you can avoid this messy and dreaded event (I also hear blowing on the foam helps. No kidding). A boil over may also happen when you add the Hops so watch out then too. Now once the rolling boil begins wait 10 minutes and add the first addition of hops (bittering). All recipes are different so follow the directions for adding HOPS. Remember to watch for boil overs. Now it is 30 minutes into the boil so it is time to add the second addition of hops or flavoring hops. At 45 minutes into the boil add 3/4 of a teaspoon of Irish Moss. Let's warp ahead to the final 2 minutes of the 60 minute boil. Add your third and final addition of hops the Aroma Hops. After the final 2 minutes of the boil turn off the heat and cover the pot.
5.) Cooling the Wort.
It is now time to cool the wort. It is important to cool the wort as fast as possible to avoid contamination. Place your covered pot in a sink or tub that has been filled with cold water. You'll need to change the water 3 or 4 times because it will heat up. You can also cool the wort in your fermenter if you have a temperature strip that attaches to the side of your fermenter bucket. Once the wort is under 90*F precede to step 6.
6.) Racking and Pitching the Yeast
I hope that by this time you have sanitized your Fermenter. If not you still have time while the wort is cooling. Rack the cooled wort into the fermenter leaving behind as much Trub as possible while taking as much of the Wort as possible. Add enough water to bring the total volume in your fermenter up to 5 gallons. Take a Hydrometer reading at this time (in the tube that is provided not in the fermenter) don't forget to adjust your reading according to the temperature of your wort. The chart should come with your Hydrometer(if not e-mail me I will send you one). Once the temperature drops to around 75*F or less Pitch the Yeast. Just a quick word about yeast STARTERS. I personally don't use them but many and I do mean many people swear by them. A started is basicly some sterile wort that the Yeast is added to to increase the amont of yeast. This will take about 24 - 36 hours to accomplish. This is your decision. After you pitch the yeast put the lid, stopper and air lock on your fermenter and wait. In about 12- 24 hours you should notice the fermentation process beginning.
7.) Fermentation
The beer will ferment for about 4- 12 days. When you think the beer is done fermenting take a hydrometer reading. Wait for 2 more days and check it again. If the reading hasn't changed your beer is ready to bottle. Please leave in the fermenter for at least 12 days though.
Let's talk about two-stage fermenting. This is where you rack the beer from the primary fermenter to another vessel called a secondary fermenter (remember it has to be sanitized). This helps clear the beer and avoids the possible off flavors from the Trub if the beer sits on it to long. Usually you transfer the beer after the active ferment stops about 3-5 days (when you have less than 3 bubbles a minute in your airlock).
8.) Priming
There are a few ways to do this. I usually just dump about 3/4 cup of Corn Sugar into my priming bucket and stir gently (you don't want to aerate the beer to much) to dissolve the sugar. Another way is to bring 1 cup of water and 3/4 cup of corn sugar to a boil. Let it cool and add to the priming bucket and stir gently. Remember to sanitize the spoon before using it.
9.) Bottling
You will need about two cases of empty RETURNABLE bottles that have been cleaned and sanitized. If the bottles have already been cleaned you can run them through the dry cycle of a dishwasher(this is the method I use). Make sure you don't run the water if you have Jet Dry in the dishwasher as this will leave a coating on the bottle effecting the head of your beer. It is also recommended that you sanitize your bottle caps. Don't use heat for this as it may ruin the gasket in the cap.
Hook up whatever your going to use to fill the bottles. Fill the bottles to a 1/2 inch from the top. When you withdraw the filler you should have about 1 inch of head space in the bottle. Place a cap loosely on the bottle. Repeat this 47 more times. Once all the bottles are full grab your Capper and fasten all the caps to the bottles.
10.) Aging and Carbonating.
Now comes the hardest part. One step I have never been able to do in the years that I have been brewing. WAIT! It will take about 1 week to carbonate. This is where I usually sneak my first taste. You should wait about 2-3 weeks for the beer to carbonate and condition.
YOU'VE DONE IT! YOU'VE MADE BEER! RELAX SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOR. SALUTE!