| Basic Brewing Instructions | | Print | |
| Wednesday, 14 January 2009 05:16 |
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Basic Brewing Instructions Are you ready to brew beer in your own home that can rival and even surpass the quality of the commercial brands? Well besides the ingredients, here's what your going to need:
Homebrewing Instructions These instructions are for brewing a 5 gallon batch of beer. They are also general instructions for basic homebrewing. You may need to alter the process depending on the type of beer or the exact equipment you're using (if you purchased a kit). Step 1 - Sanitize Everthing! Sterilize everything, well except for the sturdy container. This step is extremely important because there is a big difference between clean and sanitized. You can't see bacteria, but it can ruin an entire batch of beer (and your valuable time). In a large tub, or your kitchen sink, make a mixture of about 2 ounces of unscented bleach per 5 gallons of cold water. First sanitize the glass carboy using this solution. After sanitizing rinse thoroughly with plain water to remove all traces of bleach. For all items that will fit in the sink, let them soak in the solution for about 10 minutes and then rinse thorougly. Step 2 - Boiling the Wort (pronounced wert) Add about 1 1/2 gallons of cold water to the brewing pot. If your recipe calls for specialty grains, put the cracked grains in a sparge bag and let them soak (like a tea bag) in the brewing pot and turn on the burner. For more detailed information, read my specialty grains page. Just before the water starts to boil, remove the sparge bag. Now mix your malt extract into the brewing pot and again, bring to a boil. ***Be careful to stir immediately and often so the malt doesn't burn onto the bottom of the pot. Boil for about 20 minutes and watch it closely so it doesn't boil over. Step 3 - Add Bittering Hops Now put the necessary amount of hops into a sparge bag and steep for at 30 minutes (30 minutes are required to extract the necessary oils from the hops). Step 4 - Add Finishing Hops (optional) If your recipe calls for finishing hops, put them into a sparge bag and steep for 1 - 10 minutes, depending on the recipe. (generally for flavor, steep no more than 10 minutes, for aroma no more than about 2 minutes). Step 5 - Stop Boiling Remove the wort from the burner. Place the lid on brewing pot and turn off the heat. Step 6 - Prepare the Glass Carboy (fermenter) Fill the glass carboy approximately half way with cold water. Step 7 - Bring Temperature Down Create a bath of ice water for the brewing pot to sit in if you don't have a wort chiller. You'll need to drain and re-add ice as necessary. While cooling, go on to Step 8. If you have a wort chiller, now would be the time to use it! Step 8 - Prepare the Yeast (proofing) Add at least 6 ounces of lukewarm tap water to the sterilized measuring cup and then open and add dried yeast packets. This rehydration step gently wakes up the yeast. Cover and set aside. Step 9 - Transfer Wort to Fermenter When brewing pot has cooled almost to touch, transfer the wort to glass carboy using the large funnel. Tip: If you use a small pot to ladle the wort from the brewing pot to the fermenter, make sure it is sterilized. Step 10 - Top-off the Fermenter Next, fill up the fermenter with cold water up to the 5 gallon mark. Do this with lots of splashing and occasional shaking of the fermenter in order to put oxygen into the wort. The yeast needs oxygen to do its thing and boiling removes the oxygen that was in the water. Step 11 - Check Temperature and Pitch Yeast When the temperature gets below 75 degrees Fahrenheit, take a hydrometer reading and record the specific gravity (not necessary, but recommended). Step 12 - Pitch the Yeast Now that the wort is below 75 degrees, it is safe to add the yeast. The yeast could die if not cooled down to at least this temperature. Step 13 - Attach Blow of Tube Now put the fermenter in a place that is out of direct sunlight and will stay reasonably cool and stable in temperature (preferably not the garage, the temperature fluxuates too much). Now fill the sturdy container about halfway with water and set beside fermenter. Next, take the sterilzed, 1 1/2" outside diameter tubing and insert one end into the fermenter (creating an air tight seal) and the other end in the container of water. This creates an air tight blow off tube which will let the excess foam escape during initial fermentation. Step 14 - Wait and Observe! For the first few days of fermentation, the activity of the yeast is off the charts! It really is an interesting and fun thing to watch. Excess foam will flow out the top and into air will bubble out of the container. Important: Make sure the tube stays under water to maintain an air tight seal. After about 3 days, the activity will slow and you can remove the blow-off tube and insert the sterilized stopper and air lock. Don't forget to add about 3/4" of water to the air lock so it will work. With the air lock securely in place with a good seal, it will begin to bubble as the carbon dioxide is expelled. Step 15 - Wait Some More After inserting the air lock, you will need to let the beer ferment until the yeast is finished (another 5 to 14 days depending on the temperature and other variables). When you notice the air lock has stopped bubbling, it is ready for bottling. If you have a hydrometer, you can take a reading to be sure the fermentation is complete. After the fermentation period, it's time to move on to bottling the beer. |