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Introduction – Why Brew
Beer?
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How it Works
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Malt and Mashing
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The Boil
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Fermenting
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Basic Home Brewing
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Basic Equipment
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Other Supplies
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Step by Step Instructions
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More Info
Introduction –
Why Brew Beer?
Brewing your own beer is by no means a new
hobby, but more of a lost art. To put this in
perspective, consider that George Washington is
often credited for inventing Porter, and it is
quite well documented that he enjoyed his share
of what we’d now consider microbrews. In the
1920’s, though, the United States went through
prohibition and took a giant leap backwards in
respect to small breweries. The few large
breweries that survived dominated the market
with a mass produced product that was to
previous beers what plain white bread was to
traditional bakeries. In 1979 President Carter
signed the law that once again allowed home
brewing, though there are still restrictions,
especially at the state level. (Perhaps he was
making up for his brother’s “Billy Beer?”) In
any case, home brewing has been a thriving and
growing hobby for over thirty years.
But why would you want to brew your own beer?
Thirty years ago, if you wanted anything other
than an American lager, you’d pretty much have
to go with an import, often stale and
overpriced. But with the advent of micro
breweries, you can find some amazing quality
beers that are often made locally. As far as
cost, once you’ve collected the basic equipment,
the cost of brewing any given beer is about the
same as buying an equivalent microbrew.
So why would you put hours of work into making
your own beer if you’re not saving money or
getting better beer then you can buy? It’s a
matter of personal pride, being able to say “I
brew the beer I drink.” Or perhaps it’s the
ability to experiment--“what does x taste
like?” And frankly, it’s just plain fun.
Another advantage is that most home brew is
“live ale”, i.e., it contains active yeast.
Live ales are still very hard to find, even in
microbrews, and many people consider them
significantly better than other beers.
How it Works
The basic process of home brewing isn’t much
different from commercial brewing. Wort is
produced by combining malt and hops. Then yeast
is added and the wort ferments into beer.
Advanced home brewers use techniques almost
identical to commercial breweries, while basic
home brewers use short cuts to simplify the
process.
Malts and Mashing
Most home brewers get started using malt extract
and partial mashes. Full mash (or all grain)
brewing requires additional time and equipment,
though the results are worth it.
To explain extracts and mashes, we need to
understand what malt really is. If you take a
grain like barley, grind it up, put it in water,
and then add yeast, you’ll eventually get rotten
water. The yeast cannot live off the starch in
the grain seeds. When grain is soaked for a
short time in water, however, it begins to grow,
releasing enzymes that convert the starches in
the grain into sugars that the plant can use to
grow. Once the grain starts to sprout, it’s
dried out again, but its enzymes remain intact.
This is malted grain.
The next step is to extract the enzymes and
sugars from the malted grain. The grain is
ground and added to water and then held at a
certain temperature for about an hour so. This
allows the enzymes to do their work, and the
sugars can be extracted. This process is called
mashing.
Once the mash is done, the grain is rinsed and
the fermentable sugars and water form the basis
of the wort. This is the stage where the water
is extracted and malt extract is produced for
basic home brewers. It’s also the stuff you add
to chocolate and milk for malts! In partial
mash brewing, most of the fermentables come from
malt extract, but some specialty grains (i.e.,
malted grains) are mashed and added to the wort,
primarily for flavoring.
The Boil
In any case, the malt and water mixture is then
boiled, typically for an hour. Hops are added
both early in the boil and near the end of the
boil. The hops that are added early on are
known as bittering hops. Bittering hops help
preserve the beer and add the bitter taste.
Near the end of the boil, aromatic hops are
added to affect the taste and smell of the beer.
Fermenting
The wort produced in the boil is then cooled and
yeast is added. The actual fermentation takes
typically one to two weeks. The beer is then
transferred to bottles or other containers.
Most home brews are kept live; that is, they
contain active yeast that naturally carbonates
the beer, while most commercial breweries filter
out the yeast and are artificially carbonate.
Basic Home Brewing
The first thing you should do is make a trip to
your local home brewing store. Just check the
yellow pages under home brewing or wine making
supplies. If there isn’t a local shop, there
are a number of internet brewing supply stores
that will be happy to help – many of them have
helpful information on their web sites and most
will be happy to work with you over the phone.
Midwest Brewing Supply even sends you a DVD with
your order! Most brewing supply stores will
have pre-configured equipment kits with
everything you need to get started as well as
recipe kits that contain all the instructions
and ingredients you’ll need to make one batch of
beer. Some stores even allow you to brew on
premises, using their equipment. This can be an
informative, no-mess way to begin your hobby.
Basic Equipment
Various stores include differing equipment in
their kits, and you may need to borrow certain
items. This is a list of the most essential
items you will need for your first batch of
beer:
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Brew pot – A
4-gallon or larger pot of some kind,
stainless is preferred.
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Something to
stir with – Keep in mind the size of your
brew pot.
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Fermenter –
Usually a 6.5 gallon plastic bucket with a
tight sealing lid that is cut to make room
for an air lock. Get this from the home
brew store – it needs to be food grade and
cannot be scratched. Some of them have
built-in spigots – they’re fine. Having a
couple of these, or one of these plus a
carboy, will help out greatly.
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An airlock
and stop – Again, get these from the home
brew store and make sure they fit your
fermenter.
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Thermometer –
the home brew store will carry adhesive
thermometers that attach to the side of your
fermenter. They are inexpensive and very
handy.
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Siphon,
siphon tubing, and a shutoff clamp – There
are multiple styles of siphons. If you’re
using a fermenter with a spigot, you may
just need the tube.
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Bottles – You
can clean and reuse any empty “pop off” beer
bottles, or you can buy them at the store.
Often you can get larger bottles at the
store, or get flip top bottles (like Grolsch).
Keep in mind you cannot use twist off
bottles.
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Bottle caps –
these often come with the ingredient kit.
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Capper –
unless you’re using alternate bottles, or
kegging (not recommended for your first
batch) you’ll need a capper.
Other Supplies
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Strainer or
grain/hop bags – You’ll need these if you’re
doing more than the most basic brewing.
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No-rinse
sanitizer – Some books and web sites mention
diluted bleach solutions; do yourself a
favor and get some Star San or Easy Clean
No-Rinse.
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PBW or
P-Bright for cleaning.
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Bottle
brush/Carboy brush.
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Glass carboy
with stopper and air lock – Most people
prefer using these over the plastic buckets,
especially for advanced brewing.
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Hydrometer –
You’ll need this if you want to determine
the alcohol content or do any advanced
brewing.
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Funnel – 8”
or so.
Step by Step Instructions
Most ingredient kits come with their own
instructions specific to the type of beer and
the actual ingredients in that kit.
Step 1 – Check the Ingredients
Make sure you have everything you need. Once
you start brewing you can’t just stop and pick
it up the next day.
Step 2 – Clean and Sanitize
The goal if cleaning is pretty simple; it gets
all your equipment as clean as possible. There
are two very important differences on how to
clean, though. First, don’t use soap. Soap
tends to leave a film that can ruin the head on
your beer. Your home brew store should stock
special cleaners, probably PBW or P-Brite.
Second, don’t use abrasive pads. Abrasive pads,
or any abrasive, can leave scratches that can
hold bacteria. This is especially true when
using plastic bucket fermenters. Everything
that the wort (the unfermented beer) is going to
touch needs to be sanitized. The best and
simplest method is to use no-rinse sanitizers,
such as Start San or One-Step. To use these,
you simply mix them with water (the amount will
be indicated), then soak all your small
parts/equipment and liberally apply the mixture
to everything else. If you are using a plastic
brew bucket for a fermenter, you can have a
spare bucket on hand and fill the one you’ll be
using with the sanitizer mixture and soak all
your small equipment it. When you are ready to
move the wort to the fermenter, just move the
equipment to the second bucket and pour the
sanitizer in afterwards. Keep in mind,
“no-rinse” means exactly that, the ingredients
in these sanitizers will not affect your beer.
The equipment should still be wet with sanitizer
when you use it.
Step 3 – Steeping the Grain
Many ingredient kits include crushed grains that
need to be steeped in water to extract the
malt. The most basic kits tend to have the
specialty grains already processed into the malt
extract, so just ignore this step if it doesn’t
apply. Hopefully the grain was crushed at the
store. If not, you can use a rolling pin to
crush the grain before steeping. Add the
crushed grains into the grain bag, then put the
grain bag, along with about 2 gallons of water
into your brew pot. Bring the temperature to
about 160°F for about 30 minutes. Use a candy
thermometer if you have one; otherwise watch for
steam without a boil. Remove from heat and let
the grain steep for another 10 minutes or so
while it cools. Then remove the grain bag.
Dump out the grains; depending on the type of
bag you may be able to rinse and reuse it.
Step 4 - The Boil
At this point, you are ready to add the malt
extract. This can be either a powder or a thick
liquid. Simply add it to the water and stir.
Try to get it to mix fully with the water before
you put it back on the burner. At this point,
turn the heat up and bring the mixture to a
boil. At some point during the boil, the brew
pot is likely to boil over. This is a pain to
clean up and it effectively dilutes your beer,
so keep a close eye on the brew pot and be ready
to turn down the heat and stir. As soon as the
mixture starts to boil, you should add your
bittering hops, preferably in a hops bag (or
hops sock). These hops, as the name indicates,
are what gives the beer its bitterness and helps
to preserve it. Mark the time or start a timer,
then keep stirring and watching the pot. You
will boil the mixture for one hour, and near the
end you’ll need to add the aromatic hops. The
timing of adding the aromatic hops depends on
the type of beer and the type of hop. Some
types of beer require that different aromatic
hops be added at different times during the
boil. Generally, aromatic hops are added about
50 minutes into the boil, or about 10 minutes
before the end. Your kit should have specific
instructions. Note – the pot will almost always
boil high shortly after adding the aromatics.
Watch for this, too!
Step 5 – Cooling and Aerating
the Wort
First of all, congratulations – you now have
wort! Wort (pronounced “wert”) is the product
that is physically fermented into beer. All
equipment used from this point forward should be
sanitized.
First though, you need to get it your pot cooled
off as fast as feasible. The longer the brew
stays warm the more likely it is to get
contaminated. The best choice is to use a wort
cooler, but it’s not generally something you’ll
have for your first batch. The simplest method
is to set your brew pot in a sink full of cold
water or ice. If your brew pot has a top, keep
it on except while stirring. Stir with a
sanitized spoon every 15 minutes. You can also
use ice as part of your top off water (in the
next step). The goal here is to get the
temperature of the wort under 80°F.
Once the wort is cool enough, transfer it into
the primary fermenter and top it off with enough
water (or ice) to bring up to 5 gallons. If
you’re not using bags for your grains or hops,
you’ll want to use the strainer at this point.
After the wort from the brew pot has been
strained, run your top of water through the
strainer containing the grains and/or hops.
This process is called sparging and will help
collect and keep fermentables from sticking to
the solids. Finally, you need to aerate the
wort. You can do this by stirring, pouring back
and forth between sanitized containers. The
yeast needs oxygen to grow and ferment. If you
have a hydrometer, this is the time to get your
“original” reading.
Step 6 – Pitch the Yeast
Your kit may have come with dry or liquid yeast,
but in any case there should be directions on
the yeast packet (or tube, or pouch). Follow
the directions that come with the yeast and add
it to the cooled wort as soon as possible
(recheck your temperature first). Seal your
fermenter with the sanitized airlock (you’ll
need to add a bit of water to your airlock, by
the way). Talk to your home brew store about
how to use the type you have. Then store your
fermenter in a cool, dark area, preferably
60-70°F.
Within two or three days, your airlock should be
bubbling, and the wort should be covered with
foam. Depending on the instructions and the
type of beer, you may want to transfer to a
secondary fermenter after the first few days.
For a basic first batch, just leaving it in for
two weeks is a safe rule of thumb.
Step 7 – Bottling
You should preferably have a second brew bucket
or other container available to transfer the
beer to before bottling. Start by sanitizing
the bottling bucket, tubing, siphon, and all
your bottles and caps. If you’re using standard
12-oz. bottles you’ll need about 2-½ cases (54
bottles) for one batch of beer. If your
dishwasher has a sanitize cycle or a heated dry
cycle you can use that--just don’t use soap or
sanitizer in the dishwasher. Everything else
should be sanitized with no-rinse sanitizer.
Next you’ll need the primer – boil one cup of
water and ¾ cup of corn sugar (which should be
part of your ingredients) for about 5 minutes,
then add this to you sanitized bottling bucket.
This sugar will cause the beer to ferment just a
little bit more, which will provide the
carbonation and the head of the beer. Siphon
the beer from your fermenter to the bottling
bucket, letting it mix with the primer.
Now siphon the beer from the bottling bucket and
fill each bottle, don’t overfill. Leave at
least an inch of air at the top of each bottle.
There are various methods to transfer the
beer--siphoning, a spigot at the bottom of the
bottling bucket, or specialized bottle fillers,
but in most cases you’ll have plastic tubing
going into the bottle. Try to get the tubing
near the bottom of the bottle, fill from the
bottom not the neck. Also, use a tubing clamp
near the bottle end of the tube to minimize lost
beer and cleanup. This is also a good time to
grab another hydrometer reading. Comparing this
to the original (and following a formula based
on the type of hydrometer you have) will give
you the alcohol content.
Finally – cap the bottles and store your beer –
once again in a cool dark place, 60–70°F is
optimal. Then wait patiently for about two
weeks for most basic beers.
And that’s
it! Enjoy your beer!
More Info
Ingredients and terms
Malt
Malt is made from grains such as barley, wheat, rye, oats,
and sorghum that have been soaked in water,
germinated, and kilned (dried). The process
releases enzymes that will release the sugars to
be extracted during the mash. Common malts
include 2-row, 6-row, caramel, crystal, Munich,
chocolate, and black patent. Malts can be named
after their grain, their origin, or their
appearance and taste. The type of malt in a
beer affects both its flavor and its color. Not
surprisingly, the color of the malt is reflected
in the color of the beer. Darker beers are made
with a darker roast of malt, which affects the
flavor but not the alcohol content of the beer.
Beers made with large amount of light malts will
be light in color but high in alcohol content.
Malt Extract
Malt extract is made by drawing the sugar
solution off of malted barley, pasteurized and
dehydrated in vacuum chambers to minimize
carmelization. Hop extract is often added to
this, as well. Malt extract is commonly sold by
color (light, amber, or dark) and as Dry Malt
Extract (DME) or Liquid Malt Extract (LME).
Many basic brewing kits consist of pre-hopped
LME.
Hops
Nothing to do with rabbits, hops are a perennial
climbing vine that can be grown pretty much
anywhere. The ripe female flower is the only
part used. If the flower is fertilized, it will
produce seeds which reduce the bittering effect
of the hops. There are over one hundred
varieties of hops being cultivated, including
Cascade, Centennial, Cluster, Fuggles, Galena,
Goldings, Hallertauer, Kent, Nugget, Northern
Brewer, Saaz, and Willamette. Each type of hop
has its own characteristics and can produce
markedly different tasting beers. Hops have
been used in beer since ancient Egypt (7000-1000
BC) and were cultivated in Germany as early as
300 AD. It was only since the Middle Ages,
though, that hops became the dominant bittering
agent in beer. Prior to that, horehound,
dandelion, and numerous other herbs and flowers
were used to offset the sweetness of the malt in
beer. It is likely that the switch to hops was
a due to a combination of the flavors and aromas
when added later in the brewing process, the
preservative effect, and the resistance to
bacterial infections that cause souring.
Bittering hops are added early in the boil of
the beer, and the amount and type of hops
determines the bitterness. The alpha acids
contained in hops are responsible for both the
bitterness and the preservative properties of
the hops.
Aromatic hops are added to near the end of the
boil and contribute to both the smell and the
‘hoppy’ flavor. Dry hopped beer uses hops that
are added after the beer has been fermented.
Most American lagers have little, if any, hop
flavor, while India Pale Ales (IPAs) are known
for their high bitterness and hoppy flavor.
IPAs were originally brewed for shipment from
England to India, and the higher levels of
bitterness aided in the preservation of the beer
during the trip. The home brewer can generally
find hops in loose or pellet form. Loose hops
are the unprocessed hop petals, while pellets
are compacted for easier shipping.
Yeast
Yes, it’s a variety of the same stuff you make
bread and wine with, though those varieties
probably wouldn’t make very good beer. Most
brewer supply stores will stock a variety of
liquid and dry yeast matched to the type of beer
you are brewing.
Ales, Lagers, and Lambics
While there are many different styles and
varieties of beer, they all fall under one of
two main categories, Ales and Lagers, the
difference being the yeast and the temperature
of fermentation.
Ale yeast ferments between 59- 68°F and normally
form a foam on the surface of the yeast. They
are sometimes called “top-fermenting” because of
this, but there are varieties of ale yeast that
settle to the bottom.
Lagers were originally fermented in caves in
Bavaria at temperatures of about 50°F. Lagers
are then stored at near freezing temperatures
for about thirty days to let the beer mellow.
Most American and German beers, including dark
German beers, are lagers. American lagers are
based on a light lager called Pilsner, after its
origin in Pilsen, Czech Republic.
Lambics have become more popular in the U.S.
lately. Lambics are primarily brewed in Belgium
(and often called Belgian beer). They are
created using open fermentation; the unfermented
wort is left open to the air, allowing airborne
yeast and bacteria to enter and ferment the wort.
The bacteria typically add a sour taste to the
beer. Many home brew stores now stock the yeast
and bacterial cultures needed to make Lambics.
Unless you live in Brussels, open fermentation
is not recommended.
Water
Often overlooked in beer making is the primary
ingredient, water. The characteristics of the
water used can have a significant effect on the
flavor and quality of the beer. The common
examples are Dublin’s hard water used in
Guinness and Burton, England’s gypsum laced
water . Most US brewers add gypsum to their
pale ales, and the soft water of Pilsen is used
in their light lagers. Since water tends to
vary by region, your local home brew store or
club is probably the best resource.
Other ingredients
Germany has a beer purity law, the
Reinheitsgebot, that dates from 1516 and states
that the only ingredients in beer could be
water, barely, hops, and (added later) yeast.
Of course that hasn’t stopped people in other
countries from using other ingredients, and even
in Germany wheat beers aren’t uncommon. Other
grains are often used, including oats (oatmeal
stout), rye, and rice.
Priming Techniques
Priming was mentioned in passing earlier, but a
better explanation is probably warranted. When
the beer is fermenting, the CO2 is being let off
through the airlock, keeping the pressuring from
building up inside the fermenter. When you
bottle (or keg) live beer, you want a
certain amount of pressure and CO2 build up to
carbonate the beer and give it a head.
Unfortunately, all the fementable sugar has
already been used, if you just bottle the beer
it’ll be flat. Priming adds just enough
fermentable sugar for the yeast to carbonate the
beer and pressurize the bottle, but not so much
(hopefully) as to blow the lid off the bottles.
One of the “purity” issues some home brewers
have is the use of corn sugar for priming.
After all, beer is supposed to be just barely,
hops, water, and yeast. In practice, the amount
of corn sugar is small and it’s added so late in
the process, it really isn’t a significant
difference in taste. Since corn sugar ferments
much faster than the alternatives, you’ll be
able to enjoy your beer two weeks or more sooner
than with the other techniques. With that in
mind, the first alternative is to simply use
malt extract, typically DME, in place of corn
sugar, the difference being the amount.
Typically ¾ of a cup of corn sugar is used per 5
gallons of beer, with DME use 1 ¼ cups. Keep in
mind this will add about two more weeks before
the beer is ready, but if you’re making a stout,
that won’t be so important since you’ll probably
be aging it 6 to 10 weeks anyway. If you’re
making an Irish red, you’ve probably just
doubled the time before you can drink your beer.
The second method is kraeusening, or using
unfermented wort to prime. There are two
problems with this. First, where do you get
unfermented wort? And second, how do you
determine how much to use? The traditional
method of getting unfermented wort was to steal
some from the batch of beer you brewed and
bottling the last time. That’s not terribly
practical for most of us, but we so have
something that will help--a refrigerator.
Simply take about a quart of wort (before you
add the yeast) and store it in a sanitized,
sealed container in your fridge until you’re
ready to bottle. Determining the amount to use
is a bit more difficult. You’re going to need a
hydrometer and some math, and probably a book,
namely Charlie Papazian’s “Complete Joy of Home
Brewing”, which explains the calculations in
detail.
Alternatives to Bottling
To be frank, bottling is a pain. Most beer
brewers wind up using some alternate to bottling
beer, ranging from flip top growlers and other
large bottles to Cornelius kegs. Cornelius kegs
are the ultimate in quality, consistency, and
convenience, presuming you have a place to store
and cool them, like a kegorator or a spare
fridge in the garage. They can often be rented
from a brew store as well, so even if you don’t
have the space they may be viable for parties.
Tap-a-draft, Party Pigs, and mini-keg systems
like Party Star are popular alternatives that
provide keg-like freshness, keep beer fresh for
extended periods, and will fit in your fridge.
Most require two containers per 5 gallons of
beer, reducing your bottling time quite a bit.
Check with your local store. It probably
carries one or more types. And just having the
parts on hand can be a real convenience.
Resources
There are lots of good books on home brewing,
but the one that’s considered the brewing bible
is The Complete Joy of Home Brewing, 3rd
edition, by Charlie Papazian. Charlie also
founded the Association of Brewers, the American
Homebrewers Association, and the Great American
Beer Festival. He’s something of an icon
himself.
Speaking of the American Homebrewers Association
(AHA), check out their website,
www.homebrewersassociation.org . There is
very informative and useful information,
including a great links page and videos. Also,
consider joining the association. Not only do
you get some great discounts at local breweries
and pubs, you also get Zymurgy, their
journal for home brewers and beer lovers.
The HOMEBREWOPEDIA is like a Wikipedia for home
brewers, and not surprisingly it’s maintained by
the AHA. Check it out at
wiki.homebrewersassociation.org.
And the best resources of all your local home
brew store and clubs. Check you yellow pages or
the AHA website for listings.
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