The Very Basic Brewers Guide

Transcription

Deejays
Very Basic
Brewers Guide
DJx2 © 2006
Why this text? Because I think brewing beer is simple and fun and if it were presented in a
way that makes it sound simple and fun more people might be willing to try it. Many of the
great books published on home brewing are pretty technical in nature and strike fear in the
hearts of timid would be home brewers.
My theory is this – start simple by brewing a basic ale and see how simple it can be, and
once you’ve done it a few times you can get as technical or complicated as you want. Most
people I’ve talked to don’t want to get technical they just want to make a good brew that
they can enjoy with their friends and families and maybe even save a few bucks.
So what is beer? Very basically - beer is a fermented beverage made by introducing yeast to
sugar. The yeast eats the sugar so that it may grow and multiply. The bi-product of this
consumption is ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide. Sounds simple doesn’t it? Well it really is,
so let’s get started!
The first thing you need to learn before you start brewing your own beer is this …
Sanitize everything!
Brewing beer is pretty simple, but we always fear the unknown don’t we? The most
important facet of home brewing is cleanliness! Everything has to be washed thoroughly,
and sanitized completely – contamination from surface or air born bacteria is a big problem.
That being said, I’m going to introduce you to the simplest form of homebrewing – malt
extract brewing. There are numerous local stores and websites throughout the world from
which you can purchase your supplies. Putting a little thought into you mail order purchases
can save you a lot of money on shipping.
2
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................. 5
How Do I get Started ? ................................................................................................ 5
Batch Sizes.................................................................................................................. 5
Brewing Methods......................................................................................................... 6
Fermenting Containers .............................................................................................................. 7
Mini Homebrew Kits (2.5 gallon Sized) ........................................................................ 7
The Beer Machine.................................................................................................................7
Mr. Beer ................................................................................................................................8
Large Sized Fermenters (3 to 10 Gallon sized) ....................................................... 10
The Simple Food Grade Bucket Fermenter ........................................................................10
Coopers Micro Brew Kit ......................................................................................................12
The Glass / Plastic Carboy Fermenter ................................................................................13
Conical Fermenters................................................................................................................... 14
Stainless Steel Conical Fermenters ....................................................................................14
PVC Conical Fermneters ....................................................................................................15
Other Brewing Equipment....................................................................................................... 17
Basic Brewing Ingredients...................................................................................................... 18
Malts .......................................................................................................................... 18
Malted Grains......................................................................................................................18
Specialty Grains ..................................................................................................................18
Liquid Malt Extracts.............................................................................................................18
Dry Malt Extracts.................................................................................................................19
Hops .......................................................................................................................... 19
Yeast ......................................................................................................................... 19
Hydrometer Readings ............................................................................................................. 20
What is a hydrometer?............................................................................................... 20
How To Use a Hydrometer..................................................................................................20
The Pre-Brewing Steps ........................................................................................................... 21
Sanitizers................................................................................................................... 21
Water Preparation ..................................................................................................... 22
Brewing Your First Extract Beer......................................................................................... 23
Brewing an All Extract Wort ....................................................................................... 23
Brewing Extract with Steeped Grains and Hops ....................................................... 24
3
Brewing Your First All-Grain Beer....................................................................................... 25
The Mash................................................................................................................... 25
Back To Extract Brewing ........................................................................................... 26
Calculating % Alcohol .............................................................................................................. 28
% Alcohol by Volume ..........................................................................................................28
% Alcohol by Weight ...........................................................................................................28
Preparing to Bottle Your Beer .............................................................................................. 29
I have a Hydrometer! ................................................................................................. 29
I don’t have a Hydrometer ......................................................................................... 29
What do I need to Bottle my Beer?............................................................................ 29
Priming the Beer ....................................................................................................................... 31
Bottle Priming......................................................................................................................31
Bulk Priming ........................................................................................................................31
It’s Bottling Time! ................................................................................................................... 33
Bottling Your Beer ..................................................................................................... 33
Racking From A Fermenter With A Spigot ........................................................................33
Racking From a Carboy ......................................................................................................33
Bottle Conditioning ..............................................................................................................33
Chilling and Drinking ...........................................................................................................33
Appendix .................................................................................................................................... 34
Grains, Extracts & Sugars ......................................................................................... 35
Hops .......................................................................................................................... 43
Spices, Flavors & Finings .......................................................................................... 46
Yeast Statistics .......................................................................................................... 50
Beer Style Statistics With Commercial Examples...................................................... 54
4
Introduction
How Do I get Started ?
The simplest way to get started is to purchase a Homebrew Starter Kit. There are several
types of starter kits available, varying in size and level of simplicity. Some kits include
everything but the pot to cook it in and others include almost nothing, so make sure you
know what’s included in you kit to avoid disappointment. Don’t worry! I’ll take you through it
step by step …
Batch Sizes
One of the first things you may want to consider is size. How much beer do you normally
drink at a time? Is one case of beer enough? Do you have frequent get-togethers where you
may want several cases on hand? Let’s do some basic math first.
From the table below you can see just how much beer can be made using the various sized
kits available.
Basic Beer Bottling Calculations
Batch Size in Gallons
Beer Produced in Ounces
Number of 8 oz. Bottles
1
2.5
3
5
5.5
6
128 320 384 640 704 768
16
40
48
80
88
96
11
27
32
53
59
64
8
20
24
40
44
48
6
16
19
32
35
38
10
1280
160
107
80
64
Keep in mind that in general the bigger the batch size the bigger the equipment necessary
to make it and the more space needed to store the equipment and the finished beer. That
being said, it also stands to reason that it takes longer to brew larger batches. So if you live
in a small apartment, have limited storage or refrigerator space you may want to stick to
smaller equipment and brew more frequently.
It takes an average of one or two weeks to ferment the beer and one or two weeks to
condition the beer before you drink it. Some recipes can take as much as a month just to
ferment and several months to condition, but these are exceptional brews and not common
very common.
Once you get started brewing you may find you need find reasons not to brew!
5
Brewing Methods
There are many methods and variations used to brew beer from the simplest extract brewing
to the more complicated All-Grain brewing. I’ll explain in more detail later but for now, there
are basically 4 types, here’s a brief run down of what they are and what each means:
Extract Brewing – Kind of like making condensed soup. Put water in the pot, pour in
the concentrated beer malt and away you go. You still have the option of adding
additional ingredients, to make a special recipe but that’s basically it. When you
purchase a beer extract kit you usually get a can of condensed malt syrup in the style
or your choice with the hops already added, maybe a can of plain malt syrup and
sometimes the yeast. * Note the concentrate may be in the form of a powder.
Extracts with Steeped Grains - Same as the extract above but you add a few ounces
of crushed malt grains you steep in a small muslin bag like making tea. Not a whole
lot more effort but a big difference in taste for some beer styles.
Partial Mash – In one pot boil water. Put specialty grains in a muslin bag, place in a
second small pot of water, bring water up to 170°F turn off heat and let it steep like
tea for about 20 minutes then remove the bag. When the water in the big pot boils
add extracts and the “tea” from the small pot. Add hops as needed.
All-Grain – This is the most complicated of the four and takes some extra equipment.
This is how beer has been made for thousands of years. You need a mash tun to
soak to grains in and two large pots, one to add the water to the mash tun and one to
collect the water from the mash tun. The basic process is to add the grains to the
mash tun, allow the water to be filtered through the grains to extract the sugars and
boil the collected sugar water down to make an extract – then it’s just like extract
brewing.
6
Fermenting Containers
Mini Homebrew Kits (2.5 gallon Sized)
There are several types of beer brewing kits available from the more traditional bucket and
carboy to the newer self contained keg fermenters. If you not sure about how much you’ll
like brewing, you are short on space or you don’t expect to make more than a few gallons at
a time, I recommend the self contained fermenting kits such as Mr. Beer or Beer Machine.
I’ll go over several types to give you an idea of what’s available and to help you choose the
one that’s right for you. I’ll try to list an average price per unit you can use these information
for comparison purposes.
The Beer Machine
The simplest type of Mini Brew system is the Beer Machine. This is a
self- contained single step unit which allows you to brew 2.6 gallon
batches of beer. I have seen this unit at Wal-Mart at Christmas time
and I believe it can be purchased at the As Seen On TV stores for
around $129.
A friend of mine who just return from Iraq said they had these in the
barracks. I have not personally used this unit, but I do know people who do and they seem
happy with it.
According to the instructions you just pour water into the airtight Beer Machine cask, pour in
one of the prepackaged Beer Mixes, seal the cask, leave the Beer Machine out at room
temperature for 3 to 5 days, then move it into your refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. It uses small
CO2 cartridges (like the ones used in paintball) to add carbonation to the beer in the cask.
Beer may be dispensed from the cask.
There are four different casks available and 18 different beer mixes to try. To see the
available products for the Beer Machine go to: http://www.beermachine.com/index.html
Other Equipment Needed for The Beer Machine Fermenter
The Brewery Upgrade Kit
If you want to bottle your beer you’ll need this kit it comes with a Bottling
Platform, Filler, and Nineteen re-usable 500ml bottles and caps. $25
I don’t see why you can’t just buy a short length of tubing for this…
7
Mr. Beer
A more traditional yet small sized brewing system. I actually got
started brewing with the Mr. Beer brew system. I love the little keg
fermenters! They are easy to use and easy to clean. It’s just a little
PVC container with a spigot and a cap. The cap threads have little
cuts down them to let excess CO2 bleed out if needed, so an airlock is
not needed. Each keg produces about 2.5 gallons of beer. This is a
great size for testing the waters or experimenting with different malt extracts, hops, steeped
grains and even mini mash recipes.
There are a few different packaging variations of this kit. The Deluxe Kit comes with the keg,
the ingredients in make one batch of beer sanitizer and plastic bottle caps for $30 . The
Premium Kit also comes with eight, one liter PET bottles as well $40.
Mr. Beer sold replacement kegs a while back online for only $15 and I bought three more of
them for a total of 5 kegs. A 2.5 gallon batch of extract based beer only takes about two
hours to brew start to finish. With 5 kegs I can try a new recipe every other night if I am so
inclined. I did say I love them right?
The Mr. Beer company also sells ingredients sized just for the kegs which allow you to make
all sorts of beers, ciders and even rootbeer, but you are not limited to buying just their
products. They even have a monthly brewing club. If you go to their website you can find look
over products and over 200 easy to brew recipes. http://www.mrbeer.com
How Do I brew Using Mr. Beer?
The basic Mr. Beer recipes goes like this. Set a pot on the stove with about 2 gallons of
water and boil it. Set one gallon aside to cool and save it for later.
If you are using a Mr. Beer product called “Booster” add it to the water pot before the boil
and dissolve it, then bring the water to a boil. Turn off the heat and add the can of extract
and stir until completely mixed. This is called wort.
Cool the wort down to 130º F before putting it into the keg. Add water until the water level
reaches the 8.5 quart mark on the keg and stir vigorously. If you have a wire whisk whip it up
to a good froth – air at this point is good for the yeast, it is called aerating the wort.
When temperature is down to 70º to 90º F sprinkle yeast on top of wort in keg and wait for 5
minutes. After 5 minutes mix it in well making sure NOT to cause a lot of bubbles. Once the
yeast is in the wort aeration is not a good thing.
Place the cover on the keg and let it sit in a cool (68º to 76º F) dark place for 7 to 10 days
(or more) until bubbles stop forming. It may take as much as a full day before you start to
see bubbles forming on top of the wort. These bubbles/foam are called krausen. Do Not
open the keg again until it’s time to bottle!
8
This was a simple Mr. Beer extract brew. You can also do mini mash brew and small batch
All-Grain brews – just make sure the wort is down to 130º F before putting it into the keg.
Other Equipment Needed for Mr. Beer Fermenter
Adhesive Thermometer
Sticks on the side of your fermenter so you
can watch your temperature. $2
Tubing
Although not required a short length of tubing for bottling is helpful and keeps from
introducing air to your brew.
9
Large Sized Fermenters
(3 to 10 Gallon sized)
The Simple Food Grade Bucket Fermenter
This is the simplest of the traditional brew fermenters. They can be
purchased completely assembled for about $20 or you can do it yourself.
It’s not hard to make and you may already have the parts laying around the
house.
Do you have a restaurant you frequent? Maybe you could ask them it they
throw away their white food buckets? A lot of stuff comes in these buckets,
pickles, pancake mixes, iced tea mixes, sea food you name it! They come in
sizes from about 55 gallons to 1 gallon. You’ll want at least one (two is
better) 5 gallon size. Don’t forget the lids!
Look around you might get them for free. I got one free from a lunch counter at work. Then
one day I went by one by favorite Chinese Supermarket and they had at least 50 of these
things sitting out back. I asked the woman in the store if I could have one and she sold me
one for$3. I would have paid at least $6.50 just for the shipping so I was still ahead.
Other Equipment Needed for Bucket Fermenter
Air Locks
3-piece
Airlock
The next thing we need to do to convert this bucket into a beer fermenter is to add
an airlock. What’s an airlock? An airlock is just a simple little device which allows
excess gas to escape the bucket but doesn’t let any germ carrying air back in. How
does it do that? I did say it was simple right? Inside the main body that looks like a
pill bottle there is a little tube which is inserted into the bucket with a bit still
extended into the body. The little bottle is partly filled with water and a small cap is
placed on top. As the gas from the bucket tries to escape it lifts the cap and goes
out the top making bubbles in the airlock. $1
Another type of air lock is the “S” type. It’s called this because it’s shaped like the
letter “S”. It work like the drain trap in your sink. $1
S type
airlock
They both work fine which one you chose is up to you. I prefer the 3 piece air lock
because on occasion you might need a blow-off tube and one can easily be
inserted into the cap of the 3-piece unit.
Airlock Grommet or Rubber Stopper The Airlocks slip into a hole drilled into the
bucket lid using a airlock grommet which is a rubber stopper made for this
purpose.. Make sure the hole in the lid is small enough to slip the grommet in but
not push through. $2
10
Blow-Off Tube Some brews will be extra active fermenters and blow off the top of you
airlock. When this happens you simply add an extra length of tubing either into you bucket or
into you airlock and place that in another bucket or container to catch the foam and gases
that escape. Just remember to cover the end of the tubing with water so germs and bacteria
won’t enter your brew!
Spigots
As with everything else there are many spigot types available. It can be
plastic, brass or stainless steel. The cheapest and simplest is shown on the
right. They go for about $3. I like this style best because it has a tapered
spout making it easy to slip hoses on and off and doesn’t required you hold
it to pour the liquid out. Turn it and it stays on until you turn it off.
Here is what the completed fermenting bucket looks like. That was easy now
wasn’t it?
Sticks on the side of your fermenter so you can watch
your temperature.
Pail Opening Tool
Buckets are a pain to open, make it easier with this tool
11
Coopers Micro Brew Kit
Coopers Micro Brew Kit consists of:
A plastic 30 litre ( makes up to 6 gallons) fermenter with lid , 1 1 kg CSR
Brewing Sugar, a Hydrometer, Sediment Reducer, Plastic Spoon, "Little
Bottler" tube and bottling valve, a Tap, an Airlock, Airlock grommet,
Thermometer, 30 740ml PET bottles and caps, 1 Bag of Carbonation
drops an Instruction booklet an Instructional Video, 1 1.7kg Coopers
Home Brew Lager Concentrate - pretty complete package! I can not attest
to the quality of the components but it is certainly all you need to get stated except the pot
to boil water in - I have not personally used this kit but it looks like a nice kit. $70
Coopers Brewery of Australia has been around since 1862. They have sixteen beer kits
that come with malt, hops and yeast all you add is an additional (2.2 lb) of fermentable to
produce 5 gallons of really good beer. I can recommend the Brewmaster Series beer kits –
the IPA was really very good!
Other Equipment Needed for Coopers Micro Brew
Nothing
12
The Glass / Plastic Carboy Fermenter
Glass carboys are the most tradition method of fermenting beer or wine.
Today they are also made of plastic. They come in sizes from 3.5 gallons
($16) to 6.5 gallons ($25). They are very popular but very slippery and heavy
(especially when full) and explode when dropped!
Carboy Handle – This is slipped over the mouth of the carboy
to give you a better grip for moving or lifting. I do not consider
this an option. These things really explode when dropped! $5
Carboy cap – Used to attach hoses, airlocks and blow-off tubes or racking
canes to the carboy. $3
You can also just use a drilled rubber stopper but this is more convenient.
You will also need one of the airlocks shown earlier in the bucket fermenter section of
the guide.
Other Equipment Needed for Carboy Fermenter
can watch your temperature.
Tubing
Food grade tubing, used for transferring the wort or beer from one container to
another.
Siphon
This is used to get the beer out of the fermenter and into your bottles or kegs
Carboy Brush
A necessity for cleaning inside of carboys
Racking Cane, Tubing and Bottle Filler
For Moving Wort from carboy to Brew Bucket
13
Conical Fermenters
Commercial breweries and micro breweries generally use huge conical fermenters. Conical
fermenters make brewing amazingly easy (especially on your back). No lifting heavy buckets
or carboys, no need to transfer to a secondary fermenter to clarify your beer. One container
does it all! The most common conical fermenters are made of stainless steel or copper,
needless to say they are VERY expensive but they also come in PVC
The steeply angled bottom (about 60 degrees) allows all of the trub and spent yeast fall to the
bottom. The trub can be dumped out using the lower ball valves for cleaner, clearer beer. It
is also good for capturing the yeast for reuse later. The upper ball valve is used to remove
your beer above the trub line so you could simply leave the old yeast in there and add new
wort to start a whole new batch of beer!
Stainless Steel Conical Fermenters
A 7 gallon stainless steel conical fermenter like the one the left by Blichmann
goes for about $500. Not exactly in the beginners price range. Leg
extensions to get the fermenter off the floor go for around $65.
Other Equipment Needed for the Stainless Steel Conical Fermenter
Tubing
another.
Carboy Brush
A necessity for cleaning inside of fermenter
14
PVC Conical Fermneters
The V-Vessel
Another style of conical fermenter and one that I use is
called the V-Vessel. The V-Vessel System consist of the
unit itself (looks like a big light bulb) with the collection
capsule, bracket and mounting accessories, cleaning
brush, rubber bung and airlock, an extra female coupler
with a tubing adapter and 5 ft of tubing.
The picture on the left shows how It’s designed to hang
on a wall but I have mine setup on a stand made of
some scrap angle iron and rebar (right picture). I use
the “extra female coupler and tubing adapter for racking
(it’s hanging over the stand).
The collection capsule is used for removing trub and yeast – I use a jar.
When I reclaim the yeast I use mason jars to store it in so why wash an extra container?
This thing is great! I wish I had more than one! I bought this on sale for $99 at Christmas
time the regular price is $149.
Other Equipment Needed for the V-Vessel Conical Fermenter
Tubing
another.
Carboy Brush
15
MiniBrew Conical Fermenter
Similar to the V-Vessels are the MiniBrew polyethylene plastic conical
fermenters. They come in 6.5 gallon, 8 gallon, 15 gallon, 25 gallon and 40
gallon sizes. WOW!
One of the things I wished the V-vessel had was a bigger mouth opening
so I could actually stick my arm in it for cleaning. The MiniBrew has it!
What is also has is a second valve port for draining your brew from above
the yeast and trub. I have not used this product however I have got to say
I’ve had to convince myself more than once that I really don’t have room
for another conical. The price of the 6.5 gallon unit is $120.
Other Equipment Needed for the MiniBrew Conical Fermenter
Tubing
another.
Carboy Brush
16
Other Brewing Equipment
There are several other things you need for brewing besides a fermenting vessel! I will
mention some of them here:
Bottle Brush
Used to scrub out beer bottles.
Hydrometer
Used for testing the specific gravity of the wort. Here is a close up of hydrometer scale.
Funnel
Funnels come in all shapes and sizes – get one with a large mouth to make pouring easy.
Large Pot
For brewing wort in. See page 5 for sizes. It’s really handy to have one
with a spigot on it. Aluminum pots are acceptable. Stainless steel is
best. This is easy to make by adding a ½” brass ball valve, gasket
and a nutted nipple. I also have a nylon barbed fitting which threads
into the ball valve on the outside to add tubing for racking the wort.
Musslin bags or Cheese Cloth
Used for addig grains or hops to the wort. Maybe be reused until they self destruct. Some
people use nylon stockings for this purpose.
All-Grain Equipment
Mash Tun Made from a 10 Gallon Rubbermaid cooler - $30
Replace spigot
Added nylon threaded “T”
Added nylon threaded barb fittings at ends of “T”
Added Stainless Steel braid to barbed fittings
Added Stainless steel hose clamps to hold braid on
Tubing for the end of the spigot
Turkey Fryer Kit
If your stove is not commercial grade you will need a turkey cooker and propane tank to
cook wort over about 3 gallons.
17
Basic Brewing Ingredients
To get a better idea of what you will use to brew beer I think now is a good time to talk about
some of the ingredients. Because there is little difference between “Extract Brewing” and
“Extract with Steeped Grain Brewing” I will add the specialty grain ingredients here.
Malts
Beer is a malted beverage – so let’s take a minute to talk a bit about what malts are. Malts
come in three basic forms:
Malted Grains
Malted grain is made from barley, wheat or rye. It is soaked until it sprouts then it is drained
and dried. This process harnesses natural enzymes – a process that releases fermentable
sugars, and develops the flavors in beer. It is then kiln dried using hot air. Different
temperatures and combinations of air or lack of it produce different styles of grains. Malted
grains come in over a hundred varieties.
Specialty Grains
Specialty grains are grains which do not have to be mashed. The starches have been
converted to sugars in the kilning process so they can be steeped in a bag like a tea. They
control the color, body and flavor of our beer.All Crystal Malts, Chocolate Malt, Black Patent
Malt, Cara-Pils® or Dextrin Malt, Roasted Barley Malt, Victory (Biscuit) Malt, Belgian
Aromatic, Belgian Biscuit Malt, Belgian Caramunich, Belgian Caravienne , Belgian Special B,
Canadian Honey Malt, German Rauch (Smoked) Malt, German Karaffe Malt, Scottish Peat
Smoked Malt, Special Roast are specialty grains.
Liquid Malt Extracts
Known as LME’s - made from mashing the grains then boiling the liquid into a concentrated
syrup. LME’s come in two forms Unhopped and Hopped. LME’s usually come in cans or
plastic jars if purchased in bulk.
Unhopped liquid Malt Extracts - are a concentrate made from a base malt grain with
no other flavors or hops added. Some companes refer to this form as UME’s or
ULME’s. They usually come in Extra Light, Light, Pale, Amber, Dark and Wheat.
Hopped liquid Malt Extracts – also called HME’s. HLME’s or beer mixes, are LME’s
which have hops added and sometimes other grains for flavor. They come in every
style of beer that can be made. You usually have to buy at least one can of UME and
one can of HME per batch of extract beer.
18
Dry Malt Extracts
Known as DME’s a dry malt powder or spray. Same as LME’s but in powdered form. DME’s
weighs less, lasts longer and is easier to handle. Come in Extra Light, Light, Amber, Dark,
Extra Dark, Wheat, barley and wheat, Rice, and Barley and Rice.
Hops
Hops are actually a flower, green in color with yellow lupulin glands down between the
petals. Hops are used for preserving the beer and the essential oils also add flavor and
aroma to balance the sweetness of the malt. Come in two forms: Leaf hops and palletized
hops.
Hops come in Cascade, Willamette, Northern Brewer, Fuggles, Horizon, Kent Goldings,
Chinook, Tettnanger, Perle, Hallertaur, Centennial, Columbus, Brewers Gold, Mount Hood,
Nugget, Saaz, Sterling, German Spalt, Cluster, Challenger, Cyrstal, Eroica, Liberty, Styrian
Goldings, Galena, Bullion, Amarillo, Olympic, Magnum, Target, and Hersbrucker varieties to
name a few.
Yeast
The yeast cells consume simple sugars and produce a bi-product of carbon dioxide and
alcohol. There are two main types of yeast, ale and lager. Ale yeasts like the warmer
temperatures between 60-70°F, while lager yeasts work best at temperatures of 50°- 65°F
even as low as 40°F.
Yeast also come in two forms Liquid and dry. The liquid yeasts come in any variety of beer
styles and is said to be superior by the brewing experts. They average between $5 and $7.
Dry yeast is more limited in styles but I’ve had great luck with several dry yeast brands and
inconsistent results with the expensive liquid yeasts. One of the best yeasts I’ve ever used is
the “Superior Dry Lager” yeast which sells for around $1.25. It always works perfectly no
matter what the brew or temperature whether I am making ale or lager! Other good dry yeast
is Coopers Ale Yeast $1.25 and Nottingham Ale yeast $1.75.
19
Hydrometer Readings
What is a hydrometer?
According to Wikipedia: A hydrometer is an instrument used for determining
the specific gravity of liquids. It is usually made of glass and consists of a
cylindrical stem and a bulb weighted with mercury or shot to make it float
upright. The liquid is poured into a tall jar, and the hydrometer is gently
lowered into the liquid until it floats freely.
The point where the surface of
the liquid touches the stem of
the hydrometer is noted.
Hydrometers usually contain a
paper scale inside the stem, so
that the specific gravity (or
density) can be read directly in
grams per cubic centimeter.
How To Use a Hydrometer
1. Fill the glass cylinder with a wort sample.
2. Put the hydrometer with the bulb end down. It
will bob up and down in the sample. Note that
the sample may overflow from the cylinder.
3. Assure that the hydrometer is not in contact
with the sides of the cylinder and take the
reading. Note temperature of the wort sample.
4. We need to correct for temperature by using
the chart on the right.
Take reading here
On the lower part
of the liquid.
Hydrometer
Temperature Corrections
Example: The temperature of our wort is:
100 °F, your specific gravity reading (SG)
Is 1.040, the Delta G value from the chart
is .0061. Round this number off to the
same number of decimal places or .006
add that number to the original reading of
1.40 Your corrected specific gravity
reading would be 1.046.
T °C
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Delta G
-0.0007
-0.0008
-0.0008
-0.0009
-0.0009
-0.0009
-0.0008
-0.0008
-0.0007
-0.0007
-0.0006
-0.0005
-0.0004
-0.0003
-0.0001
0
0.0002
0.0003
0.0005
0.0007
0.0009
0.0011
0.0013
0.0016
0.0018
T °F
32
33.8
35.6
37.4
39.2
41
42.8
44.6
46.4
48.2
50
51.8
53.6
55.4
57.2
59
60.8
62.6
64.4
66.2
68
69.8
71.6
73.4
75.2
T °C
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
Delta G
0.0021
0.0023
0.0026
0.0029
0.0032
0.0035
0.0038
0.0041
0.0044
0.0047
0.0051
0.0054
0.0058
0.0061
0.0065
0.0069
0.0073
0.0077
0.0081
0.0085
0.0089
0.0093
0.0097
0.0102
0.0106
T °F
77
78.8
80.6
82.4
84.2
86
87.8
89.6
91.4
93.2
95
96.8
98.6
100.4
102.2
104
105.8
107.6
109.4
111.2
113
114.8
116.6
118.4
120.2
The original gravity will be higher because of the sugar in it.
The final gravity will be lower because most of the sugars
have fermented out and been converted to alcohol!
20
The Pre-Brewing Steps
Sanitizers
Wash and sanitize everything before you start! What is everything? The kegs, the covers, the
bottles, the spoons you use stir, mix and measure with, the caps, the thermometer, the
hydrometer, the counter top, the stove top anything that is used to make or that comes in
contact with your brew or brew equipment! It will be handy to have a plate or something
sanitized to lay your tools down on and keep a small container of sanitizer available for use
as you go along. I have an old pretzel container I keep full of sanitizer and after using
anything I rinse it in the sink and throw it back in the sanitizer jug.
There are many types of sanitizer available just be sure to use them according to the
directions provided on the label of the sanitizer you are using . Here is an alphabetical list of
what’s available:
B-Brite
It removes unwanted contaminates on contact and will not transfer contamination.
A rinse with cool water is required. One eight ounce tub will make 20 gallons of sanitizing
solution (one tablespoon per gallon of water).
C-Brite
A no rinse sanitizer in an easy to use pack that is sufficient for producing a 2 gallons of
sanitizing solution. Ideal if on well water or if rinsing is not desired.
Iodophor
An excellent no-rinse sanitizer. Great for bottling, or any time a rinse is impractical. Requires
2 minute contact time. The most popular sanitizer among brewpubs & microbreweries.
Iodine base sanitizers can cause stains.
Star San
An excellent no-rinse sanitizer. Lacks the odor normally associated with iodine based
sanitizers. Great for bottling, or any time a rinse is impractical. Requires 2 minute contact
time. Iodine base sanitizers can cause stains.
One Step
Oxygen based with a favorable cleaning powder and sanitizes on contact. Environmentally
friendly. No rinsing required. Eight ounce bag will make 20 gallons of sanitizing solution
(one tablespoon per gallon of water). I use One Step sanitizer all of the time it’s easy to use
goes a long way is inexpensive and doe not contain iodine so there is no staining.
Note: if you have iodine sensitivities or allergies or are sensitive or allergic to shellfish
(which is generally an indication of an iodine sensitivity or allergy) do not use iodine based
sanitizers!
21
Water Preparation
If you have chlorinated water, boil the water you are going to use in your brewing, this is will
help get rid of the of the chlorine taste. Many people will only use well water, bottled water
or filtered water when brewing. I’ve tried bottled, filtered and tap water. As long as I boil the
water before I brew I don’t taste a difference when using tap water in the final product.
Some people don’t pre-boil their water – it’s not required.
I really love to brew! Sometimes To save time I will boil the water I will be using on the day
before I brew if I plan on brewing a 5 gallon all-grain brew during the work week.
Dial Thermometer
Monitor the temperature of you wort. The metal clip to attaches to the
lip of the kettle. Should read from 0 to 220ºF
Collect all your ingredients and lets get brewing!
22
Brewing Your First Extract Beer
Okay … Everything’s cleaned, sanitized and gathered up for your first extract brewing session
way to go! These instruction will work no matter which fermenter type you choose.
What size batch are you brewing? Select the pot size according to the batch size you will be
brewing from the table below.
Pot Sizes (in quarts)
Batch Size in Gallons
Minimum Pot Size
1 2.5
4 10
3 5
12 20
5.5
24
6 10
24 40
Brewing an All Extract Wort
For our example we will produce a 5 gallon batch of beer, for a 2.5 gallon batch just reduce
the ingredients by half.
1. Boil 2 gallons of water set it aside and let it cool to room temperature covered.
2. Place 3 gallons of water in a pot turn on the heat.
3. When the water begins to boil turn off the heat and add all extracts and stir well to
dissolve - you don’t want it to stick to the bottom – this mixture is called Wort.
4. Once the extracts are dissolved turn the heat back on to boil the wort for 30 minutes.
Stir frequently.
NOTE: Once wort begins to foam (Hot Break) watch carefully to prevent boiling over! If it looks like it’s
going to boil over turn off heat briefly or blow on the foam.
5. Turn off the heat – cool down to 70° - 90°F as quickly as possible by placing pot in a
sink or tub filled with cold water, or a snow bank stirring constantly or if you have one use a
wort chiller.
6. When the temperature is down to 70° - 90°F aerate the wort by stirring up quickly or
using a wire whisk. Yeast needs oxygen in the wort before it’s added.
7. Take a hydrometer reading if you have one and record this number correcting for
temperature. Drink the wort from the hydrometer test tube. Never pour this back into the
beer. Make notes on your readings and what you’ve tasted for later. It will be really sweet!
8. When there are plenty of bubbles in the wort add the yeast now stir gently you don’t
want to add air to the wort once the yeast has been added. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
9. Transfer wort to your fermenter of choice being careful to leave as much of the sediment
and trub behind as you can.
10. Place Air lock on ferementer (if there is one)
11. Place fermenter in a place where it will be out of the sunlight and undisturbed for
several days to a few weeks depending on the recipe. In about 24 hours you should see
bubbling in the airlock. Keep an eye on the temperatures!
12. Clean up!
23
Brewing Extract with Steeped Grains and Hops
For our example we will produce a 5 gallon batch of beer, for a 2.5 gallon batch just reduce
the ingredients by half.
1. Boil 2 gallons of water set it aside and let it cool to room temperature covered.
2. Place 3 gallons of water in a pot turn on the heat.
3. Place grains in the muslin bag tie a knot in it and steep the grains
swirling them around until the temperature reaches 165°F. Do not let
water get above 170°F before removing grains or it will leave an off
taste in your beer!
4. Remove grains
5. When the water begins to boil turn off the heat and add all extracts
and stir well to dissolve - you don’t want it to stick to the bottom – this mixture is called
Wort.
6. Once the extracts are dissolved turn the heat back on to boil the wort. Stir frequently.
NOTE: Once wort begins to foam (Hot Break) watch carefully to prevent boiling over! If it looks like it’s
going to boil over turn off heat briefly or blow on the foam.
7. If you have bittering hops place them in a clean muslin bag tie a knot in it and add them
now. Boil Bittering hops for 55 minutes.
8. If you have aroma or finishing hops add for the last 5 minutes of the boil.
sink or tub filled with cold water, or a snow bank stirring constantly. If you have one use a
wort chiller.
whip it using a wire whisk. Yeast needs oxygen in the wort before it’s added.
temperature. Drink the wort from the hydrometer test tube. Never pour this back into the
beer. Make notes on your readings and what you’ve tasted for later. It will be really sweet!
12. Transfer wort to your fermenter of choice being careful to leave as much of the sediment
and trub behind as you can.
several days to a few weeks depending on the recipe. In about 24 hours you should see
bubbling in the airlock. Keep an eye on the temperatures!
15. Clean up!
24
Brewing Your First All-Grain Beer
All-Grain. The term sends shivers down the spines of those who are unaware of how simple
it really is. You’ve probably read dozens of texts on the subject only to find it still remains
shrouded in mystery. If your like me when I first got started all the information available
spoke of this wizardry and how difficult it is - and for that reason I did not start brewing for
many years after I got the urge to try.
Then I found Mr. Beer, which introduced me to extract brewing in small batches. My second
batch of beer was a Coopers Brew Master Select kit with “steeped grains.” I just followed the
recipe everything was in the kit!
Okay let’s get rid of the fear – this is easy, a bit more time consuming but easy! Here we go!
This will be for 5 gallons of beer assuming a few different grains and hops - so get out all
you equipment wash and sanitize everything!
If you don’t have a grain mill order your grain pre-crushed.
To make it easy on your back place the boiling pot (HLT) on the stove
with tubing attached long enough to go into the Mash Tun, place the
Mash tun on a high chair or stool with tubing long enough to reach the bottom of the
collection pot and a collection pot for the Mash tun on a chair or the floor. It should look
something like this if possible:
HLT
Let’s Get Started!
Stove
Mash
Tun
Stool
Pot
Chair
The Mash
1. Bring about 4 gallons of water up to about 160°F
NOTE: Lets say we have a total of 8 pounds of grain we need about 1 ½ quarts of water per
pound of grain to put into the Mash Tun with the grain so that’s 12 quarts of water (the 4
gallons from step 1).
2. Pour a few gallons of hot tap water into you Mash Tun to warm it up and let it sit with
the lid on for about 5 minutes then dump it and put the lid back on.
3. Place all of the crushed grains into the Mash Tun.
25
4. Slowly add the water to the grains to cover them by about an inch and stir them up to
make sure they aren’t stuck together and let them sit covered for one hour. The
temperature in the grain bed should be about 150°F. This is called the Mash.
NOTE: Place a saucer or colander over the grain bed to keep from stirring up the grains.
5. Add about 4 more gallons of water to the HLT and bring this
temperature up to about 170° F.
6. After an hour run about 2 quarts of water out of the Mash Tun into
the collection pot. This water will have a lot of grain particles in it.
That’s normal! This is called the first runnings. Slowly pout this
back into the Mash Tun.
7. Pour another 2 quarts of water out from the Mash tun into the
collection pot. This should be cleaner than the first. Again slowly
pour this back into the Mash Tun.
8. Continue to pour a few quarts Mash water at a time into the
collection pot until it runs clear. This may take only be once or
could take 3 or 4 tries.
9. Once the Mash water runs fairly free of particles open the spigot a
tiny bit to let the mash water slowly drip into the collection pot … at the same time
slowly open the spigot of the HLT and let it run into the Mash Tun. This should take
about an hour to complete – so just a trickle will do!
NOTE: As the water passes through the grains it takes with it the sugars which will
become the wort. The more water that passes through the lighter the color of the run off.
10. Once all the water has passed through the grain checkthe specific gravity of the final
runoff .It should be between 1.010 and 1.000. If you don’t have a hydrometer just
look to see that it’s really light compared to the earlier
runnings.
NOTE: Now the Mashing is done and all the sugars (extracts) are
collected. The rest is just extract brewing.
Back To Extract Brewing
1. Bring the wort to a boil. You should have collected about 6
gallons of extract. You will lose about a gallon during the boil. If
you don’t have 5 gallons add water to bringit up to 5 gallons.
2. If you have bittering hops place them in a clean muslin bag tie
a knot in it and add them now. Boil Bittering hops for 55
minutes.
3. If you have aroma or finishing hops add for the last 5 minutes of the boil.
26
sink or tub filled with cold water, or a snow bank stirring constantly. If you have one
use a wort chiller.
whip it using a wire whisk. Yeast needs oxygen in the wort before it’s added.
temperature. Drink the wort from the hydrometer test tube. Never pour this back into
the beer. Make notes on your readings and what you’ve tasted for later. It will be
really sweet!
8. Transfer wort to your fermenter of choice being careful to leave as much of the
sediment and trub behind as you can.
several days to a few weeks depending on the recipe. In about 24 hours you should
see bubbling in the airlock. Keep an eye on the temperatures!
11. Clean up!
Now that wasn’t to hard was it?
27
Calculating % Alcohol
So why do we want to know this? Who cares anyway? We can use these numbers to
caculate how much alcohol is in our beer!
Most states regulate how much alcohol is allowed to be present in the beer within it’s
boarders. That’s why in one state the same brand of beer maybe be higher or lower in
alcohol content or not available at all. That stinks but that’s the law, however these laws do
not apply to Homebrewed beer! Yippie!
Here are two basic methods for calculating % alcohol in beer, the percentage of alcohol by
volume (ABV) and the percentage of alcohol by weight (ABW). We need to retrieve the note
we made of the original gravity (O.G.) when we finished brewing. Then just before we bottle
we take another reading the final gravity (F.G.). Some people call this the terminal gravity
(T.G.).
% Alcohol by Volume
To calculate the percentage of alcohol by volume we take our original gravity and subtract
our final gravity, multiple that by 1.333, then multiply that by 100.
Calculating % Alcohol by Volume (%ABV)
(O.G. – F.G.) x 1.333 x 100
% Alcohol by Weight
To calculate the percentage of alcohol by weight we take our original gravity and subtract
our final gravity, multiply that by 105.
Calculating % Alcohol by Weight (%ABW)
(O.G. – F.G.) x 105
28
Preparing to Bottle Your Beer
How do you know when the beer is ready to bottle? There are a few ways depending on
whether or not you have a hydrometer.
I have a Hydrometer!
If you have a hydrometer you can take a specific gravity reading and compare it to the recipe
readings. Most recipes will list the original gravity and the final gravity that was achieved
when the recipe was designed. If it is not listed you can go to this website, type in the
ingredients and it will calculate it for you. http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/ Use this
to determine your final gravity.
After about a week, maybe two, depending on your recipe, your beer will be ready to bottle.
The beer will nearly stop fermenting, you won’t see anyor very few bubbles in the airlock.
Note: Recipes that have a lot of fermentables or fruit can take up to a month so be patient.
If the airlock is happily bubbling away let it sit for a few more days. Just watch it. As long as
something is happening in there it’s still working. The alcohol acts like a preservative so
don’t worry if you gone over by a few days. I know a guy that had a good batch of brew that
forgot it for over a month! I wouldn’t push it though.
I don’t have a Hydrometer
If the air lock hasn’t bubbled up more than once every few minutes you could taste it. Does
it taste really sweet? Compare the flavors from the day you brewed it until now. If it’s really
sweet wait a few more days. If it taste about right but flat (don’t panic it’s not carbonated
yet) it’s probably ready to bottle.
What do I need to Bottle my Beer?
Well first you need bottles and lots of them! Before bottling collect the number of bottles and
caps you will need (see chart on page 5) . Wash thoroughly and scrub with a bottle brush,
then sanitize them.
Place metal caps in boiling water, but not plastic caps used for PET bottles. Turn the heat off
first before adding PET bottle caps so you don’t melt them. When the cap is hot it seals
better.
You can use PET bottles with re-useable plastic caps or glass crown top bottles with a
capper. I’ve heard several people claim that PET bottles won’t keep long because they leak
air and your beer will loose carbonation. I have some beer bottled in PET bottles that have
been bottled over a year and they are fine. Hot caps seal better!
29
What is a PET Bottle?
PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate, a plastic resin and a form of polyester.
Basically any bottle that at one time held a carbonated beverage can be washed,
sanitized and re-used along with the caps. They can also be purchased in brown
colored bottles like the one on the right, which is better for you beer because it
blocks UV light which can ruin your beer. I don’t usually leave my beer in the sun do
you? Some people claim clear and green glass bottles leave a funny taste in your
beer, I’ve never found this to be true.
I bottle at least two beers from every batch in clear glass bottles so I can evaluate what I
have. I evaluate it’s color, clarity, yeast remnants etc. These I save in brown paper lined
boxes and drink it on it’s anniversary date a year after I brewed it. If you think it was good a
few weeks after you brewed it let one sit a year!
What’s a Crown Top Bottle?
Unfortunately, many of our beers today come in twist off caps. You can not
re-use these with a hand capper. The old style bottle that require a bottle
opener are crown tops. You can get them from a recycler or your local
beverage store or get your friends to save them for you. See photo on right.
For glass bottles you need a capper and lots of caps. I use the one on the
left. It’s called a universal capper and costs about $12.
Metal Bottle Caps – come in bags either by the pound or the gross. I buy
these at $1.20 a gross from Quality Wine and Ale I think they are cute!
http://www.homebrewit.com/aisle/2060
Okay I’ve got my bottles and caps washed and sanitized what next? Well priming the beer of
course!
30
Priming the Beer
Before you can bottle you need to prime the beer. We can do this with just about any sugar
but corn sugar is about the best. Some sugars like table sugar are inconsistent and can
cause off flavors in your beer. DME can be used as well but it’s more expensive and why not
save that for another batch of beer?
What is priming? Priming is just adding more sugar to the beer so the yeast will eat it and
create CO2 that it will carbonate the beer based on the table below:
Corn Sugar for 5 Gallons = 13 1/2 Tablespoons
Bottle Size
7 oz.
12 oz.
1 liter/quart
16 oz.
2 liter
22 oz.
Priming Sugar
.35 Teaspoon
3/4 Teaspoon each
2 1/2 Teaspoons each
1 Teaspoon each
1 1/2 Tablespoons each
1 1/2 Teaspoons each
Like everything else there is more than one way to do this.
Bottle Priming
To bottle prime you scoop the appropriate amount of sugar into each and every bottle then
pour in the beer into the bottle and swish it around a bit.
Bulk Priming
To bulk prime you simply measure out the total corn sugar required to prime all of the beer
(see chart above) then and 2/3 cups of boiling water priming the whole batch of beer at at
one time. To do this follow the instructions below:
Boil the water, remove it from the heat and then dissolve the corn sugar in the water.
Cover the pot and let the sugar syrup cool to room temperature. Once this sugar
mixture has cooled add it to the fermenter and stir slowly using a sanitized spoon,
taking care not to stir it up to much.
NOTE: If you are using a brew bucket to transfer the beer from a carboy to the brew bucket
don’t prime until you are ready to rack the beer from the brew bucket to the bottles.
The most accurate way to calculate your priming sugar is to use a nomograph. A nomograph
eliminates the need to do any calculations you just draw a line or place a straightedge or
ruler on the mark for the temperature of your beer, and the volumes of CO2 required for
that style of beer. The place where the line crosses the sugar line is how much sugar you
need to prime 5 gallons of that specific beer. This method is much more accurate because it
31
takes into consideration the temperature, and the style of the beer you have brewed. At
lower temperatures, the beer can dissolve more CO2, so the colder the beer the better.
Please note: Temperatures are listed in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) and sugar is measured in
ounces (oz.).
Volumes of CO2 Required
According To Beer Style
Beer Style
Volumes CO2
British-Style Ales
1.5 - 2.0
Porter, Stout
1.7 - 2.3
Belgian Ales
1.9 - 2.4
European Lagers
2.2 - 2.7
American Ales & Lagers 2.2 - 2.7
Lambic
2.4 - 2.8
Fruit Lambic
3.0 - 4.5
German Wheat Beer
3.3 - 4.5
32
It’s Bottling Time!
Bottling Your Beer
Once again you will need to transfer your beer - this is known as racking. This time we will
rack into bottles. How you do this depends on the type of fermenter you have.
Racking From A Fermenter With A Spigot
If your fermenter has a spigot it’s easy. Just put a bit sanitized tubing on the spigot run the
tubing to the bottom of the bottle open the spigot and fill up the bottle trying not to get any
air in. Set the cap on top of the bottle but don’t cap it yet. If you let it sit a until you fill all of
the bottles it will create CO2 and expel any air out of the bottle keeping your beer fresher
longer.
Racking From a Carboy
If you are using a carboy you will need a clean, sanitized racking cane, tubing, bottle filler
and brew bucket. You place the racking cane in the carboy and place it up on the table, put
the bucket on a chair below the carboy and put the tubing in the bucket. Release the clamp
on the hose and transfer the beer into the bucket keeping the tubing submerged to prevent
splashing.
Add the bottle filler to the racking cane and close the clamp. Put the brew bucket on the
table and the bottles on the chair. When your ready push the bottle filler into the bottom of
the bottle and fill. When you release the pressur on the bottle filler it will stop the flow of
beer. Set the cap on top of the bottle but don’t cap it yet. If you let it sit a until you fill all of
the bottles it will create CO2 and expel any air out of the bottle keeping your beer fresher
longer.
Bottle Conditioning
Once all the beer is bottled you need to crimp the caps and let it sit in a cool place out of
sunlight to condition for a week to 10 days. For some beers it is suggested that you
condition for up to a month so check the recipes instructions on this. In general, the longer
you condition the beer better it tastes.
Chilling and Drinking
After the necessary conditioning period put your beer in the refrigerator for a few days to a
week and enjoy!
Congratulations -You’ve made you first homebrewed beer! Now wasn’t that simple?
33
Appendix
I’ve added a few handy reference tables to aid you in your brewing. Let me explain what
these tables can do for you and why I added them.
Grains, Extracts & Sugars
This table will help you determine the type of malt, what form in comes in, (I.e. grain, LME or
DME), where the malt originates from, the potential color contribution to your beer, whether
or not it must be mashed (no means you can steep it) , the average specific gravity it will
attain, the maximum amount you should use per batch of beer, and a brief description of
what it should be used for.
Hops
This table will help you determine the type of Hop, what it’s used for (Aroma or bittering), the
percent of alpha acids which may be obtained, what beers it should be used in, emergency
substitutions if you run out and a description of it’s flavors.
Spices, Flavors & Finings
This table will help you determine the type, quantity per 5 gallon batch of beer, when to add
it and for how long, what it’s used for and a brief description of it’s use.
Yeast Statistics
This table will help you determine the Brand Name with item number, the type and form it
comes in, the flocculation and attenuation which should be achieved, the minimum and
maximum temperature for use.
Beer Style Statistics With Commercial Examples
There are many different styles given to a beer that describes its overall character and
origin. Reading these charts can sometimes be confusing. Maybe you like a particular brand
of beer but you don’t know the style – this table is for you. It combines all the specifics of
the beer style and includes commercial example of that style to help you decide what you
may want to brew.
Clink ..
Ahhhhh
34
Grains, Extracts & Sugars
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
Hops
43
44
45
Spices, Flavors & Finings
46
47
48
49
Yeast Statistics
50
51
52
53
Beer Style Statistics With Commercial Examples
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88

The Very Basic Brewers Guide

Transcription

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