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GREAT BEER MAKING
INSTRUCTIONS
LET'S HAVE SOME FUN!
It is easy to make good homebrew--just follow these instructions. You will gain new
friends, become more popular with your old ones, have pride in yourself, have more self
confidence, and have a better love life. Best of all you get to call yourself:
BREW MASTER
First of all, we are only dealing with four things:
1. water
2. malt
3. hops
4. yeast
WATER:
Charcoal filtered WATER is best. Some city water with excessive chlorine should be
boiled(if not filtered), in order to drive off the free chlorine.(DO NOT PUT HOT WATER
INTO A GLASS CONTAINER- IT MAY CAUSE IT TO BREAK) Distilled water is not recommended (no
minerals) and a rule of thumb is; if it tastes good to you then use it(taste your water
warm because cold masks taste). Water does effect the taste of your brew. How many
breweries brag about their water? Have you ever heard of BEAR WHIZ BEER? Remember,
it's in the water--that's why it's yellow!
MALT:
Malt is a grain that has been prepared to have it's starch turned into sugar. You will
probably be using a MALT EXTRACT. This is the sugars from the malt that have been
condensed into a syrup or dried into a powder. Using MALT EXTRACTS is the
easiest way to brew an award winning beer. Brewing directly from malt (grain) requires
more investment in equipment ($100-$150 or more or less) and requires more time, but it
will cost you less in ingredients, gives you more control, and you can brew a
better beer. Sort of like, improving on excellence. The grain in beer is BARLEY.
The other grains, like corn, wheat, rice, etc., are ADJUNTS and will lighten, cheapen,
and/or change the flavor of your beer Unless you are one of those people who think less is
more, it is recommended that you stay away from using corn sugar and definitely cane
sugar, regardless of directions on the can.!
HOPS:
Hops are flowers that add BITTERNESS, FLAVOR, and AROMA, to beer. The
bitterness provides a balance to the brew. The amount of BITTERNESS depends of the
type of hop(the alpha acid content) and the length of time in the boil(cooking process--
about 40+ minutes). FLAVORING by hops comes from adding hops to the brew near the end of
the boil.(20-15 minutes). AROMA is achieved adding at the last 2 minutes or by DRY HOPPING
or adding hops during last of the fermentation before bottling. Hops also act as a
preservative. A pleasantly bitter brew is a better beer. Don't think of bitter being as
bad. Buy some better bottled beers between brewing and bottling your brew batch and taste
for bitterness, body, and bouquet.
YEAST:
Yeast is a microscopic plant that causes sugars to be turned into alcohol and carbon
dioxide gas. This process is called FERMENTATION. There are two types of
beer yeast, ALE and LAGER. ALE is top fermenting, at a warmer temperature, and makes a
fruitier tasting brew. LAGER is bottom fermenting, at a cooler temperature, takes more
time, and makes a drier, crisper brew. Yeast comes either dried or in a liquid pouch. Dry
yeast are widely available, easy to use, keep well, and are inexpensive, but they have
sometimes been contaminated. A popular brew yeast is a very pure liquid culture called
WYEAST or WhiteLabs. Unless you have a place to lager such as a spare refrigerator or
basement, ale will be your choice of brew.
GETTING STARTED
THE BATTLE OF THE BAD BEER BUGS BEGINS...
SANITATION:
The ONLY way to make GREAT beer(or any kind of beer)! CLEANLINESS
IS NEXT TO GOODLINESS:
It is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to keep everything, that touches your brew, CLEAN!!!
SANITIZE! SANITIZE! SANITIZE! SANITIZE! Did you notice that I said SANITIZE? You
need to have as "germ" free environment for your brew as possible and practical.
STAR SAN
This is my favorite sanitizer. It is an acid based agent which
is not rinsed although it foams allot.
IODOPHOR:
I also recommend B-T-F IODOPHOR SANITIZER. Clean equipment is sanitized in two
minutes by soaking and then air drying.
CHLORINE (household bleach):
Bleach (non-scented) is a cheap and an effective disinfectant and cleaner.
Two ounces in 5 gallons of water and an overnight soak will clean your glass fermenter.
1/2 tsp. to 1&1/2 tsp. in 5 gallons of water with 1/2 to 1 hour soak will sanitize.
Also, 1 1/2 ounces per gallon is good as a sanitizing sponge wash with three hot clear
water rinses. Warning: Chlorine is corrosive to stainless steel, copper, brass, and
it's not too good for your skin.
BOILING:
Boiling also sanitizes. Don't boil plastic equipment as it may deform and become useless.
You can sanitize your brew water by boiling and some brewers say it is mandatory(if you
don't filter it). At least you would get rid of the chlorine, but you will also get rid of
oxygen(yeast need oxygen during the first 24 hours of fermentation, so you must vigorously
stir air back into the boiled water before use).
DIRTY DISH TOWELS:
Don't ruin you efforts by drying off your equipment with some dirty towel. Sanitize your
work area and let your equipment air dry(or use it wet). Keep cats, kids, canaries,
canines, and other annoyances out. Keep the windows shut, because most bad beer bugs are
airborne.
SANITATION:
The ONLY way to make GREAT beer! It is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to keep everything, that
touches your brew, CLEAN!!! SANITIZE! SANITIZE! SHORT CUTTING THIS WILL MAKE ALL OF THE
TIME AND MONEY SPENT A TOTAL WASTE. IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO KEEP THINGS CLEAN, YOU DO
NOT WANT TO MAKE BEER AND YOU WILL NOT MAKE BEER (YOU MIGHT MAKE SOME HOG SLOP(or
something even hogs will not eat (that is not a joke and if it happens you will not be
laughing)))
GETTING STARTED
Deja brew? I don't know, but it seems like I've been beer before!
Let's get cooking...****DO NOT USE ALUMINUM!!!****
(although some people do!) (old Chinese proverb: If a million people do a
stupid thing, it is still a stupid thing!)
Butt First! What are you doing?
There are 4 general ways to make beer. Which one are YOU
doing?
METHOD #1, You have bought a big box of concentrated wort.(
this you put in your fermenter, add water to 5 gallons, pour in your yeast and go to step
# 11)
METHOD #2, You have bought a canned kit recipe and extra malt
extract-NO HOPS
METHOD #3, You have bought a kit with plain malt extract and hops
and maybe grain (kit #3)
METHOD #4, You are brewing from grain and are not reading this.
start a gallon and one half or so of water heating to a
boil in your brew kettle.
If you are using extract syrup, soak the can(s) in hot
water in the sink. This is to make the thick syrup easier to get out of the can and mix
with your boiling brew kettle water.
When your brew kettle water comes to a boil, remove it
from the heat and completely stir in your malt extract(syrup or dried).
If you are using a canned recipe KIT #2 (which is designed for a particular beer style) DO
NOT ADD THIS NOW. Otherwise add all you extract now. If you are using
DME-- dried malt extract, pour it in a bowl and then use the bowl to pour it into the brew
pot. The steam from your pot will make the malt gooey and you can dip the gooey bowl in
the brew pot to get all the gooey goodness in... The plastic bag will capture the steam
and allot of your DME will turn into GME(you guessed it goo malt extract) inside your bag
and you have no real way to use it then. Remember, to COMPLETELY MIX YOUR MALT AND BREW
WATER.
Return to the heat and boil. THIS MIXTURE IS CALLED A
WORT AND YOUR WORT WILL BOIL OVER IF YOU ARE NOT CAREFUL. BOIL OVER WILL RUIN YOUR DAY.
YOU HAVE BEEN BOILING OVER BEER WARNED!!
If you are using a canned recipe kit (method #2), boil
the wort for 5 minutes and remove from heat. NOW add the canned recipe kit
syrup and mix completely. GO TO STEP #7
If you using unhopped extract (method #3) which requires hopping, now is the time to put
in your bittering hops. The length of boil determines the bitterness of your brew. Follow
your recipe time exactly!
Add your finishing hops five to ten minutes before the
end of the boil or better yet, exactly when your recipe says to add them. Typical
total boil time for all the hops is 1 hour.
You are finished boiling.. so take your brew pot with
the lid on it over to the sink full of cold water and set the pot in it.
Now, get your yeast started. Take a tall clean glass and
put a cup of warm water in it.(the same water as in your primary fermenter) pour in your
yeast... watch it absorb water for 5 minutes... stir it up.... cover with a baggie.
Returning to the brew pot, stir the wort until the sink
water gets hot, then replace the hot sink water with cold fresh. After you have cooled the
brew pot down to about 100', then pour the wort into your primary fermenter which has a
couple gallons of brewing water in it. Then, you will want to fill it up to the five
gallon mark.
Vigorously stir in air into your wort.... froth it up,
foam it up, this is the only time this is good to do, so have a ball. Take your first
hydrometer reading. take a temperature reading because your hydrometer reading will be off
due to temperature.. write it down in your record book. If there are bubbles around your
hydrometer, do not blow them away because you might accidentally spit into your beer.(try
spinning it) Take two readings... specific gravity and potential alcohol. O.K. NOW, pitch
your yeast.(pour your yeast into your wort)
Put your lid on your primary fermenter and seal it. put
water in your air lock (about halfway up the inside tube of the 3 piece kind) and put the
it in the lid hole.(if your lid has a grommet seal, be careful not to push the grommet
through into your beer) Put your fermenter in a nice cool, quiet, dark, even temperature
place i.e.. not on your sun porch, by the dog house, or next to the oven. OK, YOUR BREW
SHOULD TAKE OFF LIKE A HERD OF TURTLES YOU SHOULD SEE BUBBLING, IF NOT VIGOROUS BUBBLING
WELL WITHIN 24 HOURS(IF NOT, CHECK THE LID AND MAKE SURE IT IS ON SECURELY AND IF IT IS
......THEN START TO WORRY.)
When the bubbling activity has slowed down, in 3-4 days,
it is time to put it in the secondary fermenter. FROM HERE ON OUT.... DO NOT SPLASH OR
FOAM YOUR BEER UNLESS YOU LIKE THE TASTE OF WET CARDBOARD... YOU HAVE BEEN CARDBOARD BEER
WARNED!! Put your primary fermenter on the counter and your carboy (glass jug) on the
floor. Put the siphon hose on the racking tube (do not get the racking tube confused with
bottle filler). Put the bucket clip on the primary and fill the siphon hose and tube full
of water directly from the faucet by sticking the hose end into running water until water
runs out the end of the racking tube, then squeeze the end of the hose shut. Stick the
racking tube into the beer and then let the other end flow into the sink UNTIL beer comes
out. Snap the racking tube into the bucket clip and push the tube to the bottom of the
primary. Let the other end flow beer into the carboy, but down the side and not pouring
into the middle. Whew,, all of that--- just to get a siphon started without putting your
dirty old mouth on the end of the hose...! IF you can not seem to get that system to work,
then put your dirty old mouth on it and suck till beer come out and put it in the carboy.
Put your airlock in your stopper and put it in the
carboy
NOW YOU CAN SEE WHAT IS GOING ON.....
YOUR BEER WILL CLEAR OUT AND IT WILL STOP BUBBLING
HOW LONG?... A GOOD QUESTION!. IT JUST DEPENDS!!
HOW MUCH FERMENTABLES?
WHAT TEMPERATURE?
WHAT KIND OF YEAST?
IT MAY BE 4 DAYS OR 3 WEEKS
WHEN YOUR BEER IS NO LONGER MILKY AND IT HAS STOPPED BUBBLING IT IS TIME TO BOTTLE YOUR
BEER.
Well, I guess your beer has cleared out and it is no
longer bubbling. Now you are ready to bottle. Siphon it out of the carboy and put it into
the bottling bucket. Take your second hydrometer reading. Mix your priming sugar with
about a cup of water, boil it, and pour it into your beer in the bucket and stir.. Put the
hose on the spigot and the other end on the bottle filler. Open the spigot and beer will
flow when you push the bottle filler down in the bottle. Fill the bottle to the top
because the volume of the tube will give you the correct head space. Do Not Cap A HALF
EMPTY Bottle.. (boom) Cap all the rest and set aside.
When is your beer ready to drink?
It may be carbonated in as little as 1 week.
I will drink no beer before its time..
WELL, ITS TIME!!!!!!!
It's your beer, you get to decide when it is best.. The general rule is, the higher the
alcohol, the longer the wait--up to 2 months, IF you want to.
I HONESTLY HOPE THESE HINTS HAVE BEEN ENJOYABLE, AND WILL BE HELPFUL IN PROVIDING MANY
BOTTLES OF PURE DRINKING PLEASURE.
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