The Key Ingredients
The Key Ingredients
There are beer brewing kits available for purchase that simplify brewing--and then there is the art of brewing from scratch.
Ready to Brew?
We've opted to use a simple ale recipe to guide you through the process. The first cooking step in brewing is to make the wort, a soupy mixture of malt and sugar that is
boiled before fermentation. Malt and sugar form the perfect food for yeast to grown in--thus making the all-important process of fermentation possible. All of the ingredients for beer-making can be found at your local brew supply store, or at any number of beer outfitters. Once you've got all the necessary equipment and ingredients, you're ready to begin the beer-making process by properly sanitizing your equipment, making and cooling the wort, fermenting the wort, and bottling your brew. Ingredients:
1.5 gallons water 6 pounds canned pre-hopped light malt syrup 1 ounce hop pellets (choose your flavor) Ice poured into a water bath (do not use store-bought ice) 3 gallons cool water 2 (7-gram) packets ale yeast 1 cup warm water (about 90 degrees F or 35 degrees C) 3/4 cup liquid corn syrup (or 4 ounces dry corn syrup) 1 (4-ounce) container iodine solution 1 tablespoon bleach A bottle of household bleach or an iodine solution that can be bought at your local home brew shop to sanitize all of your materials or use will be necessary. (Make a bleach disinfecting solution with 1 tablespoon bleach to 1 gallon water.) Be sure to rinse the equipment well with boiling water before using it.
3. While the wort is being made, prep the yeast by placing 1 packet of yeast in 1 cup of warm water (90 degrees F or 35 degrees C; stir and cover for 10 minutes. If the yeast does not react (form foam), discard the yeast solution and try again with the second yeast packet. 4. At about the time hops are added to the wort, you should prepare an ice-cold water bath in either a large sink or tub to quick-cool the wort. Once the wort is finished cooking, float the pot in the water bath. Stir the wort while it is sitting in the bath so that the maximum amount of wort reaches the pot's sides where it can cool quickly. If the water bath heats up, add more ice to keep the water bath cold. It should take approximately 20 minutes to cool the wort to approximately 80 degrees F (27 degrees C).
the beer and cause bottles to explode! Place the fermenter full of beer on the kitchen counter and the bottling bucket on the ground below it. 3. Attach the racking cane to the siphon. Prepare the siphon by filling it with tap water. Pinch both ends of the siphon to prevent the water from running out. Place one end of the racking cane and siphon into the iodine solution and one end into an empty jar. When the solution has run into the siphon and expelled all of the water into the jar, pinch both ends and let the iodine sit in the siphon for 5 minutes to re-sanitize the siphon. (Resist the temptation to blow into the siphon with your mouth to encourage the flow of iodine solution.) 4. Place one end of the sanitized siphon into the fermenter and the other end into the jar; once the beer has begun flowing through the siphon, transfer its end to the bottling bucket. Monitor the speed that the beer transfers into the bottling bucket by pinching and releasing the siphon with your fingers (or use a specialty clamp). The beer should not splash into the bucket; it should gently rush into it. Once all of the beer has been siphoned into the bucket, cover it (with a sanitized cover ) and wait 30 minutes for the sediment to settle at the bottom of the bucket. 5. Place the bottling bucket on the counter, attach the siphon and run the other end of the siphon into a bottle. Fill each bottle with beer to 3/4 inch from the top of the bottle. Cap each bottle with the bottle-capper. Check and doublecheck that the caps are secure. Sure Signs of Infection: Keep your eyes peeled for strands of slime in the beer and a milky layer at the top and/or residue bumps clinging to the air space in the bottleneck. If the beer has strands, it most likely has a lacto infection and should be discarded. The milky layer is a sign of a micro-derm infection; this beer should also be discarded. Age the bottles at room temperature for up to two months, but for at least two weeks, before cracking one open, proposing a toast to yourself and impressing your friends! Ready to try it? Try these recipes: