Home Brew Beer In 10 Simple Steps Using Malt Extract - By: Bruce Carter

Once you have assembled the necessary home brewing equipment and home brewing supplies, this includes ingredients, you'll be ready to make your own beer. In case you have any questions concerning particular equipment or supplies make sure to click the link following this article in order to find out more on the subject of home brewing equipment and home brewing supplies.

One of the more important steps to producing top notch beer should be to make sure all your equipment that is going to be in contact with the beer is thoroughly cleaned. All of your equipment that will actually be in contact with your beer following the boil MUST also be sanitized. If this equipment is not properly sanitized undesired microorganisms will spoil your beer, making all of your effort a total waste of time and energy.

Take some time to set up the brewing location. Ensure that all your equipment and ingredients will be readily accessible. If you are using liquid yeast, remove it from the refrigerator so that it can warm up to room temperature. Another beneficial thing is documentation, always have a notebook handy for recording all of your brews. It is important to record your ingredients and what portions were actually used and also times of every step. You should be able to repeat your good batches as well as gain knowledge from the ones which are not so great. Let’s get started.

1. Sanitize Equipment. There are numerous sanitizers to choose from. Some of the common selections are B-Brite, Star San, and 5-Star. You may also use typical, unscented household bleach at 1 oz. per gallon of water. If you decide to use bleach be sure you rinse off your equipment since it can cause undesired flavors in your beer. Personally I like using Star San. Add the specified amount of sanitizer to the fermenter and then fill to the top with tap water. Also fill the bottling bucket or some other container with sanitizing solution for sanitizing other equipment. Place all the equipment that's going to come in contact with the unfermented beer following the boil in the sanitizing solution. These items will include: airlock, rubber stopper, funnel and strainer.

2. Water For Brewing. Add water to your brew kettle. Do not forget that there needs to be space for the boil. Assuming you have a 5 gallon kettle, only fill it with about 3.5 gallons of water. The quality of the water is very important to your finished beer. If your plain tap water tastes all right at room temperature, it will probably be all right for brewing. You might want to consider filtering the tap water with a standard home water filter if happen to have one. You could also choose to buy bottled water from the grocery store. Once you have put the water in the brew kettle place it on the stove and turn on the burner. Also at this time place the unopened container of malt extract in hot tap water. This will warm your extract up making it easier to get out of the can when you need it.

3. Steep Specialty Grains. This step is optional. Utilizing specialty grains will improve the control you have got over the color and flavor of the finished beer. If you decide to utilize specialty grains place them into the grain bag provided in your home brewing kit. As soon as the water gets to 150 degrees F place the grain bag in the water and steep it for approximately 30 minutes keeping the temperature constant. When 30 minutes has passed take out your grain bag and let the liquid drain. Don’t squeeze the bag, this will likely extract tannins found in the husks of the grain and give the beer an astringent taste.

4. The Boil. Gently bring the liquid in your kettle to a boil. After the liquid has come to a boil add the container of malt extract. Make sure to constantly stir while adding the malt extract so that none of it sinks to the bottom and gets scorched. After the liquid is once again boiling it is time to add the bittering hops. Slowly add the hops, sometimes the kettle will boil over when the hops are added. Generally the hops are in a pellet form and are added directly to the boil. They are going to settle out after the boil. Take note of the time of the hop addition. Continue to boil for a total of 60 minutes. DO NOT leave the boil unwatched. It will often boil over just when you least expect it! When there are 20 minutes remaining in the boil put in the Irish Moss. The Irish Moss helps the proteins coagulate after the boil. Do not be concerned in the event you do not have the Irish Moss, the beer will be all right without it however, I would recommend it for your next brew. Aroma hops are generally added any time from 15 to 0 minutes before the conclusion of the boil. Follow the instructions in your recipe. The aroma hops will add an additional hop flavor and aroma to your beer but are not going to add any significant bitterness. After you have boiled for 60 minutes remove the kettle from the burner. You should probably have some hot mitts handy for handling the hot kettle. The liquid in your kettle is now referred to as wort (pronounced wert).

5. Cooling The Wort. The wort needs to be cooled off as soon as possible. The simplest way is to put the kettle in the kitchen sink or bathtub containing a cold bath of ice water. Leave the kettle in your ice water bath until it is around 80 degrees F. Put additional ice to the cold bath if necessary. Adding ice directly to your wort is not recommended. All flavors in the ice will be also added to the beer. You can slowly stir the wort in a clockwise motion to help it cool but remember to keep the spoon sanitary. Let the wort sit a minimum of 10 minutes following the final time that it was stirred before you start transferring to the fermenter. This will permit the particulate matter to settle to the bottom.

6. Prepare The Fermenter. As the wort is cooling empty the sanitizer from the fermenter. For those who used bleach don't forget to give it a rinse. Most of the other sanitizers are a no rinse solution. Just turn your fermenter upside-down and let all the solution drain out. If the brew kettle has only 4 gallons of wort in it you'll want to add 1 gallon of water to the fermenter. The purpose is to have a total amount of 5 gallons in your fermenter. Remember that the water should be the same kind as you previously used in your kettle.

7. Transfer The Cooled Wort To The Fermenter. Use the sanitized funnel and strainer to slowly pour the wort into your fermenter. It is all right to leave a minimal quantity of wort behind along with the trub (hops and proteins) in the bottom of your kettle. It is better to lose a little bit of wort and keep the trub out of your fermenter. The ONLY period of time that splashing the wort is suggested is during and immediately following this particular transfer. Yeast requires oxygen to correctly ferment the wort. You can even gently shake your fermenter once all the wort is in it. A stick on thermometer placed on the fermenter can be a very useful item that will allow you to see when your wort reaches the right temperature to add the yeast.

8. Obtain A Hydrometer Reading. When the wort has cooled to roughly 70-75 degrees F it is time to take a hydrometer reading. If you are utilizing a bucket to ferment it will be less difficult to obtain a sample than when using a carboy. In any case recall that whatever touches the wort MUST always be sanitary. Home brew supply stores sell a sample-taker to acquire the wort out of your carboy or you may utilize something such as a turkey baster. This hydrometer reading is called the original gravity. It'll be used with the final gravity reading taken when the beer is fermented to calculate the alcohol percentage. Skip this step if you don't possess a hydrometer. It is not necessary to acquire these readings but you will surely want to get one if you decide to continue to make your own beer.

9. Pitch The Yeast. The time has come to pitch (add) the yeast. Be certain that your wort is 70-75 degrees F if you are pitching an ale yeast. For newbies I would not suggest using lager yeast on the grounds that it necessitates cooler fermentation temperatures and will take a lot longer to ferment. When you are utilizing dry yeast follow any instructions for hydrating the yeast on the package prior to adding it to the fermenter. If you are using liquid yeast, shake it in the tube and then add it directly to the fermenter. Once the yeast is added insert the rubber stopper with the airlock in the top of the carboy or put the lid on the bucket and insert the airlock. Carefully agitate the fermenter to mix the yeast around.

10. Fermentation. Put the fermenter in an area which is approximately 65-70 degrees F. It is also important to store it in a place that is dark or wrapped in a towel to keep light out. The airlock should be steadily bubbling in about 24 hours. Fermentation periods may vary but it usually takes 3 to 7 days for ale yeasts. After the initial fermentation stops allow an additional 7 days for settling for an overall total of roughly two weeks before bottling the beer.

Hopefully these directions have been helpful to you. Once you have completed these steps you will be well on your way to having your own home brewed beer to drink and enjoy!

About the Author

So you are interested in home brewing beer? Click for more details regarding how to make your own beer. Learn more about how to make beer in 10 simple steps.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Bruce-Carter/141199

Additional Articles From - Home | Food & beverage | Beer