Porters to Pale Ales:A Guide to Craft Brewing

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Agenda

1. Helpful hints before starting

2. Basic ingredients needed

3. Gathering equipment

4. Steps to brewing

5. Summary

Helpful Hints Before Your Brew

Have a friend who can help out.– This is extremely important because most of the steps are

long, it helps to have another set of hands. Consult your local homebrew store

– Talk to people who have extensive experience with home brewing. They will give you tips and encouragement, especially if you are a little nervous.

Plan everything out on a calendar.– Have an idea of when you will be needing to bottle, this can

help you avoid letting the beer spoil by allowing it to sit in the fermentation bucket for extended periods of time.

The most important tip that you can receive…

HAVE FUN!!

You are in charge of how your beer tastes, the alcohol content, and its amount of carbonation.

It is important to stay positive during the process, nobody has a perfect first batch!

Stirring_wort.jpg © Christopher Moore. Used with permission.

Step 1- Choosing a Recipe

There have been many home brewing books published that contain recipes.

You can also find popular recipes on the internet.

The most popular brewing book, and most frequently cited is titled The Complete Joy of Home Brewing, written by Charlie Papazian. It contains many recipes from beginning to advanced brewing.

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Step 2- Collecting the Supplies

Many home brew stores sell beer making kits that contain everything for the first time brewer. They will include:

– A 6 Gallon (food-grade) fermenting/bottling bucket with spigot and lid – A fermentation lock with stopper– A long handle spoon or stirring stick– Lever-action bottle capper and caps– Your extract kit with your choice of flavor– 2.5 lbs of fermentable corn sugar (dextrose)– Package of brewing yeast– A 4 Gallon stock pot (make sure there will be access to a stovetop)– Sanitizer of your choice– Digital thermometer (preferably one designed for cooking)– 48 pop-top bottles (no screw-tops here as they cannot be resealed with simple

lever-action cappers)

Step 1- Choosing a Recipe cont.

Perfect recipes for beginners start with pre-made kits such as ones produced by Coopers.

The picture seen to the right is a common kit sold at most home brew stores.

This kit is an extract syrup that is gathered from fermented wheat. Other extract kits contain can syrup from barley, or a mixture of both.

Coopers_extract.jpg © Christopher Moore. Used with permission.

Example of a Typical Home Brew Kit

FermentationLock

Lever-action Capper

Bottle Caps

Fermentable Sugar

Extract Kit

Fermentation/BottlingBucket with Lid

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Step 3- Sanitation

The most important step in the process is sanitation. Poor brewing conditions can ruin an entire batch of beer before it is even mixed.

The most recommended sanitizer for brewers is Iodine, since it is highly effective and fast acting.

Another important factor to remember when sanitizing with iodine is that it will not need to be washed out.

The most popular iodine based sanitizer is BTF, or Bartender’s Friend.

Step 3- Sanitation cont.

To start your sanitation using BTF, fill up your fermentation bucket with 3 gallons of water.

Add 2 capfuls of BTF solution, then add 3 more gallons on top of the solution.

Stir with your long handle spoon. Allow the BTF to sit in the bucket for a minimum of 5

minutes. Once the 5 minutes are up, use the spigot attached to your

bucket to fill up 50 empty glass bottles. Let that sit for another 5 minutes.

After the bottles have been sanitized, pour your BTF water from the bottles down the drain of your sink. Place the bottles in a clean environment in their boxes until bottling.

Sanitation Tips and Tricks

Having foreign bacteria introduce themselves to your beer can significantly alter its taste.

Sanitize anything that will come into contact with the beer. You can never be too clean.

If sanitizing with bleach, mix 1 teaspoon for every gallon of water.

– Sanitizing with bleach requires you to let the bleach sit for 20 minutes, then vigorously rinse out.

Step 4- Making the Wort

In brewing terms, wort is heated malt extract. The extract is heated to break the sugar down so that is it easier managed by your yeast.

To make the wort, boil one gallon of clean water in your stock pot. Once it has come to a boil, add your malt extract kit and all but ¾ cups of your fermentable sugar (dextrose). The extra dextrose will be used for bottling.

Let the contents boil for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stirring_close.jpg © Christopher Moore. Used with permission.

Step 5- Cooling Your Wort

After you are finished boiling, you must cool the wort to between 70 and 90 as fast as possible

To accomplish this, fill up your kitchen sink halfway with cold water, and place the entire pot in. This will conduct the heat out into the water to be dissipated.

While the wort is cooking, put 4 gallons of fresh tap water in your fermenting bucket.

Also, get ½ cup of warm water and stir in your yeast to activate it.

Step 6- Adding the Wort and Pitching Your Yeast

Take your cooled wort and slowly pour it into the fermenting bucket. Be sure to stir the water around as you are pouring in the wort.

Once you have finished, pour in your yeast mixture. Slowly add the yeast from the center, spiraling outwards in concentric circles (this technique is referred to as “pitching”).

After you have pitched your yeast, stir the concoction vigorously with your long handle spoon for 2 minutes.

Wort and Yeast Pitching Tips

If you are using a plastic fermenting bucket, be careful not to scratch it.

Scratches can trap yeast and fermented sugars.

These can result in flavor transfer between batches as well as adding sour tastes to your beer.

Step 7- Sealing and Waiting

The next step is to seal off your fermentation bucket.

Snap the lid on your bucket, making sure it is completely closed.

Then, grab your fermentation lock and fill the top portion ½ full of clean tap water.

Insert your fermentation lock, with stopper attached, into the pre-drilled hole on your lid.

Place your beer in a cool, dark place such as a garage or hallway closet.

Fermentation Lock

Fill to Here

Add Stopper

Fermentation_tall.jpg © Christopher Moore. Used with permission.

The Completed Product

Bucket_with_lock.jpg © Christopher Moore. Used with permission.

Fermentation Guidelines

Fermentation must be prolonged as long as possible.

Do not expose the beer to temperatures above 80oF (avoid places that can get very hot, such as bathrooms or garages).

Fermentation will cease and your beer will be ready to bottle when the fermentation lock does not bubble a single time within three minutes (typically 3-7 days).

The BubblingIs CO2 Escaping

Fermentation_close.jpg © Christopher Moore. Used with permission.

Step 8- Preparing to Bottle

On bottling day, collect your bottles and caps. Have them ready before your start to bottle.

Sanitize your caps by boiling them in water for at least 10 minutes. After they have boiled, dry them by bouncing them in a spaghetti strainer.

Become familiar with your capper, no two are alike! Clean the area you will be bottling, bacteria can spread in

the beer and alter the taste. You can even accidentally introduce wild yeast, which will give your beer a scrambled eggs flavor.

Move your batch of beer into your kitchen or workspace.

Helpful Tips on Bottling Your Homebrew

For bottling, you need to get at least one other person’s help.

Collect your 48 bottles by recycling old pop-top bottles instead of buying new ones.

Designate specific jobs for each person who will be helping you.

Read all of the instructions before you begin to bottle, knowing the steps ahead can save headaches and time.

Step 9- Bottling Day

Place the bucket on a ledge with the spout pointing down so the beer can be easily placed into the bottles.

Add the remainder of your dextrose (3/4 of a cup) into ½ cup of boiling water and dissolve. Add the sugar mixture into your beer without disturbing the bottom of the bucket.

Once you have completely mixed in the sugar, grab your first bottle, place the spigot inside of the bottle, and release beer into the bottle.

Be sure to stop the flow approximately 2 inches below the lip, this will allow room for carbonation to build inside the bottle.

Perform these steps for all 48 bottles, dumping the remainder of the beer in a patch of grass outside.

Step 10- Capping Your Bottles.

Place a fresh, un-crimped cap on top of the bottle.

Bottle_to_be_capped.jpg © Christopher Moore. Used with permission.

Un-crimpedcaps flareout at thebottom

Step 10- Capping Your Bottles cont.

Lower your capper onto the bottle until it is lined up directly with the neck of the bottle.

Aligning_capper.jpg © Christopher Moore. Used with permission.

Step 10- Capping Your Bottles cont.

Push each side of the lever-capper down. Applying enough force to crimp the cap around the lip of the now full bottle.

Place the sealed bottle to the side and cap your next bottle, making your way through all 48.

Capping.jpg © Christopher Moore. Used with permission.

Step 11- Carbonation

Your beer is not ready to drink yet. First it must carbonate completely.

To carbonate, all it needs to do is sit for a week in a cool, dark place.

The extra dextrose you added during bottling provides more food for the remaining yeast in the bottles.

The remaining yeast releases carbon dioxide while converting the dextrose into alcohol.

This is natural carbonation at work! The way beer was originally brewed, before artificial carbonation became popular with large brewing corporations.

The Finished Product

After you have given

sufficient time for

carbonation, you can

now enjoy the fruits

of your labor!

Finished_product.jpg © Christopher Moore. Used with permission.

Save your extra caps for the next batch

Pouring Your Beer

You must always pour home brewed beer into a glass.

During fermentation, sediment will build up at the bottom of your bottle.

This is not harmful, but it is in your best interest not to drink it.

Pouring into a Glass

Tilt the glass to a 45 degree angle, and pour the beer down the side of the glass.

Leave ½ inch at the bottom of the bottle, that will ensure you do not accidentally pour sediment into glass.

Sediment_2.jpg © Christopher Moore. Used with permission.

The sediment is dead yeastfrom your fermentation

Leave this muchin bottle whenpouring

The End!

What are you waiting for? Start brewing your

own!