Monster Media 1993 #2

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Brew Great American Style Beers at Home was written with the intention of providing the necessary information to allow one to make his/her own beer at home without requiring alot of reading or understanding of the chemical processes involved. The beers described in this book are unique in that they are for American Style beers. I have found no other publication that tells how to brew these lighter type beers. This book is being presented on a shareware basis. If you use the information in this book, please send $5 to the address listed below. The money you save on your first batch will more than cover the $5 you send me. Please copy and share the book with others and pass along this page and encourage them to send in the $5 for their copy. Send $5 to: Brewmaster c/o Darin Danelski P.O. Box 236 Hartland, WI 53029 Thank you, from one beer drinker to another. Brew Great American Style Beer at Home Written by: Darin Danelski Brewmaster P.O. Box 236 Hartland, WI 53029 Table of Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Types of Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Record Keeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Sterilization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Ingredients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Brewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Fermenting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Bottling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Appendix A - Recipes Appendix B - Record Keeping Sheet Appendix C - Suppliers Introduction Congratulations, you have just made the first move toward discovering the wonderful world of homebrewing. You will find that making your own beer is rewarding, enjoyable, and best of all, much less expensive than purchasing commercial beer. The beer you will brew will contain no preservatives and will be as or more palatable than your favorite commercial beer. Because of the pure nature of your beer, you will find that side effects such as morning head and stomach aches will be much less noticeable or even nonexistent. I have prepared this booklet to provide you with the basic information necessary to get you brewing in a short period of time. Most books published about homebrewing are written by beer connoisseurs or purists. They teach you about the chemistry of brewing, matching alpha and beta acids, water testing, mashing, etc. They also assume that you want to make heavy, dark, syrupy, bitter beers. I have read several homebrewing books, and have yet to find a single recipe for an American type beer included in them. This booklet is targeted toward you, the person who enjoys American style beer. I have experimented with several recipes of my own, and have developed American type brews that even my friends and relatives enjoy. If you have ever tasted a friends or relatives home brew, chances are you were less than impressed. Don't let this prevent you from trying the recipes in this booklet. Most casual homebrewers use ingredient kits to brew their beer. These kits are expensive, and usually do not taste good because they are fashioned after popular premium beers and are generally heavy, dark, and bitter. The brewing process presented in this book applies to most types of beers. If you enjoy premium type beers, recipes are provided to allow you to brew your favorite type also. So let's go! Costs If you are like me, you are getting very annoyed by having to pay $12 to $17 for a case of commercial beer. Taxes, packaging, advertisement, and distribution make up most of the cost of commercial beer. This upward trend will only increase in the future as taxes and costs continue to increase. I began brewing my own beer because of the high cost of commercial beer. Now I do it because it is enjoyable too. Like most hobbies, an initial investment for equipment is required. Once the equipment is obtained, you will find that beer making consumables/ingredients are very inexpensive. You can expect to shell out anywhere from $50 to $100 for the required equipment depending on where you purchase the equipment and on what equipment you may already have. The ingredient costs can range from $4.50 per batch to $25 per batch. A batch is 5 gallons or a little over two cases of 12 ounce bottles. As you can see, $2.25 per case is much less than the equivalent commercial beer would cost. The cost of your beer depends on the cost of the ingredients. I have found that mail order is the best source for low cost quality ingredients. I purchase ingredients in bulk quantities rather than premeasured individual packs. I suggest that you purchase your ingredients at a local beer and wine making store for your first few batches. This will give you the chance to find a recipe that you really like before purchasing bulk quantities. I have included a few mail order suppliers in Appendix C. Equipment Like most hobbies, homebrewing requires some special equipment. This section describes what equipment you will need and where you can obtain it. The following list summarizes the equipment you will need to obtain: - Brewpot 16 quart or larger with cover - Large funnel - Stainless steel strainer/colander - Large spoon - Rolling pin - Syphon tube (J-Tube) - Airlock - 5 gallon Carboy - 10 or 15 gallon white plastic garbage can with lid - Hydrometer - Bottle capper and caps - (52) 12 ounce returnable type beer bottles - Chlorine bleach Brewpot Your brewpot should be constructed of either stainless steel or enamel coated steel. Enamel coated steel pots are usually black with little grey speckles all over or white with little black and grey speckles all over. Stainless steel pots are very expensive (approximately $120 for a 20 quart) compared to the enamel coated type (approximately $30 for a 20 quart). The advantage of the stainless steel type is that they are virtually indestructible and will last a long time. The enamel coated tend to chip over time and will last 2-3 years. The stainless steel types transfer heat better from your stove to the liquid. Most people have the enamel type already in their homes for soups, etc. Use whatever type you can afford or have available. Do not use aluminum pots because the brew you will be making contains acids that will react with the aluminum. This will make your brew taste like a rusty bumper! The stainless steel pots can be found at department stores such as JC Penney, Sears, or Boston Store. The enamel type can be found at most discount stores. Large Funnel A stainless steel or food grade plastic funnel with a top diameter of 8" or more. Try to find one with a handle and a removable filter insert. This type of funnel can be found at your local discount or hardware store. Stainless Steel Strainer This item is used to strain your brew and should be constructed of stainless steel that looks like a window screen. The strainer should fit inside your funnel. Most kitchens are already equipped with this item, but if you need to buy one, it can be obtained at most discount stores. Large Spoon The spoon should be of a metal construction with a plastic handle. It can be stainless or plated steel. Try not to use plastic as you will be stirring boiling liquid and some plastics melt. Wood can also be used, but is much more difficult to clean. Rolling Pin Again, most kitchens are already equipped with a rolling pin. If you do not have one, one can be obtained at most discount stores. Syphon Tube (J-Tube) A J-Tube is a special tube that is curved like the letter J that is used to transfer fermented beer from various containers. It is equipped with a special end that draws liquid from approximately 1/2 inch above the bottom of a container. The special end prevents sediment from being transferred. The J-Tube includes a clear tube that is approximately 3 feet long. The tube should be obtained from a local wine and beer making supply store (check your yellow pages under wine and beer making). If you have no local source, there are several mail order houses that equipment can be purchased from. The J-tube costs about $3. Air Lock An air lock is a special device that allows fermentation gasses to be expelled from a fermentation container while preventing air from entering it. There are three types of air locks currently used, the one piece, two piece, and the three piece. The one piece is shaped like an S. A small amount of water is placed inside and it bubbles as gasses escape. The two and three piece types use an inverted cone shaped cup that floats over a tube submerged in water. Gas escaping the tube bubbles from under the cone. The two and three piece are desirable as they are easier to clean. The airlock should be supplied with a rubber stopper that fits into the opening of the fermentation container like a cork. Air locks cost about $2 and are available at wine and beer making suppliers. 5 Gallon Carboy A carboy is a large clear glass container with a small mouth opening at the top. The small opening is necessary to allow placement of the air lock described above. Some people use a 5 gallon plastic water bottle which looks just like a carboy to ferment their beer. Either are acceptable, but the glass type is easier to clean as it will not stain. The glass type costs approximately $20 and is available at wine and beer making supply stores. The plastic bottles can usually be obtained for free or at a nominal cost from anyone who owns and uses a fresh water dispenser. Hydrometer A hydrometer is a simple device that is used to determine the alcohol content of your brew. It is also used to determine when fermentation has completed. It is constructed of glass which encloses a graduated scale representing specific gravity. This item sells for approximately $7-$15 at any wine and beer making supply store. Purchase the least expensive one you can find as accuracy is not that critical. Bottle Capper & Caps Bottle cappers are available in two basic styles, the lever type and the bench type. The purpose of the bottle capper is to crimp a new bottle cap onto your bottles to seal the bottle. Both types do a good job of crimping the cap. The lever type is a little more difficult to operate, but is less expensive. The lever type costs about $13 and the bench type costs about $30. You will also need bottle caps. They sell for approximately $3 per 150. Again, these items can be purchased at any wine and beer making supply store. 12oz Returnable Bottles For each batch, you will need from 48-52 12 ounce returnable type beer bottles. These are the type of bottle that come in 24 bottle cases with the hinged type cardboard containers. Do not use screw top type bottles as they are not strong enough to handle the pressures that home brew exerts on the bottles. Chlorine Bleach You will need a supply of standard laundry type chlorine bleach for sanitizing your equipment and bottles. Usually 4-6 oz per session is enough. Types of Beer There are basically two types of beer that homebrewers make, ales and lagers. The type of beer depends on the type of yeast that is used for fermentation. Simply, ales use ale yeast, and lagers use lager yeast. In this booklet, I have limited the recipes to all malt ales, which include most American pilsners. Typically, lagers are fermented at lower than room temperatures for much longer periods of time than ales. Beer flavors range from extra light pilsners, to golden ales, amber ales, brown ales such as bock, and dark stout beers. The recipes we will focus on are light pilsners and golden ales. You will need to determine what recipe in Appendix A that you want to start with before you obtain your ingredients. After you have found a recipe that you really like, you will want to start buying those ingredients in bulk quantities. Overview This section will give you an overview of the entire homebrewing process. The process is similar for most recipes you will work with. The brewing process starts by creating the wort pronounced "wert". The wort is the mixture of water, malts, extracts, hops, sugars, and additives that are cooked together. This mixture becomes the base of the beer. The purpose of the cooking process is to break down the starch in the malts into fermentable sugars. The wort cooking process takes about one hour to completely break down the various malts into sugars. The wort is then cooled and transferred to a fermentation container (carboy). Hops is added to the wort to add the desired amount of bitterness and acts as a natural preservative for your beer. The fermentation process starts when yeast added to the wort consumes the sugars. The yeast cells are living organisms which eat sugar and expel alcohol and carbon dioxide (referred to as fermentation gasses earlier). Initially, the yeasts go on a binge and they produce a foamy discharge out of the carboy for 2-3 days. This foamy discharge is called froth. Once the froth subsides, the airlock is placed onto the fermenter (carboy) for the remainder of the fermentation. Eventually, the yeasts run out of sugar to consume and fermentation stops. This usually takes from 8-14 days depending on sugar content and temperature. The hydrometer is used to determine the end of fermentation. As you probably figured out, the more sugars in your wort, the more alcohol that will be produced. After fermentation ends, the brew is basically uncarbonated beer. In other words, it is flat. The next process is to bottle the beer. The carbonation process occurs in the bottle and is accomplished by adding priming sugar to the brew prior to bottling. The remaining yeast cells in the brew begin consuming the newly added sugar and expel the required amount of carbon dioxide (CO2). This process is called naturally carbonating your beer. The next step is the most difficult...waiting. The carbonation process takes about 5 days to accomplish. It is usually desirable to let the bottled beer settle and clear up for approximately 10-14 days before drinking. Opening a bottle after only 5 days will yield a somewhat cloudy beer with a more bitter taste as the yeast cells have not completely settled out. Record Keeping In Appendix B I have included a sample blank brewing record. It is very important to keep records of all the beers you brew, as when you find the perfect recipe, you want to be able to reproduce it as close as possible. You will find yourself referring back to old recipes often when deciding what recipe to make next, or to use as a background for a new recipe you are creating. Sterilization This is probably the most important subject pertaining to homebrewing and cannot be over emphasized. It is so important to make sure all equipment, utensils, and containers are sanitized prior to use. If foreign bacteria or molds enter your beer, you will have to toss the entire batch in most cases, and believe me that is very upsetting. In general, two methods are used to sterilize your equipment and accessories. The first is to immerse as many items as are practical into boiling water and even into your wort during boiling. As it is not practical to boil carboys, beer bottles, and J-tubes, a mixture of very hot tap water and chlorine bleach, at a ratio of 4 ounces (1/2 cup) per 5 gallons, is used to sanitize. The chlorine will kill almost all bacteria. It is important to rinse the chlorine off your equipment thoroughly as any chlorine residue will kill your beer yeasts also. When working with chlorine bleach, make sure you have old clothes on. I have ruined several pair of pants from bleach splashing on me during sanitizing. In general, don't use anything in your process that has not been sanitized. I have made several batches of beer and have only had to throw one batch away because of careless sanitation procedures. In this case, an ounce of prevention is worth 5 gallons of delicious homebrew! Ingredients Beer can consist of many ingredients and can be made from almost anything. I have heard of cherry beer, potato beer, chocolate beer, and even iced tea beer. Although others find joy in creating weird beer recipes like those, I prefer to stick to American type beers. These beers consist of malt, hops, yeast, and sugar. Malts: Malts come in many varieties and forms. Some people buy malt in a liquid or powder extract form, some buy it in a grain form, and others use a mixture of both. The extract form is usually sold in 3 pound, 6 pound, 50 pound, or 75 pond quantities. The liquid extract is a very thick and sticky molasses like syrup. The dry powder extract looks like colored flour. They are available in several flavors which are described by their color. Typical flavors are Extra Light, Light, Golden, Amber, Weiss (wheat), Brown, and Dark. Liquid malt extracts are very convenient in the 3 pound and 6 pound packages. They are supplied in vacuum sealed plastic bags that allow you to work with them without getting the sticky extract all over. The disadvantage is that it is more expensive than the grain type malts. The dry powder type extracts are also convenient. They are also supplied in plastic bags. I have found that the dry malt extracts don't dissolve as well and seem to settle out and leave a lot of sediment in the fermenter. The advantage of the dry malt extracts is that they will keep longer, so you can buy in bulk to get better prices. Both liquid and dry malt extracts are fairly neutral tasting. They are often used as a base and grain type malts are added to obtain specific flavors the brewmaster desires. Malts that are supplied in a grain form are available in many more flavors. They can be purchased by the pound or in bulk quantities of 50 pounds. Some typical malts are two-row pale malt, crystal malt, chocolate malt, dextrine malt, pale ale malt, wheat malt, black patent malt, and roasted barley to name a few. Dextrine and two-row pale malts are very light in color. Crystal malt produces a slightly darker golden color. Chocolate, black patent, and roasted barley produce dark beers. Chocolate malt is named for it color and not for the taste it creates. Chocolate malt actually gives beers a coffee like taste. The color a malt produces is rated on a scale called Lovibond. A typical two-row pale malt will have a Lovibond rating of approximately 1 or 2. A black patent malt will have a Lovibond of up to 500. Grain type malts require a little more time to utilize, but are well worth it. They are less expensive than extract type malts and add flexibility to your recipes because they are available in so many flavors. The additional time required to use grain type malts is due to the fact that grain type malts must be mashed. The mashing process is not difficult, but it requires about an hour to perform. This process will be described later. Hops Most beer drinkers are familiar with the word hops, know that it is something that is in their beer, but wouldn't recognize one if it passed him/her on the street. Hops are actually flowers. They are available in two forms, whole and pelletized. Whole hops look just like a flower bud with petals. The pelletized type is made by compressing whole hops into pellets that look like rabbit food. Most people use pellet type hops because they retain their freshness longer and don't have to be strained out prior to transferring the wort to the fermenter. There are two reasons hops are added to beers. Hops are acidic in nature and act as a natural preservative. The acids in hops (called alpha acids) prevent the growth of molds and other bacteria. Hops also have a bittering effect, which help offset the natural sweetness of the malts. Like malts, hops are available in several aromas or flavors. Hops are rated by their alpha acid content, which usually ranges from 3% to 10%. The higher the alpha acid content, the more bittering effect that usually results. Hops are added at two times during cooking of the wort, once at the beginning, and again near the end of the boil. The hops added at the beginning are referred to as boiling hops, and the hops added at the end are called finishing hops. The boiling hops are used mainly to provide the preservative, and the finishing hops are used to provide the desired bittering flavor. Yeast There are two main types of yeast used in homebrewing, ale yeast and lager yeast. They are available in either liquid or dry forms. Liquid yeast is available in more flavors or strains than dry yeast and imparts a smoother flavor to the brew. It takes up to a week to prepare. This makes it difficult to plan when you are going to make your brew, as you must use the yeast within a day of when it is ready. Liquid yeast is also more expensive than dry yeast. I typically use dry yeasts because of their convenience and low cost. The batches I have produced using liquid yeast were noticeably smoother although the dry yeast versions are more than acceptable. Most recipes you will be brewing utilize ale yeast, which are considered top fermenting. Ale yeast requires temperatures between 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit for fermentation. Lager yeasts require temperatures between 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit for much longer periods of time. As you experiment with various recipes of your own, you may want to try liquid and/or lager yeast. Sugar Sugar is sometimes added to the wort to produce a lighter beer. The added sugar will also increase the final alcohol level of the beer. The addition of sugar to beer is frowned on by many beer purists and brewmasters. Sugar is very inexpensive and is used as an alternative to malts. American beers contain a high percentage of sugar. Sugar is also added during bottling. This addition of a small quantity is called priming. The priming process provides a new supply of sugar to the remaining yeast cells in the beer, causing the natural carbonation process to occur. The most commonly used sugar for brewing is corn sugar. It is supplied in a fine granular form with a consistency similar to powdered cane sugar. It is very sweet and dissolves easily. Other Ingredients There are two other inexpensive ingredients that are added to beer to aid in clearing the beer. The first is gypsum and the other is irish moss. Gypsum is used if the water you use is soft. It will make the water harder, which will give you a less cloudy beer. Irish moss works with gypsum to produce even clearer beer. Brewing Well you now have the basic background required to allow you to understand the process of homebrewing. We will now begin the beer making process by preparing the wort. The first step is to pick out a recipe that you want to make and give it a name. Beer is a living organism, and I have found that it acts much better if it has a name. It is also much easier to talk to your beer if it has a name. I have included a few recipes in Appendix A for your review. Choose one of the recipes and purchase the required quantities of ingredients from your local brewers supply store or through any reputable mail order brewers supply store. The next step is to gather and prepare the equipment and ingredients you will be using. You should gather the following equipment as described earlier: brewpot, large container, funnel, strainer, large spoon, rolling pin, carboy, hydrometer, and a measuring cup. You should also have a kitchen timer, wash rags and hot pads available. Next, you need to roll the grains to crack the shells of the grains. This process is required to allow the water to permeate the inside of the grains. Some suppliers offer precracked grains. If you have purchased this type, you can skip this step. To crack the grains, spread a small amount of the grains onto a cookie sheet or any flat surface that will contain the grains. Gently roll the rolling pin over the grains to crack them. The goal is only to crack them, not to pulverize them. If you over crack the grains, a more bitter taste will be transferred to the wort. Proceed with cracking small quantities at a time and collect the cracked grains into your brewpot. After all the grains are cracked, bring your brewpot to your stove, but do not turn on the heat yet. The next step is to mash your grain. Mashing involves soaking the grains in hot (150-170 degree fahrenheit) water for about an hour. This process converts the starches in the grains into fermentable sugars. To begin the mashing process, measure 2.5 gallons (10 quarts) of cold water and pour it over the grains in your brewpot. Turn on the burner to begin heating the grain/water mixture. Set the heat control to medium or medium-high. Note the time on your record sheet. To eliminate the need for a thermometer, it is usually sufficient to heat the mixture until you just begin seeing very small bubbles escaping from the surface of the liquid. At this point, reduce the heat to medium and continue to heat for about 30-45 minutes to completely convert the starches to sugars. The mixture should never come to a rolling boil during this step. Turn off the heat when this step is complete and note the time on you record sheet. The next step is to create the wort from your mash. You will need to remove the spent grains from your brewpot. I usually transfer the liquid mash in the brewpot into another large container. As I pour the liquid out of the brewpot, I capture the spent grains in the strainer. If you do not have a large container to transfer the mash into, you can use a strainer type spoon to spoon the grains out of the brewpot. It is acceptable to leave small amounts of grains in the brewpot, although the more that remain, the more bitter the brew will be. Transfer the liquid mash back into the brewpot. Add the desired quantity and type of boiling hops to the liquid. Turn the burner to medium-high to begin heating and note the time in your record book. If you are using liquid or dry malt extracts, they should be added slowly while stirring at this time. Any additives such as gypsum or Irish moss should be added now also. Heat the wort to a boil. It is very important to watch the pot during this step, as wort tends to boil over very suddenly. While the wort is being heated to a boil, it should be stirred every 2-3 minutes. Try to keep the cover on the brewpot, as the temperature of the wort will rise more quickly. When the wort begins to boil, reduce the heat to a point where the wort just kind of rolls over rather than letting it vigorously boil. Note the time and continue to boil for about 45 minutes. Stir the wort every 5 minutes or so. It is not necessary to keep the cover on the brewpot once a boil is obtained. While the wort is boiling, clean and sanitize your carboy, funnel, J-tube, and strainer using the procedure described earlier. Measure 2.5 gallons (10 quarts) of the coldest water you can find into your carboy. The cold water is important because the wort should be cooled as quickly as possible. This will allow less time for bacteria to begin forming in the carboy prior to adding the yeast. After 45 minutes of cooking the wort are completed, add the finishing hops. Note the time, and cook for 3 minutes longer. After the three minutes are up, turn off the heat. Place the strainer inside the funnel and place the funnel into the carboy. I usually ask for some assistance for this step, as handling the boiling hot wort in the brewpot is somewhat dangerous. I have someone hold the funnel while I pour the wort into the funnel. Any remaining grains and hop sediment are captured in the strainer. The hot wort hits the cold water already in the carboy and cools down very quickly. The complete contents of the brewpot should easily fit into the carboy. The next step is the worst part, cleaning up. I usually begin cleaning my equipment and kitchen while the mixture in the carboy cools to room temperature. If you want to speed cooling, place the carboy in a sink full of water and add ice. After the brew cools to room temperature, the yeast is prepared and added. The process of adding the yeast to the unfermented beer is called "pitching". (I have assumed that you are using dry yeast, as all my recipes utilize it). To prepare the yeast, heat about 1 cup of cold (8 ounces) of water until it is lukewarm. Remove the water from the heat. You should not use hot tap water, as it may contain undesirable bacteria. Open the yeast packet and gradually pour it into the lukewarm water while stirring. After the entire contents of the yeast packet is transferred, loosely cover the yeast/water mixture and let it stand for about 15 minutes. While the yeast is standing, you should check the initial specific gravity of your brew. This is accomplished by transferring a small quantity of the brew into the vial that came with your hydrometer. Use the sanitized J-tube to syphon the brew from the carboy. To start the syphon, place the J-tube into the carboy, suck on the end of the hose until the brew just about reaches your lips, then quickly place your finger over the end of the hose. Don't worry if you get some of the brew in your mouth, it is only beer. Now lower the end of the hose to a level that is below the level of the surface of the brew in the carboy. Place the end of the hose over the mouth of the hydrometer vial and release your finger and fill the vial until it is almost full. Place your finger back over the hose and lift the hose well above the carboy. Release your finger to allow the brew in the hose to return to the carboy. Next, add the hydrometer bulb to the vial. If the level in the vial is too high and the vial will overflow, remove the hydrometer bulb and either pour a small amount of the beer out or drink a little. This is your first opportunity to taste your beer. If the beer tastes even remotely acceptable now, you have had a success, as it only gets better with time. Place the vial on a level surface and read the hydrometer scale. Sometimes there are multiple scales on the hydrometer, so use the one that reads from approximately 0.900 to 1.100 with 1.000 shown clearly. The reading you should find for the recipes shown in this book should be from 1.015 to 1.045 or so. Record the reading in your record book as the initial specific gravity. Do not return the tested beer in the vial to the carboy as you may contaminate the beer. Either drink it or pour it down the drain. After the yeast has been allowed to stand for 15 minutes, stir the mixture one more time. Pour the mixture into the carboy, and stir it with the J-tube. Fermenting Move the carboy to a cool place where the temperature will remain fairly constant. Temperatures in the 60-65 degree Fahrenheit range are best. Basements are ideal locations as the temperatures remain fairly constant. During the initial fermentation, the yeasts generate a very active foamy discharge called froth. The froth flows out of the carboy and runs down the side of it. This initial fermentation typically lasts for about 2-3 days. To contain this froth, I have purchased a small white covered 10 gallon plastic garbage can that I use to place the carboy in during initial fermentation. I place the carboy into the garbage can and place the cover on it. This setup allows the froth to accumulate in the bottom can and keeps dust and dirt away from the brew. After the primary fermentation completes, the cover should be removed from the garbage can and an air lock should be placed into the carboy opening. You will notice that the airlock will bubble vigorously at first. The fermentation process will continue for about 8-14 days. You can tell when fermentation is concluding by looking at for small bubbles rising from the bottom of the carboy. When these bubbles are no longer visible, you should check the specific gravity the same way as before. Note the specific gravity and date in your record. Wait one more day and check the specific gravity again. If the reading is the same as the day before, fermentation is complete and you can begin bottling. Record the specific gravity reading and date in your record book. Bottling When you are ready to bottle your beer, you should gather your bottles, caps, capper, J-tube, garbage can, bleach, and corn sugar. First, sterilize your bottles by mixing one cup of bleach with about 10 gallons of hot water in your garbage can. Submerse as many bottles as you can and let them soak for about 2-3 minutes. Empty the bleach solution from each bottle back into the garbage can and rinse each bottle two to three times with very hot tap water. Set the bottles upside down if possible on some clean towels to allow them to drain and dry. Sanitize all the bottles this way. Now sanitize the J-tube in the bleach water and rinse it with very hot tap water. Finally, rinse the garbage can several times with hot tap water to remove all bleach residue. Next, sanitize enough caps for the bottles by placing them into a pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Keep the caps submerged until you need them. Now that everything is sanitized, you can begin bottling. Begin by syphoning the brew from the carboy into your garbage can (which was sanitized during the bottle washing process). When the carboy is almost empty, watch it carefully to prevent the bottom sediment from being transferred to the garbage can. Next, you need to prime the beer with more sugar to create the carbonation. Boil 2 cups of water and stir in 3/4 cup of corn sugar until it is completely dissolved. Remove the mixture from the heat and pour it into the brew in the garbage can. Use the J-tube to gently stir the brew. Place the garbage can on something higher than table level so that you can syphon the brew into the bottles. It is important to syphon the brew into the bottles rather than pouring it in as you don't want to introduce air into the bottles. Air will spoil the beer. The most efficient method of bottling is to set up a small assembly line and get someone to help you. One person will transfer the brew into the bottles and the other will cap them. This helps out because a syphon only needs to be started once. Try to make sure that all the bottles are accessible to the person filling so he doesn't have to stop to get more bottles. The capper can help out with this. The bottles should be filled to within 3/4 to 1 inch from the top of the bottle. After the bottles are filled and capped, they should be placed into the returnable case they were purchased in. The bottles should be kept at room temperature for 10- 14 days before refrigerating. This will allow the carbonation and settling process to complete. When pouring the beer from the bottles, it is important to pour slowly with the bottle almost horizontal. The yeast that created the carbonation settles out in the bottom of the bottle and although it will not hurt you, it has an undesirable bitter taste. By pouring slowly, you can avoid transferring the yeast sediment to your glass. For this reason, I do not recommend drinking directly out of the bottle. The next step is the best....Drink and Enjoy. Appendix A Recipes The following recipes are provided to get you started on the path to enjoying home brewed beer. I have tried to provide an assortment of recipes that will please your specific tastes. Erika's Light Pilsner 3 lbs Briess Brewers Gold Malt Extract or Equivalent 2 lbs Crystal Malt 1 lb Corn Sugar (for wort) 1/2 oz Cascade Hops (boiling) 1/4 oz Hallertau Hops (finishing) 1 pack (approx. 14 grams) Brewers grade Ale Yeast 3/4 cup Corn Sugar (used for priming at bottling) 1 tsp Gypsum (Food Grade) 5 gal Water The following instructions summarize the steps described in the text of this book. Refer to the text if you are unclear as what is meant below. 1. Crush crystal malt grains if required 2. Add crushed grains to empty brewpot 3. Add 2-1/2 gallons of cold water to brewpot 4. Turn stove on medium/medium high 5. Heat until small bubbles appear then reduce heat to maintain that temperature. 6. Let simmer for 30-45 minutes 7. Remove spent grains 8. Increase the heat setting on the stove 9. Add malt extract while stirring 10. Add boiling hops and gypsum 11. Heat to boil and adjust heat to maintain slow rolling boil while stirring often 12. Let wort boil for 45 minutes from the time it starts boiling 13. Add the finishing Hops 14. Boil for 3 minutes longer 15. Add 2-1/2 gallons of cold water to carboy 16. Transfer the hot wort into the carboy 17. Prepare yeast as described in this book 18. Let mixture cool to room temperature 19. Measure and record the initial specific gravity 20. Add yeast to mixture 21. Stir mixture to distribute yeast 22. Follow fermentation and bottling processes as described in this book. Erika's Extra Light Pilsner 3 lbs Briess Light Malt Extract or Equivalent 2 lbs Two Row Pale Ale Malt 1 lb Corn Sugar (for wort) 1/4 oz Cascade Hops (boiling) 1/4 oz Hallertau Hops (boiling) 1/4 oz Cascade Hops (finishing) 1 pack (approx. 14 grams) Brewers grade Ale Yeast 3/4 cup Corn Sugar (used for priming at bottling) 1 tsp Gypsum (Food Grade) 5 gal Water The following instructions summarize the steps described in the text of this book. Refer to the text if you are unclear as what is meant below. 1. Crush malt grains if required 2. Add crushed grains to empty brewpot 3. Add 2-1/2 gallons of cold water to brewpot 4. Turn stove on medium/medium high 5. Heat until small bubbles appear then reduce heat to maintain that temperature. 6. Let simmer for 30-45 minutes 7. Remove spent grains 8. Increase the heat setting on the stove 9. Add malt extract while stirring 10. Add boiling hops and gypsum 11. Heat to boil and adjust heat to maintain slow rolling boil while stirring often 12. Let wort boil for 45 minutes from the time it starts boiling 13. Add the finishing Hops 14. Boil for 3 minutes longer 15. Add 2-1/2 gallons of cold water to carboy 16. Transfer the hot wort into the carboy 17. Prepare yeast as described in this book 18. Let mixture cool to room temperature 19. Measure and record the initial specific gravity 20. Add yeast to mixture 21. Stir mixture to distribute yeast 22. Follow fermentation and bottling processes as described in this book. Special Amber 6 lbs Amber Malt Extract or Equivalent 1-1/2 lbs Crystal Malt 1 oz Cascade Hops (boiling) 1/2 oz Hallertau Hops (finishing) 1 pack (approx. 14 grams) Brewers grade Ale Yeast 3/4 cup Corn Sugar (used for priming at bottling) 1 tsp Gypsum (Food Grade) 5 gal Water The following instructions summarize the steps described in the text of this book. Refer to the text if you are unclear as what is meant below. 1. Crush crystal malt grains if required 2. Add crushed grains to empty brewpot 3. Add 2-1/2 gallons of cold water to brewpot 4. Turn stove on medium/medium high 5. Heat until small bubbles appear then reduce heat to maintain that temperature. 6. Let simmer for 30-45 minutes 7. Remove spent grains 8. Increase the heat setting on the stove 9. Add malt extract while stirring 10. Add boiling hops and gypsum 11. Heat to boil and adjust heat to maintain slow rolling boil while stirring often 12. Let wort boil for 45 minutes from the time it starts boiling 13. Add the finishing Hops 14. Boil for 3 minutes longer 15. Add 2-1/2 gallons of cold water to carboy 16. Transfer the hot wort into the carboy 17. Prepare yeast as described in this book 18. Let mixture cool to room temperature 19. Measure and record the initial specific gravity 20. Add yeast to mixture 21. Stir mixture to distribute yeast 22. Follow fermentation and bottling processes as described in this book. Special Light Amber 3 lbs Amber Malt Extract or Equivalent 1 lb Crystal Malt 1 lb Two Row Pale-Ale Malt 1 oz Cascade Hops (boiling) 3/4 oz Hallertau Hops (finishing) 1 pack (approx. 14 grams) Brewers grade Ale Yeast 3/4 cup Corn Sugar (used for priming at bottling) 1 tsp Gypsum (Food Grade) 5 gal Water The following instructions summarize the steps described in the text of this book. Refer to the text if you are unclear as what is meant below. 1. Crush malt grains if required 2. Add crushed grains to empty brewpot 3. Add 2-1/2 gallons of cold water to brewpot 4. Turn stove on medium/medium high 5. Heat until small bubbles appear then reduce heat to maintain that temperature. 6. Let simmer for 30-45 minutes 7. Remove spent grains 8. Increase the heat setting on the stove 9. Add malt extract while stirring 10. Add boiling hops and gypsum 11. Heat to boil and adjust heat to maintain slow rolling boil while stirring often 12. Let wort boil for 45 minutes from the time it starts boiling 13. Add the finishing Hops 14. Boil for 3 minutes longer 15. Add 2-1/2 gallons of cold water to carboy 16. Transfer the hot wort into the carboy 17. Prepare yeast as described in this book 18. Let mixture cool to room temperature 19. Measure and record the initial specific gravity 20. Add yeast to mixture 21. Stir mixture to distribute yeast 22. Follow fermentation and bottling processes as described in this book. Best American Bock 6 lbs Amber Malt Extract or Equivalent 2 lbs Crystal Malt 1/2 lb Chocolate Malt 1 oz Cascade Hops (boiling) 1/2 oz Hallertau Hops (finishing) 1/4 oz Cascade Hops (finishing) 1 pack (approx. 14 grams) Brewers grade Ale Yeast 3/4 cup Corn Sugar (used for priming at bottling) 1 tsp Gypsum (Food Grade) 5 gal Water The following instructions summarize the steps described in the text of this book. Refer to the text if you are unclear as what is meant below. 1. Crush malt grains if required 2. Add crushed grains to empty brewpot 3. Add 2-1/2 gallons of cold water to brewpot 4. Turn stove on medium/medium high 5. Heat until small bubbles appear then reduce heat to maintain that temperature. 6. Let simmer for 30-45 minutes 7. Remove spent grains 8. Increase the heat setting on the stove 9. Add malt extract while stirring 10. Add boiling hops and gypsum 11. Heat to boil and adjust heat to maintain slow rolling boil while stirring often 12. Let wort boil for 45 minutes from the time it starts boiling 13. Add the finishing Hops 14. Boil for 3 minutes longer 15. Add 2-1/2 gallons of cold water to carboy 16. Transfer the hot wort into the carboy 17. Prepare yeast as described in this book 18. Let mixture cool to room temperature 19. Measure and record the initial specific gravity 20. Add yeast to mixture 21. Stir mixture to distribute yeast 22. Follow fermentation and bottling processes as described in this book. Best American Bock Light 5 lbs Amber Malt Extract or Equivalent 1-1/2 lbs Crystal Malt 1/4 lb Chocolate Malt 1/2 oz Cascade Hops (boiling) 1/2 oz Hallertau Hops (boiling) 1/2 oz Hallertau Hops (finishing) 1 pack (approx. 14 grams) Brewers grade Ale Yeast 3/4 cup Corn Sugar (used for priming at bottling) 1 tsp Gypsum (Food Grade) 5 gal Water The following instructions summarize the steps described in the text of this book. Refer to the text if you are unclear as what is meant below. 1. Crush malt grains if required 2. Add crushed grains to empty brewpot 3. Add 2-1/2 gallons of cold water to brewpot 4. Turn stove on medium/medium high 5. Heat until small bubbles appear then reduce heat to maintain that temperature. 6. Let simmer for 30-45 minutes 7. Remove spent grains 8. Increase the heat setting on the stove 9. Add malt extract while stirring 10. Add boiling hops and gypsum 11. Heat to boil and adjust heat to maintain slow rolling boil while stirring often 12. Let wort boil for 45 minutes from the time it starts boiling 13. Add the finishing Hops 14. Boil for 3 minutes longer 15. Add 2-1/2 gallons of cold water to carboy 16. Transfer the hot wort into the carboy 17. Prepare yeast as described in this book 18. Let mixture cool to room temperature 19. Measure and record the initial specific gravity 20. Add yeast to mixture 21. Stir mixture to distribute yeast 22. Follow fermentation and bottling processes as described in this book. Appendix B Sample Record Sheet Brewing Record Recipe name:_________________________________ Date Brewed:__________________ Ingredient Quantity ____________________________________________ _________ ____________________________________________ _________ ____________________________________________ _________ ____________________________________________ _________ ____________________________________________ _________ ____________________________________________ _________ ____________________________________________ _________ ____________________________________________ _________ ____________________________________________ _________ ____________________________________________ _________ Yeast Type (Ale or Lager)_____________ Boiling Hops Type_____________________________ Finishing Hops Type___________________________ Boiling Time:____________ Finishing Hops Time:______________ Initial Specific Gravity (ISG):_____________ Specific Gravity on__________ was __________ Specific Gravity on__________ was __________ Specific Gravity on__________ was __________ Bottling Date____________ Final Specific Gravity (FSG):_______________ Alcohol Content % by Volume = (FSG - ISG) x 131.25 Sampling Date:______________ Comments: Appendix C Suppliers There are several mail order suppliers for beer making equipment, supplies, and ingredients. Following are two sources that you may want to try. Please note that I am in no way affiliated, connected, or related to these sources and take no responsibility for any consequences that may arise as a result of any readers dealing with the supplied sources. I also take no responsibility for the accuracy of the information supplied. I recommend calling the sources and requesting current catalogs. The Malt Shop N3211 Highway S Cascade, WI 53011 (414)528-8697 (800)235-0026 William's Brewing 2594 Nicholson Street P.O. Box 2195 San Leandro, CA 94577 (510)895-2739 (800)759-6025