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Home : Homebrewing OverviewGENERAL OVERVIEW
Homebrewing is (1)easy, (2)relatively inexpensive and (3)does not take very long.
(1)Basically all your doing is boiling water, adding some ingredients and filling bottles.
(2)Cost of ingredients and equipment is about $100.00 to $200.00
(3)Time involved varies with experience, but usually 5-7 hours for preparation and clean-up . 2 weeks for fermentation and then 2-3 hours bottling. And another 1-2 weeks waiting before the beer is ready to chill and serve.
So the actual time you spend is about 10 hours working and 4 weeks monitoring and waiting.
The basic ingredients:
INGREDIENTS
MALT EXTRACT (Dry or Syrup)
Malt extract is made from barley and has a lot of natural sugar in it. Brewing yeast eats the sugar, and produces alcohol and carbon dioxide. The extract normally comes in 1.5 kilogram(3.3lb) cans. You'll need two cans of lightly hopped, light-colored extract for your first batch.
HOPS
Hops are flowers with a bitter flavor. The bitterness balances the sweet flavor of the malt. Hops are usually in the form of compressed pellets at most suppliers. The amount of hops varies with the bitterness and type of beer you are brewing. We can suggest variety type and amounts for a particular beer you wish to brew.
USING ALPHA ACID PERCENTAGES
Once you determine how bitter (alpha acid units) you like a particular style of beer, simple algebra is used to balance changing varieties and alpha acid percentages.
Cascade- alpha 5.5% x 2 ounces = 11 alpha acid units. Chinook- alpha 10.7% x Q ounces = 11 alpha acid units Q= 11/10.7 = 1.028 ounce
YEAST
Dry yeast is an option but liquid (pure culture) yeasts are a better alternative...
WATER
Tap or bottled water is typically fine.
CORN SUGAR
You need only 3/4 cup(4 ounces dry weight) for your first batch. This is used to prime your bottled beer, giving it carbonation.
EQUIPMENT
BREWKETTLE
Use an enamel-coated or stainless-steel pot that holds at least 3 gallons. It's for boiling your wort,(pronounced "wurt") which is what beer is called before it is fermented.
SIPHON HOSE
This is usually clear, food-grade plastic tubing. You will need about 6 feet. This is for transferring your beer from one container to another.
FERMENTATION LOCK
It's also called an airlock and it keeps your beer from being exposed to outside air while letting carbon dioxide escape from your fermenter. It should fit in a hole in the lid of your primary fermenter.
LONG HANDLED SPOON
You probably already have one that will work. It's for stirring, of course.
Sanitizers
You will use one of the widely available sanitizers to sanitize your brewing equipment. Preventing common bacteria and wild yeast from getting into your beer is very important. While they won't harm you, they can cause unpleasant flavors in your beer.
PRIMARY FERMENTER
A food-grade container, usually a white plastic bucket with a lid, that holds at least 6 gallons will do. Upgrades would be glass carboys or any of the plastic or stainless steel conical fermenters available.
BOTTLING BUCKET
This should hold at least 5 gallons. It can be the same type of container as your primary fermenter.(included in our starter packages).
RACKING CANE
A stiff piece of plastic about 2 feet long, often with a curve on one end. It connects to your siphon hose and is used when transferring your beer from one container to another. It makes siphoning easy and efficient.
BOTTLES
These should be made of brown glass. Don't use the twist-off variety. You'll need about 50 12-ounce bottles of the same volume in whatever size bottles you use.
BOTTLE CAPPER
Numerous styles of this device are available, any one will work for capping your bottles of homebrew.The simple wing-type cappers are the most common.
BOTTLE CAPS
These must be new. You'll need about 50. We offer the O2 barrier caps.
BOTTLE FILLER
This is a clever device that will speed up your bottling process.
BREWING PROCESS
Follow the steps outlined:
BOILING
If using Liquid Malt Extract, Soak the pouches or cans of malt extract syrup in hot water for about 20 minutes. This makes the syrup easier to pour. While they soak, bring 1 1/2 gallons of water to a boil in your brewkettle.
Remove the kettle from the heat, add the malt extract to the water, stir until it's dissolved and return the kettle to the burner.
Boil the mixture, called wort, for at least 60 minutes(watch for boil over's). Stir occasionally if you want, Hop additions are mad per the specific recipe, typically hops added early in the boil contribute the bitterness while later additions contribute flavor and aroma the the finished product.
SANITIZING
Any equipment that contacts the wort or beer post-boil, must be sanitized. Sponge all the surfaces of your fermenter with sanitizing solution, the snitizers we offer are No-Rinse. From now on, everything that comes into contact with your beer must be sanitized either with a clean sponge or by soaking in a bleach solution. This is very important, in fact, it's one of the secrets to making good beer.
Fill your fermenter with 3 gallons of fresh water and cover with a sanitized lid.
COOLING AND PITCHING
When you are finished boiling, carefully pour all the wort into your water-filled fermenter. It's boiling hot, so be careful. Put the lid on tightly.
When the wort has cooled to near room temperature(68-74 degrees), open the lid and sprinkle the two packets of yeast over the wort. (this called pitching your yeast.) Work quickly, so that the wort is exposed to air briefly as possible. There is no need to stir. Cover again and attach your fermentation lock. Add water to half-fill the airlock.
FERMENTING
Fermentation should start within 24 hours, but it could take longer. A sure sign fermentation is the bubbling of carbon dioxide through the fermentation lock. The bubbling should be rapid and vigorous for a couple of days and then gradually slow down. Keep the beer at room temperatures protected from the light and in a place where children or animals can't disturb it. Fourteen days after fermentation has begun, you're ready to bottle.
BOTTLING
Sanitize your bottles by immersing them in a sanitizer solution. Let them soak for at least 5 minutes.
Sanitize your bottling bucket, siphon, racking cane, bottle filler land anything else that's going to come in contact with your beer using a sanitizer solution like the one used to sanitize your fermenter.
Dissolve 3/4 cup of corn sugar(4 ounces dry weight) in a cup of water. Boil for 10 minutes.
Put your fermenter of beer on the counter and your bottling bucket on the floor. Pour the sugar solution into the bottling bucket. Siphon the beer from the fermenter into the bottling bucket. Do this carefully, without splashing or agitating the beer and leave the sediment in the bottom of the fermenter behind.(this is called racking) Don't expose your beer to the outside air any more than you have to and make sure all services the beer contacts are sanitized.
Put the bottling bucket on the counter, hook up your racking cane, siphon and bottle filler, then begin filling your bottles. Bottling can be messy, so have some paper towels or rags handy. Newspaper or a shallow baking pan can be used to catch spills. Cap each bottle.
AGING AND TASTING
1. You're done! Store your bottles in a cool, dark place. Wait two weeks, then uncap a bottle and pour into a nice clean mug or glass, leaving the sediment in the bottle. The sediment won't harm you, but it can change the flavor and appearance of the beer.
2. Taste the fruits of your hobby. Congratulations you're a homebrewer! We hope you learn to love this hobby as much as we do!!
Always remember that Kennywood Brewing supply is always ready to lend support. Every step of the way !
We are an email or phone call away.
Ask for Bob or Alex
Cheers,
Bob Heinlein
Kennywood Brewing Supply
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