Things You'll Need:
- Brew Kit
- Five gallon pot (I have found a Turky deepfryer works amazingly well for this!)
- No rinse sanitizer
- 2 Fermention buckets with lids
- 2 air locks
- Siphon unit (racking cane, 4 ft. hose & springless bottle filler)
- Thermometer (if you use get a turkey fryer one comes with!)
- Triple scale hydrometer
- 21" Stainless steel spoon
- Siphon (auto-siphons are awesome!)
- 5 gallon bucket with lid
- Recipe
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Step 1
Prepare! Every thing that will come in contact with your beer after the boil needs to be sanitized, do this now so you will be prepared!
If you are using a kit make sure that your kit contains Yeast, Malt Extract, Specialty Grains and Hops before brewing, as well as muslin bags. This way you won't run into any nasty suprises! -
Step 2
To the 5 gallon pot add 2 and a half gallons of water, after putting the specialty grains inside a muslin bag and tying it, add the bag to the pot, heat on high until just before the water boils, remove the grain bag and discard.
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Step 3
Turn off the heat and add all of your liquid and/or dry malt extract to the pot while stirring, if adding other sugars,
(i.e. honey, brown sugar, malto-dextrin, Belgian candi sugar, rice syrup, corn syrup) add them now. DO NOT ADD PRIMING SUGAR OR FRUIT EXTRACT if you have a fruit beer kit, save them for bottling, other wise you will not have carbonation! -
Step 4
Turn the burner back on and bring to a boil. Boil as vigorously as possible without boiling over. (THIS HAPPENS ALLOT KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON YOUR BREW!)
Fill a muslin bag with the bittering hops, tie the end of the bag then
add the bag to the pot, the mixture will boil for 60 minutes. At this point your brew is called wort.
Occasionally stir the wort, leave the lid off to prevent boil overs! -
Step 5
Fill another muslin grain bag with the finishing hops and add bag to the pot with 5 minutes left in the 60-minute boil. If using Irish moss and or yeast nutrient, add them now. When the 60 minutes is complete turn off the heat remove both hop bags and discard.
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Step 6
Now put your pot in a ice bath in the kitchen sink if you do not have a wort chiller (look at "How to save money on Home brew equipment"
Gently stir the wort to speed the cooling. If no ice is used, use cold tap water & replace as necessary, continue to cool until the pot beneath the water is warm but not hot to the touch, usually about 15-20 minutes. -
Step 7
Now add two and a half gallons of cold water (ice cold if possible) (I use distilled water sanitary and a synch to measure!) to your sanitized fermenter. (remember EVERYTHING that comes into contact with your brew after boiling MUST BE SANITIZED OR YOU RISK CONTAMINATION!)
The colder the water, the shorter the cooling time will be. -
Step 8
Pour your brew into the fermenter (splashing is O.K.) and add the yeast, stir with a sanitized spoon. (remember EVERYTHING that comes into contact with your brew after boiling MUST BE SANITIZED OR YOU RISK CONTAMINATION!)
If you're using dry brewing yeast, do not re-hydrate it as directed on the package. -
Step 9
Put the sanitized lid on the fermenter, then place the sanitized airlock, left half filled with the sanitizing solution(remember EVERYTHING that comes into contact with your brew after boiling MUST BE SANITIZED OR YOU RISK CONTAMINATION!), into the lid. Shake or rock the sealed fermenter for 5 minutes, aeration is good at this point!
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Step 10
If you are using a hydrometer, reopen your fermenter & remove about a cup of your brew with a sanitized cup, avoid touching your brew with your hands, again any thing that is not sanitized risks contamination of your brew! Set aside the sample and replace the lid and airlock.
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Step 11
Place the fermenter in a relatively warm place (65-73 degrees). This is an ideal temperature range for ales. Fermentation usualy will begin in 12-36 hours and continue for 3-5 days, actual fermentation time varies according to temperature, yeast strain, amount and type of fermentable sugar, etc. Don't expect all fermentations to behave the same, even similar batches will differ.
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Step 12
Now that your brew is sealed and set aside, take your sample and pour it into the hydrometer test tube, leaving the hydrometer in it, until the hydrometer floats. Record the specific (original) gravity and the potential alcohol readings. Pour the sample into an old beer bottle, place a paper towel in the neck put it next to your brew. This is called a satellite fermenter. It is used to take hydrometer readings without opening the fermenter. If the satellite becomes infected, the readings are still accurate.......... they can get very funky!
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Step 13
About 5-7 days after brewing, take a hydrometer reading and record it. If the readings stay the same for two days your brew is ready for bottling!! If you're not sure, do not bottle, error on the side of caution. To determine the alcohol content, subtract the final alcohol percentage from the original potential alcohol (6.5% - 1.2% = 5.3%). Once you're confident that fermentation is complete you can 1) allow the beer to sit a few days to settle, then bottle 2) transfer to a secondary fermenter for at least 5 days then bottle or 3) bottle immediately. I suggest transferring your brew to a secondary fermentor, brew is clearer, and much better in my opinion!
