how to brew
enhancements
micro-brewery homebrew kits
• Email newsletter sign up
• Visit Eartheasy's library
Beermaking demystified!
You can make your own beer with little effort and a fraction of the cost of commercial beer. This simple method uses just one fermenting process, so only one container is needed.
Large, reusable 2 liter plastic pop bottles are used to bottle the beer, saving the work of washing, bottling and capping 60 - 70 regular-size glass bottles.
What you need
Equipment
The
few items you need to brew your own homemade beer can be found at your nearest
beermaking supply shop, or at most hardware stores.
- One 10-gallon "food grade" plastic pail with lid. Cost: about
$12.00
- Siphon hose. You'll need a 74" length of 5/16" "food grade"
vinyl tubing. Cost: $2.00
- Hose clamp for siphon. Cost: $1.00
- Twelve 2- liter plastic pop bottles, with lids.
- Large pot, or turkey roaster.
Ingredients
- Malt
Extract.
One 40oz. can of any flavor you like ( light, dark, stout), or a 1.5kg "tall"
can of same. The 1.5kg can contains more malt extract so you can make a larger
batch or use the same method here to make a richer beer.
You can also buy 'pre-hopped' extract which will impart more of
a hop flavor to your beer.
- Yeast.
1 tsp brewers' yeast. Note: some malt comes with little packets of yeast included.
- Sugar.
6 - 7 cups of regular white sugar, or 8 - 9 cups of corn sugar (preferred).
For even better results, consider using two cans of the malt extract and not
using any sugar. This adds to the expense, but further enriches the taste
of the beer.
These
ingredients should cost between $10 - 15 depending on your choice of malt
extract. The yield will be about 23 liters of beer, which equals 65 - 70 bottles
or cans of beer, of the regular 345ml size.
Sanitize
It has been said that 75% of brewing is good sanitation.
First, clean all equipment with warm, lightly soapy water. Rinse well to remove
soap residue. Then sanitize using household bleach at a quantity of 1 tbsp/gallon
of water. Or you can purchase a
no-rinse acid sanitizer such as StarSan, which
is effective and leaves no aftertaste.
Brew
1. Pour 10 liters of
fresh, cold water into the 10 gallon plastic pail (carboy). If the pail is
new, wash it out first with a mixture of water and baking soda to remove the
plastic smell.
2.
In your largest pot, bring 7 liters of water to a boil.
3. Add one can of malt extract.
Stir and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.
4. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve.
5. As soon as the sugar is dissolved, pour contents
into the carboy. Pour, or 'splash', the contents quickly, which adds air to
the mixture. The more air the yeast get initially, the better. It allows them
to rapidly grow and get things going.
6. Top up with bottled drinking water or tapwater
until temperature is neutral. (If using tapwater, it is recommended to boil
first to kill bacteria, or use an ultraviolet light water filter.) Test using a clean,
sanitized thermometer. The carboy will now be a little more than half full.
7. Sprinkle in the yeast, and stir well. Cover
with lid. (Set
lid on loosely; if capped too tightly, a carboy can explode from the carbon
dioxide gas that is produced.)
Keep covered and avoid unnecessary opening. The beer will be ready to bottle in 6- 10 days, depending on ambient temperature of the room and amount of sugar used in the brewing. Room temperature should be 20-24 Celsius at the highest; 16-20 Celsius is better but it will take the beer a day or two longer to ferment.
Test for readiness with a hydrometer. Set hydrometer into the beer and spin it once to release bubbles which cling to it and give a false reading. The "ready to bottle" reading should be about 1.008 for dark beers and 1.010-1.015 for light beers. If you don't have a hydrometer, you can judge readiness by tasting a sample - it should not be sweet tasting. There should be little or no bubbling action in the beer.
Set the carboy on a sturdy table and the 12 2-liter bottles on the floor, with newspaper underneath to catch drips or overflows. Using a funnel, put 2 level teaspoons of sugar in each bottle.
Siphon the beer into the bottles, trying not to disturb the sediment on the bottom of the carboy. (One method is to tape a plastic straw alongside the bottom end of the siphon hose with 1" projecting beyond the end. The tip of the straw can touch the bottom of the carboy without the siphon drawing up sediment.) Tip the carboy as you near the bottom.
It is important to not splash or agitate the beer too much when bottling as any oxygen introduced can lead to oxidation and a “cardboard” taste.
As you fill the bottles, keep the end of the siphon tube near the bottom of the bottle to avoid frothing. It is essential that the bottles ar not completely filled - leave an airspace. Screw the caps on tightly. Invert each bottle and shake to dissolve sugar on the bottom. Set bottles in a warm area for the first few days, then store in a dark, cool spot. You can drink the beer within a few days of bottling, but it will improve with age.
Here are few suggestions:
- Molasses. Add a cup or two of molasses to the malt while it's cooking. Cut back a bit on the sugar. This will impart a darker, more full-bodied taste to the beer. Blackstrap molasses is darker and richer; Fancy molasses is lighter.
- Licorice. Throw a few sticks of licorice into the malt while it's cooking. Leave in for 5 - 10 minutes, then remove any unmelted pieces before pouring the brew into the carboy.
- Hops. Put whole hops (dried) or hop flakes into a cheesecloth bag and add to the cooking malt. A handful is plenty. This will give a distinctive hop flavor to the beer.
- Herb teas. Try adding 3 or 4 teabags of Celestial Seasonings "Bengal Spice" tea, or "Apple Cinnamon Spice" tea. Add to the cooking malt and remove after 10 minutes. This will add a bit of spice to the taste of the beer, a very interesting flavor.
Enjoy!
Pour your beer
carefully to avoid disturbing the sediment. Re-capped partially full bottles
will retain their "fizz" for up to two weeks, so don't feel you
have to empty the bottle (unless you're looking for an excuse!). After two
weeks, unfinished bottles should be emptied.
You may find that batches of homemade beer can vary in quality. Darker beers will work best
with this recipe for the most consistent results. If your beer is a little
short on "fizz" or falls a little short of your expectations, try
mixing it 50/50 with commercial beer or your favorite beer of the month.
If
the empty bottles are rinsed out immediately, washing them later will
be easy. Simply rinse with warm, lightly soapy water. Rinse well to remove
soap residue. A mild bleach solution can also be used to clean the
bottles.
Starter Home Brewery
- Organic Red Ale ingredient kit (not pictured)
- 5 gallon glass carboy
- all the tools you need to brew your own beer
- 'The Complete Joy of Home Brewing' book
Price: $129.00
The Great American Beer Machine
- Brew Keg, Carbonation Kit, Pale Ale Mix, Booklet
- Size/Capacity: 28 glasses of beer
- Style: Model 1000
Price: $99.89
Sign up for Eartheasy's free email newsletter.
Eartheasy.com ©2000 - 2009
All Rights Reserved
