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What You Will Need to Start Brewing Your Own Beer

June 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

So you have decided you want to start brewing your own beer from home. Most likely you already have sense of what a good beer is and probably already enjoy having a few occasionally. However, if your favorite beers are more along the lines of Bud, Coors, and Miller than home brews will probably not be your thing. Home brews fall along the line of micro brews and if you do have a taste for these, already have a variety that you enjoy, and like trying new and different flavors, than home brewing will definitely be your style.

Begin by making sure you purchase a brew kit and a few extraction ingredient kits too. You will also need to buy a pot that can boil two to three gallons of water at one time. The bigger the pot, the easier the brewing will be, so even if it can boil more than two or three gallons, that is fine. Do not forget the beer bottles. You will need enough for five gallons of beer, approximately 54 bottles that are 12 ounces in size. The beer bottles that you purchase cannot be a twist top either.

Finding a brewing kit should not be too difficult. Essentially every local or internet home brew store sells them and even some novelty shops occasionally. One thing to look for though is that the fermentation bucket has a gasket seal, many stores sell them without. You need this seal because sanitation is a very critical part of the entire home brewing process. A website called www.makebeerathome.info highly recommends that any fermentation bucket you choose should have a thick seal to make sure that your beer does not become contaminated. Unfortunately, around 90 percent of the home brewing kits that are sold in stores and online are only good enough to store food in, but do not have the gasket seal that you need. So, look carefully and make sure of what you are getting before you purchase.

Next, you will also need to make a few other purchases to make sure you have all the items you will need or make sure that the kit you purchase has these items included. If not than you will need to get them, they are:

• A primary fermentation container that can hold 6.5 gallons
• A bottling bucket with a spigot that can also hold 6.5 gallons
• A Better Bottle PET secondary carboy fermentation bucket that hold up to 5 gallons
• The C-Brite sanitizer
• A twin level capper
• Also a triple scale hydrometer
• Pre-drilled universal carboy stoppers
• A liquid crystal thermometer
• A siphon hose that has the shut off clamp
• If possible a Fermtech auto siphon
• A bottle filler
• A bottle brush
• An airlock
• Of course also the instructions.
It does look and sound like a lot, however once you have all of these items you are ready to start and will rarely ever have to replace any.

Lastly, the most difficult part about home brewing your own beer is trying to transfer the liquids from one container to another. When home brewing your beer you cannot start a siphon with your mouth. Due to contamination and possibly poisoning, this is not an option. Using an auto siphon solves this problem. You will need to pull up and then push down a few times to get the siphon started. Once you have done this you will use the Better Bottle PET carboy for the secondary fermentation process, this will actually create a clearer beer. This carboy weighs less than glass, but performs exactly the same and there is no chance of it breaking.

When you first begin brewing it may take a few times to get the hang of the process. However, once you do you will be able to make your own beer any time you like, as long as you give yourself enough time to go through the process.

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Learn to Clear Your Homebrewed Beer

June 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Now that you have learned to brew your own beer and have been waiting for about a month for your beer to be done brewing, you may be thinking that you would like your beer to be a little clearer. Your beer being hazy will not actually change the taste of the beer, however it will not look that appealing and if you offer it to friends or family, you know there is a high probability that they will turn it down. No need to worry there is actually a few different ways to clarify your beer that work well and will not change the flavor.

The reason your beer becomes hazy is due to infection, the introduction of foreign particles into the bottles, and mainly yeast cells and non-microbiological particles. Many times the yeast does not settle out of the beer, depending on the yeast strain, there will be fluctuation that produces problems when settling. The bigger problem of the two is the non-microbiological particles because they are harder to remove from the beer. Also, non-microbiological particles are proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and/or metal ions that are produced and should be removed in each stage of the brewing process.

Also, when brewing all-grain beer the clarity does get affected by the fine dusty starch and husk particles. These are created during the milling process. However, you can remove these particles through sparging and recirculating the wort through a mash bed prior to run off. During the wort boil, proteins coagulate. When a successful boil takes places there is a more efficient coagulation of proteins that occurs and these then create large flocs. These larger floc are easily removed and the removal of poly phenolic material, this reduces the haze that occurs during chilling. The most successful boil begins with a high wort pH and enough proteins present. Boil around 215 degrees F for an hour. Also, you can try using clarifying agents near the end of the boil to help remove additional particles for a clearer beer.

Next, the cooling of the wort can cause the proteins to interact with poly phenols. There is a cold break that occurs and during this cold break it is very important that there is enough precipitation as possible. This can be done through rapid wort cooling. You will force cool the wort at 50 degrees F; this will create the break you are looking for, with a precipitation of 32 to 41 degrees F. Cooling the wort until it is slushy is best, this will reduce the need for clarifying agents.

Then, when fermentation takes places there are a few different physical changes that happen and this can produce particles. First the yeast reproduction creates more yeast cells and a lower pH that facilitates the interaction of protein and poly phenols. When the alcohol level is increased the viscosity is decreased. The longer you wait to drink the beer the clearer the beer will be.

The best clarifying agent to use is Irish moss; it is seaweed that is gathered along the North Atlantic. Sometimes it is also called carrageen because this is the active ingredient. Use 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons of wort, added during the last 15 minutes of the boiling process. There is also a similar product called Whirlfloc that comes in a tablet and you use 1 per 5 gallons.

Using any of these methods will help to produce a clearer beer that also has more appeal.

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Choosing Between Dry and Liquid Yeasts.

June 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The difference between liquid and dry yeast does not really change the beer. However, some believe it does and it really comes down to personal preference. There are advantages and disadvantages of both. Overall liquid yeast is better to use due to purity, however there are differences between them and they both will do the job.

First, dry yeast is inexpensive, more convenient, very hardy, and it does not require a starter. But, a starter would actually work well with dry yeast, such as to rehydrate the yeast in your brew kettle. Using a starter will create more yeast cells that are added to the wort and this creates a more efficient fermentation process. A better fermentation creates a beer with less contamination and a better quality overall. To make the starter remove 1 cup of wort 30 minutes before the end of the boil. Allow it to cool in a covered container. Then add the dry yeast and let it sit for 10 to 30 minutes to proof. The yeast should be churning and foaming and is now ready to be pitched. Adding a yeast nutrient to the wort can help also, such as dead yeast cells in Vegemite or Marmite extracts.

Also, dry yeast can be more easily stored then liquid yeast. It makes a more solid yeast cake and this makes the raking process easier and produces a clearer final product. It is also cheaper than liquid yeast, which is typically 25% the total cost of the brew. Fermentation with dry yeast starts quickly and prevents your beer from getting infected due to a lag time. Dry yeast can be stock piled; ensuring that you are never out of it and it is always available.

However, the selection of dry yeast is small and there are limits on the range and flavor of beer than can be produced with it, unlike liquid yeast that has many varieties available. Liquid yeast is made of pure cultures and blends and there is a wide range of choices. Creating many different and unique flavors of beers and if you are creating a lager than you have to use a liquid yeast. To make liquid yeast last longer you can propagate, split, and reuse it to bring your costs down. You will have to be very careful about sanitation though and this can be a lengthy process and takes quite a bit of time.

When it comes to choosing liquid yeast over dry yeast, deciding based on what type of beer you are creating and how much you want to spend on your home brewing. Dry yeasts are cheaper and easier to store, however there are not as many flavors and choices to choose from. However, they will still create a high quality, great tasting beer. While liquid yeast is more expensive and cannot be stored very long, it does have many flavors to choose from, giving you more options when it comes to the type of beers you would like to make. Both options will work, and whichever you choose, you will have a great beer at the end of it all.

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