B.I.Y
Introduction
The Elements
As Basic As Bread
Brews Clues
Was It Good For You?
Helpful Links
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Brews Clues…
I’ll try not to get too bogged down with details, but the brewing process is fairly simple. Boil 2 gallons of water and add the malted barley syrup. I assume this should be no problem, since most of our cooking repertoires often include "boil water…add pasta." While this is cooking, make sure all your equipment is spanking clean. NEVER USE SOAP. Rather, use a light bleach solution with warm water. Remember, there’s no excuse for dirty equipment—it can royally screw up your beer.
Fill your bucket with 3 gallons cold water, and add the 2 gallons of cooked barley mixture. Transfer this mixture to your carboy. Wait for the temperature of the liquid to dip below 80 degrees F, and add the yeast. If you drop the yeast in while the mixture is too hot, you will wind up killing it.
Some recipes will call for you to mix the yeast with warm water and stir it in. Others may ask you to just sprinkle it on top of the liquid. It all depends on the type of beer you’re making. For example, ales are "top fermenters" while lagers are "bottom fermenters."
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| Brewmaster Rob and Belly Buddy Dave inspect the carboy's out back at Belly Headquarters... |
Next, grab a beer and a good cigar and wait for the magic of primary fermentation to begin. It normally begins within about 24 hours. Your mixture, called "wort" (pronounced wert), will begin to bubble and percolate, and a scummy foam will begin to rise to the surface. It’s a most spectacular process. Your carboy should be capped with the airlock- it allows CO2 and other gasses to escape while keeping oxygen (wort’s nemesis) out. When this vigorous primary fermentation stops (about 2-3 days) let the wort ferment for another 10 days or so.
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| ... and in the basement. |
During this period, you’ll be using your hydrometer to calculate the specific gravity of the wort. Basically, specific gravity is a measure of the alcohol and sugar content of the mixture. One liter of plain water weighs one kg (it has a specific gravity of "1"). Additional components in the water (like alcohol!) will change the weight / specific gravity. Your ingredient kit will tell you what reading to look for before you can consider this stage of the process complete. And please, don’t hold out looking for higher readings than called for, in an attempt to create a super-alcoholic brew. You’re just a novice. You WILL fuck it up.
Now you’re ready to bottle. Bottles, like anything your brew comes in contact with, should be immaculately clean. So BOIL them. And use NON-TWIST TOPPED. You can buy empty bottles at homebrew supply shops, but how lame is that? Buy ‘em full and empty them with some friends. Heat a little bit of the wort with some of the brewing sugar and add a little to each bottle—this will help with final fermentation and will initiate the carbonation in the beer. Using your plastic tube, siphon the wort into the bottles, leaving an inch and a half empty—you don’t want your bottles exploding in storage. Cap the bottles and store in a cool, dark place for another two weeks. You’ll have about 2 and 1/2 cases.
When bottling, be careful not to jostle the carboy. You will notice that a few inches of pasty schmegma have settled to the bottom. This is the natural bi-product of the fermentation process. I’ve heard it referred to as veg-a-mite (yes, as in the Men At Work song), but you’ll want avoid adding it to your bottles.
After the longest two weeks of your life, chill your beer, then gently pour it into your favorite beer glass. (There will be some more veg-a-mite at the bottom of the bottle, so try not to disturb it too much.) Drink up!
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