Grundair's Brewing Page

Welcome to Grundair's Brew Page. Here the brew thirsty heathen will find the basics to brewing there own Ale and Mead.

Homebrewing is an easy project to undertake. For brewing a basic ale the following list is all that one will need.

A Brew Kettle. A five to 8 gallon kettle. Stainless is the best, but is very expensive. On my RIMS system(Recirculating Infusion Mash System) I use half barrel kegs.

A primary fermenter. The easiest to get is a 6-7 gallon plastic bucket with lid. Also the best is a 6.5 gallon glass carboy.

Airlock. This allows the CO2 formed during fermentation to escape and prevent outside contaminants to enter.

Hydrometer. This measures the specific gravity of your brew. Determines the starting and finishing gravity of your beer and also helps to calculate the alcohol content.

Thermometer. This is used to determine the proper temperature for the different steps in brewing.

A bottle capper, 5-6 feet of clear food grade tubing, a racking cane, bottle filler, large metal spoon, bottle caps, and two and half cases of CLEAN returnable bottles (Non twist off), and of course your first beer kit.

A bottling bucket with spigot. This allows you to easily bottle your beer.

These items can and should be purchased at your local homebrewing shop. There you will find skilled folks who can help you with any questions and also make recommendations about your beer.

The Ingredients and Equipment

Your beer kit will most likely include the following

1 can of hopped malt extract.

1 packet of yeast.

Instruction set. (Under the label).

Upon reading the instructions your kit almost always says. “Add 2-3 pounds of corn sugar" ignore this. Instead purchase 3-4 pounds of light malt extract. It will cost more but you will be much happier with your beer. Also take the yeast packet that comes with the kit and throw it away. No one (including the shop owner) knows hoe long that yeast has been under the lid. Buy a fresh packet from your retailer. I recommend Edme, Nottingham or Whitbread. Liquid yeast’s (Wyeast) will give you a larger selection to duplicate your favorite beer, but the steps in "stepping up" a liquid culture is not for a beginner brewer.

Info on liquid yeasts.
The last ingredient needed is a bottle or three of GOOD beer.(Bud, Miller, Coors DO NOT QUALIFY)

The Process
The most important thing about brewing is KEEP EVERYTHING CLEAN!!! Infected beer will not kill you but it tastes ...well it tastes bad
Now that you have all your ingredients together take your brew pot and add 5 gallons of water to it. If you are using anything less than a 7 gallon brew pot use three to four gallons of water. Heat the water until it is boiling and then TURN OFF THE HEAT. If you don't you will scorch the extracts. Add the Dry malt extract and stir until it completely disolves. Then add the can of liquid extract. It helps to place the can in hot water before this is done it will pour out much easier.
Bring the mixture back to a boil.( The mixture is now called wort.) While it is heating you can clean and sanitize your primary fementer. The easiest way is to use 1 tablespoon of bleach,(Do not use the scented bleaches the scent will stay in the fermenter.) to each gallon of water. Let this soak for about thirty minutes then RINSE, RINSE, RINSE with cold water. Also while the fermenter is soaking go ahead and toss in your hydrometer and thermometer
After the wort is boiling keep it at a rolling boil for at least thirty minutes ( An hour is better.) If the beer kit comes with bittering hops add them now. One thing to watch for is the dreaded boil over.This will cause considerable dis harmony in the hall when the Lady of the Hall.(Your Wife) discovers a very sticky amber sheet on the kitchen stove that has the consistency of Polyurethane and is as difficult to get off as roofing tar. It will happen to every brewer at least once.

After the boil cool the wort as quickly as possible.One way is to use a chiller. Another more sutible to the beggining brewer is to fill a bath tub with cold water, Cover the wort and place in the tub. Using your spoon stir the wort to speed the cooling, and change the water to keep it cold. Once you thermometer reads below 80 deg F remove a small sample and place in your hydrometer jar and take a reading. This is your Starting Gravity Make sure to write this down, for it is important when dertirming when your beer is finished and also your final alcohol content.

The Transfer and Pitching of the Yeast

Your next step is to transfer your wort to the primary fermenter. Before doing this MAKE SURE YOU EQUIPMENT IS CLEAN Transfer can done by pouring it directly into your fermenter or if you are using a carboy you can syphon it. It is very important to aeriate the wort after it is cool. This provides the oxygen the yeast need for a healthy ferment. Once the wort is transfered place the lid and airlock on the fermenter. Take your yeast packet and add it to a sanitized cup of water. The tempature should be about 80-90 deg F. Cover it with foil and let it sit for 15 minutes undisturbed. After the 15 minutes has expired stir the yeast and then pour it into your fermenter and agitate the wort well once again.

The Fermentation.

The fermenter needs to be placed in a dark area with a stable tempature of 65-75 Deg F. This is very important because light can affect the taste of the finished beer by reacting with the hops giving it a "skunky" taste. The tempature needs to be in the 65-75 deg F range because if it is to could the yeast can go dorment, and if it is to warm, off flavors can develope.
Let the beer ferment for 7-10 days or until their is no activity from the airlock. Carfully remove the lid and air lock and syphon a small amount into your hydrometer jar and place the hydrometer into it. Get the first reading you took before you added the yeast and compare it to this reading. The reading should be 1/4 that of the starting gravity. This is the finishing gravity. There should be a scale on the side of your hydrometer that gives you the caculated alcohol by volume.

The Bottling and Carbonation

Now take 3/4 of a cup of corn sugar and mix it with a cup of water, place in a sauce pan and boil it untill it is clear. This is your priming sugar. By adding this to your beer it will cause a sceoned controlled fermentation that will carbonate you beer in the bottles.
Sanitize your botteling bucket, syphon hose, and bottle filler. Sanitize your bottles and caps.(DO NOT BOIL THE CAPS. pour the priming sugar int the bottleing bucket, and then syphon (do not pourthe beer into the bottling bucket. It is very important not to aeriate the beer. Oxydation could result and could give your beer a "wet cardboard" taste.
After the beer is in the bottling bucket attach your syphon hose and bottle filler to the spigot, turn it on. Place the other end of the bottle filler in the bottom of the bottle and fill to 1" of the top of the bottle. This air space is very important. Do not over fill. After all the bottles are filled go ahead and cap them using the capper.

The Carbonation and Drinking

Once again place your bottled beer into a warm and dark area as you did with the fermenter. Make sure you place the bottles upright. After about 14 days or when the beer clears completely in the bottle, There will be a yeast cake on the bottom. Take a bottle or two and chill to serving tempature, open it and GENTLY pour it into your glass or horn. Pour in one motion leaving the yeast sediment in the bottom of the bottle and ENJOY you r brew. Make sure to give proper thanks to Aegir for passing this knowledge down to Man.

Brewing Links and Suppliers.

Victors Grape Arbor, The best Brewing supplies in the South West.(IMHO)