Make Your Own Beer In 10 Simple Steps With Malt Extract

When you have assembled all of your home brewing equipment and home brewing supplies, including ingredients, you'll be all set to make your own beer. Should you have any questions regarding specific equipment or supplies you'll want to click on the link after this post to read more about home brewing equipment and home brewing supplies.One of the most important steps to producing top notch beer is always to make certain all your equipment which will be in contact with the beer is adequately cleaned. All of the equipment which will be in contact with your beer following the boil also MUST be sanitized. If the equipment is not thoroughly sanitized undesired microorganisms can easily spoil your beer, making all your hard work a complete waste of time.Take some time to set up the brewing space. Make sure that all your equipment and ingredients will be readily accessible. If you are using liquid yeast, take it out of the fridge so it is able to warm up to room temperature. Another beneficial thing is documentation, you should always have a notebook on hand for recording all your brews. You will need to document your ingredients and exactly what amounts were actually used in addition to times of each step. You need to be able to replicate your best batches and learn from the ones which are not so great. Let’s begin.1. Sanitize Equipment. There are many sanitizers available. Several of the well-known choices are B-Brite, Star San, and 5-Star. You can also use typical, unscented household bleach at 1 oz. per gallon of water. If you decide to use bleach make sure to rinse the equipment given that it may cause undesired flavors in your beer. Personally I recommend using Star San. Add the specified quantity of sanitizer to the fermenter and fill it to the top with water. Also fill the bottling bucket or another suitable container with sanitizing solution for sanitizing other equipment. Place all of the equipment which will come in contact with the unfermented beer following the boil in the sanitizing solution. These items should include: airlock, rubber stopper, funnel and strainer.2. Water For Brewing. Add water to the brew kettle. Remember that there needs to be space for the boil. If you have a 5 gallon kettle, just fill it with about 3.5 gallons of water. The quality of the water is extremely important to the finished beer. If your tap water tastes fine at room temperature, it should be ok for brewing. You might want to consider filtering your plain tap water using a standard home water filter if you have access to one. You may also buy bottled water from the supermarket. Once you have put the water in your brew kettle place it on the stove top and turn on the burner. Also at this time put the unopened can of malt extract in hot water. This will heat your extract up and make it easier to remove from the can when it's needed.3. Steep Specialty Grains. This step is optional. Using specialty grains will increase the control you have got over the color and flavor of the finished beer. If you decide to utilize specialty grains place them in the grain bag from your home brewing kit. When the water gets to 150 degrees F put the grain bag in the water and steep it for around 30 minutes holding the temperature constant. After 30 minutes has passed take out the grain bag and let the liquid drain. Do not squeeze the bag, this could likely draw out tannins contained in the husks of the grain and give the beer an astringent flavor.4. The Boil. Bring the liquid in the kettle to a boil. Once the liquid begins to boil add the container of malt extract. Make sure to continuously mix while adding the extract so that none of it sinks to the bottom and becomes scorched. After the liquid is once again boiling it's time for you to add the bittering hops. Slowly add the hops, often the kettle will boil over as soon as the hops are added. Generally the hops will be in a pellet form and are added directly to the boil. They're going to settle out following your boil. Note the time of your hop addition. Continue to boil for a total of 60 minutes. Do not ever leave the boil unwatched. It will often boil over just when you least expect it! Once there are 20 minutes left in the boil add the Irish Moss. The Irish Moss helps the proteins coagulate following the boil. Do not be concerned if you do not have the Irish Moss, the beer will be all right without it but I would recommend it for your next brew. Aroma hops are added any time from 15 to 0 minutes before the end of the boil. Refer to the instructions in your recipe. The aroma hops will add an additional hop flavor and aroma to your beer but won't add any significant bitterness. After you have boiled for 60 minutes remove the kettle from the burner. You should have some hot mitts ready for handling the hot kettle. The liquid in the kettle is now called wort (pronounced wert).5. Cooling The Wort. The wort should really be cooled off as fast as possible. The simplest way is to place the kettle in the sink or bathtub containing a cold bath of ice water. Keep the kettle in the ice water bath until it is approximately 80 degrees F. Put additional ice to your cold bath if necessary. Putting ice right into your wort is not recommended. Any kind of flavor in the ice will be also added to the beer. You can gently stir the wort in a clockwise motion to help it cool but don't forget to always keep your spoon sanitary. Let the wort sit around 10 minutes following the last time it was stirred prior to transferring to your fermenter. This time will permit the particulate matter to settle.6. Prepare The Fermenter. As the wort is cooling empty the sanitizer from the fermenter. If you used bleach make sure you give it a rinse. Many of the other sanitizers are a no rinse solution. Just simply turn the fermenter upside-down and permit all of the solution to drain out. If the brew kettle only has 4 gallons of wort in it you will want to add 1 gallon of water to your fermenter. The goal is to have a total amount of 5 gallons in your fermenter. Also remember the water should really be the same type as you used in the kettle.7. Transfer The Cooled Wort Into The Fermenter. Use the sanitized funnel and strainer to slowly pour the wort into the fermenter. It is all right to leave a minimal amount of wort behind with the trub (hops and proteins) in the bottom of the kettle. It's better to lose a little wort and keep the trub out of the fermenter. The ONLY period of time that splashing the wort is encouraged is during and immediately following this transfer. Yeast requires oxygen to adequately ferment the wort. You should also gently shake the fermenter after all of the wort is inside it. A stick on thermometer positioned on the fermenter can be a useful piece of equipment that will enable you to see when your wort is at the suitable temperature to pitch the yeast.8. Take A Hydrometer Reading. Once the wort has cooled to close to 70-75 degrees F it is time for you to take a hydrometer reading. If you're using a bucket to ferment it will be less difficult to obtain a sample than if you are utilizing a carboy. In any case remember the fact that whatever touches the wort MUST be sanitary. Home brew supply shops offer a sample-taker to acquire the wort out of your carboy alternatively you can utilize something such as a turkey baster. This hydrometer reading is referred to as the original gravity. It'll be used with the final gravity reading obtained once the beer is fermented to compute the alcohol percentage. Omit this step if you don't possess a hydrometer. It isn't essential to acquire these readings however, you will certainly want to think about getting one if you continue to make your own beer.9. Pitch The Yeast. The time has come to pitch (add) the yeast. Make certain that your wort is 70-75 degrees F if you are pitching an ale yeast. For beginners I wouldn't recommend using lager yeast because it necessitates cooler fermentation temperatures and takes much longer to ferment. When you are using dry yeast follow any directions for hydrating the yeast on the package before pitching it in the fermenter. If you are utilizing liquid yeast, shake it in the tube and then immediately add it directly to the fermenter. After the yeast is pitched put the rubber stopper along with the airlock in the top of the carboy or put the lid on the bucket and insert the airlock. Carefully agitate the fermenter to stir the yeast around.10. Fermentation. Put the fermenter in an area that is approximately 65-70 degrees F. It's also necessary to store it someplace that is dark or wrapped in a towel to keep light out. The airlock should be steadily bubbling in about 24 hours. Fermentation periods will vary but it ordinarily takes 3 to 7 days for ale yeasts. Once your primary fermentation stops allow another 7 days for settling for a total of about two weeks before bottling the beer.I hope that these directions have been useful to you. When you have completed these steps you will be well on your way to having your own home brewed beer to drink and enjoy!