Page 3: Brewing Beer

3. Brewing Beer

What’s the next step? Well if you master ginger beer our next step is to make Simple beer. Traditionally Beer is made from barley. To make a perfect beer we first need to learn few new terms.

3.1 Important words – Advance

·       ABV: Alcohol by Volume (%)

·       OG: Original Gravity          FG: Final Gravity – Used to measure alcohol quantity using Hydrometer

·       IBU: SRM: - Used for bitterness and color of the beer. Beer is classified according to IBU and SRM.

·       Grain: Barley, Wheat etc. -> Malt: made from Grain -> Malt extract: made from Malt

·       Generally we want to use Malt extract in beer making. Using Malt extract is easy and cheap

·       DME: Dry Malt Extract       LME: Liquid Malt Extract

3.2 First Pale Ale Beer

The higher proportion of pale malts results in a lighter color. The term “pale ale” first appeared around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with coke, which resulted in a lighter color than other beers popular at that time. Different brewing practices and hop levels have resulted in a range of taste and strength within the pale ale family.

This is a simple pale ale recipe, great for beginners. I think this is the first recipe that you should brew. Feel free to substitute the hops and yeast with whatever hops and yeast you can find and you will end up making a nice drinkable beer.

OG = 1.052  FG = 1.010

IBU = 15

Here is our base recipe -

·       Water - 10 Liter water

·       Sugar – (3.5 Kg Pale ale Malt or 1.2 Kg DME) + .2 Kg Sugar

·       Flavoring agent – 6 g    Aurora hops (60 mins)5 g    Aurora hops (5 mins)

·       Yeast – 4 g    Safale S-04 yeast / Safale US-05 yeast

·       Yeast Nutrient: Refer to Yeast nutrient section

55 g   Sugar for priming

Complete process for 3 Liter batch

Equipment:

1.     3 Liter mason jar with a tight screw lid/plug

2.     Airlock (or a blow off tube)

3.     A grommet gasket or foodgrade plug with 7-8mm inner diameter (cork or anything else to get a firm grip)

4.     A steel pot (at least 5 liters)

5.     A hydrometer (optional)

6.     Swing top glass bottle (6 x 500ml or 3 X 1L)

7.     Food grade siphon tube (1.5m) Preferably one with a automated pump and a steel mesh filter.

Consumables:

1.     Hop infused Liquid Malt extract: 250gm (https://www.arishtam.com/product-page/hop-infused-liquid-malt-extract-lme) or Dry malt extract and hop leaf

2.     Purified water (RO or bottled) 3 liters

3.     Brewing Yeast: 1 tea spoon

4.     1kg ice (from boiled water)

5.     Gelatin and irish moss

6.     Priming sugar or Sulfur less sugar 6 teaspoon (or brown sugar)

7.     Iodophor solution 5% (2 ml)

8.     yeast nutrient 1/2 teaspoon

Steps 1: Prepare wort

1.     Near Boil at least 2 kg of water

2.     Add malt extract: stir it to prevent it from sticking to the bottom and caramelizing

3.     After 5-10 minutes of continuous boiling (or above 70 degrees temperature)

4.     Take the vessel out of flame and plunge it in ice bath.

5.     Chill till room temperature is achieved and then filter to make your wort.

Step 2: sanitize

1.     Use diluted iodophor solution to wash & soak all equipment and surfaces (at least 5 minutes of soaking of the mason jar)

2.     Rinse it with sterilized water to remove any residual taste/color of the disinfectant.

3.     You might have to use a hot nail to puncture the lid of the mason jar to insert the grommet gasket & airlock.

Step 3: kickstarting fermentation

1.     Pour wort in the mason jar, take the hydrometer reading

2.     Oxygenate (use a hand blender or manually shake vigorously)

3.     Add yeast: After ½ and hour you will see bubbles forming in the wort (if not then add some more yeast and wait)

4.     adding 1/2 teaspoon of yeast nutrient is good to give your yeast the natural boost required to finish the task.

5.     Seal the lid and attach the airlock

6.     Store it away from sunlight in a cool dark place and check periodically over next 7 days.

7.     Towards the end of fermentation you can add 1/2 a tablespoon of Bentonite clay and gelatin for clarifying your beer otherwise it might look closer to stout (it takes 24 hours for the process)

Step 4: bottling

1.     Wait till bubbling has stopped completely (usually 7-10 days depending on ambient temperature) also a thick layer of yeast has settled at the bottom

2.     Taste & take the hydrometer reading to check for any unfermented sugar (sweetness)

3.     (optional) Chill or refrigerate your mason jar to near freezing temperature. Add some dissolved gelatin to further clarify your

4.     Sanitize the swing top glass bottles & rinse off the disinfectant.

5.     Use a siphon tube to pour your beer into the Bottle & add 1-2 teaspoon of sugar for natural carbonation

6.     Seal the cork tight and store the bottles in a cool dark place for natural carbonation

7.     Serve chilled in a glass mug. (Homebrew is never drunk from the bottle directly because of the yeast deposit at the bottom) BTW this yeast is completely edible, in the whole process you haven’t added anything toxic.

3.3 More recipes

3.3.1 LIGHT BEER RECIPE KIT

RECIPE KIT INCLUDES:
Batch Size : 10 Ltr.

• Pale Ale Malt – 1 Kg.
• Pilsner Malt – 1 Kg.
• Cascade Hops Pellets – 16 Gm.
• Safale S-04  Yeast – 1 Pack

CHARACTERISTIC

• Method : BIAB
• Style : Cream Ale
• Boil Time : 60 Mins
• Batch Size : 10 Ltr.
• Boil Size : 17.5 Ltr.
• Boil Gravity : 1.028 (Estimated)
• IBU : 23.12
• SRM : 3.35
• ABV : 4.8% (Estimated)

RECIPE

• Crush grain
• Boil on 72.6 Degree temp with 17.5L Water
• Add 7gm hops, boil for 60 Mins with 72.6 Degree temp.
• Add 7gm hops, boil for 10 Mins with 67 Degree temp.
• Cool down wort on 16-20 Degree temp and filter it.
• Transfer wort into formentation tank, pitch yeast and seal it with airlock.
• Fermentation on 12.5 to 25 Degree temp for 14 Days.

3.3.2 WEIZEN (WHEAT) BEER RECIPE KIT

RECIPE KIT INCLUDES:
Batch Size : 10 Ltr.

• Wheat Malt – 2 Kg.
• Pilsner Malt – 2.5 Kg.
• Perle Hops Pellets – 8 Gm.
• Safbrew WB-06 Yeast – 1 Pack

CHARACTERISTIC

• Method : BIAB
• Style : Wheat Beer
• Boil Time : 60 Mins
• Batch Size : 10 Ltr.
• Boil Size : 17.5 Ltr.
• Boil Gravity : 1.028 (Estimated)
• IBU : 20.26
• SRM : 5.3
• ABV : 5.6% (Estimated)

RECIPE

• Crush grain
• Boil on 67-90 Degree temp with 17.5L Water
• Add 8 gm hops, boil for 60 Mins with 72.6 Degree temp.
• Cool down wort on 16-20 Degree temp and filter it.
• Transfer wort into formentation tank, pitch yeast and seal it with airlock.
• Fermentation on 12.5 to 25 Degree temp for 14 Days.

3.3.3 SCOTTISH ALE BEER RECIPE KIT

RECIPE KIT INCLUDES:
Batch Size : 10 Ltr.

• DME – 2.5 Kg.
• Cascade Hops Pellets – 70.5 Gm.
• Safbrew T-58 Yeast – 1 Pack

Scottish ales are generally dark, malty, full-bodied brews. Many examples have a hint of smokiness derived from the use of peated malt. 60, 70, and 80 shilling examples are all session ales under 5% abv, but the stronger “wee heavies” can range closer to 8%, with the accompanying increase in alcohol flavour and esters.

CHARACTERISTIC

• Method : EXTRACT
• Style : Strong Scotch Ale
• Boil Time : 60 Mins
• Batch Size : 10 Ltr.
• Boil Size : 14 Ltr.
• Boil Gravity : 1.063 (Estimated)
• IBU : 92.51
• SRM : 11.99
• ABV : 8% (Estimated)

RECIPE

• Boil DME on 70 Degree temp with 14L Water, Add 28.58gm hops for 70 Mins.
• Add 20.96gm hops, boil for 40 Mins with 72.6 Degree temp.
• Add 20.96gm hops, boil for 15 Mins with 67 Degree temp.
• Cool down wort on 16-20 Degree temp and filter it.
• Transfer wort into formentation tank, pitch yeast and seal it with airlock.
• Fermentation on 12.5 to 25 Degree temp for 14 Days.

3.3.4 Citra Mead 

Alcohol can be made by fermenting many different things, last time it was apple juice, and this time its honey. It’s called a Mead.

And in case you are wondering what happened to this beer blog, I have added a brewer's twist to the mead.

Recipe Development

Honey 

Honey being the central ingredient in a mead, selection or a good variety is crucial. 

But since we are going to heavily dry hop this mead, the variety of honey is not that important for this recipe. That being said, don't just buy some Dabur or Patanajali honey. It hardly has any flavour. I would recommend any multifloral or uni floral organic honey. 

I found this at a reasonable price in my super-market.

Hops

This is the brewer's twist. I add hops to everything I brew, people suspect that I add hops to my morning coffee :(

I wanted an aroma hop that will go well with the residual sweetness of honey. Citra was my choice. You can chose any american or tropical aroma hop like Cascade, Simcoe, Motueka, Mosaic, Amarillo, Nelson Sauvin, etc.

Recipe

8 Liters, OG = 1.060, FG = 1.009

1.5Kgs honey

16g Citra hops

4g Safale S04 / Safbrew T58 / Mead yeast

Yeast nutrient (Yeast extract or a mead yeast nutrient which a combination of DAP and MgCl2)

Cooking soda (NaHCO3), available in grocery store for about Rs 5

We will have a detailed post about how to make a Yeast nutrient for mead soon.

Brew day

Brew day is going to be super easy. 

1. Boil 5 liters of water in pot.
2. Let this water cool down to 70C. If you RO water, you skip the boil and heat the water to 70C.
3. Add the honey to the water, stirring constantly.
4. Keep this pot covered for 10 mins.
5. Top with boiled and cooled water to make 8 liters or must. ( Yes it’s called MUST, not WORT )
6. Cool down the wort to pitching temps. Around 25C.
7. Check the pH of the must, raise the pH by adding cooking soda 1g at a time to bring the pH to about 5.3.
8. Pitch the yeast and start fermentation.

Fermentation

The brew day was super easy. But fermentation is going to be a little tricky. Meads ferment much slower than beers. As the must ferments, the pH will start dropping. It is important to ensure that the pH or the fermenting must stays above 3.5 at all times. Otherwise the fermentation simply stalls until to raise the pH. I left my mead on its own and fermentation stopped because pH had dropped down to 2.3!!

After the first 4 days, check the pH every 3 days, and add 1g of soda every time the pH is below 3.5. This will ensure that your fermentation completes quickly.

I will still take a little more than 2 weeks. Sometimes more.

Dry hop with 16g of hops after fermentation is complete. Keep for 2 days and then cold crash.

I suggest racking the mead to another container after 2 days of cold crashing and continue cold crashing for another 2 days.

Bottle and enjoy. You can back sweeten OR carbonate the mead as you like.