| STEP 1 |  |
If you are using liquid yeast it could necessary to start your yeast a day to several days before
you start to brew. see the package for instructions.
|
STEP 13 |  |
At the end of your one hour of boiling, remove the pot and place it in a sink full of water.
This will start cooling your wort.
|
| STEP 2 |  |
About 2 hours before brewing put 4 gallons of good quality water in your freezer
(allow enough time to get very cold but not quite frozen)
|
STEP 14 |  |
fill the carboy with 2 gallons of near freezing water.
|
| STEP 3 | |
Wash, rinse and sanitize all equipment that will touch your beer.(for sanitizing
you may use household bleach at one teaspoon per gallon or Amberdyne at 1/2 tsp. per gallon.)
|
STEP 15 |  |
Strain the wort through the colander and large funnel with filter screen into the carboy.
(If you are using pellet hops do not strain with colander and screen. Just pour right in
carboy using funnel alone.)
|
| STEP 4 |  |
Bring one gallon of good quality water to 160 F in your brew pot. Add gypsum if required. Pour this water into the
insulated cooler and add your cracked grains. Put the lid on the cooler and let it steep for
60 minutes. If a cooler is not available leave in your brew pot, add grains and cover |
STEP 16 | |
Add enough water to carboy to fill it almost to the top. Place sanitized solid rubber stopper on
carboy and shake well. (At this point you may notice some solids forming in your beer. this is called
"cold break". These are proteins that fall out of solution and settle to the bottom as your beer
comes to an even temperature. This helps prevent "chill haze" and should give you a nice,
clear beer.
|
| STEP 5 |  |
In another pot, 15 minutes before the grains are done steeping, bring one gallon of good quality drinking water
to 170 F. |
STEP 17 | |
Take a temperature and hydrometer reading.
|
| STEP 6 |  |
Place funnel on top of priming bucket, insert filter and place a colander on top of funnel.
|
STEP 18 | |
IF your beer temperature is below 80 f, pitch (add) your yeast. (DO NOT add your
yeast until temperature is below 80 f!) Top off carboy completely with cold water.
|
| STEP 7 |  |
Pour grain and water (now called wort) through the colander and funnel extracting the wort
from your grain. You will notice the liquid backs up in the funnel due to fine particles
that clog the filter. |
STEP 19 |  |
Insert end of blowoff tube in carboy. Place other end in bucket of water (end should be under water
1 inch). Put carboy, tube and bucket in a cool dark place. Using the "Swamp method is recommended in warmer
areas to help lower fermentation temperature.
|
| STEP 8 |  |
Lift one side of the colander and using your brew spoon, gently scrape the filter until all
the liquid has drained. |
STEP 20 |  |
"The Swamp"- The ideal temperature for most ales is 68-70 F. To help achieve this you can place your carboy in a large basin
or tub (We call this a "Swamp"). Fill the basin with about 4 inches of water. Wrap a dark towel
around the carboy and soak it with water. The water from the basin will wick up about half way
up the towel, the upper portion of the towel will have to soaked every day. The evaporating
water will drop the temperature of the carboy 4 to 10 degrees and will help your beer considerably.
|
| STEP 9 |  |
Remove the clogged filter and dump the sediment off it. Replace the filter and lower the
colander back into place. |
STEP 21 |  |
Fermentation should begin within a day and eventually "Barm" or the froth on top of your fermenting
beer will blow off through the tube leaving a little behind. When stops flowing through the tube,
remove the tube replace with the airlock. This should happen after 3 or 4 days.
|
| STEP 10 |  |
Take the 170 F water and pour it slowly over the grain in the colander to sparge (wash) all
the wort trapped in the grain. |
STEP 22 | |
You can test for complete fermentation in one of two ways. When time between bubbles in the
airlock is 2 minutes or greater, you can take a hydrometer reading. Take another 24 hours later.
if the two readings are the same, fermentation is complete. The alternative is to assume that when
the time between bubbles is 2 minutes or greater, fermentation is complete. This reduces the risk
of infection from multiple hydrometer readings.
|
| STEP 11 |  |
Pour the strained wort out of the priming bucket into your brew pot. |
STEP 23 | |
Another clue that fermentation is complete is to notice the clarity of your beer.
It will begin as a cloudy or milky liquid and will slowly clear from top to bottom.
When it is clear all the way to the bottom fermentation is usually done. This will take betwene 10 and 21 days.
|
| STEP 12 |  |
Add your malt extract and stir well untill it is completely dissolved. Place pot on burner and bring
the dissolved extract and liquid to a boil . Boil for one hour adding hops, as your recipe requires.
During the boil your recipe may call for the addition of other adjuncts  and/or additives
such asIrish Moss, Gypsum, specialty sugars,as well other hopings. Just add at the times the
recipe requires.
|
