Process Of Beer Making
Home brewing is a popular hobby around the world. The typical batch of home brewed beer is 5 gallons (19 Liters) in volume. This makes about two cases or 48 12-ounce (355ml) bottles of beer. As a beginner it is best to use a kit that combines the processes of using malt extract and steeping your own grains. Mashing of grains is best left to more advanced brewers.
Although your kit will provide the basic instructions and recipes you need, here are the basics.
Start by cleaning and sanitizing all your equipment
Using a large pot, add 2 gallons of water. Put grains into a steeping bag and tie tightly. Place the bag into the pot and bring the temperature of the water to 155 degrees. Steep for 30 minutes.
Remove the grain bag from the water and discard.
Boil the remaining water, without the grain bag
Remove from heat and add hops directly into this pot. The mixture is now called wort.
Allow wort to boil for 45 minutes. Add the flavoring hops to the hop bag and add to the pot and boil for an additional 15 minutes.
Put 3 ½ gallons of cold water into the primary fermenter pot and add the wort.
Put on the lid and airlock. Fill the airlock halfway with water
Cool the wort to below 75 degrees.
Add the yeast. Make sure to take a hydrometer reading before adding it. To take this reading remove a small portion of the wort and test that
Put the lid and airlock back on the fermenter
Keep the fermenter in an area that has a constant temperature that is between 60 degrees and 75 degrees. Fermentation will start in 8 to 48 hours.
After 3 to 5 days the fermentation will stop. Test with the hydrometer for specific gravity
After 5 days add aroma hops
Condition the beer for 7 to 10 days until it clears
Sterilize your beer bottles
Dissolve 5 oz of priming sugar in a cup of water and bring to boil. Cool to room temperature and then place in the sanitized bottle bucket
Siphon beer into the bottling bucket
Attach tubing to the spigot on your bottling bucket and fill the sanitized beer bottles.
Cap your beer!
Author: Graham Williams
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Programmable Pressure Cooker