Stravinsk
Composer and Artist on Flat Earth
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2016
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By request of most honorable Tango and Queen Lammchen, may the world benefit from my humble beer brewing tips (the small world that is this message board, that is):
1) Pick a place that is either well ventilated (near a window, for instance) or out of normal living areas. Initial fermentation is not a pleasant smell, so it is best to set up your brewing spot where you don't have to smell it.
2) When your brew is ready to be bottled and stored, after you bottle you will need to carry bottles to your storage place. If you are making a lot of beer, to save you time and effort, it is best to brew where you will be storing your beer. To this end, a garage or shed is ideal, provided that there is a hose nearby (if you are going to be using tap water)
*Note - brewing calls for hot water. Adding cold water then yeast are among the last steps before fermentation, then bottling a week or two later. If you are brewing in a garage or shed, you can complete the steps calling for hot water in your kitchen first, then cover the fermenter and move it to your shed or garage for the cold water addition. Otherwise, depending on your fermenter size it will be quite heavy.
If you go to a brew shop and tell a salesman you want to brew beer, he or she will set you up with everything they think you need, but before you do this, prepare first and save some money both in the short and long term:
A) Prior to buying a brew kit - start saving your glass bottles. Preferably buy larger bottles that have screw top caps, and save the caps as well. This not only saves you $$ in buying extra bottles, but caps as well. The bigger bottles are preferable, because you will have less of them to cap when you bottle your brew.
*Note - bottles need to be dark glass.
a1) Important - make sure to rinse your bottles with very hot water within one day of use. Rinse out. Fill halfway or all the way with hot water. Let stand a few minutes, then pour out. Then you use the cap that came with the bottle to seal it for future use.
What you won't need from the brew shop:
1) Bottles and caps - just save your larger beer bottles that have a screw top cap, and the caps as well. Some beer makers and proprietors will tell you the self screw on caps "don't make a proper seal" - but this is bullstuff. Provided you screw them on right and no liquid spills from the bottle when you turn it upside down - you have a proper seal. I've had brew under this seal for more than a year and it was still sealed and carbonated when I opened it.
2) A capping device - reusing screw top caps eliminates the need for this device
3) Sodium metabisulfite. This is an anti bacterial agent that is marketed to disinfect your bottles and fermenter before you start your brew. In my experience - it isn't needed. What *is* needed is that you use very hot water and a soft sponge to clean your fermenter. It needs to be cleaned very well - no residue from previous brews. The reason for the soft sponge is that you do not scrape the inside of your fermenter, because doing this creates places for bacteria to hide. Your spoon (used to stir brew) also needs to be cleaned very well.
Don't do half measures on cleaning. Clean your fermenter and spoon well - otherwise your beer can get infected and it will be wasted and have to be poured out.
4) Finnings. These are added to clear your brew after initial fermentation. You do not need them, provided you are patient. In Spring, Summer and Autumn, brewing usually takes about a week. Waiting an additional week will see a significant clearing of your brew - no need to add finnings.
1) A fermenter. The size is your choice - just remember that the bigger the size the heavier it is to move when it's full of brew.
2) A spoon with a long handle (usually comes with fermenter)
3) An airlock (usually comes with fermenter)
4) A straight tube with a release device on the end that fits onto the outlet of your fermenter. This lets you fill your bottles from the bottom up, and this is important because after fermentation you don't want your beer to become mixed with too much air. (This device usually comes with fermenter)
5) Your choice of brew kit. These are cans of barley mixed with hops. Yeast packets are included in these kits. They are typically ale yeasts, though (even if the brand of kit is lager) - so if you are going to brew a lager, ask for saflager yeast.
*Note - do not use bread yeast - use the yeast that came with the kit or saflager for lagers or safale for ales.
6) Extra Fermentable sugars. What you will find in brew shops is usually either Dextrose or Dried Malt. Dextrose is cheaper, but Malt is preferred for brewing good quality beers. A mixture of the two can usually produce a decent result, though.
How much? Usually it is 1kg of extra fermentable sugars per 1 can of malted barley and hops.
*Note - DO NOT use white sugar or raw sugar. These contain sucrose and your beer will end up tasting like a cider. Unless that's what you want - do not use them. White sugar is used for priming bottles ONLY (for carbonation) - only use it for this purpose, do not use it as a substitute for Dextrose and/or Malt as your main source of extra fermentable sugars.
7) Measure for priming bottles with sugar for secondary fermentation (for carbonation of your beer). Make sure you get the appropriate measure for your bottle size - as you only want to carbonate it - adding too much can make your bottles explode. This small amount of sugar added to bottles is the only time it is permissible (and advisable) to use white sugar.
8) A temperature gauge. These usually come with the fermenter and looks like a black piece of sticky tape attached to the side of the fermenter with numbers on it. They are important not only to maintain a temp range for your brew but also when to add yeast, as adding when wort (unfermented brew) is too hot will kill yeast, and adding when too cold will not see any fermentation.
Follow the directions on the can, they are simple.
When pitching yeast (make sure wort is at appropriate temp), stir in slowly with long handled spoon till it is dissolved in water - then use a pumping action in your stirring. This is the point where you want to pump your wort full of air.
Beer Brewing Tips by Stravinsk
Where to brew. Points to consider:
1) Pick a place that is either well ventilated (near a window, for instance) or out of normal living areas. Initial fermentation is not a pleasant smell, so it is best to set up your brewing spot where you don't have to smell it.
2) When your brew is ready to be bottled and stored, after you bottle you will need to carry bottles to your storage place. If you are making a lot of beer, to save you time and effort, it is best to brew where you will be storing your beer. To this end, a garage or shed is ideal, provided that there is a hose nearby (if you are going to be using tap water)
*Note - brewing calls for hot water. Adding cold water then yeast are among the last steps before fermentation, then bottling a week or two later. If you are brewing in a garage or shed, you can complete the steps calling for hot water in your kitchen first, then cover the fermenter and move it to your shed or garage for the cold water addition. Otherwise, depending on your fermenter size it will be quite heavy.
Preparing for your first brew:
If you go to a brew shop and tell a salesman you want to brew beer, he or she will set you up with everything they think you need, but before you do this, prepare first and save some money both in the short and long term:
A) Prior to buying a brew kit - start saving your glass bottles. Preferably buy larger bottles that have screw top caps, and save the caps as well. This not only saves you $$ in buying extra bottles, but caps as well. The bigger bottles are preferable, because you will have less of them to cap when you bottle your brew.
*Note - bottles need to be dark glass.
a1) Important - make sure to rinse your bottles with very hot water within one day of use. Rinse out. Fill halfway or all the way with hot water. Let stand a few minutes, then pour out. Then you use the cap that came with the bottle to seal it for future use.
What you won't need from the brew shop:
1) Bottles and caps - just save your larger beer bottles that have a screw top cap, and the caps as well. Some beer makers and proprietors will tell you the self screw on caps "don't make a proper seal" - but this is bullstuff. Provided you screw them on right and no liquid spills from the bottle when you turn it upside down - you have a proper seal. I've had brew under this seal for more than a year and it was still sealed and carbonated when I opened it.
2) A capping device - reusing screw top caps eliminates the need for this device
3) Sodium metabisulfite. This is an anti bacterial agent that is marketed to disinfect your bottles and fermenter before you start your brew. In my experience - it isn't needed. What *is* needed is that you use very hot water and a soft sponge to clean your fermenter. It needs to be cleaned very well - no residue from previous brews. The reason for the soft sponge is that you do not scrape the inside of your fermenter, because doing this creates places for bacteria to hide. Your spoon (used to stir brew) also needs to be cleaned very well.
Don't do half measures on cleaning. Clean your fermenter and spoon well - otherwise your beer can get infected and it will be wasted and have to be poured out.
4) Finnings. These are added to clear your brew after initial fermentation. You do not need them, provided you are patient. In Spring, Summer and Autumn, brewing usually takes about a week. Waiting an additional week will see a significant clearing of your brew - no need to add finnings.
What you will need from the brew shop:
1) A fermenter. The size is your choice - just remember that the bigger the size the heavier it is to move when it's full of brew.
2) A spoon with a long handle (usually comes with fermenter)
3) An airlock (usually comes with fermenter)
4) A straight tube with a release device on the end that fits onto the outlet of your fermenter. This lets you fill your bottles from the bottom up, and this is important because after fermentation you don't want your beer to become mixed with too much air. (This device usually comes with fermenter)
5) Your choice of brew kit. These are cans of barley mixed with hops. Yeast packets are included in these kits. They are typically ale yeasts, though (even if the brand of kit is lager) - so if you are going to brew a lager, ask for saflager yeast.
*Note - do not use bread yeast - use the yeast that came with the kit or saflager for lagers or safale for ales.
6) Extra Fermentable sugars. What you will find in brew shops is usually either Dextrose or Dried Malt. Dextrose is cheaper, but Malt is preferred for brewing good quality beers. A mixture of the two can usually produce a decent result, though.
How much? Usually it is 1kg of extra fermentable sugars per 1 can of malted barley and hops.
*Note - DO NOT use white sugar or raw sugar. These contain sucrose and your beer will end up tasting like a cider. Unless that's what you want - do not use them. White sugar is used for priming bottles ONLY (for carbonation) - only use it for this purpose, do not use it as a substitute for Dextrose and/or Malt as your main source of extra fermentable sugars.
7) Measure for priming bottles with sugar for secondary fermentation (for carbonation of your beer). Make sure you get the appropriate measure for your bottle size - as you only want to carbonate it - adding too much can make your bottles explode. This small amount of sugar added to bottles is the only time it is permissible (and advisable) to use white sugar.
8) A temperature gauge. These usually come with the fermenter and looks like a black piece of sticky tape attached to the side of the fermenter with numbers on it. They are important not only to maintain a temp range for your brew but also when to add yeast, as adding when wort (unfermented brew) is too hot will kill yeast, and adding when too cold will not see any fermentation.
Brewing tips:
Follow the directions on the can, they are simple.
When pitching yeast (make sure wort is at appropriate temp), stir in slowly with long handled spoon till it is dissolved in water - then use a pumping action in your stirring. This is the point where you want to pump your wort full of air.
---End of Part 1---
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