Whether you’re looking to establish a small business or simply want to learn something new, brewing your own beer is an exciting prospect. Not only is making your own beer in the comfort of your own home simple, affordable, and enjoyable, but you’ll likely end up with a superior product to what you can buy in a can.
All you need is malt extract, hops, specialty grains, and yeast to get started on your brewing journey. So, follow the below steps, and you’ll be able to make your very own quality beer with an authentic taste!
Make Notes
Before you get going with the practical side of brewing, you should first note down everything that will be involved in the process. This includes writing down the selection of hops, the quantity and kind of malt, the yeast strain, the cleaning process, and any specialty grains or unique ingredients.
Steep Your Grains
In order to steep your grains, you must place your specialty grains into a mesh bag and sit them in 10 liters of hot water (150°F) for half an hour. Following this, you should take the bag from the water, allowing it to drip as you do so. It’s important not to squeeze the grains, as this leads to the extraction of tannins, resulting in an astringent taste.
Add Malt Extract and Bring to a Boil
For the purpose of controlling the aroma, bitterness, and flavor, hops are added in intervals to the brew. Typically, you’ll add the hops sooner to create more bitterness; however, this results in a weaker aroma and flavor. Anyone who is after a brighter beer should dry hop their beer instead.
Cool Your Wort
The liquid you’re currently working with is called wort, and once this has been boiled, it needs to be chilled as quickly as possible. The most efficient way to do this is by submerging the pot into a sink or bathtub that is full of ice water. During this time, you can gently stir the liquid to assist the cooling process; however, you need to take extra care not to aerate or splash the solution. Doing so will result in an unpleasant taste. The liquid is ready to be transferred to the fermenter upon reaching 80°F.
Pour Wort into a Fermenter
At this stage, you can forget what you’ve previously been told about splashing, as it’s encouraged at this stage. This is so that the yeast can be active, though, once fermentation begins, the exposure to air will need to be heavily reduced. This is to minimize the impact on aromas and flavors.
Now it’s time to remove the hops, as they’ve done their job. This can be done using a large strainer. Next, water and yeast can be added; you’ll need to check the requirements of your yeast to determine how you do this.
Finally, you can place the lid on the fermenter and assure that the airlock is fixed. If you’ve created an ale, it should be placed in a dark area of consistent room temperature, whereas a lager will require refrigeration to ferment. Within 24 hours, the airlock will begin to bubble; however, if it remains stagnant even after 48 hours, dead yeast may be the culprit.
Bottle Your Product
In order for your brew to be properly aged, you’ll need to transfer it into some suitable beer packaging. Once your beer has been stored for at least a week or two, it can be refrigerated and enjoyed. When pouring yourself a glass, you should leave behind roughly a quarter-inch of liquid in the bottle, as this will taste extremely yeasty.
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