EQUIPMENT
-- URN --
If your doing your own hopping, specialty grains, or even whole grain brew then buy yourself a hot water urn, the type used for tea and coffee water. I found a 35L urn with a variable 30 - 110C thermostat on ebay for $175. Its great for getting the temperature just right for mashing and to prevent overboiling when hopping, plus you can just leave it and do something else during that time.
You will also need a "Brew In A Bag" (BIAB) bag if your going to do a whole grain brew. Otherwise a stocking is probably good enough for hopping or specialty grains.
RECIPES
Indian Pale Ale
Ingredients for (25 L):
(3 kg) light or amber plain dried malt extract
A large hand full of OAK chips in the primary fermenter
(10 g) gypsum
American-type ale yeast
Specialty grains
Steep for 30 mins at 70C
(580 g) crystal malt
(300 g) toasted malted barley
Hops
(72 g) Northern Brewer hops (boiling @ 60): 16 HBU (450 MBU)
(27 g) Cascade hops (finishing @ 1 min)
To toast malted barley preheat the oven to 180 and spread the whole malted barley on a cooking sheet. Will be done in 10 mins.
OatMeal Stout
All Grain Recipe - Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout ::: 1.055/1.014 (5.5 Gal)
Grain Bill (70% Efficiency assumed)
8 lbs. - 2 Row Pale Malt (UK if you have it, but whatever)
1 lb. - Flaked Oats
1/2 lb. - Crystal Malt (60L)
1/2 lb. - Chocolate Malt
1/4 lb. - Roasted Barley
1 lb. - Flaked Oats
1/2 lb. - Crystal Malt (60L)
1/2 lb. - Chocolate Malt
1/4 lb. - Roasted Barley
Hop Schedule (31 IBU)
1.75 oz. - East Kent Goldings - 90 min.
Yeast
White Labs Irish Ale Yeast (WLP004) - 1800 ml starter
Mash/Sparge/Boil
Mash at 151° for 60 min.
Sparge as usual
Boil for 90 minutes (remember to compensate your water)
Cool and ferment at 65° to 68°
WeizenbierSparge as usual
Boil for 90 minutes (remember to compensate your water)
Cool and ferment at 65° to 68°
Ingredients for 25L
(4 kg) half-and-half wheat and barley malt extract syrup (there
are many brands)
(27 g) Hallertauer hops (boiling for 1hour) 4 HBU
German wheat beer-type yeast
(13 g) Hallertauer hops (boiling 10min)
James Squire Golden Ale knock off
2.8 Kgs of Unhopped Pale LME
1.3 Kgs of Unhopped Wheat LME
Specialty grains
0.3 Kgs Crystal malt - steeped for 20mins
Hops
28gms POR @ 60mins
15gms Amarillo (8.4%) @ 10mins
20gms Amarillo (8.4%) @ 0mins
US-56 Yeast
26L batch
Coopers Stout Recipe:
- 1 can of Cooper's stout
- 1 Can of Cooper's dark ale
- 1 kg of dextrose or BE2
- 2x Cinamon stick
- 1 heaped spoon of nutmeg
Specialty grains
- 250g chocolate malt
- 250g crystal malt
- 125g black patent malt
Hops
- 0.8oz Pride of Ringwood for 60min
- 0.7oz E.K. Goldings for 10 min
Re-cultured Cooper's yeast or both the kit yeasts
Note: The cans are already hopped so the above additional hops only give around 15 IBU, but with the included hops it should bring it to a typical stout range 15-50
Coopers Vintage Clone:
- 1kg DDME
- 2kg LDME
- 1 tin Amber liquid malt extract (or 1kg of LDME if that's all you've got)
- 75g wheat malt
Specialty grains
- 250g crystal malt
- 125g dark chocolate malt
- 125g victory malt
Hops
- 25g Pride of Ringwood hops for 60 mins
- 20g E.K. Goldings hops for 15 mins
Ginger Beer:
- 3/4 kilo of ginger finely grated + the juice.
- 1/4 kg of brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (added bite)
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (acid balance & smooth mouth feel)
- fresh lemon and/or lime sliced thinly or juice & zest only. You could try oranges too.
- 1 tin of ginger beer brew.
- 3/4 kg of Coopers Brew Enhancer 2 (1/2 dextrose 1/2DME)
1. Boil all this up and let it cool before using it
2. Cool to 25C
3. 1 sachet yeast
If you can get real! maple syrup, not the fake stuff then
• substitute maple syrup for some of the sugar
Mead
Times everything by 4 for a 25 L carboy.
- in 4L water
- 25 raisins
- 2grams of gypsum
- Ginger (optional 70g/5L)
- Rosemary (optional)
- Cloves 1/2 tsp (optional)
- Nutmeg (optional)
- Cinamon 1 tsp (optional)
- 4 lemon peels, or a whole orange
- 1 Tea bag
- 1.8 kg of Honey (Clover or Alfalfa honey is best)
- 14 grams citric acid (or acid blend, citric, malic, tartaric)
- Yeast nutrient booster (very important in mead)
- Wine Yeast
Method:
- Add 1/4 tsp/5L of irish moss @ 5 mins.
- Heat all up to just below boiling for 15 minutes
- Skim all the scum off that comes to the top
- Cool
- Shake vigorously to aerate
- Add starter
- Brew at 25C (slightly higher than beer)
CALCULATORS
Here's how to calculate how many IBU you will end up with
Heres how to work out your Original Gravity for Extract beers
Here's typical bitterness ranges of most beers
Here's the typical range of %AA of common hop types (read your labels)
Specialty grain breakdown
Track your brews with this chart
1 lbs grain = .75 lbs LME = .60 lbs DME
BREW TECHNIQUE:
-- STARTER CULTURE: --
Creating a Starter culture the night before the main brew
- 2L empty coke bottle with air lock
- 1 Litre of water
- 1/2 cup of LDME
Boil for 10 minute to remove chlorine
Cool to 20C
Add Yeast
Put in bottle
Shake a lot!
Creating a Starter culture the night before the main brew
- 2L empty coke bottle with air lock
- 1 Litre of water
- 1/2 cup of LDME
Boil for 10 minute to remove chlorine
Cool to 20C
Add Yeast
Put in bottle
Shake a lot!
-- DECHLORINATING WATER FOR MAIN BREW --
The Night before brewing fill your urn with water so that the total volume is 30 L
Boil for 10 mins (dechlorinate) and let cool overnight
-- Specialty grains (MiniMash) --
Take flavouring grains (example)
- 250g crystal malt
- 125g dark chocolate malt
- 125g victory malt
If they are not pre cracked then crack them with a roling pin in ziplock bag
Put them in Cotton bag/Stocking
Add to pot
Heat up to 76.7C and keep at this temperature for 30 minutes. If doing full grain keep at this
temperature for 1hour
Take out Grain bag and DO NOT SQUEEZE - Discard
-- Adding Malts --
Bring pot to almost boil
Add Malt extracts
-- BOILING --
Don't boil with the lid ON. You want sulphur compounds to boil away.
-- Calculate Hops/Confirm OG --
You should already know how many hops you want to use from the above listed tools but it might be useful to confirm your og at this stage using this temperature adjusted hydrometer calculator.
-- Bittering Hops --
Add bittering Hops
example
~ 20g Pride Of Ringwood: Poor, citric aroma; Clean bittering hop
Boil for 45 min
-- Flavouring Hops --
Add flavouring hops
example
~25g of East Kent Goldings
Boil for 10 mins
-- Wort Chiller Prep --
If everything has been brewed in a huge pot then you will need to use a wort chiller.
Alternatively you can brew in a smaller volume and add that to cold water already in your carboy.
Insert the wort chiller so that it is sterile and ready for later
-- Aroma Hops --
Add Aroma Hops
example
~ 12g of East Kent goldings: Spicy/floral, earthy, rounded, mild aroma; spicy flavor
Boil for 5 mins
-- Clarifying --
Add 1/2 tsp Irish Moss (agar) @ <5 mins to end of boil -- Cool the wort -- Either; 1. Run water through the wort chiller When the wort is 26C? poor/siphon through colinder into carboy 2. Fill the carboy with some cold dechlorinated water and then pour the hot mash into the carboy aiming for a final temperature of 26C. Shake the carboy to aerate the mixture. Regardless of how it is cooled you should pour the mixture through a strainer into the Carboy to remove the bittering hops, grains and protein break. -- Add Dry Hops -- Add your dry hops just before the yeast is pitched. If possible, do this in a stocking bag -- Pitch Yeast + Growth enhancers -- If doing high specific gravity beer add Yeast growth enhancer Aerate the carboy by shacking it vigorously once shut -- Primary Fermentation -- Complete when bubbles stop ~ 2-4 days -- Secondary Fermentation / Dry Hopping -- The purpose of this is to decrease autolysis flavours of dead yeast. Siphon off primary ferment into second carboy for 1-2 weeks. I'm not entirely convinced by the need for this. I would rather just bottle a couple of days after primary fermentation has stopped. Most of the yeast has settled by this time. The only reason I can see for doing this is when you want to dry hop. Hops can also be added at this time (called dry hopping) to improve the aroma. --Bottling-- Use Dextrose as priming sugar Siphon off a saucepan of beer and add 1.125 cups of dextrose (per 28L beer) Add back to carboy and mix vigourously Bottle + Cap OTHER NOTES
1.If you can get one of those new carboys which allow you to remove the krausen head, do so. Apparently the krausen head will effect beer flavour slightly.
The Night before brewing fill your urn with water so that the total volume is 30 L
Boil for 10 mins (dechlorinate) and let cool overnight
-- Specialty grains (MiniMash) --
Take flavouring grains (example)
- 250g crystal malt
- 125g dark chocolate malt
- 125g victory malt
If they are not pre cracked then crack them with a roling pin in ziplock bag
Put them in Cotton bag/Stocking
Add to pot
Heat up to 76.7C and keep at this temperature for 30 minutes. If doing full grain keep at this
temperature for 1hour
Take out Grain bag and DO NOT SQUEEZE - Discard
-- Adding Malts --
Bring pot to almost boil
Add Malt extracts
-- BOILING --
Don't boil with the lid ON. You want sulphur compounds to boil away.
-- Calculate Hops/Confirm OG --
You should already know how many hops you want to use from the above listed tools but it might be useful to confirm your og at this stage using this temperature adjusted hydrometer calculator.
-- Bittering Hops --
Add bittering Hops
example
~ 20g Pride Of Ringwood: Poor, citric aroma; Clean bittering hop
Boil for 45 min
-- Flavouring Hops --
Add flavouring hops
example
~25g of East Kent Goldings
Boil for 10 mins
-- Wort Chiller Prep --
If everything has been brewed in a huge pot then you will need to use a wort chiller.
Alternatively you can brew in a smaller volume and add that to cold water already in your carboy.
Insert the wort chiller so that it is sterile and ready for later
-- Aroma Hops --
Add Aroma Hops
example
~ 12g of East Kent goldings: Spicy/floral, earthy, rounded, mild aroma; spicy flavor
Boil for 5 mins
-- Clarifying --
Add 1/2 tsp Irish Moss (agar) @ <5 mins to end of boil -- Cool the wort -- Either; 1. Run water through the wort chiller When the wort is 26C? poor/siphon through colinder into carboy 2. Fill the carboy with some cold dechlorinated water and then pour the hot mash into the carboy aiming for a final temperature of 26C. Shake the carboy to aerate the mixture. Regardless of how it is cooled you should pour the mixture through a strainer into the Carboy to remove the bittering hops, grains and protein break. -- Add Dry Hops -- Add your dry hops just before the yeast is pitched. If possible, do this in a stocking bag -- Pitch Yeast + Growth enhancers -- If doing high specific gravity beer add Yeast growth enhancer Aerate the carboy by shacking it vigorously once shut -- Primary Fermentation -- Complete when bubbles stop ~ 2-4 days -- Secondary Fermentation / Dry Hopping -- The purpose of this is to decrease autolysis flavours of dead yeast. Siphon off primary ferment into second carboy for 1-2 weeks. I'm not entirely convinced by the need for this. I would rather just bottle a couple of days after primary fermentation has stopped. Most of the yeast has settled by this time. The only reason I can see for doing this is when you want to dry hop. Hops can also be added at this time (called dry hopping) to improve the aroma. --Bottling-- Use Dextrose as priming sugar Siphon off a saucepan of beer and add 1.125 cups of dextrose (per 28L beer) Add back to carboy and mix vigourously Bottle + Cap OTHER NOTES
1.If you can get one of those new carboys which allow you to remove the krausen head, do so. Apparently the krausen head will effect beer flavour slightly.
