14 - SIMPLE METHOD: Enhancements

Enhancements
Once you've made a few batches of your own homemade beer, it's fun to experiment with different 'enhancements'. When adding your own personal touch, however, caution is always a good idea; try things in small amounts so as not to over-do it.
Here are few suggestions:


• Molasses. Add a cup or two of molasses to the malt while it's cooking. Cut back a bit on the sugar. This will impart a darker, more full-bodied taste to the beer. Blackstrap molasses is darker and richer; Fancy molasses is lighter.
• Licorice. Throw a few sticks of licorice into the malt while it's cooking. Leave in for 5 - 10 minutes, then remove any unmelted pieces before pouring the brew into the carboy.
• Hops. Put whole hops (dried) or hop flakes into a cheesecloth bag and add to the cooking malt. A handful is plenty. This will give a distinctive hop flavor to the beer.
• Herb teas. Try adding 3 or 4 teabags of Celestial Seasonings "Bengal Spice" tea, or "Apple Cinnamon Spice" tea. Add to the cooking malt and remove after 10 minutes. This will add a bit of spice to the taste of the beer, a very interesting flavor.

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13 - SIMPLE METHOD: Brew

Brew
1. Pour 10 liters of fresh, cold water into the 10 gallon plastic pail (carboy). If the pail is new, wash it out first with a mixture of water and baking soda to remove the plastic smell.
2. In your largest pot, bring 7 liters of water to a boil.
3. Add one can of malt extract. Stir and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.
4. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve.
5. As soon as the sugar is dissolved, pour contents into the carboy. Pour, or 'splash', the contents quickly, which adds air to the mixture. The more air the yeast get initially, the better. It allows them to rapidly grow and get things going.
6. Top up with bottled drinking water or tapwater until temperature is neutral. (If using tapwater, it is recommended to boil first to kill bacteria, then cool to room temperature.) Test using a clean, sanitized thermometer. The carboy will now be a little more than half full.
7. Sprinkle in the yeast, and stir well. Cover with lid. (Set lid on loosely; if capped too tightly, a carboy can explode from the carbon dioxide gas that is produced.)
Keep covered and avoid unnecessary opening. The beer will be ready to bottle in 6- 10 days, depending on ambient temperature of the room and amount of sugar used in the brewing. Room temperature should be 20-24 Celsius at the highest; 16-20 Celsius is better but it will take the beer a day or two longer to ferment.
Test for readiness with a hydrometer. Set hydrometer into the beer and spin it once to release bubbles which cling to it and give a false reading. The "ready to bottle" reading should be about 1.008 for dark beers and 1.010-1.015 for light beers. If you don't have a hydrometer, you can judge readiness by tasting a sample - it should not be sweet tasting. There should be little or no bubbling action in the beer.

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12 - SIMPLE METHOD: Bottle

Bottle
Set the carboy on a sturdy table and the 12 2-liter bottles on the floor, with newspaper underneath to catch drips or overflows. Using a funnel, put 2 level teaspoons of sugar in each bottle.

Siphon the beer into the bottles, trying not to disturb the sediment on the bottom of the carboy. (One method is to tape a plastic straw alongside the bottom end of the siphon hose with 1" projecting beyond the end. The tip of the straw can touch the bottom of the carboy without the siphon drawing up sediment.) Tip the carboy as you near the bottom.
It is important to not splash or agitate the beer too much when bottling as any oxygen introduced can lead to oxidation and a “cardboard” taste.

As you fill the bottles, keep the end of the siphon tube near the bottom of the bottle to avoid frothing. It is essential that the bottles ar not completely filled - leave an airspace. Screw the caps on tightly. Invert each bottle and shake to dissolve sugar on the bottom. Set bottles in a warm area for the first few days, then store in a dark, cool spot. You can drink the beer within a few days of bottling, but it will improve with age.

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11 - SIMPLE METHOD: Sanitize

Sanitize
It has been said that 75% of brewing is good sanitation. First, clean all equipment with warm, lightly soapy water. Rinse well to remove soap residue. Then sanitize using household bleach at a quantity of 1 tbsp/gallon of water. Or you can purchase a no-rinse acid sanitizer such as StarSan, which is effective and leaves no aftertaste.

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9 - SIMPLE METHOD: Equipment

Equipment
The few items you need to brew your own homemade beer can be found at your nearest beermaking supply shop, or at most hardware stores.
- One 10-gallon "food grade" plastic pail with lid. Cost: about $12.00
- Siphon hose. You'll need a 74" length of 5/16" "food grade" vinyl tubing. Cost: $2.00
- Hose clamp for siphon. Cost: $1.00
- Twelve 2- liter plastic pop bottles, with lids.


- Hydrometer. Cost: $8.00. A thermometer is also useful.
- Large pot, or turkey roaster.

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8 - MORE FERMENTATION

This second stage fermentation takes place in the bottles. That is why it is important for your bottles, as well as all your equipment, to be completely spotless and germ-free.

• You will need pure dextrose, to make a priming solution. This allows the remaining yeast in your beer to carbonate. Put 3 cups of water into a saucepan and dissolve ¾ cup of dextrose in it. Bring it to boil, then cover it and set it aside and let cool for 15 to 20 minutes.

• After the solution has cooled, pour it into the bottling bucket. Then use the hose and allow the beer in the primary fermenter to flow freely into the bottling bucket.

• Hook up the plastic hose to the spigot on the bottling bucket and line up all the bottles on a level surface. You are ready to bottle your beer. Stick the hose in the bottle and fill. Leave about one inch of airspace at the top of the bottle.

• After all the bottles have been filled, you must cap them as soon as possible. They are vulnerable to dust and bacteria if they are left in the open air. Check all bottles for leakage and re-cap if necessary.

• Find a cool, dark place to store the bottles while they are in their second fermentation stage. Any location is good as long as it is a steady temperature of 60-70 degrees. Now you should wait for a minimum of two weeks before you can have a drink fest.

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7 - FERMENTATION

At this stage, wort (ingredients combined, but not quite beer) has been made. It will begin to ferment within the first day and continue to do so for the next 3-5 days. You can tell the wort is fermenting when you see air bubbles rising up through the water. We suggest you check your beer everyday after the initial five days to see if it is still fermenting. If the water in the airlock is still bubbling, the beer needs a little more time. Not allowing so can result in ruining your beer and your bottles may explode. As bubbling stops or slows down, primary fermentation is completed and it is ready for bottling.

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