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Equipment guide Beer recipes Free Beer & Wine Calculators Priming your beer
BEER
TROUBLE SHOOTER Stuck
fermentation Typical
Larger / Bitter kit instructions
Brew enough to go around
The best
beers have got to be
I brew from good quality kits and the end results compete
with the superior brews. My aim is quality. If I was saving loads of money but
was drinking a nasty brew then no way. It must be as good as the premium beers
and it should be because its home made. I would love to say the I do it all from
the raw ingredients but I'll be honest as far as beer, lager and ale is
concerned the kits suit me just fine. From time to time I dabble with the raw
process.
The main
points to brewing kits are:-
1) Keep
everything clean & sterile
2) Follow the instruction (do not add extra sugar
etc.)
3) Leave for at least a month to
mature or risk drinking a yeasty immature brew.
First
steps in beer brewing. (Buy the minimum kit to start with).
1) Buy a bitter kit (lager is a little harder)
1 x 40 pint bitter kit + sugar as
recommended
1 x fermentation
bin
(Use plastic lemonade bottles
(PET) or if you must you can use a pressure barrel but I prefer not too. If you
use neither then you can drink it still as in real ale. Syphon into glasses for drinking and
avoid the sediment at the base) (See below for using PET bottles instead of a
pressure barrel)
2)
Follow the kit instructions they are usually straight forwards.
3)Act now brew it straight away because the little extra
time provided for the brew to mature improves the quality significantly. (At
least 1 month)
TIME is where the home
brewer wins. Extra storage time is expensive if you are a major brewer.
"Hey
boss-man lets keep all our beer an extra few weeks 'cos it tastes better"
"Yea right! and who
pays for all that extra storage. Investors demand profit not taste!"
You can design your own recipes or modify other recipes although a
Beer Calculator is very useful. You can download my
You may also find the YoBrew - Recipe Design page useful.
Here are some easy malt
extract beer recipes designed & tested by me, Peter Laycock, they can be
made using readily available ingredients and the minimum of equipment. The only
additional equipment required by the kit-maker are a boiling pan (I use an 8l
stock pot which will safely hold a maximum of 6l) and a large sieve (200mm dia.
or more preferred) or a colander. Dry and wet malt extract can be interchanged,
but note that 1Kg dry extract is approximately equivalent to 1.18Kg wet extract,
or 1Kg wet is equal to 0.85Kg dry. The boil volume/time is generally chosen to
get a 20% Alpha acid extraction from the hops as this seems to be the general
practice. Glenn Tinseth's bitterness calculations were used as I consider these
to be the most accurate (visit his site, it's very good, or do a search for the
excellent, and free, "tinibuw" bitterness calculator).
All the recipes are for
relatively small volumes as they were basically “experimental” & I always
think it is easier to shift 5 litres of rubbish than 23, especially if I have to
drink it! Larger quantities can easily be made simply by scaling up all the
ingredients, apart of course, from the yeast. These are not award-winning
recipes as the idea is to produce some cheap beers of reasonable quality in
various styles. As expected, some beers were much better than others but, if
recipes are broadly made to the BJCP guidelines then it is quite
hard to make a bad beer. Part of the guidelines is essentially reproduced as one
of the YoBrew calculators
pages
B
FUGGLED/GOLDINGS ONLY/RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED
TARGET
These 3 beers
were made to compare different hop characteristics, hopefully setting a basis
for good recipes. (They did.)
Dry extract
(light) 500g
Calculations
White sugar
50g
F.G. 8 (exc. priming sugar)
Fuggles
OR Goldings OR Target hops 13
OR 11 OR 5g %
Any good Ale
yeast
Initial/Final volume 5/4.5l
Priming
sugar 1tsp
(5g)/l
Bitterness
24/24/26EBU
Colour 24EBC
NOTE: All
figures are approximate.
For larger quantities a proportionally larger
boiling pan will be required.
Make the
extract & crystal malt up to 4l & boil for 40 min with the required
hops, a few hops can be added for the last 10 min for extra aroma. Sieve onto
the sugar in a fermenting bin/bucket & sparge (wash out) the contents of the
sieve with hot water from a kettle until 5l of liquid is obtained. The yeast can
be re-hydrated if required in lukewarm water for 15min (see packet for
manufacturer's recommendations) or added to the cooled worth straight from the
packet, cover & ferment & bottle as normal.
Comments:-
I
enjoyed all the beers although the Goldings Only was, surprisingly, my
least favourite of the trio.
SANTA'S
REINDEER LINIMENT
I made this
one Spring time as a Christmas beer, allowing a reasonable maturation period for
a high gravity beer.
Liquid malt
extract
900g
Calculations
Roast
barley
20g
F.G. 13 (exc. priming sugar)
White
sugar
100g %
Challenger hops
15g Initial/Final volume
5/4.5l
Any good Ale
yeast Bitterness
45EBU
Priming sugar 1tsp
(5g)/l Colour
90EBC
NOTE: All
figures are approximate.
Comments:- This beer is
very strong in both flavour and alcohol. DRINK WITH
PETER
ABBOT 1 & 2 (TWO EXPERIMENTAL BREWS
– USING “TRADITIONAL” OR “QUICK” BREWING METHODS)
PETER ABBOT
1 PETER ABBOT 2 CALCULATIONS
(Approx.)
Dry extract
(light Spraymalt) 500g
500g O. G. 68 (exc.
priming sugar)
White sugar
150g
150g Alcohol 8.36% (inc.
priming sugar)
Fuggles hops 7 (few late
added for 10 min) 6 Initial
volume 3.25
litre
Challenger hops 7 (few late added for
10 min) 6 Bitterness
40 EBU
Priming sugar 5
g/litre Colour 28 EBC
Any
good Ale yeast
Boil Vol. 2
litre 1 litre
Boil
Time 45
min 15 min
The recipes
are identical apart from the hops and boil times/volumes, they were designed to
give very similar results, the only difference being the way the beers were
made. PETER ABBOT 1 had the hops boiled with the malt extract and the crystal
malt (“Traditional” method) whereas with PETER ABBOT 2, the hops were boiled
alone (“Quick” method). It may be worth pointing out that my calculators do
allow for any sugars (apart from priming) to be boiled with the malts & hops
but this can complicate the process by needing longer boil times/hop
quantities.
After plodding through my ramblings, all you want to know
(possibly!) is if the experiment worked. The short answer is YES! The beers were
blind-tasted only 6 weeks after bottling, they had similar colours, both had
very good heads & condition with some clinging to the glass sides. They had
a very hoppy aroma and taste (I used home grown hops, consequently they may have
had quite a different alpha acid content to what was used in the calculations).
There were slight differences between the two, I thought PETER ABBOT 2 was
slightly hoppier with a cleaner taste although it did not clear as quickly as
version 1, I assume this is because the malt extract was not
boiled.
Whilst
sampling my two beers, the wife, who arranged the blind tasting with two 450ml
Grolsch bottles, started laughing at me about half-way through my tasting
session, (she says) I was talking more and more rubbish, luckily for her it was
not a fighting beer! On second thoughts it was probably lucky for
me!
Comments:-
Very enjoyable. With time a slightly
“herby” character developed.
PETER'S
LAGER
Designed
using YoBrew calculators
“Extract Calc.”. The “quick” (blue) hop section was used, this is where the hops
are boiled separately.
Spraymalt
malt extract
500g Calculations
White
sugar
100g
O.G. 39.8 (exc. priming
sugar)
Hallertauer hops (2%)
15g
F.G. 6.5 (exc. priming
sugar)
Lager yeast
%
Initial/Final volume 6/5.75
litres
Bitterness 20 EBU
Priming
sugar 1tsp
(5g)/l
Colour 8 EBC
The hops were
boiled in 1 litre of water for 20 mins.
NOTE: All
figures are approximate.
Comments:-
Colour <10, slight chill haze, modest head, good but fairly short lasting
condition, some clinging to the glass & a citrousy finish. V.
G.
BAVARIAN
LAGER
The above
recipe was modified by adding 25g crystal malt (to get about 12 EBCs of colour),
& boiling 30g hops in 2 litres of water for 55 min. to give about 35
EBU.
Comments:-
Colour about right, very big lasting head, good condition, some clinging &
quite hoppy but not excessively so.
It’s
Peters’
Ale
Again the YoBrew calculators “quick”
(blue) hop section was used
Spraymalt
malt extract
500g
Calculations
White sugar
110g
F.G. 8.5 (exc. priming
sugar)
Fuggles hops 6.5g + 0.5g for last 10
mins %
Challenger hops 6.5g +
0.5g for last 10 mins
Initial/Final volume 7/6.5l
Any good Ale
yeast Bitterness
30 EBU
Priming sugar 1tsp
(5g)/l
Colour 17
EBC
NOTE: All
figures are approximate.
Comments:-
Very hoppy without being harsh, good head/cond./clinging. Colour about right,
yeast slightly loose, dry finish. Excellent!
If you want
to serve your brew with a bit of sparkle then the fizz can be added by two main
methods:-
1) Natural priming (secondary fermentation takes place in a sealed
pressure vessel).
2) Gas injection. (CO2 or Nitrogen gas injected from a gas
canister into a pressure vessel containing your brew)
A combination of the
two methods is often used. Initial priming is by method 1 (natural priming) and
then if the brew goes a bit flat and lifeless then a method 2 (direct gas
injection) is used to top up the fizz.
I now use
natural priming only and no longer use my CO2 injector. Natural priming produces
a higher quality sparkle (explained below). I do not need a top up injector as I
have moved from barrel storage to bottles that do not lose pressure, even after
several months.
Pressure
containers and Priming sugar table
Priming sugar used is white granulated
(1 level Tablespoon = 15ml = 12 Grams)
(1 level Teaspoon = 2.5ml = 4
Grams)
|
Pressure Container |
Max working pressure |
Suggested amount of priming sugar |
Suggested priming pressure |
|
2 Litre fizzy drink PET bottles |
over 100
|
1 Level table spoon |
22.5 |
|
40 Pint / 22.5 Litre Homebrew plastic Pressure Barrel |
10
|
4 Level Table spoons |
8 |
|
|
90
|
1 level Table spoon |
60 - 75 |
|
1 Pint / 0.5 Litre Glass pressure bottle |
Estimated 50
|
1/2 Level teaspoon |
13 - 15 |
Note: PET
Bottle refers to a standard lemonade / cola plastic containers that are made
from a plastic called PET. These bottles handle high pressure extremely well.
They usually come in 1, 2 and 3 litre sizes. I prefer to use the 2 litre bottles
and will try a few experiments to see what the limits are. There is supposed to
be a limit that the yeast can exert and this is around 90
Note:
Exceeding any of the safe limits on pressure containers is dangerous. Glass
bottles must be used well within their defined limits and you should avoid any
bottles if they have any scratches or any other damage.
The
weight of sugar - I use granulated, but
really I should go by weight as different sugar weighs different amounts.
Castor/caster sugar 2 level tablespoons = 1 oz = 28.4 grams
granulated
sugar 2 level tablespoons = 1 oz =
28.4 grams
icing sugar 2 1/2
level tablespoons = 1 oz = 28.4 grams
Natural
priming
is the process of adding
a small amount of sugar to the completed brew and allowing secondary
fermentation in a pressure tight vessel to produce CO2 that is naturally
dissolved in the brew. Indeed I have read a chemistry account that states that
the CO2 produced by the yeast forms a special weak chemical bond rather than
just dissolving and this is why natural priming results in a quality fizz that
lasts longer giving off fine bubbles over a longer period. I used to say how
much better pressure barrels are compared to bottles on the basis of ease of
cleaning. Having said this I have recently reverted to crown cap bottles as
these keep their pressure for month and months and therefore no need for gas
injection and I can keep a few bottles in the fridge for serving my brew,
especially lager, cold. Usually natural priming leaves a thin layer of yeast
sediment which means you need to be careful when pouring to avoid disturbing the
sediment.. I now avoid this issue by first priming in 2 litre PET bottles and
then siphoning the primed beer, and not the sediment, into the crown cap glass
bottles.
Add sugar to
the beer in the PET Bottles (1 level Table spoon (15 ml) of sugar per 2 litre
PET bottles)
Screw the cap on and leave at room temperature 16C - 23C for
secondary fermentation to take place.
The purists allow secondary
fermentation to take place at around 16C, this slow priming of the beer improves
the quality of the fizz. This is copied from the findings of the makers of
champagne who found that to get fine bubbles that last, you need to get the fizz
by natural secondary fermentation. This fermentation needs to be done slowly and
under high pressure. Gas injection results in large bubbles that results in a
drink which starts very fizzy and losses its fizz much
quicker.
After 7 days
the secondary fermentation should be complete and the sediment left at the base
of the PET bottle. I leave it for two weeks to be sure.
Place the PET
bottles into the fridge and cool to around 4C
Siphon from the PET bottles
into crown cap bottles. Leaving at least 1 inch head space.
Seal the bottle
with a crown caper and store the bottle for maturing and drinking when ready
NOTE: Since
secondary fermentation took place in the PET bottle and the fizzy beer was
siphoned into crown cap bottles you have avoided the yeast sediment so you no
longer need to worry about yeast when pouring your beer from the bottles.
Siphoning fizzy beer can be tricky and the trick is to:
a) Cool the beer to
4C before siphoning, this reduces the beer fizzing.
b) Use a bottle filler
at the end of the siphon tube; this is an excellent device that has a sort of
on/off sprung loaded button at the end of the tube. The button is pressed
against the bottom of the bottle and this turns the flow on and then the beer
fills from the bottom of the bottle. This is the least disruptive method of
filing bottles and even worked for primed beer. (I am not sure if I have
described it well but trust me this is a great device)
My next
plan for that perfect fizz
The champagne
makers have found that the best quality fizz is obtained by natural priming in
the bottle. They tried to produce the fizz by natural priming in a larger tanks
and then transferring the primed champagne into the bottles but the quality of
the bubbles suffered. True top quality champagne is primed by a very difficult
method of priming in the bottle. Allowing the yeast sediment to settle on the
cork of the upturned bottle and then using a freezing technique to remove this
sediment.
I reckon I can do a similar method by allowing secondary
fermentation in the upside-down PET bottle to allow the sediment to settle on
the screw cap. I may need to tap the upturned bottle from time to time to ensure
that the yeast sediment slides down to the screw cap. I can then expel the
sediment by holding the upside-down PET bottle over the sink and applying a
short half unscrew of the screw cap such that only the yeasty sediment is
released. With the screw cap re-tightened and the yeast expelled the PET bottle
can be returned to its upturned position and ready for serving or storing. I
have not tried this yet and reckon the tricky bit is getting the sediment to
settle on the cap, and the skill of the quick release on the screw cap to
release just the yeast sediment.
Example of typical kit instructions click
here
The Cornelius keg |
|
|
This keg was
kindly sent to YoBrew to try out. Whilst it was I that opened up the delivery
and was ready to take it home for brewing trials, I felt duty bound to lent it
out to a more experience home brewer. I asked my friend Nick, a fellow member of
the YoBrew team, if he would give the keg a go. I have had to use the sponsor's
picture as Nick has become very attached to the keg (hint hint Nick). Nick
always has a brew on the go as he does a load of entertaining. He has three of
the best plastic kegs going and his findings on the Cornelius keg
are: The Cornelius
keg costs more than the average keg but it is worth it. It holds its pressure
well and it’s easy to top up with a CO2 injector. The keg comes with a
dispensing tap that is attached to a tube. This is great as it means you can
have the keg on the floor when you dispense your beer. Dispensing beer is easy
with the keg's design. Overall the keg is great and if I was to point out any
short comings then it's a little harder to clean inside than a normal keg but
this is not a real problem. The volume it holds is slightly less than a normal
keg but again this is not a real problem. Overall, in my opinion having used
many different type of Kegs, this it's the best keg on the market and if Stephan
wants it back he's gonna have to buy one (ho ho ho). Regards Nick
(Team YoBrew) P.S. Stephan
I'll drop the photos round. |
|
|
Beer Trouble Shooter |
|||
|
Fault |
Cause |
Prevention |
Remedy |
|
Fermentation Slow or stopped |
Normally due to the fermentation temperature being too low |
Use a thermostatic heater set at around 20C |
Warm up the brew and give the brew a good stir with a long handled spoon. Warm the brew either warmer room or get a thermostatic temperature controller. |
|
Unpleasant smells during fermentation |
Caused by a brew having a top fermenting yeast |
None if you want to use these types of yeast. |
Unavoidable, Fumes can be dispersed by uncovering; However this adds to the risk of contamination. Best way is to leave it. |
|
Flat beer |
Lack of priming sugar before sealing bottles or barrel. It could be poor seal for a barrel. |
Use 2 litre plastic (PET) ex-lemonade bottles not a pressure barrel. If you do use a pressure barrel make sure you grease the rubber seal. |
Add more priming sugar and
then Use 2 litre plastic
(PET) ex-lemonade bottles not a pressure barrel. If you do use a pressure barrel
make sure you grease the rubber seal. |
|
Cloudy / Yeasty beer |
Storing beer at a temperature too high. Poor settling agent (finings). Poor flocculation of the yeast. Poor decanting method. |
Ensure beer
is stored a cool temperature. approx 16C Ensure good
fining are used if in doubt or suspect a settling issue use Irish moss, a sort
of seaweed) This is often added to the wort when boiling so should not be needed
for kit brewers. Use a quality
yeast known for its ability to settle. Use a barrel
that allows the beer to be taken from the top by means of a float and a tube
rather than a barrel that draws the brew from the bottom nearer the sediment. Or
use 2 Litre PET lemonade bottles. These are clear so you can see the yeast
settle. |
Cool your
beer if too warm Re-apply
fining but best to talk to your local homebrew shop to see what is
best. |
|
Cloudy but not yeasty |
Bacterial infection |
Clean and sterilise all equipment / utensils |
None |
|
Poor head retention |
Can be caused by very small traces of household detergent when washing the glass |
Always rinse liberally in plain water after washing. Some brewers try to avoid detergents when washing because of this problem |
None |
|
Beer too lively |
Often caused by excessive priming |
Ensure exact priming sugar for the amount of fizz you want |
Place in refrigerator for an hour. I assume we are not using glass bottles. Glass is way too dangerous to over prime. Exploding glass bottles cause a lot of damage |
1) Stand can
in hot water for 5 minutes
2) Open the can and pour the contents into a
clean, STERILISED fermenting bin
3) Into 6 pints of boiling water , dissolve
1 kilo (2.2lbs) of sugar. And pour this into the fermenting bin, stir well
4) Pour 31 pints of cold water into the fermenting bin and stir well
5)
The temperature should now be 65-70F (18-20C), sprinkle the yeast over the
liquid and stir. The fermenting bin should now be covered and put into a warm place 65-75F (18-24C)
6) Fermentation
takes 4 - 6 days, and will be complete when bubbles stop rising, or, when the
Specific Gravity is below about 1.006 for 24 hours
7) Using strong bottles
or a suitable pressure barrel with a safety valve fitted, syphon the beer (
avoid sediment disruption), and add 1/2 teaspoonful of sugar per pint bottle. Fill to an inch below the
crown cap. (use 4 oz sugar for a pressure barrel, ideally in a syrup - i.e. in
1/2 pint of hot water dissolve the sugar)
8) Cap the bottles/ seal the pressure barrel and leave in a warm place for
2-3 days to produce the pressure to prime the brew.
9) Place bottles /
barrel in a cool place for al least 4 weeks to clear and
mature.
These figures are a
rough guide only, they should only be regarded as “typical” as there are many
exceptions, especially amongst the Abbey/Trappist beers. I have collated the
information form various sources & cannot vouch for their accuracy or
whether a degree or three deviation makes any discernable
difference.
|
Style |
Temp °C |
Style |
Temp °C |
|
Abbey/Trappist
<8.5% ABV |
10-14 |
Kriek
(Cherry) |
9-13 |
|
Abbey/Trappist 8.5% +
ABV |
15-18 |
Lager inc. Munich
& Vienna, Helles |
9 |
|
Altbier |
9 |
Lambic
Fruit |
8-9 |
|
Baltic
Stout/Porter |
13-18 |
Lambic/Gueuze |
9-13 |
|
Barley
Wine |
10-13 |
Marzen/Oktoberfest/Maibock |
9 |
|
Belgian
Ale |
7-12 |
Old brown
Lager |
8-9 |
|
Belgian Strong
Ale |
10 |
Pilsner, Golden
Lager |
9 |
|
Biere de
Guarde |
10-13 |
Porter inc.
Alaskan |
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