OK well I made some beer (well it's Ale, but back in the 18th century every malt based, fermented beverage, that used hops was called Beer). It came out that it should be about 6.5% ABV when done. A simple, inexpensive, brown beer. Funny thing is that although the house is pretty steady at 68° F, we are coming up on 2 weeks and it's not done fermenting.
four gallons distilled water
1/2 tsp bread salt
two cans of amber malt extract 3 lbs. each (unhopped)
Four ounces rolled oats
two ounces leaf hops
1 packet of Edme Ale Yeast
The ale yeast was pretty old, so I boiled four ounces of distilled water, and added a tablespoon of white sugar, and this was placed in a small mason jar to cool over night. I then proofed the yeast by adding it to the mason jar after it had cooled in the fridge. I placed the lid on the jar, and "burped it" about every half-hour.
During the next two hours the yeast began working well, so I put it back in the fridge to go to sleep.
During that two hours I boiled two gallons of the water and added one can of unhopped, amber malt extract, and brought it to a boil. I added one ounce of the hop leaves to the first boil, a pinch of bread salt [nutrients for the yeast] and let it simmer for 10 minutes. I put the other ounce of hop leaves, raw, into my 6 gallon, glass carboy.
After ten minutes of boiling I added the first wort (unfermented beer-base is called a wort which is Old English for "tea" as in Saint John's Wort [tea]). The heat from the scalding liquid would sterilize the raw hops in the carboy...which were added for flavor. The ten minute boil of the hops in the first boil was for bittering.
I started the second wort with two gallons of water, the other can of malt extract (I took a reading with my hydrometer and it should ferment out around 6.5%), and the 4 ounces ( ½ cup) of rolled oats (after I took the reading). The oats give this non-grain brew some protein molecules and a tiny smidge of unfermentable starch, which should give the beer a good foam. I let it boil for ten minutes, and then added it to the carboy. I capped the carboy, installed a fermentation lock, and placed it outside on my deck to cool overnight.
Yes, there are folks that have to cool their wort in under an hour, but in the closed environment that I established, nothing should have contaminated the wort. [touch wood, scratch a stay, turn three times, "May the Lord and Saints preserve us"]
The following morning I brought in the brew, added the yeast, replaced the cap with the fermentation lock, and placed it all in a nice constant temperature location out of direct sunlight.
So it was really active on the evening of day two, and has been slowly reducing activity, but today it was still bubbling around every 30 seconds. As the gas comes through the fermentation lock...it smells like good beer.....
Why two 2-gallon brews? They are heavy and I didn't want to be handling four gallons of scalding wort.
Why take the reading on the second batch? The fermentable bits of both batches were the same. 2-gallons of water, one can of extract, but the first batch had hops and salt, and this can skew the hydrometer, so the second boil was checked with just the extract and water, then the oats were added.
Why not all grain? I was doing things on-the-cheap.
So when the bottle stops bubbling, I will siphon off the beer from one carboy into a second, sanitized carboy. This will oxygenate the beer a little and make sure the yeast has finished its work. That will also remove the beer from the old yeast and the hop leaves. This is called "racking". This will sit for a week, and if it doesn't start bubbling again, it will be bottled.
Bottling will consist of adding a cup of sterilized sugar-water containing 4 oz. of natural cane sugar, and then the brew will be poured into bottles or jugs and capped. Two weeks and the yeast remaining in the brew should have added a tiny bit of fizz.
I don't have to carbonate it, and I only do a little carbonation, as I think some bubbles adds to the beverage, but one could bottle it and serve it as is.
Should be ready by New Years. I hope it works.
LD
four gallons distilled water
1/2 tsp bread salt
two cans of amber malt extract 3 lbs. each (unhopped)
Four ounces rolled oats
two ounces leaf hops
1 packet of Edme Ale Yeast
The ale yeast was pretty old, so I boiled four ounces of distilled water, and added a tablespoon of white sugar, and this was placed in a small mason jar to cool over night. I then proofed the yeast by adding it to the mason jar after it had cooled in the fridge. I placed the lid on the jar, and "burped it" about every half-hour.
During the next two hours the yeast began working well, so I put it back in the fridge to go to sleep.
During that two hours I boiled two gallons of the water and added one can of unhopped, amber malt extract, and brought it to a boil. I added one ounce of the hop leaves to the first boil, a pinch of bread salt [nutrients for the yeast] and let it simmer for 10 minutes. I put the other ounce of hop leaves, raw, into my 6 gallon, glass carboy.
After ten minutes of boiling I added the first wort (unfermented beer-base is called a wort which is Old English for "tea" as in Saint John's Wort [tea]). The heat from the scalding liquid would sterilize the raw hops in the carboy...which were added for flavor. The ten minute boil of the hops in the first boil was for bittering.
I started the second wort with two gallons of water, the other can of malt extract (I took a reading with my hydrometer and it should ferment out around 6.5%), and the 4 ounces ( ½ cup) of rolled oats (after I took the reading). The oats give this non-grain brew some protein molecules and a tiny smidge of unfermentable starch, which should give the beer a good foam. I let it boil for ten minutes, and then added it to the carboy. I capped the carboy, installed a fermentation lock, and placed it outside on my deck to cool overnight.
Yes, there are folks that have to cool their wort in under an hour, but in the closed environment that I established, nothing should have contaminated the wort. [touch wood, scratch a stay, turn three times, "May the Lord and Saints preserve us"]
The following morning I brought in the brew, added the yeast, replaced the cap with the fermentation lock, and placed it all in a nice constant temperature location out of direct sunlight.
So it was really active on the evening of day two, and has been slowly reducing activity, but today it was still bubbling around every 30 seconds. As the gas comes through the fermentation lock...it smells like good beer.....
Why two 2-gallon brews? They are heavy and I didn't want to be handling four gallons of scalding wort.
Why take the reading on the second batch? The fermentable bits of both batches were the same. 2-gallons of water, one can of extract, but the first batch had hops and salt, and this can skew the hydrometer, so the second boil was checked with just the extract and water, then the oats were added.
Why not all grain? I was doing things on-the-cheap.
So when the bottle stops bubbling, I will siphon off the beer from one carboy into a second, sanitized carboy. This will oxygenate the beer a little and make sure the yeast has finished its work. That will also remove the beer from the old yeast and the hop leaves. This is called "racking". This will sit for a week, and if it doesn't start bubbling again, it will be bottled.
Bottling will consist of adding a cup of sterilized sugar-water containing 4 oz. of natural cane sugar, and then the brew will be poured into bottles or jugs and capped. Two weeks and the yeast remaining in the brew should have added a tiny bit of fizz.
I don't have to carbonate it, and I only do a little carbonation, as I think some bubbles adds to the beverage, but one could bottle it and serve it as is.
Should be ready by New Years. I hope it works.
LD
