1
SUCCESSFUL HOME BREWING
Brian Magenis
Pennsylvania Union Brewing
58 West Pike Street
Canonsburg, PA 15317
(724) 416-7122
[email protected]
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INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL HOME BREWING
USING HOME BREWING SUPPLIES FROM PENNSYLVANIA UNION BREWING
Home brewing can provide enjoyment and rewards; however, successful brewing
depends on the ingredients, the method of brewing and the handcrafting care
used by the brewer. Pennsylvania Union Brewing provides these instructions with
the intention to supply new home brewers with the knowledge to produce
successful, rewarding beverage creations at the very first attempt at home
brewing.
A WORD ABOUT YEAST AND THE TIMING OF THE BREW
It is recommended to use liquid yeast. Solid, powder yeast is not always
free of unwanted microorganisms and ideal results cannot be guaranteed.
The yeast included in all Pennsylvania Union Brewing Brewkits is White Labs
liquid yeast. This liquid yeast should be stored in a refrigerator prior to use.
Prior to brewing, the yeast should be removed from the refrigerator and allowed
to reach room temperature prior to pitching the yeast.
1.0
1.1
1.1.1
PROCEDURE
PRINCIPLES
Preparation for Brewing
Perform the following to sterilize It is desirable to allow only the
the fermentation and wort
yeast to process the sugars
cooling equipment.
produced during the mashing
process. Sterilization will remove
the unwanted microorganisms
Pour about ¼ cup of bleach into
the carboy and add about 2
gallons of tap water and swirl to
3
1.1.2
1.13
2.1
2.1.1
ensure all inner surfaces are
sterilized with the bleach.
Siphon about one quart of the
bleach solution through the wort
chiller. Shut the wort chiller
outlet pinch valve so that the coil
is filled with bleach water.
Fill a resealable pint bottle (such
as EZ cap or Grolsch, Figure 2)
with the bleach solution.
Submerse the disassembled
vapor lock and carboy filling cap
in the remaining bleach solution,
Figure 1.
See Appendix A for siphoning
instructions.
The resealable pint bottle will be
used for kraeusening the
fermented beer. Kraeusening is a
priming process where
unfermented wort is used to
prime the beer prior to bottling.
Figure 2
Figure 1
EZ Cap Bottle
Carboy Cap and Vapor Lock
Submerged
2.0 STERILIZATION – THE FIRST STEP IN BREWING
Boil about two gallons of tap
To ensure that your selected
water in the boiling vessel for
yeast is the only microorganism
about 10 minutes and perform
processing the wort and that all
the following.
of the bleach is rinsed from the
brewing equipment, all bleached
surfaces must be rinsed with
water that has been boiled for ten
minutes.
While the water is boiling,
This will remove the bleach while
siphon tap water through the
minimizing the amount of boiled
wort chiller coil and thoroughly
water rinse needed.
flush the disassembled vapor
4
2.1.2
2.1.3
lock and the carboy cap with tap
water. Empty the bleach water
from the carboy and rinse it
three times with about a pint of
tap water. Rinse the kraeusening
bottle three times with tap
water. See Appendix A for
siphoning instructions.
Using a pitcher, rinse the carboy
three times with about a pint of
the boiled water and rinse the
kraeusening bottle three times
with the boiled water. Swirl the
hot water to ensure all interior
surfaces are rinsed. Cap the
bottle and cover the carboy top
with a paper towel held in place
with a rubber band, Figure 3.
The rinse water should be swirled
to ensure all interior surfaces are
rinsed.
CAUTION: Gloves must be worn
to prevent burns while hot water
is used
The process of producing paper
towels effectively sterilizes them.
Using the inner surface of the
paper towels will ensure
contaminated areas are not
allowed to come into contact with
sterilized surfaces.
Figure 3
Sterile Carboy with Paper Towel Attached
Place the stopper on the vapor
The process of producing plastic
lock, fill the pitcher about half
bags effectively sterilizes them.
full of the boiled water and
5
submerse the carboy cap and
vapor lock components for
about a minute, Figure 4. Pour
the water and components into
a colander, assemble the vapor
lock, place it in a new plastic bag
and seal the bag with a twist tie.
Place the carboy cap in a new
plastic bag a seal it with a twist
tie.
2.1.4
Care should be taken to avoid
contaminating the vapor lock
components and carboy cap while
placing them in the plastic bags.
Figure 4
Carboy Cap and Vapor lock in a Strainer
Use a pitcher to rinse the outside The sterile water in the coil will
of the copper wort chiller inlet
be used to start the siphon of the
tube and place the wort chiller
boiled wort into the carboy.
inlet tube into the remaining
boiled water. Siphon most of
the remaining boiled water
through the wort chiller and shut
the pinch valve such that the coil
remains filled with the sterile
water. Place a new plastic bag
over the copper wort chiller inlet
tube and fasten with a rubber
band. See Appendix A for wort
chiller siphoning instructions.
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3.1
3.1.1
3.1.2
3.1.3
3.1.4
3.0 BREWING – THE FUN BEGINS
Ensure that the yeast is primed (if
necessary), has reached room
temperature and ready to pitch.
Pour the cracked grain into the
The grain may be a mixture of
mash/lautertun.
several types of processed grain.
Pour about 4 gallons of tap water Periodically check the
into the boiling vessel and raise
temperature of the water.
the temperature to 175 ± 50 F.
Ensure that the mash/lautertun
This process uses a single step
discharge valve is shut and
infusion for simplicity where the
transfer 4 gallons of the water to barley carbohydrates are
the mash/lautertun using a
converted into varying lengths of
pitcher to measure the volume.
sugar chains.
Place a lid on the mash/lautertun
to maintain a constant
Lower temperatures, 126 to 144 o
temperature. Place the
F, will produce shorter sugar
thermometer in the mash and
chains and result is a dryer beer.
record the temperature at the
Higher temperatures, 149 to 153
o
beginning and end of the mash
F, will result in longer sugar
process. (Recording the
chains and a more full bodied
temperature will allow the flavor beer.
of the beer to be reproduced.)
After some experience, this
process can be varied for personal
taste. This single step infusion
method will produce a flavor,
nose and consistency that
surpasses most imported beers.
After 30 minutes, place the bright This liquid, called the sweet
vessel under the mash/lautertun liquor, is the precursor to the
discharge valve and open the
wort that will be boiled with
valve, Figure 5.
hops.
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Figure 5
Lautering the Mash into the Bright Vessel
3.1.5
3.1.6
3.1.7
Pour three gallons of tap water
into the boiling vessel and raise
the temperature to 200o F. Pour
this sparge water into the
mash/lautertun using a pitcher to
measure the volume and allow it
to sparge the mash into the bright
vessel.
Once the mash has been sparged
and the sweet liquor has been
drained from the mash, pour the
sweet liquor from the bright
vessel into the empty boiling
vessel.
Place the hops in the hopsock and
tie the hopsock to prevent the
hops from leaving the hopsock,
Figure 6. Boil the wort as follows.
This effectively rinses the mash to
recover most of the sugars that
result from the mash.
It may be necessary to shut the
mash/lautertun discharge valve
and transfer the sweet liquor
insteps to prevent overflowing
the bright vessel.
The hops will steep in the boiling
wort.
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Figure 6
Hops in a Hop Sock
3.1.7.
1
3.1.7.
2
3.1.8
3.1.8.
1
3.1.8.
2
3.1.8.
Raise the temperature of the wort
to boiling with the lid slightly ajar.
Place the hopsock in the wort and
achieve a rolling boil.
Completely covering the boiling
vessel may cause boil over.
Once a rolling boil is achieved, the
temperature setting of the stove
should be reduced to prevent boil
over.
After 90 minutes of boiling, turn
Once the wort is cooled and
off the heat and transfer the wort transferred to the carboy, care
to the carboy as follows.
must be taken to prevent
contamination of the wort.
Place the wort chiller coil into the It may be necessary to use books
rinsed bright vessel. Set the
to adjust the relative height of the
bright vessel on a chair or stool
wort chiller and the boiling vessel
below the boiling vessel such that to allow the wort chiller coil to
the inlet to the wort chiller
rest in the bottom of the bright
extends to the bottom of the
vessel with the inlet tube at the
boiling vessel.
bottom of the boiling vessel.
Add 2, 7lb bags of ice and one
The process of rapidly chilling the
gallon of water to the bright
wort is necessary to ensure the
vessel.
wort in the carboy is at a
temperature below room
temperature.
Place the pitcher below the outlet This will ensure the carboy
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3
3.1.8.
4
3.1.8.
5
of the wort chiller and open the
pinch valve. Allow the sterile
water and about a pint of the
wort to flow into the pitcher and
shut the pinch valve.
Remove the paper towel from the
carboy, place the carboy cap on
the carboy and extent the wort
chiller coil outlet plastic tubing
into the carboy cap. Open the
wort chiller pinch valve and fill
the carboy to about 4 inches from
the top of the carboy, Figure 7.
Shut the wort chiller pinch valve
and immediately replace the
carboy cap with the vapor lock.
receives only fresh wort.
The cooled wort must be below
room temperature. If it is above
room temperature it will cool and
contract bringing in unwanted
contamination. If it is below
room temperature it will expand
and prevent contaminants from
entering the carboy. A carboy
level too close to the top will
result in fermentation carry over
through the vapor lock.
Figure 7
Chilling the Wort into the Carboy
Place the krauesening bottle
under the wort chiller outlet
plastic tubing and fill the bottle.
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3.1.8.
6
Shake the yeast to mix. Remove
the vapor lock, pitch the yeast
into the carboy and quickly
replace the vapor lock. Place duct
tape around the carboy
top/stopper to hold the vapor
lock in place. Initially, no liquid
should be placed in the vapor lock
and the eyedropper bulb should
be in place under the bubble cap
until fermentation starts, Figure
8.
The eyedropper bulb will prevent
any ingress of contaminants due
to temperature fluctuations until
fermentation begins. The period
between pitching the yeast and
fermentation commencement is
the most critical for
contamination prevention. Once
fermentation has begun, carbon
dioxide production produces a
blanket over the wort and
positive pressure within the
carboy. The carboy should be
kept at a constant temperature
during fermentation
Figure 8
Vapor lock with Eyedropper Plug Installed
3.1.8.
7
3.1.8.
8
Dispose of the spent grain and
hops and clean mash/lautertun,
the boiling vessel, the carboy cap
and the wort chiller with tap
water.
Once fermentation has begun
(usually 24 to 48 hours), remove
the bubble cap and the
eyedropper, replace the bubble
Cleanup is easiest directly after
the brew.
An alcoholic beverage with about
40 % alcohol (such as vodka or
whiskey) works as a sterile liquid.
Fermentation will be evident by a
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cap and fill the vapor lock with
layer of foam on the surface of
about 1 inch of a sterile fluid. Cap the wort. If fermentation carry
the vapor lock, Figure 9.
over occurs, the vapor lock should
be replaced with a sterile vapor
lock.
Figure 9
Vapor lock Filled with Sterile Liquid
4.1
4.0 RACKING THE PRODUCT
After 3 to 7 days the wort has
If the fermentation activity has
become beer and is ready to rack. ceased, rack the beer
The foam on the liquid surface
immediately. The objective is to
will rise during fermentation and rack the beer before the yeast has
then fall to about 1 cm when
eaten all of the sugars so that
ready to rack. Prior to racking,
some fermentation will continue
place 40, 16 oz or 48, 12 oz
in the sealed bottles to infuse the
bottles in the dishwasher and
beer with CO2. The still active
wash them without dishwasher
yeast will process the wort from
soap on high heat using the
the krauesening bottle, naturally
drying cycle to sterilize.
priming the beer and achieving a
Immediately cap if Grolsh or EZ
full carbonation and head. If 12
cap bottles are used. If 12 oz
oz bottles are used, soak the
bottles are used, cover the bottles crown caps in tap water that has
with paper towels. Allow the
been boiled for 10 minutes then
12
bottles to cool prior to racking.
4.2
4.2.1
4.2.2
4.2.3
4.2.4
drain them through a colander
and place them in a new plastic
bag. Do not boil the bottle caps.
Carefully pour the kraeusening
Care should be taken not to
bottle contents into the carboy
disturb the sediment prior to
and perform the following to rack siphoning the beer into the
the beer.
bottles.
Siphon about ½ of a solution of
See Appendix A for siphoning
1/8 cup bleach in one gallon of
instructions.
tap water through the racking
cane and then shut the discharge
pinch valve. Hold the bleach
water in the racking cane for
about 10 minutes. Pour bleach
water over the exterior of the
copper part that will be placed
into the carboy.
While the racking cane is soaking, Boiling for 10 minutes will ensure
bring to a boil about one gallon of the water is sterile.
tap water and boil for 10 minutes.
Rinse the outside of the racking
Care must be taken not to
cane with tap water to remove
contaminate the racking cane
the bleach then pour some of the prior to insertion into the carboy.
boiled water over the copper
tubing that will be inserted into
The remaining water in the
the carboy. Siphon the remaining racking cane is used to start the
boiled water through the racking carboy siphon.
cane to sterilize and remove the
bleach from the inside of the
racking cane. Shut the pinch
valve while the last portion of
boiled water is siphoning so the
racking cane remains full.
Place the carboy on a counter and Care must be taken not to
the bottles on the floor. Remove contaminate the racking cane
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4.2.5
4.2.6
the vapor lock and immediately
place the racking cane in the
carboy. Place a plastic bag over
the carboy neck to prevent any
contamination from settling into
the carboy.
Place the pitcher under the
racking can out let and open the
pinch valve to flush out the water
in the racking cane. Allow about a
pint of liquid to flush through and
shut the pinch valve.
Open the lids to the Grolsh or EZ
cap bottles, if used, or remove the
paper towels from the 12 oz
bottles and fill each bottle, using
the pinch valve between each
bottle, Figure 10.
while placing it into the carboy.
If the flow rate is too high, the
bottles may need to be raised to
prevent excessive foaming over.
Figure 10
Racking the Beer into Bottles
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4.2.7
Immediately cap each bottle,
Figure 11, and, if necessary, rinse
the exterior of the bottles.
Figure 11
Capping the Bottles
4.2.7
4.2.8
Rinse the carboy with tap water
and brush the inside of the carboy
to prepare the carboy for the next
batch. Once all fermentation
products are scrubbed from the
carboy, pour a little bleach into
the carboy, add about a quart of
tap water and brush the interior
again. Rinse the vapor lock.
Rinse the carboy with tap water
three times and cover the carboy
mouth with a paper towel held in
place with a rubber band.
After about 4 days, the beer
This will prepare the carboy and
vapor for the next brew and leave
the carboy brush clean.
Fermentation will continue in the
15
should be ready to taste. If the
beer is not optimum flavor and
carbonation, wait a few more
days and taste again. Once the
beer is optimum flavor,
refrigerate the bottles to stop the
fermentation process and lock in
the optimum flavor.
bottles as long as the bottles are
not refrigerated. If the bottles
are removed from the
refrigerator, fermentation may
continue.