Home Brew Day!

After paging through 4 different books, skimming countless message boards and online how-tos, consulting the local home brew store owner, and creating my own step by step process, I have begun to brew my own beer! The amount of information out there is overwhelming, and sometimes contradictory. Many brewers swear by their methods and claim any other way is wrong. Instead of adopting any one brewer's method, I took the best of everything I read and composed a method of my own. I'd encourage any new home brewer to find what works best for them instead of being bulldozed by someone who thinks their method is the only way. Different equipment, ingredients, climate, water-type, and other aspects all call for special consideration in your brewing process. What works best for one brewer might not work best for you. I believe this is an experimental process, so tweaking your recipes and method as you brew is a vital part of the experience. And this is cliche, but don't forget to have fun! I'm guessing this isn't your full time job, so you might as well enjoy your time off!

Here's the step by step method that I made before brewing:

Brewing Steps

1. Brew Day

1. Clean
1. Entire Work Space
2. Boil Kettle
3. Stirring Spoon
4. Wort Chiller
2. Clean & Sanitize
1. Thermometer
2. Fermenter & Lid
3. Air Lock
4. Measuring Cup
5. Hydrometer & Cylinder
6. Mesh Bag
3. Warm the Malt Extract
1. Boil water, remove from heat, place bags inside, let stand 20 mins
4. Boil 2.5 gal well water at the same time as malt extract, remove from heat
5. Add malt extract, rinsing bags w/pot water, stirring until it’s dissolved
6. Turn on heat between 8 and HI and bring to rolling boil, stirring constantly, WATCH FOR BOIL OVER
7. Once stable, place hops in mesh bag, and add to brew kettle
8. Continue to boil for 60 minutes
9. After 40 minutes of boil, add…
1. Wort Chiller
1. Make sure vinyl tubing doesn't touch heat source
2. Irish Moss
10. After 60 minutes, remove from heat
11. Add 2.5 gallons of chilled well water to brew kettle
12. Place the kettle in an ice water bath, and start the wort chiller
1. Continue to chill until room temp (70 degrees)
13. Prepare Yeast (while wort is chilling)
1. Boil 1/2 cup water, pour into measuring cup, and cover with plastic wrap
2. When water is about 100 degrees, add dry yeast packet and re-cover, wait no longer than 10 mins
14. Pour wort from the brew kettle into the plastic fermenter, stir vigorously
15. Check OG (Original Gravity)
1. Fill cylinder ¾ full with wort, and carefully place hydrometer inside
2. Note the gravity, and add wort back into fermenter
16. Aerate Wort
1. Use hand held egg beater to aerate wort until it foams up to the top of the fermenter
2. OR cover the hole with your sanitized thumb, and shake the hell out of the fermenter for 4 minutes
17. Pitch the yeast once the wort has been aerated
18. Secure the air lock to the top of the fermenter
1. Fill air lock with water or cheap vodka
19. Place fermenter in cool, dark place
20. Immediately clean and sanitize all equipment

As I went through the process, I made changes to the list, and wrote down anything I thought would help me next time. If you don't take notes, you're making it quite difficult for yourself to improve and get your process running smoothly. 

Part 1 of the brewing process is over! Once the yeast activity has settled down, I'll move everything from the primary to the secondary fermenter. When fermentation is complete, the beer is bottled, and happily consumed! The whole process will take about two weeks or more. Stay tuned...