The more I learn about beer making, the more I learn I don't know. I first homebrewed about 8 or so years ago when I was living in San Francisco and probably made 6 or 8 batches total, all using malt extracts, before moving to Seattle. The Northwest is, arguably, craft and homebrewing nirvana and since moving here in 2005, I've joined the American Homebrewers Association, graduated to the more complex brewing method, all-grain, for some of my batches, and averaged brewing up 4-5 batches a year. Extract brewing uses pre-constituted liquid malt made from a combination of malted barleys. The brew day is shortened significantly by not needing to extract the sugars from the grain. There is a mostly friendly debate among the homebrew community about which method produces the better finished product. I'll leave that one to the more knowledgeable folks for now.
And so the learning has begun in earnest. One of the most important facets of brewing that I've learned is the value of keeping a log of what you've done so you can replicate, tweak, or if necessary trash a given recipe or procedure. I hope to use this space for some of the record keeping as well as to solicit info, advice, and suggestions from those more in the homebrew know-how than me.
My latest batch is my first in a scaled down quantity -- 2 gallons, rather than the standard 5-gallon homebrew batch. I did this so I can test some secondary fermentation additions without (potentially) screwing up a big batch. Plus, my brew day wound up being a bit shorter since my wort came to a boil and later cooled down fairly rapidly as I was working with 40% of the usual volume. So far, so good.
The basic ingredients for beer are four: malted barley, water, yeast, and hops. The photo above is what's known as the mash stage. Hot water has been added to crushed grain to release the sugars, add color and some flavor. After an hour of steeping the grain is rinsed and the liquid collected, called the wort, is boiled to break down the proteins. During the boil, hops are added for aroma, bitterness, and flavor. Once the boil is completed, the wort is cooled to a temperature that will be hospitable to the yeast. The yeast eats the collected sugars converting them to alcohol. Voilà, beer. Below is a shot of my fermenting wort; pretty dark as there was plenty of brown and chocolate malts in the grain bill.
Once the yeast has eaten some of the available sugars, in a week or so, I'll transfer the beer into smaller vessels with some special flavoring additions. Stay tuned.
Grain bill:
Yeast: Wyeast 1056 American Ale yeast
And so the learning has begun in earnest. One of the most important facets of brewing that I've learned is the value of keeping a log of what you've done so you can replicate, tweak, or if necessary trash a given recipe or procedure. I hope to use this space for some of the record keeping as well as to solicit info, advice, and suggestions from those more in the homebrew know-how than me.
My latest batch is my first in a scaled down quantity -- 2 gallons, rather than the standard 5-gallon homebrew batch. I did this so I can test some secondary fermentation additions without (potentially) screwing up a big batch. Plus, my brew day wound up being a bit shorter since my wort came to a boil and later cooled down fairly rapidly as I was working with 40% of the usual volume. So far, so good.
The basic ingredients for beer are four: malted barley, water, yeast, and hops. The photo above is what's known as the mash stage. Hot water has been added to crushed grain to release the sugars, add color and some flavor. After an hour of steeping the grain is rinsed and the liquid collected, called the wort, is boiled to break down the proteins. During the boil, hops are added for aroma, bitterness, and flavor. Once the boil is completed, the wort is cooled to a temperature that will be hospitable to the yeast. The yeast eats the collected sugars converting them to alcohol. Voilà, beer. Below is a shot of my fermenting wort; pretty dark as there was plenty of brown and chocolate malts in the grain bill.Once the yeast has eaten some of the available sugars, in a week or so, I'll transfer the beer into smaller vessels with some special flavoring additions. Stay tuned.
Grain bill:
- American 2-row pale malt
- Special Brown malt
- Crystal 40L
- Munich malt
- Crystal 120L
- Chocolate malt
Yeast: Wyeast 1056 American Ale yeast
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