BeerSmith™ Recipes and Web Editor

Notes

BREWING LEVEL: BEGINNER Rule #1: Sanitize, Sanitize, Sanitize! - this issue CAN'T be stressed enough and is the number one cause of problems for new brewers. Be sure to clean and sanitize all equipment that will come into contact with your chilled wort, including fermentor, fermentor lid, spigot, airlock, wine thief, siphon, and transfer tubing. Do not use harsh or abrasive scrubbing materials on soft plastic fermenters, this can scratch the plastic and create a home for unwanted bacteria - use only soft side of sponges when cleaning. After cleaning, soak equipment in sanitizing solution - preferably a no-rinse product like Star San or Iodophor. Rinsing increases chances for contamination. Some no rinse sanitizers (Star San) will leave foam on the surface, but this is okay - the foam will NOT impart off-flavors or damage the beer. Rule #2: Take notes! Use this recipe sheet to record your steps throughout the brew day, they will come in handy as you work to refine your procedures over time. Steeping Grains Procedure: Bring 3-2/3 gallons of water to 160F (+/- 10F). Steep specialty grains for 30 minutes at a ratio of 1 cup of water per ounce of grains and reserve remaining heated water in another vessel (your fermentor may come in handy here). After 30 minutes, pull steeping bag from kettle and gently rinse with 1-2 gallons of the reserved water - DO NOT squeeze the grain bag to extract every last drop, this will cause harsh flavors from tannin extraction! After gently rinsing the grains, add any remaining reserved water back into the kettle to bring pre-boil volume to 3-2/3 gallons total. Boil Procedures: Bring the 3-2/3 gallons of water to a boil, remove from heat and add extracts per recipe (removing from heat prevents scorching). NOTE: placing cans of liquid extract in a separate bath of warm water will help extracts pour more easily. Stir extracts to dissolve, return to heat to bring extracts (wort) to a boil with lid off (boiling with lid on will lead to off flavors). Upon coming to a boil, the wort will foam - it may be useful to have a spray bottle of clean water on hand to help tamp down foam and prevent boil over. Once foam has subsided, wort should settle into a rolling boil (simmering is not enough). When rolling boil achieved, start 60-minute timer and add hops per recipe (hop additions are timed by amount of time hops in kettle; a 60-minute addition = hops in full 60-minute boil, a 10-minute addition is only added last 10 minutes of boil). Hop bags are useful in removing hops at end of the boil; if not available, hops may be added directly to wort. If using Immersion Wort Chiller, add Chiller to brew kettle during last 15 minutes to sanitize outside of Chiller. End of Boil/Chilling Procedures: At end of boil, add any steeping hops called for in recipe, cut heat, and gently whirlpool wort with a sanitized spoon to help hops and proteins settle into middle of kettle. Place lid loosely on kettle, allowing steam to escape while preventing contaminants from falling into wort. After steeping period (usually 10-20 min), chill wort as quickly as possible with Wort Chiller, or place entire kettle into a cold/ice water bath in large sink or bathtub (circulate water around kettle to reduce heat faster). When chilled to <80F, transfer wort to sanitized fermentor (leaving hop material and proteins in kettle) and top off with clean water to total volume of 5 gallons - the additional cold water should bring temperature to <70F. This is the ONLY time it is okay, you are even ENCOURAGED to splash wort!! Splashing wort into fermentor will add oxygen, which is needed and desired for yeast health. At NO time after fermentation has started do you want to add oxygen to your beer! Take a hydrometer reading with sanitized wine thief/baster, or though spigot, and pitch yeast. Taste or discard hydrometer sample. Secure sanitized lid and airlock and place fermentor in dark area where temperatures can be maintained as per fermentation schedule. Ferment in Primary at 65-68F for 10 days or until all noticieable airlock activity has stopped. Gently rack to Secondary - if recipe calls for it, add Dry Hops or other flavorings (fruit, etc.) at this time and leave for 4-5 at 65-68F to complete Diacetyl Rest. After Secondary conditioning complete, bottle or keg. Bottling Procedures after Fermentation/Secondary Conditioning Complete: Bring two cups water to a boil, add priming sugar, boil 5-10 minutes, and pull off heat to cool. Wash and sanitize 48-52 x 12 oz bottles, or 30 x 22 oz bottles, invert to dry. Wash and sanitize your bottling bucket and spigot, transfer tubing, bottling wand, and siphon. Sanitize bottle caps. Dump priming sugar mixture into bottling bucket and gently transfer beer into bucket using sanitized siphon and transfer tubing to evenly mix sugar throughout the beer (DON'T SPLASH - no oxygen desired here!). When bucket filled, attach tubing with bottling wand to bucket spigot and open spigot. Place bottling wand in sanitized bottle and depress end to allow beer to flow. Fill bottle to top and remove wand - with wand removed, beer will fall to appropriate level in neck of bottle (about 1" below top). Cap the bottles and store in a dark place at room temperature for two weeks to carbonate. After two weeks, chill bottles for a couple of days. When serving, decant beer leaving approximately a quarter-inch of yeast sediment at bottom of bottle. Enjoy!