How to be a Homebrewer

California Craft Beer Summit 2016

Goals

• Define brewing

• Equipment & Ingredient Basics

• Partial Grain/Extract Brewing

• Key terms/FAQ

• Evangelize

• Brief Overview: Mile wide/cm Deep

(not mastery of knowledge, but a cursory

approach)

What is a Brewer?

• One who produces wort in their brew house for the purpose of

fermentation.

Wort: Unfermented beer.

The Many Hats

Brewing Beer: AKA, best hobby ever.

Scientist Chef/Baker/Cook Janitor Sex God

Equipment Needs/CostsMust Haves:• Boil Pot• Fermenter• Sanitizer• Measuring tools

Add-ons:• Auto Siphon• Capper• Bottling Bucket

Cost:• $100-150 - equipment• $40-60 -ingredients (5 gallon)

Per Bottle:• First Batch: $4• Subsequent Batches: $1

Batch Size: • Recipes can easily be scaled• 5 Gallon is most typical• 1 Gallon is a fun starter size (same amount of time)

https://byo.com/mead/item/1378-small-scale-brewing

How to Brew in 30 Seconds

Steep grains for 30 minutes at 155F

(ish).

Boil Wort: add

extract & hops

according to

recipe.

Cool wort to

room temp,

aerate, & add

yeast.

1 2 3

Actually that easy! Don’t over-complicate things.

The Core Ingredients

• Malt (John)

• Hops (George)

• Yeast (Paul)

• Water (Ringo)

• Adjuncts (“The 5th Beatle”)

o Flaked corn, rice, coriander, orange peel, peanut butter

Reinheitsgebot (Germany Purity Law): 1516 law that limited the ingredients of lager beers, but gave more leeway to Ales. Officially struck down by

European Court in 1987, but still a source of pride for particular breweries.

Malt: John (The founder of the band)

The main source of fermentable sugar in beer.

Malt

• Raw grain is partially germinated• Then quickly dried & heated to preserve starches & enzymes

• May be roasted, or stewed to create various flavors/colors

• Any grain can be malted. Barley is most common. • Other popular brewing malts are: wheat, rye, and oat.

Types of Malt

Base Malts:

Main source of sugar

Specialty Malts:

color, aroma, flavor

°L AKA Lovibond: refers to color of malt. Low # = light; high # = dark.

• Pale AKA 2-Row (2-3°L)

• Pilsner Malt (2-3°L)

• Maris Otter (6°L)

• Vienna (4°L)

• Munich (6-10°L)

• Golden Promise (6°L)

• Crystal/Caramel (10-120°L)

• Chocolate (250-500°L)

• Roasted Barley (400-700°L)

• Cara-Munich (30-60°L)

• Biscuit (30°L)

• Special B (160°L)

Malt Extracts

Malt extract = dehydrated wort. LME (syrup); DME (powder)

LME vs DME: Both taste great, DME stores more easily (and longer) than LME. Easily converted between each other. 1 lb LME = .8 lb DME

• Types: Extra Light to Dark

Hops: George(The wild one)

Provide bitterness to balance out the sweet malt, a

natural preservative, & provide flavor/aroma.

Hops: Wolf Among Weeds

Female hop cones can be used fresh (“wet hop”), as dried whole flowers, or pellets.

Whole vs Pellets: A matter of personal preference. Whole have perhaps more depth, pellets can be more intense. Completely up to you. If subbing whole leaf for pellets, use about 15-20% more by weight.

• Longer boil time will add bitterness

• Shorter boil time will extract aromas/flavors (earthy, citrus, etc)

• A natural preservative = more beer per bushel = higher profits

Yeast: Paul(The most feminine)

Converts sugars in wort into alcohol, co2, & much,

much more.

Yeast:

Brewers make wort, yeast makes beer. Wort is like a petri dish that we want to keep clean for our yeast.

• Over 300 strains available. Ranging from clean to fruity to spicy

• Over 500 flavor compounds associated w/ yeast.

• A single cell organism. Technically a fungus

• All female, reproduce by budding (Yeast “Man” is a sham!)

• Nutrients, proper aeration, pitching rates – all very important

for clean tasting beer.

White Labs Safale WYeast

Types of Yeast

Liquid Dry

Both are good options, and have different purposes/advantages.

• Natural state - In hibernation • Freeze dried

Water: Ringo

(The best drummer of all time, seriously)

Provide a clean base from which to build off &

enhance overall experience in subtle ways.

Water:

Flavor Ions 101: Calcium Sulfate (gypsum), & Calcium Chloride are most common brewing salts. Gypsum = bitter/”sharp”. Ca Chloride = sweet/full bodied.

• Should taste clean. Chlorine/chloramine = BAD

• Minerals in water influence taste/mouthfeel of beer

• RO & Distilled water = very clean tasting beer

Water’s Impact on Beer Styles

SD Water: High in gypsum (bitter/”sharp”). Home of the double IPA… a coincidence?

Adjuncts: George Martin, Billy Preston

(Depends on who you ask)

• Add flavors and/or impact body

• Orange peel, honey, coriander, coffee, etc…

• When/how much depends on beer, adjunct, & brewer

How to Brew in 30 Seconds

Steep grains for 30 minutes at 155F

(ish).

Boil Wort: add

extract & hops

according to

recipe.

Cool wort to

room temp,

aerate, & add

yeast.

1 2 3

Still that easy.

Sample Recipe: American Pale Ale

½ oz Horizon (60) (Bittering)

½ oz Cascade (10) + ½ oz Centennial (10) (Aroma)

½ oz Cascade (0) + ½ oz Centennial (0) (Aroma)

5.5 lb DME ½ lb Caramel 60l

6-7 gallons of clean water.

Spring, Filtered Tap, RO, Distilled.

You choose, but take notes!

WLP001 – CA Ale yeast

Prep: Sanitizer Bucket, 3 gal Water

in Freezer, 2.5 gal Water in Pot.• Bucket/bowl/sink w/ sanitizer • Put 3-4 gal water in freezer. We will use it

later to chill wort

• Prepare brewing water: 2.5 gal to about 160F in pot

Steep Grains

• 30 minutes

• Hold at about 155F

• Keep below 170F (will extract harsh tasting tannins from grain)

Bring to a Boil

• Remove grains – feed to

chickens… add to cookies?

• Bring pot to rolling boil (212F)

& add extract

Avoid the Boil-Over

• Add extract just before the beginning of the boil

• Remove from heat and stir in extract

• Place a spoon over the top, or spray w/ clean water

During the Boil: Add Hops,

Nutrients, etc…

Hops: Bittering, Aroma Yeast Nutrients, kettle finings (clarifiers)

Adjuncts may be

added during the

boil. Depends on

recipe.

Cool Down the WortIce bath: Cheap & easy

Use cold water from the freezer (during prep), to top off.

Should get wort to where we need it.

Wort Chiller: $$, not needed at

first

Prepare Wort for Yeast• Transfer into sanitized fermenter • Top off w/ water

• Vigorously shake/stir wort to aerate. • Add (“pitch”) yeast

During fermentation: Krausen (kroy – sen)

Dry Hop: Usually 3-7 days

before bottling.

Krausen can

overflow: Use a

blow-off tube, or

Fermcap.

Use a shirt to protect from light.

Easy Temp Control

Damp t-shirt. Water bath. Small Fan

• Happy yeast = happy beer drinkers

• First 4-6 days is most crucial

Tip: Frozen water bottles can be swapped out during summer months.

All Grain vs Extract Brewing

All Grain: Create your own extract

Partial Grain/Extract:Extract is pre-made

Great beer can be made either way. Extract is closer to pre-made mix cake mix, in some ways. The cake is still great tasting, just easier.

• Larger equipment needs

• Full boil (requires burner

for 5 gallon batches)

• Lower startup cost

• Condensed boil

• Can brew in kitchen

Going All Grain:Equipment Needs

Mash Tun:

Floor Burner: Boil Kettle & Hot Liquor Tank (two vessels):

Going All Grain:Considerations

Cost: Space: Time:

Mash Tun: $50-200+Boil Kettle: $50-500+HLT: $50-500+Floor Burner: $50-200

$200-1400+

4-8 hour brew day

Indoor options

Grainfather: $890 Picobrew: $1880

Brew in a Bag:

An Option for All-Grain Brewing

You’ve made your own extract!!

Will not top off with water, need to have a good chilling method.

Limited by how much your stove can bring to a boil (about 2-3 gallons for most).

Steep grains in a large pot. Lift bag out of kettle, bring

to boil, add hops etc…

What’s Next?

• Master Brewers Program• Short Courseshttps://extension.ucdavis.edu/areas-study/brewing

• SDSU Business of Craft Beer Certificate• Craft Beer Education Camp (9 Days)http://www.ces.sdsu.edu/craftbeer

Join a Homebrew Club!!http://www.calhomebrewers.org/

Great books• The Complete Joy of Home Brewing – Charlie Papazian.

Fun, light-hearted, yet informative approach to teaching.

• How To Brew – John Palmer. More technical, yet extremely approachable. Very organized.

• Brewing Classic Styles – Jamil Zainasheff & John Palmer. Our favorite recipe book. Recipe for nearly every style.

• Radical Brewing – Randy Mosher. History of brewing techniques, and cool recipes.

• Tasting Beer – Randy Mosher. A must read for the serious beer drinker/brewer. Better tasters make better brewers.

• Yeast/Hops/Water/Malt A four part series on their respective topics.

• Zymurgy/AHA

• Brew Your Own (BYO)

• Craft Beer & Brewing

Periodicals

Thank You!/Q&A

2911 El Cajon Blvd Space 2

San Diego, CA 92104

brew@thehomebrewersd.com

george@thehomebrewersd.com

619 450 6165

@thehomebrewersd