Water
The quality of water used in brewing is important to the flavor of the finished beer. Most home tap water, especially if you live in a city, can have an objectionable chlorine or "re-used" flavor. Some rural water also has un-wanted flavors which can include chlorine from purification systems and sulfurous "rotten-egg" odors. Some of these can be filtered and used in the boil. For the remainder of the wort volume, though, you should use a bottled "spring" water. Harder water tends to hold grain and hop flavors better than soft water, which, if artificially softened, can be too salty. Popular brew books suggest the amount of hardness and even tell how to adjust it. I use my hard, filtered well water for the boiling wort (3 gallons) and fill the remainder of the carboy with water I have boiled and cooled the night before, stored in sanitized containers, saving about $8 a batch.
Kits
Good beer kits for almost any style of beer are available all over and run around $30 for the ingredients to make a 5 gallon batch (about 48 bottles). Most towns of any size have homebrew outlets that either stock ingredients or put together kits for a few popular types of ales. Check your phonebook under "beer: brewing supplies".
Click on the image at right to see a breakdown of an excellent Pacific Porter kit from Hermann's Homebrew of Central Point, Oregon.
References
On the Web: Just do a Google search for "hombrew kits" or try these:
Useful Printed References:
- Home Beermaking, William Moore/Ferment Press
- Clone Brews, Tess and Mark Szamultulski/Storey Books
- Brewing the Worlds Great Beers, Dave Miller/Storey Books
- Zymurgy. the journal of the American Homebrewer's Association
Mud Puddle
The full name is "Mountain Mud Puddle". I have modified the boil times, and added a 'kicker' of 1 lb DME to one of Hermann's recipes for a dryer, toastier beer with a little tang at the finish. I also use mainly Amber vs. Dark malt extract and Crystal grains for a little lighter color. Like its blended London originals, this refreshing porter comes out well-carbonated on 4 oz of corn sugar. It has a chocolaty smooth burnt-toasty flavor, a rich dark color under a creamy head with an attractive garnet tinge in the bottom of the glass. Its presentation and nose are as good as its flavor. The wort ferments quickly and clears in 2 weeks, and is very drinkable after three weeks in the bottle, for a minimum brew time of 5 weeks. It is drier if left in the carboy for a full 3 weeks, though, and calculates about 5 to 5.5% alcohol.
- Starting gravity: about 1.066
- 8 oz Crystal malt grains
- 8 oz Black Patent malt grains
- 4 oz Chocolate malt grains
- 1/2 lb flaked oats
- 5 lb Amber malt extract
- 2 lb Dark malt extract
- 1 lb Dark dry malt extract
- 2 oz Northern brewers boiling hops (60 min)
(use only 1-1/2 oz if pelletized)
- 1 tsp Irish moss
- 1 oz Cascade flavoring hops (30 min)
(use only 1/2 oz if pelletized)
- 1 oz Tettnanger aroma hops (5 min)
(use only 1/2 oz if pelletized)
- 1 pkg Wyeast #1084 (Irish) or 2 pkt Doric Active dry brewers yeast
- 4 oz Corn sugar, for bottling
Brewing:
Add 2 tablespoons BTF iodophor to 2 gallons of tap water in the bucket for no-rinse sanitization of the stirring spoon, tongs, thermometer, funnel, gas trap, 2-cup measure, and racking tube. Prepare the stove and put 3 gallons of water into the pot. Steep the grains 30 minutes at 150 degrees, raise the temp to 170 and "sparge" several times. Remove the grains and when the boil starts, stir in the dry and syrup extracts with the burner off. Return to a boil and add the boiling hops. After 30 minutes, add the flavoring hops and Irish moss. No sooner than 5 minutes before the end of the boil, add the aroma hops. Remove from the heat and cool quickly. Remove the hops bags at 130 degrees, allowing them to drain into the wort. Add 2 inches of water to the carboy and pour in the wort when it reaches 90 degrees. Agitate for 5 minutes and when the temperature is in the range of 65-75 degrees, pitch the yeast. If you wish to take a gravity sample, do it before pitching. Agitate for a minute every hour until fermentation starts. With dry yeast, fermentation can be very active for about 12 hours, then tapering off and finishing in 10 to 14 days. Siphon into the bottling bucket, stir in previously dissolved priming sugar, bottle and drink after 2 or more weeks of bottle finishing.
Muddy Paws
I had my dog, Dundee, in mind for the name of this one. Early one brew-day I let him out and he tore off into the forest after some local critter, real or imagined. Upon his wet-footed return, I was waiting in the chilly sunrise with a strong cup of creamed coffee and my beer "muse" planted the idea. I use the Mountain Mud Puddle recipe and add a 1/2-cup of ground coffee beans to steep with the grains. This stronger-flavored brew compliments a hearty French toast and bacon breakfast on warm summer Sunday mornings.
Sand Öl
Öl is pronounced something between "ohl" and "uhl" and is Swedish for beer or ale. So the name sounds like "sandal". With this one I was looking for something a little lighter than the porter ("Mud Puddle") to offer my friends who prefer the pale lager or pilsner-style beers like Foster's (the American version of which is made in Canada) and (ugh!) 'Bud'. But this one is reminiscent of a brown ale I tasted on vacation in Madison, Wisconsin once. It surprised me with a stout 6% alcohol (calculated).
I won't make a lot of this, as it goes down WAY too easy! ;)
- 3/4 lb Victory malt grains
- 1/2 lb Chocolate malt grains
- 4-1/2 lb Amber malt extract
- 1-1/2 lb Dark malt extract
- 1 oz Goldings domestic boiling hops
- 1/2 tsp Irish moss
- 1/2 oz Willamette flavoring hops
- 1/2 oz Willamette aroma hops
- 2 pkt Doric ale yeast
- 4 oz Corn sugar, for bottling
Brewing:
Sanitize your tools (see "Brewing:" under Mud Puddle). Steep the grains 30 minutes in 3 gallons of water at 150 degrees. Remove the grains and when the boil starts stir in the syrup extracts with the burner off. Return to a boil and add the boiling hops. After 40 minutes, add the flavoring hops and Irish moss. 2 minutes before the end of the boil, add the aroma hops. Remove from the heat and cool quickly. Hydrate the yeast in 1 cup of warmed bottled water in a sanitized cup. Remove the hops bags at 130 degrees. Add 2 inches of water to the carboy and siphon in the wort when it reaches 90 degrees (siphoning yields a little clearer wort than you get if poured). Agitate and when the temperature is in the range of 65-75 degrees, pitch the yeast. Agitate for a full 5 minutes and attach the gas trap. With dry yeast, fermentation can be very active for about 12 hours, then tapering off and finishing in 5-7 days. Minimize entrained air as you siphon into the bottling bucket, and stir in previously dissolved priming sugar. Bottle, and after 2 weeks, chill to 40 degrees for 48 hours and serve.
;)
Good beer kits for almost any style of beer are available all over and run around $30 for the ingredients to make a 5 gallon batch (about 48 bottles). Most towns of any size have homebrew outlets that either stock ingredients or put together kits for a few popular types of ales. Check your phonebook under "beer: brewing supplies".