This article appeared in the June 2005 issue of CATALYST.

CLICK HERE to download a PDF of the original layout.

Equipment Needed (about $70)

•A 6.5 gallon fermenter with lid (glass carboy)

•A 5 gallon priming/bottling bucket

•An airlock (so carbon dioxide can get out and oxygen can’t get in)

•A siphon (for bottling)

•A hydrometer (so you can tell when it’s ready to bottle)

•A bottle brush (gotta keep things clean)

•A bottle-capper

•A cooking thermometer

•A strip thermometer (like those used for fishtanks)

•Sanitizer

NOTE: To make non-alcoholic brew: Heat up your beer after it’s done fermenting (being careful not to get it hot enough to kill the yeast). The little bit of alcohol produced during the bottling/carbonating stage will only put your suds at about one quarter of a percent (0.25).

To up the final alcohol content, some people add extra sugar to feed the yeast a little more. According to an article published at www.byo.com (Brew Your Own), you can get a smoother effect with honey. You can also replace sugar with honey to provide the fermentation at bottling that carbonates the beer.

Step One

Boil the Water

In order to make sure your water doesn’t have any chlorine in it, it’s important to boil it for at least 15 minutes.

Step Two

Steep the Grain

If your recipe includes any specialty grain for flavoring, add the grains to a mesh bag and steep them in hot water (about 150 degrees) for about 40 minutes. Just wait for the boiled water to cool down to the proper temperature (take 3 of the 5 gallons out and keep aside to be added later—you only want to work with about 2 gallons for now) and add the grains. Turn the stove on low and keep an eye on the temperature. Squeeze the water out of the bag of grain when it’s done and throw away the grain.

Step Three

Cook the Extract

Take the water off the heat and add the malt extract (it’s a good idea to soak the can of extract in warm water for a few minutes first, in order to make it pour out easier. It’s thick!). Stir the pot constantly while adding the extract. Put the mixture (now called wort) back on the heat and boil (usually for about 45 minutes).

Depending on the recipe you use, hops might be included. Unless otherwise directed, add the package of hops about two minutes from the end of the 45 minute boil.

Step Four

Cool the Wort

It’s important to cool the wort before transferring it to the fermenter. Sloshing the wort is very bad while it is hot, since it can oxidize and make your beer taste like cardboard. An extra step that helps make a tastier beer is to put the pot in a bucket of ice or cold water to cool it faster. It needs to be 70 degrees or cooler. Since from now on the water isn’t going to be heated to boiling, it’s very important not to let anything un-sanitized come in contact with the wort.

Step Five

Adding the Yeast

Boil about six ounces of water and then let it cool down to about 100 degrees. Add the yeast and stir. Set aside.

Step Six

Aeration

While hot wort should never be splashed around, it’s important to mix some oxygen into the wort before sealing it up to ferment (the yeast need it to survive). Pour the wort into the plastic fermenter, then top it off to the five gallon mark with the rest of the boiled water that has completely cooled. Splash it into the wort vigorously. Attach the lid and rock the bucket strongly to splash it around for about five minutes. Then add the yeast mixture. Reattach the lid and affix the airlock.

Step Seven

Take a Gravity Reading

Use a sanitized glass to remove about a half cup of wort. Put it into the tube that came with the hydrometer (about three-fourths full). Put the hydrometer into the tube and record the reading (follow the hydrometer directions). You will use this reading later to make sure the beer has completely fermented.

Step Eight

Fermenting

Between 24-48 hours later, you will notice bubbling in the airlock. This means fermentation is underway. Also, you will begin to notice the smell of beer coming from the airlock. Wait till the bubbling has stopped (three to seven days) and then wait another three days and take a gravity reading again. It should be about a fourth of the original reading. Wait another two days and take another reading. If it hasn’t changed, your beer is ready to bottle!

Step Nine

Bottle the beer

Make sure to clean your bottles well using a bottle brush. All equipment now has to be completely sanitized, because risk of contamination at this stage is high. Boil the priming sugar in about a pint of water and add to the priming/bottling bucket. Transfer beer from the fermenter to the bottling bucket using a siphon and hose. Splash the bear as little as possible. Using the spigot if your bottling bucket has one, or the siphon and hose if it doesn’t, fill bottles to about one inch from the top. Cap using the bottle capper. Remember to sanitize even your bottle caps! Set beer aside in a cool, dark place and allow to age for at least a week, although the beer will be best after a month or so. Now your first batch of beer is ready to go!

Beernut India Pale Ale (American Style)

Formulated with the help of the original brewer for The Desert Edge Brewery, Peter Kruge, this recipe is what Desert Edge’s Utah Pale Ale (a spin of on the ever popular India Pale Ales) would be if they were not constrained by the 3.2 alcohol laws. Hoppy and full-flavored, at 6-7% alcohol, it’s a perfect beer for summer and fall brewing. Recipe courtesy of The Beer Nut.

•6 lbs Coopers Light Malt Extract

•2 lbs Munich Malt

•0.25 lb 80°L Crystal (whole grains)

•1 oz Cascade hops (4.7% Alpha) boiled 75 min.

•1.5 oz Cascade hops boiled 30 min.

•.75 oz Cascade hops boiled 15 min.

•1 oz Cascade dry-hop

•White Labs California Ale Yeast

•5 gallons boiled water

Brew Supply Stores in Salt Lake:

The Beer Nut

801-531-8182

1200 S. State

http://www.beernut.com

Art’s Brewing Supplies

801-533-8029

642 South 250 West

artbrew@uswest.net

Mountain Brew

801-487-2337

2793 S. State St.

grbstein@fia.net◆

Don’t know the difference between a lager and an ale?

Here’s some definitions that might help you out when you’re ordering a mug, three sheets to the wind.

Ale: A room-temperature fermented beer made with a top fermenting yeast. Usually ales are hearty, thick and sometimes fruity.

Brown Ale: A British style ale made with a caramel malt (crystal malt)—very lightly hopped.

Black malt: Heavily roasted malted barley added to stouts and other dark beers to add a burnt, bitter flavor.

Black & Tan: Equal mixtures of dark and pale beers (i.e. porter and pilsner).

Chocolate malt: Don’t be fooled, this has nothing to do with chocolate. Like a black malt, but roasted lighter to an even chocolate color.

Dunkelwiezen: A dark wheat ale (like a hefewiezen, but darker).

Hefewiezen: A light, unfiltered wheat ale. Usually quite fruity.

India Pale Ale (IPA): A strong, bitter, highly hopped ale. Originally brewed for British troops stationed in India, this beer was made to survive long ocean voyages.

Irish Red Ale: A sweet, thick, sometimes buttery beer. Noted for its reddish color.

Lager: A beer made with a bottom-fermenting yeast. These beers are fermented at very cold temperatures and are usually light, crisp and refreshing. Most ‘American’ beers are lagers (i.e. Budweiser).

Marzenbier: A very hearty German ale, brewed especially strong to last through the summer. Generally consumed at the end of the harvest season (Octoberfest).

Malt: Barley which has been moistened, allowed to germinate (sprout) and then dried.

Oatmeal Stout: A stout brewed with oats. Very hearty and full bodied.

Pale Ale: An amber colored beer brewed with pale malts. These are like bitters, but lighter and hoppier.

Pilsner: Any light, hoppy ale.

Porter: A very dark, top-fermented beer. Originally intended for porters and other hard workers in London. Made with roasted, unmalted barley, it is considered to be more nutritious than other ales.

Rauchbier: A very dark bottom-fermented beer. The malts are dried over an open fire, giving the beer a smoky flavor.

Steam Beer: A beer made using a very complicated method of both top and bottom-fermenting methods. Originally made in California during the gold rush. Anchor Brewing holds the trademark for the name of this beer.

Stout: The darkest of beers, stout is a very hoppy ale made with roasted, unmalted barley.