| These guidelines
are only a starting point in formulation. It can take a few batches to
fine tune the finished beer and it is not uncommon to wind up with a recipe
that defies all three rules. |
| Hops
are a flower which was introduced to brewing about 1000 years ago but have
only been in common use for 200 years. The fact that hops are flowers tells
us everything we need to know about handling them. Hops are delicate and
impart the necessary bitterness required to balance the sweetness of the
malt. They provide the spice flavor in beer and the aroma which prepares
the taste buds via the nose. While color is the most obvious beer style
characteristic; bitterness, flavor and aroma, provide the primary distinction
between beer styles. There is a large selection of hop varieties to choose
from. Most are available in whole, pellet and leaf forms. Pellets are preferred
by most brewers because they are most predictable. The bitterness, flavor
and aroma of hops are released into the wort through boiling. The timing
of additions of hops to the wort is called a hopping schedule. The amount
of bitterness imparted to the wort in called utilization. There are four
basic classifications of hop use. Bittering, flavoring, finishing and dry
hopping. These terms refer to how the selected hop variety is used. |
| Bittering hops
are added to the boil for their bittering potential only. They contribute
very little hop flavor and aroma. The bitterness utilized from the hops
is a function of time and the total available bittering power in the hops. |
| Flavor and
aroma hops are added to the wort during to final 15 to 5 minutes of boiling
time. This is done to season the wort without boiling off all of the hop
flavor and aroma. The shorter the time the greater the aroma. |
|
Yeast is the secret to making beer. You cannot make beer without it. The
world is full of yeast but brewer’s yeast is
special in that it is cultured specific for brewing. The complex flavors
of
beer come from the type of yeast used. Brewer’s yeast has two classifications. Ale yeast and lager yeast. |
| Lager yeast
is characterized as bottom-fermenting. This means that it sinks during
active fermentation. Lager yeast is most active at lower temperatures and
prefers a climate of 40 degrees to 50 degrees F. Most homebrewers find
it difficult to maintain this temperature over the course of fermentation
making lager a more difficult style to brew. The exception to this is California
Steam Beer (Anchor Steam) which uses lager yeast fermented at ale temperatures. |
| Ale yeast is
characterized as top-fermenting. This means that it creates a great foaming
mass that floats on top of the wort during active fermentation. Ale yeast
prefers a warmer 55 degrees to 65 degrees F climate. This warmer temperature
makes ale yeast the most popular with homebrewers. |
| Liquid yeast
is available in pure cultures designed for making specific beer styles. Liquid yeast will require much more TLC from the homebrewer but will also
make better beer. |
| Dry yeast is
a dehydrated form of either ale or lager yeast. It is the most common and
most convenient form available to the homebrewer. |
THE
BREWING PROCESS
Homebrewing
is a sequence of steps designed to get from point A to point Beer in as
straight a line as possible. Much like taking a business trip rather than
a vacation. You want there to be as few interruptions and side trips as
possible. You must be aware that there are many physical and chemical interactions
required to make beer but, you do not need to fully understand them. Just
know that they are there and never assume that an ingredient or process
step given in a recipe is optional. The rule to avoiding an unruly brew
is plan, prepare, brew. |
| Planning your
brew day starts with reading the recipe and instructions a few times well
in advance of brewing. If your instructions are not in the form of a check
list you should prepare step by step work sheet for yourself. Make notes
and reminders to yourself. If you don’t understand something get help. Your own brewer’s note book will become the best text book on brewing available
because it is custom designed for your brewery. |
| Prepare to
brew as if you were about to present a cooking show on TV. Have everything
ready and in sequence of use. Prepare the brewery first. For most of us
this means clean the kitchen. Put things away so you have the space needed
to work efficiently. Your ingredients should be pre-measured and close
at hand. Your equipment should be washed and rinsed, then rinsed again. We will sanitize later in the process. Set
your equipment close to the stove. |
|
Equipment used in homebrewing is not all that specialized. We will discuss
each item as we use them. You will have to add a few household items to
the basic brewing setup. You will need a brew pot,
brew
spoon, clean kitchen towels, two heavy pot holders and a measuring
teaspoon. |
| Brew pots are
nothing more than stock pots. The best are made of stainless steel. Aluminum
will react with the acidic wort and may give your beer an odd flavor. It
will hold at least 12 quarts of water. |
| Brew spoons
can be stainless steel or heavy plastic but should not be wood or aluminum. The spoon will not spend much time in your beer but it will only take a
second for unwanted bacteria to replace the flavors you want with some
truly awful stuff. Your spoon must be long enough to reach the bottom of
the brew pot without your hand going below the rim. This will also avoid
burning your fingers. |
| Kitchen towels
must be clean and are used on your hands only. All equipment should be
air dried. |
| Pot holders
are necessary because there will come a point in the brewing process when
we will need to move the hot brew pot. Remember that safety is always first. |
|
Water is mostly beer, or is it, beer is mostly water? As you learn more
about brewing you will find that water chemistry
is very important and has a primary influence on beer flavor. The mineral
content of water is described as hardness and softness. The distinctive
classic beer styles of the world are the result of the local water supply. These range from the hardness of the water at Burton On Trent, home of
Bass Ale to the softness of the water used to make classic Pilsners like Pilsen Urqual. Local tap water is fine as long as it is allowed to sit
for at least 24 hours. This will allow the chlorine to dissipate. Chlorine
in beer tastes sour. If your water supply is filtered all the better but
beware that yeast require minerals usually found in water. If you have
any concerns about your water supply you should use bottled spring water
from the grocery store. It is a good choice because it should not contain
excessive minerals or treatment chemicals. Remember, most of your beer
is water and quality should never be in question. The best way to sanitize
water is by boiling. |
| Sanitizing
your equipment is the most important part of homebrewing. The best equipment,
recipe
and ingredients will make truly awful beer
if proper cleaning and handling are not observed. Do not take short cuts. As a brewer, you are creating a micro ecology in which the only living
thing should be the brewer’s yeast. While absolute sterilization is beyond
the homebrew’s ability, it should always be the objective. When mixing
sanitation
chemicals you must follow all of the specifications and safety notices
provided with the sanitation product. More is not better! Mix the chemicals
exactly as instructed. Many homebrewers use chlorine bleach to sanitize. While chlorine is an excellent sanitizer it also requires thorough rinsing.
This rinsing actually contaminates the sterile surface. Easy
Clean sanitizer is a better choice. These are chemicals which sanitize
on contact and dissipates as the surface dries. |
| Safety must
be observed at all times. You will be working with sanitizing chemicals,
glass containers and boiling water. Think then do, think then move, never
pick anything up before you know where you will put it down. Know where
your pot holders are at all times. Never... never, put boiling water in
a glass container. Keep children and pets away
from the brewing area. |
| Let’s
Brew. Place your brewing water in the brew pot to the level that suits
the equipment being used and turn the heat on high. Cover the brew pot
and wait for the water to boil. This can take some time depending on the
volume of water and your stove. Since a watched pot never boils, this is
a good time to review any information which is supplied with the beer kit. Remember that you must follow the instructions given with the kit in order
to create the beer style you have selected. You should save the beer kit
instruction for future reference. You will want to keep track of the kits
you use in order to reproduce those recipes you like best. |
|
Steeping malted grain is the simplest way to improve an extract based beer. While malt extracts make homebrewing easy, the processing necessary to
produce them unavoidably causes some character loss in the malt. By adding
crushed grains to the brew pot some of that character is restored. Steeping
grain also provides certain yeast nutrients which are important to fermentation. A disposable steeping bag is the easiest way
to add grain to the brew pot without creating a mess. Place the grain into
the bag and tie off the open end. Place the grain into the brew pot when
you turn on the heat. Give it a few pokes with your spoon to help wet the
grain. Occasionally push the grain around gently as the pot heats up. It
is very important that you do not allow the water to boil with the grain
in it. Watch the pot, and just before boiling breaks out remove the grain
bag with a strainer and allow it to drain back into the pot. Do not squeeze
the bag. All we want is the free flowing water. |
| Malt
extract syrup is very thick and can be difficult to pour from the tin. While you are waiting for the brew pot to boil you can help the extract
along. Locate a pan that fits the tin of extract well. Remove the label
from the tin of malt extract. Place the tin into the pan and add water
until there is about 1.5 inches of space left at the top. Remove the tin
and place the pan on the stove. Heat the water until it is almost boiling
then turn off the heat. Open the tin with a very clean can opener. Remove
the lid and discard. You don’t want it falling into the brew. Place the
can into the hot water bath and let it sit until the brew pot is ready. |
| Now that your
brew water is at a rolling boil, turn it off. That’s right, turn it off. This is very important. The malt extracts we are about to add to the brew
pot are very, very thick and will sink right to the bottom of the pot. If the heat is left on while you are dissolving the extract into the water
the extract will begin to caramelize. This will darken the color of your
beer and add caramel flavors which may not be appropriate to the style
of beer you are making. Use a pot holder to remove the tin of extract syrup
from the hot water bath. Set the tin on the counter and carefully wipe
off the hot water. If you don’t the water will soak through your pot holder
and you will drop the tin into the brew. Carefully pick up the tin and
gently stir the brew pot as you pour in the extract syrup. It will pour
slowly because it is so thick. Use your spoon to help it along. You can
add hot water to the extract can with your spoon and stir it up a little. You want to get most of the extract but don’t worry about getting every
drop. |
| Dry
malt extracts will react with moisture as soon as it is exposed to
the air. The steam from your brew pot will cause the extract to clump up
and stick to the packaging it came in. On the other side of things, dry
extract is a very fine powder and will turn into a great dust cloud if
given the opportunity. Hold the bag of extract by two corners and shack
it down so you can cut the entire top off of the bag. Use both hands to
pour the malt into the brew pot as quickly as possible. |
| Mixing in the
malt is very important. Stir the brew pot until the extract is completely
dissolved then turn the heat back on. Leave the pot partially covered,
about half way. This will help it to return to a rolling boil. Stir occasionally
until the wort returns to a boil. As the wort returns to a boil your brew
pot is going to take on an aggressive personality. The wort will try it’s
best to get out of the pot. This will only happen if you are not looking
at it. Be prepared to adjust the heat and knock down the foam until the wort settles into a rolling boil. |
|
Hopping the beer is the next step. While you wait for the wort to boil,
prepare the hops for addition. A disposable hopping bag is the easiest
way to control hops. This is a muslin sack which can be tied off at both
ends with the hops inside. Be sure that there is enough room inside the
bag for the hops to expand. We want to expose the hops to as much of the wort as possible. Most recipes will call for two or more hopping steps. The amount of time the wort is exposed to the hops determines the extent
of bittering, flavor and aroma imparted to the beer. The first hopping
step is for bittering. |
| Bittering hops
need to be boiled for longest period of time. On average, a one hour boil
will extract all of the available bittering power of most hop varieties. Simply place the bittering hop sack into the brew pot once the wort has
begun to boil. Once again your brew pot is going to turn on you. The hops
will cause the wort to foam so be prepared to control the situation until
the wort settles down. It is a good idea to set a timer to remind you when
the wort is ready for the next addition of ingredients. |
| As the wort
boils there are chemical reactions taking place which help define the finished
product. One of these reactions is called hot break. Hot break is the coagulation
and precipitation of proteins out of the wort. Removing these proteins
improves the clarity and flavor of the beer. We are also making sure that
the wort is sterilized. The boiling time of an average extract recipe is
60 minutes. This provides ample time to sanitize your equipment for fermentation. |
|
Irish Moss is a dried sea weed used by brewers worldwide to remove the
positive charged proteins in the wort. These proteins cause finished beer
to become hazy when it is chilled. Brewer’s call this condition chill haze. The Irish moss has a negative charge and attracts the proteins helping
them settle to the bottom of the brew pot. This brew pot sediment is called trub by brewers. It is good practice to add one teaspoon of Irish Moss
to the brew pot at least 15 minutes before the end of the boil. |
|
Finishing Hops are used to add hop flavor and aroma to the beer. Simple
drop the finishing hops into the wort and prepare to avoid a boil over. Putting the proper finish on a brew requires some experimentation and fine
tuning to your taste. The longer finishing hops are boiled the more flavor
and less aroma they will contribute. If they are allowed to boil for longer
than 20 minutes the flavor will dissipate and only bitterness will remain. |
|
Ending the boil. Once the boiling process is complete we must begin to
guard the wort against unwanted bacteria. Always remember, everything on
the plant likes beer as much as we do. Turn off the heat and remove the
hop bags allowing them to briefly drain back into the wort. Cover the brew
pot tightly with aluminum foil. The pot will be hot enough the sterilize
the foil. Place the lid on top of the foil to help hold it in place. |
|
Chilling the wort to a temperature that is compatible with the yeast is
next. The faster you cool the wort the better your beer will be. Quickly
chilling the wort reduces the time it will need to spend outside of the
closed fermenter and exposed to potential contamination. Chilling also
causes cold break. As the wort cools, more of the undesirable proteins
coagulate and settle to the bottom as trub. The easiest way for the homebrewer
to chill wort is to place the well covered brew pot into a bath of cold
water. You will need to change the water a few times as it extracts the
heat from the brew pot. The cooler your wort, the more susceptible it is
to infection from bacteria and wild yeast. It will take about 1 hour to
chill two gallons using this method. Never add cold water to boiling hot wort. This is the primary cause of ‘homebrew aftertaste’ in the finished
beer. |
| Make up water
is the term used for the water we need to bring the total volume of wort
up to five gallons. It is a good idea to place this water in the refrigerator
the night before brewing. The cold water will help bring the wort down
to pitching temperature. I know, I just said don’t add cold water to hot wort. Once your boiled wort drops to below 180oF the risk of homebrew flavor
diminishes. This is also the temperature where infection becomes a possibility. |
|
Aeration of the wort is critical to good fermentation. This is the one
and only time at oxygen should be mixed into the wort. The yeast requires
oxygen to start the fermentation process. Remember, this is the only time
in the life of your beer when oxygen is a good thing. Place the sanitized
fermentation bucket on the floor with the lid off. Open your make up water
and pour it into the fermenter. Allow it to splash around and pick up oxygen. |
| If you carefully
peek into the chilled brew pot you may notice the sediment on the bottom. This is the cold break and we want to keep this out of the fermenter. Pick
up the brew pot with pot holders and carefully pour the wort into the fermenter. Allow the wort to splash and foam. Stop pouring when the sediment reaches
the rim of the brew pot. If a little sediment finds its way into the fermenter,
don’t be concerned. It will not hurt anything and the yeast likes a little
any way. Top off the fermenter with additional water. You should now have
about 5.5 gallons of wort. This will provide for any losses later in the
brewing process. Cold tap water is fine for topping off. Place the cover
over the fermenter but do not seal it yet. Carefully pick up the fermenter
and place it on the counter. Use a paper towel to wipe off any water or
spilled wort from the outside. Allow the temperature to register on the
stick-on thermometer. Do not proceed until the
wort is less than 80 degrees F. |
|
Specific gravity is a way to measure the amount of sugar in the wort and
is measured with a hydrometer. The hydrometer will float in the wort and
original gravity of the wort is the number at the water line. These reading
are noted on the hydrometer as 20, 30, 40... and represent 1.020, 1.030,
1.040... one being the specific gravity of water at 60 degrees F. Sanitize
the hydrometer before putting it into the wort. Hold it by the thin end
and slowly sink it into the fermenter. Let it go when the fat end is completely
submerged. Once it settles, note the number that marks the water line. We will use this number later on to calculate the alcohol content of the
finished beer. Remove the hydrometer and place the lid back on the fermenter. |
FERMENTATION
Pitching the yeast is the next critical step. When the temperature of your fermenter is less than 75oF it is time. Wash your hands. Dip a pair of
scissors in sanitizing solution then thoroughly rinse and dry them. Pick
up the packet of yeast from the opposite side of the end you will open. Cut the top off the yeast packet. Open the fermenter with one hand. Do
not set the lid down on the counter because it may become contaminated. Carefully but quickly, sprinkle the yeast on top of the wort. There is
no need to mix the yeast into the wort. Replace the fermenter lid and snap
it into place. Make sure it snaps down tight. |
| Fit the air
lock into place. Do not touch the pointed end of the air lock. It is going
into the fermenter. Gently push the airlock into the fermenter until about
one half inch of the stem is inside. Fill the air lock half way with cold
water. Place the sealed fermenter is a cool dark place. Fermentation at 60 to
70 degrees F is fine for most home brews. The best fermentation temperature
is determined by the type of yeast used. Ale yeast likes it warmer and
lager yeast prefers cooler temperatures. Don’t worry about it. As long
as you can keep the temperature around 65 degrees F you will be happy with
the results. |
|
Your brew day is over so open a bottle of homebrew and toast the new fermentation. The yeast is going to go through its life cycle and it will take time. There are three stages of fermentation. Respiration, when the yeast takes
up energy. Fermentation, the feeding frenzy of converting the sugar in
the wort to alcohol and carbon dioxide. Sedimentation, at the end of fermentation
with the food source exhausted the yeast becomes dormant and settles to
the bottom of the fermenter. |
| If you don’t
see the signs of fermentation right away don’t be concerned. You will know
when fermentation is underway. The air lock will begin to bubble as the
carbon dioxide is allowed to except. The entire primary fermentation can
take anywhere from 48 hours to 5 days. You will want to check the fermentation
daily. It is time to move to the next step when the bubble rate of the
air lock is less than one time every two minutes. This will be in about
7 days. |
BOTTLING
BEER
Bottling your beer is the one area where practice is absolutely necessary. Bottling is not hard but it will take time to do the job right. Don’t rush. You have invested a lot of time in effort to bring your brew to this point. Don’t spoil it now by taking untested short cuts. As you bottle the beer,
exposing it to oxygen cannot be avoided without the use of very specialized
equipment. The first time brewer should practice with plain water and the
equipment in order to get the feel of how the bottling process will go. |
|
Priming sugar (corn sugar) is used at bottling time to feed the yeast and
carbonate the beer. On average, 3/4 cup of pure corn sugar will prime five
gallons of beer. One cup of plain (unhopped) dry malt extract or honey
can be used instead of corn sugar but table sugar should never be used. The priming sugar must be prepared prior to use. Start with a clean pan. Add about two cups of water and the priming sugar. This mixture should
be boiled for at least 10 minutes. At the end of the boil, cover the pan
with foil the same way as the brew pot and let it cool while we prepare
the bottling equipment. |
|
Racking is the term used in brewing to describe the transfer of beer or
wort from one vessel to another with a minimal amount of agitation to the
liquid. Racking is very important to making good beer. As the yeast becomes
dormant and settles out of the wort it begins to give off flavors to the
beer. Racking will siphon the beer off of the dormant yeast. Gravity is
the best power source for the homebrewer so we will use a siphon to transfer
our beer from the primary fermenter to the bottling bucket. If you have
never used a siphon it is a good idea to practice first. There are a few
general rules which are very important. First is sanitation. The racking
cane and discharge tube will be placed directly into your beer and your
beer will fill the inside of the whole racking assembly. Second is agitation. The transfer must be made with as little aeration of the beer as possible. Get your beer out of storage and place it on the counter or table in a
position where you can siphon from it quickly and easily. Be very careful
not to disturb the sediment on the bottom of the fermenter. If a little
sediment is stirred up during moving it will settle back down while you
prepare the rest of the bottling equipment. |
| The racking
cane is a rigid tube open at one end and fitted with a bottom stand at
the other end. The stand allows the racking cane to inserted to the bottom
of the fermenter without kicking up the dormant yeast. As beer is siphoned
out of the fermenter it is drawn into the tube at the top of the stand. Another handy siphon gadget is the bucket clip. It spans onto the racking
cane and clips onto the bucket. This prevents the cane from slipping around
in the fermenter and mixing up the dormant yeast. |
| The bottling
bucket is a five gallon pail which has been fitted with a flow valve. It
is possible to bottle beer using a siphon but if the siphon is lost, the
results can be a disaster. The bottling spigot allows beer to flow freely
from the pail and into the bottle. The bottling bucket also serves as a
mixing tank for the priming sugar. |
|
Bottling wands are rigid tubes, open at one end and fitted with a on-off
valve at the other end. The bottling wand allows a bottle to be filled
with a minimum of air being introduced to the beer. The wand also acts
as a fill meter to make sure each bottle as the correct head room. The
amount of head space in the bottle will influence carbonation. |
| Beer bottles
should be cleaned right after each use and stored upside down in the case. This will prevent insects from setting up housekeeping in them. Inspect
bottles for signs of cracks or flaws. The yeast in the beer is going to
continue to ferment and in the closed bottle the carbon dioxide will have
no way to escape. This is how your beer will become carbonated. If a faulty
or unsound bottle is used you will run the risk of an exploding bottle. This can be very harmful as you can imagine. Cases of exploding bottles
are rare because all homebrewers and commercial bottlers take bottling
very seriously. If you think a bottle is in question, throw it away. |
|
Bottle caps cannot be reused. Start with unused caps very time. Count
out about 55 caps for a five gallon batch of beer, using 12 oz. bottles,
and rinse them with hot water. Place the caps in a solution of sanitizer
and let them sit while you bottle the beer. |
|
Sanitation is now critical. As the beer is divided up into 12 ounce bottles,
the amount of surface area that the beer is exposed to increases greatly. Prepare your work space with enough room to insure that bottles can pass
from one stage to the next. Mix about a gallon of sanitizing solution in
a clean waste bucket first. Remove the spigot from the bottling bucket
and disassemble it (remove the nut and washer). Place the spigot in the
sanitizing solution. Wash the bottling bucket with hot water and soap if
necessary. Rinse it. Make sure all the soap is gone. Insert the spigot
through the hole in the bucket and make sure that the washer is on the
out side. Work the spigot all the way into the whole making sure the washer
is flush against the side of the pail. Thread the nut into place and hand
tighten. Now pour the sanitizing solution from the waste pail into the
bucket and check the spigot for leaks. Make adjustments as needed. Open
the spigot and allow some solution to run through it. Close the spigot
and add enough sanitizer to the bucket to make four more gallons of solution. Fill the bucket to the rim with water and allow the bucket to soak for
the time recommenced. |
| Assemble the
siphon set by attaching the hose to the open end of the racking cane. Place
the hose clamp on the hose far enough from the other end of the hose to
allow that end to reach the bottom on the bottling bucket. Make sure the
hose clamp in open and fill the hose with water all the way to the end
of the racking cane. Close the hose clamp to prevent the water from running
out and insert the racking cane into the bottling bucket. Place the other
end of the hose into a clean wash tub and open the clamp. The sanitizing
solution will run through the hose and prepare the inside. The tub will
be used to sanitize the bottles. |
| Place your
cleaned and inspected bottles into the tub of sanitizing solution. Let
them soak for the recommended time. While they soak, remove the dividers
from the cases the bottles came it and cover the bottom of the box with
clean paper towels. Replace the bottle dividers. Take the bottles from
the sanitizing solution and rinse (if recommended by the sanitizer supplier)
then place the bottles upside down in the beer bottle case. This will allow
them to drain and dry. |
|
You will now take the final gravity reading of the finished beer. Sanitize
your hydrometer and open the primary fermenter. Insert the hydrometer and
note the specific gravity reading. After you complete the bottling process
you can calculate the alcohol content of your beer using this formula.
Original
Gravity minus Ending Gravity times 105 times 1.26 equals % Alcohol By Volume |
| Gently pour
the priming sugar solution into the bottom of the prepared bottling bucket. Make sure the spigot is closed! Rinse the siphon setup with hot water and
then fill the tube in the same way as you did when sanitizing it. Set the
bottling bucket on the floor along with a waste bucket. Place the racking
cane into the fermenter full of beer and be careful not to allow it to
disturb the sediment at the bottom. Place the other end into the waste
bucket and open the hose clip. Allow the water inside the hose to run into
the waste pail. As soon as beer starts coming out, close the hose clip
and place the hose end into the very bottom of the bottling bucket. Open
the clip and let the beer flow. Do not allow the beer to splash around. As the beer flows, keep moving the end of the racking cane down into the fermenter until it touches the bottom. Avoid transferring any sediment
to the bottling bucket. When all the beer is racked, it is time to start
bottling. |
| There is no
need to rush to get your beer into the bottles. Pace yourself and the work
will go smoothly. Start by setting the bottling bucket up high enough so
that you can easily reach the spigot at about eye level. A kitchen counter
top will work well if you are sitting in a kitchen chair. Attach a 2 inch
length of siphon hose to your bottle filling wand and the spigot. This
setup will let you work with both hands free. Open the spigot slowly and
make sure that the valve on the end of the filling ward is closed. Lift
a bottle over the wand and press on the valve with the bottom of the bottle. the beer will flow into the bottle quickly and without picking up much
oxygen. Fill each bottle to the bottom of the cap head. Slipping the bottle
off of the wand will turn off the flow and the wand will have displaced
the space in the bottle with the exact amount of head room needed. Set
the bottle aside and continue filling until all of the beer is bottled. |
|
Capping the bottles should be done now. Rinse the bottle caps but be careful
not to touch the insides. Place the bottle to be capped on a damp towel
to prevent it from slipping. Place the cap on the magnet on the bottle
capper. Center the cap on the bottle and press down on the levels with
slow even pressure. The capping tool will do the work. Do not force it. |
|
Aging your beer will be the hardest thing to do. Almost all first time homebrewers
drink their beer too soon. Your freshly bottled beer should be stored at
room temperature in a dark place for at least two weeks. Then move the
beer to a cool dark place for at least one more week. Chill the beer for
at least 24 hours prior to drinking it. |
