Beerhooker
Member
I've been reading alot and have been reading forums but I still don't under stand making the wort and how to read the recipes will someone explain?
How to make wort
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ThePearsonFam
Well-Known Member
I'd encourage you to read this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/beginner-extract-brewing-howto-99139/
It's a good starting point on the HBT forums and will answer many of your questions.
Once you've read that, I'd encourage you to go purchase John Palmers, "How to Brew". I think he's on revision 3 or 4 now. Version 1 is available online for free but much of the information has been updated. Version 1 is probably fine for you at this point. You can find the book here:http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381888/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
and the online 1st edition can be found here: http://www.howtobrew.com/
It's a good starting point on the HBT forums and will answer many of your questions.
Once you've read that, I'd encourage you to go purchase John Palmers, "How to Brew". I think he's on revision 3 or 4 now. Version 1 is available online for free but much of the information has been updated. Version 1 is probably fine for you at this point. You can find the book here:http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381888/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
and the online 1st edition can be found here: http://www.howtobrew.com/
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JollyIsTheRoger
Well-Known Member
The basic idea is just taking your malt, I'm going to use extracts because that's the easiest, and then boiling water and the extract together, this will make the sugars and the water homogeneous. You will also add hops to the boil, the boiling water is used to extract the alpha acids into the wort. Easy as that. If you post a recipe we can explain the specifics for that one.
FromZwolle
I don't want to be cremated, I want to be malted.
you can buy pre-hopped extract kits that do most of the work for you, that way you can get a handle on the fermentation side of things while you learn about makin the wort. just make sure to wait a year before you pitch the yeast.
No one really answered his question.
Making the wort involvs hops, malt, and water. You make "wort" by adding these ingredients into boiling water. Wort is just a fancy word for pre-fermented beer and is the liquid you boil on the stove and strain into your fermenting bucket. The wort becomes beer after you add the yeast to your wort.
Hope that helps.
Making the wort involvs hops, malt, and water. You make "wort" by adding these ingredients into boiling water. Wort is just a fancy word for pre-fermented beer and is the liquid you boil on the stove and strain into your fermenting bucket. The wort becomes beer after you add the yeast to your wort.
Hope that helps.
Beerhooker
Member
Zixxer10R said:
All of you have help thanks alot! But one other thing. What about recipes? How do you read them. I see all these forums with recipes for clones of some of my favorite brews and I would like to write them down but I don't want to write it if I do not understand it
What parts of the recipes do you not understand?
TopherM
Well-Known Member
Most of the recepies you see are for All Grain brewing. If you are just starting out, you'll probably start with extract brewing, in which case the better homebrew shops will put together a kit for you containing all of the ingredients, so you don't have to worry about the recepie. Check you this section of Austin Homebrew:
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_452
They have lots of pre-made kits with all of the ingredients pre-packages to make clones of commercial beers.
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_452
They have lots of pre-made kits with all of the ingredients pre-packages to make clones of commercial beers.
When reading recipes, it's important to note if it's showing for EXTRACT, or for ALL GRAIN brewing. Two very different methods. There is also a PM, or PARTIAL MASH method that is a hybrid of the two. In that case you do a small "mini mash" of some grains, but most of the fermentables come from Extract.
I'd focus the first batch or two on straight extract. The recipe will have a listing of ingredients:
3.lbs Light DME (Dry Malt Extract)
3.3 lbs. Coopers LME (Liquid Malt Extract)
1 oz. Cascade (Hops) 60 minutes (boil or 60 minutes)
.5 oz Simcoe (Hops) 5 minutes (boil for 5 minutes at end of the 60 minute boil)
.5 oz Simcoe (Hops) 0 minutes (add after turning off the heat, for flavor/aroma)
1 oz. Cascade (Hops) Dryhop 5-7 days (Add to secondary, or the primary after the initial fermentation is complete)
1 pkg Nottingham (Dry Yeast) or 1L starter of WLP001 (Liquid Yeast) (Pitch the yeast after cooling the wort to around 62F)
There can be much more listed, but that's most of an Extract recipe. An AG recipe will also give mash temp, and maybe grain to water ratio, etc.
All of this will make much more sense once you've read the www.howtobrew.com website or a good book to get started. It's really very easy.
I'd focus the first batch or two on straight extract. The recipe will have a listing of ingredients:
3.lbs Light DME (Dry Malt Extract)
3.3 lbs. Coopers LME (Liquid Malt Extract)
1 oz. Cascade (Hops) 60 minutes (boil or 60 minutes)
.5 oz Simcoe (Hops) 5 minutes (boil for 5 minutes at end of the 60 minute boil)
.5 oz Simcoe (Hops) 0 minutes (add after turning off the heat, for flavor/aroma)
1 oz. Cascade (Hops) Dryhop 5-7 days (Add to secondary, or the primary after the initial fermentation is complete)
1 pkg Nottingham (Dry Yeast) or 1L starter of WLP001 (Liquid Yeast) (Pitch the yeast after cooling the wort to around 62F)
There can be much more listed, but that's most of an Extract recipe. An AG recipe will also give mash temp, and maybe grain to water ratio, etc.
All of this will make much more sense once you've read the www.howtobrew.com website or a good book to get started. It's really very easy.
kyle6286
Well-Known Member
I think your best bet is to purchase a recipe kit from either your local brew store or a home brew store online, such as Midwestsupplies.com. I like that site a lot as I purchased my beer starter kit there along with an amber ale recipe kit. You want to start with extract kits as they are the easiest to work with. Also, the advantage of these kits is that they do all the calculations for you in terms of ingredients, meaning the amount of hops, extract, sugar, etc. is pre-determined for you. Subsequently, you just follow the instructions and you then have beer.
+1 on buying a kit or two to start. Honestly, they are pretty foolproof, and will give you a great chance at making a successful first and second batch. Once you've done it once or twice, the recipes will make more sense.
And FYI - That recipe was not a real recipe, just some ingredients I threw in off the top of my head. I don't think you want to try making it. It's for example only...
And FYI - That recipe was not a real recipe, just some ingredients I threw in off the top of my head. I don't think you want to try making it. It's for example only...
Also, again, no matter what you do, making the wort is only half the brewing process. It's just as important to have your fermentation temps steady at around 62-65 (for most ales) if you can. Trust me, if you can do this right away you will be making better beer much sooner.
Beerhooker
Member
Thank you all. I've made wine already and Am now moving on to beer. So I just want to make sure I have all bases covered! I'm sure I will understand when i start. Thanks again everyone. If you have any more advice I will gladly take it
KevinW
Well-Known Member
Wort is the sweet liquid from mashing malted grains (barley). Malting is partially germinating the seed and stopping the germination once the enzymes have been generated. The enzymes convert the starch in the seed to sugars.
Base malts are usually pale in color with little to no roasting, they provide the bulk of the sugars when mashed. Specialty malts are base malts that are roasted for various times and temps to create colors and flavors to add complexity to beers.
Mashing (soaking the cracked grains in hot water for a specific time) is the process that activates the enzymes and converts the starches to sugars, some fermentable some not!
Mashing the grains creates (wort) or a sweet liquid. This liquid is then cooled and yeast added. The yeast eat the sugars and produce Co2 and alcohol and eventually beer.
Malt extract is commercially mashed base grains made into wort that is either dried into DME (dry malt extract) or condensed into LME (liquid malt extract)
An all-grain recipe will include the amount of base malts (the main sugar producing grains) and a variety of specialty malts (they provide flavor and color) as well as the mash schedule (temp and time of mash). The recipe may also include the variety of hops and the amounts and time at which they are added (hop schedule).
Partial mash recipes are just a smaller all-grain batch that may use malt extract to make up for the extra sugars needed.
Extract recipes use LME or DME for the bulk of the sugars in the wort. Some brewers "steep" specialty grains to add color and flavor to their beer as well.
Once you understand the nomenclature, any beer recipe should be easy to follow as long as the recipe provides the basics.
1. amount and type of grains or extract, mash temp if mashing
2. amount and variety of hops, how much, and when they are added (hop schedule).
3. variety of yeast, temperature of wort when pitched, and the temp the beer
fermented at.
There are a lot of other factors involved but this is some basic info that hopefully sheds some light on the subject. If you have not already I recommend HowToBrew.com.
Good luck
Base malts are usually pale in color with little to no roasting, they provide the bulk of the sugars when mashed. Specialty malts are base malts that are roasted for various times and temps to create colors and flavors to add complexity to beers.
Mashing (soaking the cracked grains in hot water for a specific time) is the process that activates the enzymes and converts the starches to sugars, some fermentable some not!
Mashing the grains creates (wort) or a sweet liquid. This liquid is then cooled and yeast added. The yeast eat the sugars and produce Co2 and alcohol and eventually beer.
Malt extract is commercially mashed base grains made into wort that is either dried into DME (dry malt extract) or condensed into LME (liquid malt extract)
An all-grain recipe will include the amount of base malts (the main sugar producing grains) and a variety of specialty malts (they provide flavor and color) as well as the mash schedule (temp and time of mash). The recipe may also include the variety of hops and the amounts and time at which they are added (hop schedule).
Partial mash recipes are just a smaller all-grain batch that may use malt extract to make up for the extra sugars needed.
Extract recipes use LME or DME for the bulk of the sugars in the wort. Some brewers "steep" specialty grains to add color and flavor to their beer as well.
Once you understand the nomenclature, any beer recipe should be easy to follow as long as the recipe provides the basics.
1. amount and type of grains or extract, mash temp if mashing
2. amount and variety of hops, how much, and when they are added (hop schedule).
3. variety of yeast, temperature of wort when pitched, and the temp the beer
fermented at.
There are a lot of other factors involved but this is some basic info that hopefully sheds some light on the subject. If you have not already I recommend HowToBrew.com.
Good luck
read www.howtobrew.com as well. The full printed book is a must-have resource IMO but the online 'short ebook' might clear up some details for you as well.
I would start with a simple extract kit that has hop pellets and some steeping grains. An ale style, that isn't too elaborate. Blonde ale, brown ale, Pale ale, IPA...nothing tricky like a big belgian or a saison.
Once you get your feet wet the first time, a lot of things will make more sense.
Beerhooker
Member
Thanks malkore that helps alot. I think a nice ipa should be my first. What do you think?
I think so! IPAs are my favorite style of beer, plus they have tons of hops and bitterness so if there are any "not quite right" flavors from poor technique, it's still drinkable. If it's cloudy, it doesn't matter too much in an IPA especially if you drink it in a ceramic mug! Or, you could make something else equally forgiving if you like the style- stout, porter, English brown, etc, where the dark color means it doesn't matter if it's cloudy.
Here are a bunch of pictures of me making brown porter wort.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f85/just-another-brew-day-114658/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f85/just-another-brew-day-114658/
Beerhooker
Member
That's awesome! I'll post pick on my 1st brew when I start!
NorthRiverS
Well-Known Member
hooker,
You might also check out youtube.com to see videos of guys brewing in real time.
NRS
You might also check out youtube.com to see videos of guys brewing in real time.
NRS
Just keep in mind that any fool with a camera can make a video...so some of the ones you find might be full of wrong info.
Try looking for Bobby NJ's videos on youtube, he posts here often and knows how to brew properly, with correct terms.
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