So I finally just ordered all my supplies to start brewing. I am going to be starting with a few kits to get the feel for everything but I would love to go to my local brew shop and get all the ingredients and try out some of the recipes on here. I hate to sound like a fool but was going to see if anyone can help me with some explanation on some terminology and technicalities of all this so I don't screw anything up. Below I'll copy and paste a recipe I found from (seems infamous) @dangerbrew and next to it I will highlight my questions. Hopefully someone can take a few minutes and explain to me what seems to be common sense to you guys so I can really start getting into this. Thanks in advanced guys and any tips will be helpful along the way!
****5 Gallon Batch****
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.57 gal
Estimated OG: 1.040 SG
Estimated Color: 3.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 21.5 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
How do I determine how much water to use? Do I use 5.50 gallons since that is whats listed?
Ingredients:
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Amount
7.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
0.75 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)
Do these just get put right into a pot and boiled or is another process involved?
0.25 oz Centennial [9.50%] (55 min)
0.25 oz Centennial [9.50%] (35 min)
0.25 oz Cascade [7.80%] (20 min)
0.25 oz Cascade [7.80%] (5 min)
What does the time listed refer to? How should I interpret that?
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) (Hydrated)
Is this just thrown on top after the boiling process?
Mash at 150 degrees for 60 minutes.
Thank you in advanced for your help and sorry for any dumb questions I just do not want to make any assumptions and end up screwing something up. I swear I'm not that dumb!
These are all good questions and something you'll need to understand in order to make brew day both fun and successful.
As others have pointed out, you've listed an "all-grain" recipe. This means that instead of using a concentrated form of the beer ingredients ('extract') and simply adding water, you're getting "all of the grains" and making the beer almost entirely from scratch. Short of malting the grains yourself, this is about as much DIY as you can get. It's the difference between making orange juice out of a can from concentrate versus squeezing the oranges yourself. Some recommend that new brewers start with extract kits first, and then once more comfortable with those stages of the process, and once you've also made additional equipment acquisitions, you then move on to "all-grain" brewing. Personally I did 3 extract batches before I felt comfortable to 'step-up' to all-grain. Many brewers, on the other hand, can tell you that they make excellent beer with extract and for various reasons have no intention of switching to 'all grain'. Now there is one method that could be considered "inbetween" extract brewing and all=grain brewing, called 'brew in a bag' (BIAB), but since I'm not practiced in that method, I'll let someone else explain it.
The recipe you've listed is all-grain. Most commonly that means you will need an additional piece of equipment called a 'mash-tun' that "extract brewers" aren't in need of. You can buy one or built it yourself. If you don't' have one yet I recommend you build it yourself as that will help you to understand the brewing process a little better and get you primed for brew day. The mash-tun is a cooler-like device in which you will steep the grains in order to extract the starch from the grains and convert it into sugar. Your mashtun will have a built-in filter that will allow you to draw the 'sugar-water' (wort) out from the grain husks. You will then boil that sugar-water (wort), make hop additions, and later add yeast for fermentation.
So, lets have a stab at your questions:
1) How do I determine how much water to use? Do I use 5.50 gallons since that is whats listed?
For an all grain batch there are many things to consider concerning both the volume and temperatures of the water you're going to use (not to mention it's pH and mineral content). The more precise you are in these numbers, the better your chances of targeting the outcomes that you desire. You want to start with significantly more than the final volume of the recipe (5.5 gallons). There will be water absorbed by the grains in the mashing process that you won't get back, water will "boil off", some will be absorbed into the 'trub' (gunk that settles to the bottom of the pot after boiling the wort), etc. There's even perhaps a beer god that taxes some of the water, and we don't know where it goes.
http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php
Above is a website that I use to help me calculate my water volumes and temperatures. Note that it divides main water usage into 2 portions, the "strike water" and "sparge water". The strike water is what you will initially 'strike' the grains in the mash-tun with, which you will then steep for a designated time called for by the recipe (usually an hour). It's important to hit specific temperatures and hold them for the duration of the steeping mash. Since the grains and the mashtun are cooler than the water you are heating, you will need to overshoot the strike water temperature so that when the two come together the overall mashtun temperature comes to rest at your target temperature. The website above attempts to help you calculate the temperature of your strike water so that you can hit and hold the desired mash temperature.
The second portion of water, and usually the liion's share, will be your "sparge water". Once your mash is complete and you've drained out your sugar water (wort) through the filtration system in your mash-tun, you'll now want to 'sparge' or 'rinse' the grains with a second batch of water. There are various methods to do this. Personally I'm only experienced with 'batch-sparging' which is probably the simplest of the methods. Basically you heat up your sparge water such that when you pour it into the mash-tun to rinse the grains, the two come out around 168 degrees. You then let it rest there for 10-15 minutes, and then drain it into your brew kettle. The volume of your strike water and sparge water now in the kettle will be over and above the total called for by the recipe as you will lose some to boil off, hop absorption, trub loss, etc.
2) "Do these (malted grains) just get put right into a pot and boiled or is another process involved?"
No, you will essentially need to 'mash' the grains in the process I described above. But wait, there's more!!! First the grains will need to be crushed or 'milled' in order to be the right consistency to introduce to the mash tun. A lot of LHBS will mill grains upon request, others won't. If your grains come unmilled then you will need to get a grain mill and do it yourself. I've heard of some people using a rolling pin on their counter to do it, but I imagine that to be a right pain in the arse.
3) What does the time listed (beside the hops) refer to? How should I interpret that?
The times listed refer to when you ought to add these ingredients to the boiling wort,
but in reverse. Each time listed next to a hop addition refers to how much boil-time ought to remain when you add this ingredient. So, For example, lets presume that the sugar water 'wort' in a particular recipe is going to boil for an hour. 0.25 oz Centenniel 55 mins means that a quarter of an ounce of that hop ought to be added when 55 mins remains in the boil (so for an hour long boil, that would be 5 mins from the start of boiling). If a time is indicated as '0' (zero) then that means you will add that hop at the same time as you turn off the burner at the end of a boil. You can then let it steep in the pot for 10 minutes or so before moving on to the next step...
4) "Is this (yeast) just thrown on top after the boiling process?"
First, you don't want to throw yeast into a scolding hot pot of anything - that will kill your yeast and it won't help you make beer. Once your wort has boiled for the duration called for by the recipe you'll want to bring it down to the desired temperature for adding ("pitching") the yeast. This is called "pitching temperature". Every type of yeast has it's preferred pitching temperature. It will usually tell you on the package, or if not, you can google the type of yeast and the companies website will list the ideal pitching temperature quite readily.
Second, it's important to note that it's desirable to bring your finished boiled wort in the pot down to pitching temperature as fast as possible. This cooling period is an ideal time for unwanted bacteria to get into your beer, start eating the sugar and producing some very bad flavors. So you want to minimize the amount of time it takes to cool the wort to pitching temperature. Most home brewers will either use an 'ice-bath' or an 'immersion wort chiller' to bring the wort down pitching temp quickly. Google either of those terms to familiarize yourself with them and decide what method is best for you.
Third, in many cases home brewers will not add, or "pitch", the yeast straight into the wort right out of the package. Even though that can be done with very successful results, s many homebrewers eventually hone their practices such that they try to ensure that there is enough healthy yeast being put into the wort. In order to do this some preparation might be required. In most cases this preparation is meant to assist the yeast by multiplying it to a more appropriate number of yeast cells for the beer in question. This is done by making a "yeast starter", which is essentially making a mini batch of beer a day or two before brew day so that your yeast multiplies sufficiently for the final beer. In the case of "dry yeast" (that comes in a sachet packet) you may want to "rehydrate" it. Rehydrating dried yeast is a lot simpler and ought to be done on brew day itself. Google both of these terms to see if you want to try doing either of these on your first brew day, or leave it to a little further down the road.
Welcome to the hobby. At first it can seem really daunting, with a million things to do at once, a potential boat load of specialized equipment, and all described in a foreign terminology that is enough to make your head spin. But it's surprising how simple it actually can be. Once you jog around the block a few times, it will all seem like old hat and you'll be able to focus on refining your brewing skills, understanding each step a little better than on last brew day, and designing your own creations. It's lots of fun. I wish I was doing it right now!
