The way I brew beer - All Grain

[smccarter]

During the cooling process, I pull the hop sack out of the wort and pin it so that any remaining liquid will drain back into the kettle. Once it's finished draining I move the bag to a bowl.

I usually stir the kettle several times during this period. It speeds up the cooling process quite a bit.

 

[smccarter]

You're going to read terms like hot break and cold break. You'll want to read about them. I'm not going to discuss either term here.

The whole idea of chilling the wort is to cool it as rapidly as possible so as not to unnecessarily expose the wort to possible infection.

You want to cool the wort to pitch temperature. Most brewers want the wort to be in the 70 degree range, but as long as it's cool enough not to kill the yeast cells you'll be okay.

If you pitch yeast into your fermentation vessel at a temperature higher than 90 degrees, there is a good chance that you could kill yeast cells.

 

[smccarter]

Once the wort has cooled to pitch temperature, pitch your yeast and seal the fermentation vessel.

My fermentation vessel of choice is a glass carboy. I use a rubber bung with a 3 piece airlock to seal it up.

 

[smccarter]

That's a look at my brew day.

My disclaimers:

I'm not a brewmaster, and don't aspire to be one. I'm just a person that brews the type of beer that I like to drink.

This document wasn't meant to be an "everything you need to know about brewing beer", or anything even close to it. It was meant to be used as a guide for a beginning home brewer. Nothing more.

 

[stpug]

Add 46 more steps and you'll hit a 1000 post count

Nice write-up though. Very easy terms to understand and method to follow. Nice with the pictures also. Would like to see this is a document format (pdf, doc, etc) or blog/webpage format too.

Cheers!

 

[jbob7171]

One very important detail missed... you must be drinking beer while brewing (at least that's my rule).

 

[NAVYSQURL]

Good simple guide!!!! I get nervous recommending Brewing books for new homebrewers because honestly they intimidate and terrify alot of new brewers. Guides like this and Youtube videos are great to get their feet wet. And yes, U must drink a good beer while brewing. Moderate though because I can speak from experience. Mistakes will be made if you are too tipsy. I LOVE a good (even though I hate the moniker) Session IPA for brewday.

 

[poptarts]

now combine it down to 1 post and embed the images.

 

[Hello]

Nice guide. Seems pretty well laid out and everything. Pretty impressed your stove handles brew day as well.

 

[Malty_Dog]

Nice write-up, comprehensive yet not daunting for a new brewer. Always interesting to see the slight variations folks employ on brewday as well.

 

[TheHairyHop]

I used to carry my cooler out to the side yard and dump it all onto a compost pile. The neighbor dog started eating from the pile... maggots and all, getting sick all over her yard. After a couple of complaints I had to change my process.

lmao, you're a good neighbor. I would have told the neighbor to keep their dog on their property

 

[mucci2k]

One very important detail missed... you must be drinking beer while brewing (at least that's my rule).

Picture 25 has an open Sam Adams.

 

[smccarter]

lmao, you're a good neighbor. I would have told the neighbor to keep their dog on their property

I thought about it, but one thing is true about living today... we all have to get along with our neighbors, and the dog is a really good one. Very nice dog... hated being the cause of making her sick to her stomach.

 

[smccarter]

Add 46 more steps and you'll hit a 1000 post count

Nice write-up though. Very easy terms to understand and method to follow. Nice with the pictures also. Would like to see this is a document format (pdf, doc, etc) or blog/webpage format too.

Cheers!

I tried. The Doc and PDF files were too large to post. I started a few times only to find that I was unable to post the large files, so I waited until I had the time to post this way.

If there is a way to post the pdf or doc file, please let me know and I will do it.

 

[smccarter]

Good simple guide!!!! I get nervous recommending Brewing books for new homebrewers because honestly they intimidate and terrify alot of new brewers. Guides like this and Youtube videos are great to get their feet wet. And yes, U must drink a good beer while brewing. Moderate though because I can speak from experience. Mistakes will be made if you are too tipsy. I LOVE a good (even though I hate the moniker) Session IPA for brewday.

Thanks for the comments.

I generally do drink 1 or 2 beers during a brew day, but when I'm working with a heavy glass carboy and with a kettle full of boiling water, I tend to err on the side of caution and limit my intake.

 

[smccarter]

Good simple guide!!!! I get nervous recommending Brewing books for new homebrewers because honestly they intimidate and terrify alot of new brewers. Guides like this and Youtube videos are great to get their feet wet. And yes, U must drink a good beer while brewing. Moderate though because I can speak from experience. Mistakes will be made if you are too tipsy. I LOVE a good (even though I hate the moniker) Session IPA for brewday.

Forgot to mention that I agree with you on the "how to home brew" books. I'm very happy to work with this guy to bring him up to speed. He's really getting a lot out of our sessions and I can't wait until he's brewing himself. I have offered him my copy of "The Joy of Home Brewing", but it's still setting on my coffee table. He's 4 classes short of his BS, so I'm sure he doesn't need another book to read. I'm sure that's why it's still setting where it is.

If I could, I'd open or buy an existing home brew shop and have a weekly, or monthly, instructional brew day for people interested in home brewing. I think more people would brew if they knew how simple it was.

 

[smccarter]

Nice guide. Seems pretty well laid out and everything. Pretty impressed your stove handles brew day as well.

Thanks for the comments.

Me too on the stove comment. I didn't give it a thought until I joined HBT. I just figured all brewers used their elecric stove until I started reading posts on here. Go figure.

Luck is the deciding factor in a great many things.

 

[smccarter]

Nice write-up, comprehensive yet not daunting for a new brewer. Always interesting to see the slight variations folks employ on brewday as well.

Thanks for the comments.

It's funny... I brewed for a number of years without reading a book, watching an online video, or reading a post of any kind related to home brewing. Once I started reading and watching videos, I realized how wrong I was about so many things. HBT was a great find toward that endeavor.

 

[Gavin C]

I tried. The Doc and PDF files were too large to post. I started a few times only to find that I was unable to post the large files, so I waited until I had the time to post this way.

If there is a way to post the pdf or doc file, please let me know and I will do it.

Great Thread. Love the clear documentation. Thank you for sharing your methods.

 

[Brew252]

Cool write up, I think it's a great idea to have some examples of specifically how people brew when they aren't using a pre fab system since processes will vary at least slightly.

One thing I noticed, when you were talking about fining agents you said Spanish moss. Unless I am just not aware that is an option I think you meant Irish moss. Might want to change that in the document for your buddy.

 

[TexasWine]

Spanish moss

View attachment 1418591695583.jpg

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

Pretty sure I see a big foot in there but he is kind of blurry.

 

[smccarter]

Yes yes yes....

I made a mistake.

Leave it to HBT to point a mistake out.. over and over and over... AND over again.

Thanks for that.