Well, below is the recipe/directions I use for 1-gallon of brown ale. Maybe it will help:
Caribou Slobber Brown Ale (1 Gallon Homebrew Recipe Kit)
Its brown, its named after a large North American ungulate, and its name suggests oral incontinence. Ah, we market product with our minds, but we drink beer with our mouths! Which is why this American brown ale
is your new favorite session beer. Dense layers of malt, caramel, baking chocolate, and a hint of light-roast coffee give way to reveal a hop character youll be surprised to find if youre used to drinking English brown ale. The finish is complex but balanced, and the gravity is not so high as to keep you from having another.
These instructions are a simple, walkthrough of the brewing process.
If youre brewing for the 1st time, dont worry, weve got you covered. We understand that the process can appear to be a bit intimidating. Weve taken our years of experience and put together the ultimate package of materials to make your brew day simple, fun and trouble free.
Sharing our passion for home brewing is a priority for us. We are committed to making your brewing experience a success and adding another home brewer to our family.
You will need: recipe kit, kettle, 1 gallon fermen- tation jug, airlock, screw cap, blowoff tube, Auto- Siphon and hose, sanitizer solution, scissors
Your Caribou Slobber Brown Ale Kit Includes:
- Steeping grains and mesh bag
Steep approx. 10 minutesBrew Day, step 2
- 1.5 lbs. Northern Brewer Gold malt extract syrup
Boil for 45 minutesBrew Day, step 4
- 7 grams Willamette hops
Boil for 45 minutesBrew Day, step 4
- 3.5 grams Willamette hops
Boil for 15 minutesBrew Day, step 4
- Windsor Ale brewers yeast
Add HALF packet to cooled wortBrew Day, step 9
- Northern Brewer Fizz Drops carbonation tabs
Add one per 12 oz. bottleBottling Day, step 18
Brew Day:
First step. WATCH THE VIDEO! Our brewmasters will take you through brew day, step by step. And its not just an informational video, its entertaining as well. Watch it!
Next. Familiarize yourself with the laminated instruction sheet included with your Starter Kit. The illustrations and tips on that sheet make the steps even easier to understand and follow.
Now were ready to brew
1. Collect and heat 1.25 gallons of water in your kettle. Any good-quality drinking water will work for our purposesif the water tastes OK, it will make good beer.
2. Steep grains in the mesh bag. Just think of this as making tea with barley maltsteep for approximately 10 minutes as the water heats, then remove the grain and discard. These grains will add desired color, avor, aroma, and body to our nished beer.
3. Bring the liquid to a boil. We now have wort (brewing term for unfermented beer). Crank up the heat and bring it to a boil.
4. Boil the wort for 45 minutes total, with the following additions and times:
- A. Add the malt extract syrup (1.5 lbs. Gold) and the rst hop addition (7 grams Willamette) at the beginning of the boil; stir to dissolve and boil for for the full 45 minutes.
- B. 30 minutes after the malt extract and rst hop addition, add the second hop addition (3.5 grams Willamette) and boil for 15 minutes.
- C. 15 minutes after the second hop addition, the 45 minute boil endsturn off the burner and proceed to Step 5.
5. Cool the wort. Fill a sink with cold water and ice, then put the covered kettle in the ice bath. The goal is to cool the wort to approx. 6070° Fthe kettle should be cool to the touch. Our yeast will be happiest at these temperatures.
6. Sanitize the gear. While the wort cools down, sanitize the 1 gallon fermenting jug, airlock, screw cap, Auto Siphon and hose, PLUS the yeast pack and a pair of scissors.
Finally, read through the detailed directions below. These are more detailed than those on the lami- nated instruction sheet. Pay particular attention to steps 4 & 9. They refer to the speci c extract, hops and yeast used to create this beer.
Once youve done the three things above youre ready to brew! But we warn you, home brewing is addictive.
7. Siphon the cool wort from the kettle into the jug. There will be some trub (naturally-occurring but gross-looking hop-malt sludge) at the bottom of the kettletry to leave this behind.
NOTE: Make sure you do not ll the jug higher than the ONE GALLON raised lettering. The yeast needs a little room to work. If the foam starts
to push through the airlock, slowly remove the airlock and replace it with the length of smaller diameter tubing.
8. Aerate the wort. Cover the fermenter with the sanitized screw cap and gently rock back and forth for a few minutes to slosh the wort and mix some air inyeast cells need some oxygen for a healthy fermentation.
9. Add HALF of the yeast packet. Use the sanitized scissors to cut open the yeast pack and pour HALF of it into the wort in the jug (you can discard the remainder, or use it to bake beer breadjust dont use it for beer).
10. Seal the fermentor. Either ll the sanitized airlock with approx. 1 tbsp. sanitizer solution or tap water, and t the airlock into the hole in the screw cap; or insert the length of smaller diam- eter tubing into the hole in the screw cap, with the other end submerged in a small glass of water ... then pour yourself an end-of-brew-day beer.
11. Move the fermenter to a dark, quiet spot until fermentation begins.
Tip: Your Caribou Slobber will ferment happiest at a temperature of 6075° F.
12. Fermentation begins. Within a day or so of Brew Day, fermentation beginsas yeast cells convert malt sugars into CO2 gas and alcohol, you will notice bubbles come through the airlock and a cap of frothy foam form on the beer.
13. Fermentation ends. Roughly one to two weeks
You will need: Auto Siphon & hose, bottle ller, bottle caps & capper, sanitizer solution, 1 dozen clean 12 oz. pry-off beer bottles
Two weeks after Brew Day, your beer is ready to bottle. Theres a lot going on during bottling daya second set of hands is a big help ... and can usually be paid in beer!
14. Move the fermentation jug to a table or coun- tertop. Do this early, so the yeast and sediment has a chance to re-settle!
15. Sanitize the gear. Namely the Auto siphon
& hose, bottle ller, all of the bottles, about 20 bottlecaps (you wont need them all, but may need extras in case a couple drop on the oor). Refer
to the beginning of this document if you need a refresher on sanitizing!
You will need: a little more patience, your favorite beer glass, appreciative friends
20. Wait just a little longer! Itll be worth it promise. Keep the lled, capped bottles at room temperature for approx. 12 weeks to let the beer carbonate.
Whats happening: Because our beer is natural and un ltered, there will always be a few yeast cells hanging around, and just like in primary fermen- tation, these remaining cells will consume the small dose of priming sugar and convert it to a little bit more alcohol and just enough CO2 gas to
Fermentation:
from Brew Day, fermentation will endthe exact timing depends a lot on temperature and also on wort biochemistry that we wont worry about right now. Dont be alarmed if it takes a few less or a few more daysbrewing is an art as well as a science, and your beer will be ne. When the supply of
malt sugars in the wort is depleted, the yeast cells
Bottling Day:
(2 weeks after Brew Day)
Tip: Use a clean plastic tub or bucket, or your boil kettle, to mix the sanitizer solution and sanitize all the geardont dump the solution out right away, in case you need to re-sanitize a piece of equipment during the bottling process!
16. Connect one end of the hose to the Auto siphon, and the other end of the hose to the bottle ller.
17. Start the siphon and ll the bottles. Remove the airlock and stopper from the jug and place the Auto-Siphon into the beer; while holding down the bottle ller to keep the valve open, have your helper pull up, then push down on the siphon piston to begin the ow of beer. Just lift up on the ller to stop the ow of beer. Try to leave about 1 of headspace in each bottle.
Conditioning and Enjoying:
(2 weeks after Bottling Day)
add some zz. Because were using yeast fermen- tation to naturally carbonate the beer, the exact timing of this step is squishy; 7 to 14 days is a safe bet, but dont be dismayed if it takes a little less or more time.
Test a bottle at one weekdid it hiss when you opened it? If not, wait a week and try again. After this point, the bottles can be stored cold and upright.
21. Imbibe! As if we really need to tell you how to do this! Assemble your tasting panel, clean
Cheers!
begin to go dormant and sink to the bottom of
the fermentor. Bubbles come through the airlock very infrequently or stop entirely, and the cap of foam starts to subside or disappears. If you have it attached, remove the blowoff tubing once things have settled down, and replace it with the airlock until youre ready to bottle.
Tip: Stop lling when the liquid level is just about to spill overwhen you pull the ller out, you'll have the perfect amount of headspace.
18. Add one Fizz Drop tablet to each bottle. This small charge of sugar will carbonate (or prime) our at beerthe CO2 gas created by this mini- fermentation will be absorbed by the liquid since it cant escape the sealed bottlethanks, science!
19. Cap the bottles. Put a sanitized bottlecap on a lled bottle. Center the bell of your bottlecapper on the cap, and push down on the levers, then release. The cap should be crimped tightly.
Repeat Steps 1719 about dozen times ... now is when a helper really earns his or her keep!
your favorite beer glass, and crack open a bottle of fresh, handcrafted beer. Decant the beer
into your glass.
Tip: The fermentation we used to naturally carbonate the beer will leave a thin layer of yeast at the bottom of the bottleleave this behind when you pour for maximum clarity ... or pour it on in for an extra dose of vitamin B12!
Admire the appearance, savor the aroma, discuss with your friends, and then enjoy a sip
... homebrewer!