mikeShriver

Step One: Preparing Your Workspace

A clean brewery is critical to the success of brewing your first beer. Infection is your enemy, and sanitization is your primary weapon against against the incoming invasion. Before you even begin to brew, ensure that your equipment is clean and sterile, and that your workspace is well-organized and easily accessible.

Starches are extracted from grains and converted into sugars, which are then flavored with hops, consumed by live yeast and turned into alcohol. That’s the theoretical concept behind the production of beer. In practice, the act of making beer is so laced with craft, tradition and style, that such a simplistic explanation does it no real justice. The first time I attempted to make a batch of my own beer, I was introduced to a surprising world of craft that I had not previously known existed.

Step Two: The Mash

Malted grains, usually barley, form the bulk of the fermentable sugars in a batch of beer. In order to extract these sugars, the grains must be ‘mashed’ with hot water. The heat of the water allows enzymes to form which break down the starches into fermentable and non-fermentable sugars. The temperature of the water during the mash is extremely important to the success of the brew.

Being a first time brewer, The complexity of making an all-grain batch of beer was well beyond my skill level. The introductory-level alternative is called an ‘extract’ batch, In that process, this prohibitively complicated first step is replaced with the purchase of a pre-made malt extract. This is seven pounds of a thick, sticky syrup that contains the sugars that are necessary for brewing.

Step Three: The Boil

The liquid that results from the mashing process is called ‘wort’. This liquid contains all the sugars and other compounds required for fermentation, but it is not quite ready for the yeast to be pitched. Before that can happen, the wort needs to be brought to a rolling boil, and kept there for at least an hour. Boiling performs multiple functions, including sanitizing the wort, and removing unwanted compounds that can add off-flavors to the final brew. During the boil, hops are added to flavor and bitter the brew. Boiling also helps extract alpha acids, which preserve and bitter the beer, and other flavors from the hops.

I tend to be an inattentive person, which is problematic during this phase of brewing. Attention is key, if neglected, the wort will burn or boil-over, and the caked on, burnt sugars are messy and difficult to clean off of the stove-top. Close attention must also be paid to the addition of hops. Hops are added at various times during the boil, in various quantities depending on the style and recipe being used. If the schedule isn’t followed closely, the resulting beer may be too bitter or too sweet, or it may lack depth of aroma and flavor.

Step Four: Cooling the Wort and Pitching the Yeast

Once boiling is complete, and the wort is ready for the yeast to be pitched. The final step is reducing the temperature of the wort to a range that the yeast can survive, usually below 70 degrees. The faster the wort is cooled, the less chances there are for bacterial infection. Once the wort is cooled to the proper temperature, it should be aerated, usually with vigorous shaking of the fermentor. Then the yeast can be pitched and the fermentation chamber sealed.

Preparation is extremely important to the process of brewing, but I still find myself caught off guard almost every time I get to this step. The simplest way to cool without any special equipment is to douse the brew-pot in a sink full of ice-water. Lack of preparation forces me to rush to the 7-11 next door in the last few minutes of the boil to grab three bags of ice to fill my sink. I can say from experience, that haste amplifies the destructive force of my mess.

Step Five: Fermentation

Fermentation should happen at a constant temperature that is determined by the yeast and style being brewed. Ales are fermented by top-feeding yeast which produce the best beverages at 60-70 degrees, whereas lagers are fermented by bottom-feeding yeasts at 50-60 degrees, for a longer period of time. Fermentation can be done in two stages, with the first usually consuming most of the sugar, and the second stage happening in a different fermentation vessel for clarifying and finishing the beer. A second stage of fermentation is not usually necessary for most styles.

Human beings have always been captivated by fermentation, from the first people to discover an overturned beehive filled with rainwater and natural mead, to the monks of Europe that crafted the divine styles to support their monasteries. What perfect force other than the breath of God can turn simple earthly sugars into the holy spirits of the angels?

Step Six: Bottling

Once the beer has completed fermentation, and reached it’s final gravity, it is time to package and condition. At this stage, it will lack any carbonation, and there are several ways to package and carbonate beer. Bottle-conditioning involved mixing a small amount of adjunct sugar into the beer, and sealing it into bottles. The residual yeast left in the beer will consume the small amount of added sugar, creating carbon dioxide, which will remain trapped in the beer due to the sealed bottles. The beer can also be siphoned off into a keg, which can be pressurized with a CO2 tank, and served directly from a tap. Homebrew stores sell 5-gallon ‘Cornelius’ Kegs specifically for this purpose.

My first attempt at brewing left me exhausted, and my kitchen covered in the ruin of a smelly mess. The resulting beverage was cloudy, yeasty, and under-carbonated. But the holy miracle had nonetheless taken place. Water had been transformed to beer, and I was irreversibly addicted to my newest hobby.

Tags: Creative Writing, Homebrewing