Hi All,
Now for an extremely novice question. I have read pretty much everywhere about 'steeping' and 'boiling' etc, and that you add hops to the boil at different stages to achieve different things, ie 10-15 minutes for aroma etc (I get that); however, what I dont get is that what exactly do you boil?
For example, if I have an ale extract can, a kg of malt, and hop tea bag - and I want to add the hops to the 'boil', exactly what ingredients do I add into a pot (I have a 10L pot which I can use for HB), how much water, and how long do I boil for?
Now I understand that you may want some more info, like the type of beer, so my inventory currently consists of the following extract cans & malts to match:
a) a wheat beer,
b) a porter, and
c) a european lager.
I know this is a very basic question however, please do not leave any details out for us novices.
Thanks in advance!
Sam
Boiling for dummies
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Re: Boiling for dummies
To be updated shortly....
HOMEBREW: IF I HAD TO EXPLAIN, YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND
HOMEBREW: IF I HAD TO EXPLAIN, YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND
Re: Boiling for dummies
Confusion reigns, until you understand the difference between brewing with a kit, kit + extras, extract + grains + extras, and then all grain (AG).
Howevere, there are no novice questions as such. Your questions is commensurate with your experience as a brewer, and we all had to start somewhere.
Essentially your planned brew fits into the kit + extras.
What I'd do is this:
1. Add your kg of dry malt to the largest saucepan or pot you have.
2. Top up with cold water till your pot is about 3/4 full.
3. Stir as you bring this to the boil. The malt will readily dissolve this way. If you add it to the water or to hot waer, you are much more likely to end up with sticky clumps which take forever to dissolve.
4. Bring to boil and boil for about 10 minutes. Don't dare walk or look away as you are bringing it to the boil, because you'll be guaranteed a boil over and a very messy cleanup job.
5. During the last 1 or 2 minutes of the boil, add your hop teabag. You can leave it whole, or tear it open and just chuck in the pellets, it doesn't matter.
6. Turn off the heat. Stir in the contents of the can to your boiled malt.
7. Put a lid on the pot, and cool it off in the sink or laundry tub by partly immersing it in cold water. Ice helps here if you have it. You may need to change the water onceor twice.
8. Makes sure your fermenter is sanitised, and the tap is closed (you'd be amazed how many even experienced brewers forget this bit).
9. Pour a few litres of water into the fermenter, and add all the contents of your cooled boil (including the hop bag or pellets, don't strain them).
10. Top up with water to your desired level, and stir it vigorously to aerate your batch and to properly mix all the contents.
11. Take a hydro sample and check your Original Gravity. It should be around 1.045 give or take 5 or so points. Don't forget to rinse off the tap outlet after you've taken a sample (I use a spray bottle of sanitiser to do this)
12. Check your stick on thermometer on the fermenter. If it is about 20ºC or less, hydrate your yeast and pitch it. If your temperatrue is much more than about 22 to 23ºC, you might want to cool your batch in the fridge until you've got it down to about 18ºC, then pitch your yeast. (I brew AG and seal my fermenter with gladwrap, chill it overnight, and pitch my yeast the next day)
13. Crack open a beer, and congratualate yourself on getting a brew down for yourself.
14. Over the next few days you should see evidence of fermentation. Don't rely on airlock bubbling, look for other signs such as condensation on the lid, development of kraeusen (the froth on top of your brew), and a dark ring around the top level of your brew inside the fermenter.
15. Leave it for a week, then take a hydro sample.
16. Repeat the hydro sample the next day.
17. If the readings are the same, and about where you expect it to end up, you're OK to bottle. However, I recommend leaving it for two weeks total before you bottle, as it gives the yeast time to continue to clean up fermentation by-products. Some will say to rack, but I never bother. Get your basics down first before you start to complicate things.
Steeping is used mostly when you use some additional grains, such as some crystal malt grain, carapils, carahell etc. You add the grains to a litre or 2 of cold water, bring it up to about 70ºC, and hold it there for about 30 minutes. Then you drain the liquid off, and if you want you can rinse the grains with some more warm water. The drained off liquid (now called wort) should be boiled for at least 15 minutes to kill off any nasties from the grain. The wort is then cooled and added to your brew.
Howevere, there are no novice questions as such. Your questions is commensurate with your experience as a brewer, and we all had to start somewhere.
Essentially your planned brew fits into the kit + extras.
What I'd do is this:
1. Add your kg of dry malt to the largest saucepan or pot you have.
2. Top up with cold water till your pot is about 3/4 full.
3. Stir as you bring this to the boil. The malt will readily dissolve this way. If you add it to the water or to hot waer, you are much more likely to end up with sticky clumps which take forever to dissolve.
4. Bring to boil and boil for about 10 minutes. Don't dare walk or look away as you are bringing it to the boil, because you'll be guaranteed a boil over and a very messy cleanup job.
5. During the last 1 or 2 minutes of the boil, add your hop teabag. You can leave it whole, or tear it open and just chuck in the pellets, it doesn't matter.
6. Turn off the heat. Stir in the contents of the can to your boiled malt.
7. Put a lid on the pot, and cool it off in the sink or laundry tub by partly immersing it in cold water. Ice helps here if you have it. You may need to change the water onceor twice.
8. Makes sure your fermenter is sanitised, and the tap is closed (you'd be amazed how many even experienced brewers forget this bit).
9. Pour a few litres of water into the fermenter, and add all the contents of your cooled boil (including the hop bag or pellets, don't strain them).
10. Top up with water to your desired level, and stir it vigorously to aerate your batch and to properly mix all the contents.
11. Take a hydro sample and check your Original Gravity. It should be around 1.045 give or take 5 or so points. Don't forget to rinse off the tap outlet after you've taken a sample (I use a spray bottle of sanitiser to do this)
12. Check your stick on thermometer on the fermenter. If it is about 20ºC or less, hydrate your yeast and pitch it. If your temperatrue is much more than about 22 to 23ºC, you might want to cool your batch in the fridge until you've got it down to about 18ºC, then pitch your yeast. (I brew AG and seal my fermenter with gladwrap, chill it overnight, and pitch my yeast the next day)
13. Crack open a beer, and congratualate yourself on getting a brew down for yourself.
14. Over the next few days you should see evidence of fermentation. Don't rely on airlock bubbling, look for other signs such as condensation on the lid, development of kraeusen (the froth on top of your brew), and a dark ring around the top level of your brew inside the fermenter.
15. Leave it for a week, then take a hydro sample.
16. Repeat the hydro sample the next day.
17. If the readings are the same, and about where you expect it to end up, you're OK to bottle. However, I recommend leaving it for two weeks total before you bottle, as it gives the yeast time to continue to clean up fermentation by-products. Some will say to rack, but I never bother. Get your basics down first before you start to complicate things.
Steeping is used mostly when you use some additional grains, such as some crystal malt grain, carapils, carahell etc. You add the grains to a litre or 2 of cold water, bring it up to about 70ºC, and hold it there for about 30 minutes. Then you drain the liquid off, and if you want you can rinse the grains with some more warm water. The drained off liquid (now called wort) should be boiled for at least 15 minutes to kill off any nasties from the grain. The wort is then cooled and added to your brew.
Re: Boiling for dummies
Thanks for that... extremely helpful for us novices who are trying to get to the next level with our craft.
Sam
Sam
Re: Boiling for dummies
Warra that is one great set of idiot-proof instructions.
Good job mate.
I'm yet to do a stovetop boil - I guess I've always been happy with mixing in the fermenter. Very happy with my results thus far at any rate.
I was a bit concerned about how I would keep my wort temp low if I used a stovetop boil but I guess immersing it in cold water could well do the trick.
You've convinced me - next brew will be a stovetop boil!
Cheers mate,
Throsby
Good job mate.
I'm yet to do a stovetop boil - I guess I've always been happy with mixing in the fermenter. Very happy with my results thus far at any rate.
I was a bit concerned about how I would keep my wort temp low if I used a stovetop boil but I guess immersing it in cold water could well do the trick.
You've convinced me - next brew will be a stovetop boil!
Cheers mate,
Throsby
Re: Boiling for dummies
warra48 wrote:
What I'd do is this:
1. Add your kg of dry malt to the largest saucepan or pot you have.
2. Top up with cold water till your pot is about 3/4 full.
3. Stir as you bring this to the boil. The malt will readily dissolve this way. If you add it to the water or to hot waer, you are much more likely to end up with sticky clumps which take forever to dissolve.
Thank you Warra, your a legend in explaining things to us new guys !
I understand that whole deal. Just one thing . How much with this same brew and contents could you add up to (Kg)of MALT ?
You say 1 Kg , will it improve this same ingredients and brew by adding a fair amount more MALT ?
Thanks so far love it!
Re: Boiling for dummies
For a standard 23 litre batch, I wouldn't go any higher than 1 kg of malt.
There is nothing to stop you using more malt, but you will end up with a beer which is too sweet, because only about 70 to 80% of the malt is fermentable. Additionally, your yeast is only likely to attenuate up to about 80 % of all the fermentables in your brew, adding to the sweetness, ie the more there is to ferment, the more sweetness is left in your brew.
You don't have to use the 1 kg of malt. Some prefer to use say ½ kg, and the rest something like Coopers BE1 or BE2 to give them a somewhat drier or not so full bodied brew.
If you do use more malt, you will also increase the gravity of your brew, giving you more alcohol. That's appropriate for some styles (eg IPA or Belgian Dubbels etc), BUT you need to balance this additional sweetness with extra hops bitterness.
Now, it's possible to do this, but it takes some working out, because hops bitterness isomerises at different rates, depending of the gravity of the wort you are boiling them in. You are really moving onto extract plus extras territory in your brewing if you do this.
However, if that's what you want, go right ahead and experiment. It might take you a few brews to get it right, but hey, it's a hobby. Have some fun with it!
A brewing program like BeerSmith, Promash etc etc will help with your calculations.
There is nothing to stop you using more malt, but you will end up with a beer which is too sweet, because only about 70 to 80% of the malt is fermentable. Additionally, your yeast is only likely to attenuate up to about 80 % of all the fermentables in your brew, adding to the sweetness, ie the more there is to ferment, the more sweetness is left in your brew.
You don't have to use the 1 kg of malt. Some prefer to use say ½ kg, and the rest something like Coopers BE1 or BE2 to give them a somewhat drier or not so full bodied brew.
If you do use more malt, you will also increase the gravity of your brew, giving you more alcohol. That's appropriate for some styles (eg IPA or Belgian Dubbels etc), BUT you need to balance this additional sweetness with extra hops bitterness.
Now, it's possible to do this, but it takes some working out, because hops bitterness isomerises at different rates, depending of the gravity of the wort you are boiling them in. You are really moving onto extract plus extras territory in your brewing if you do this.
However, if that's what you want, go right ahead and experiment. It might take you a few brews to get it right, but hey, it's a hobby. Have some fun with it!
A brewing program like BeerSmith, Promash etc etc will help with your calculations.