Homebrewing Guide

We asked a couple of North Carolina’s seasoned homebrewers to give us their tips to creating the perfect beer. First things first: What do they wish they had known before they started brewing? Let them tell you: To pay attention in chemistry and biology class in school. How much I would get into brewing. It consumes a lot of my There is so much chemistry being used in the simple process time, and while one can get by with some basic equipment, of homebrewing, like the basics of how alcohol is produced the sky is the limit. I’m always buying gadgets and am and how some of the off flavors are developed.” currently in the process of building a freezer kegerator. — Silas Swaim, — Mark Stoffan, High Point HOPS homebrew club Mountain Ale and Lager Tasters homebrew club BUNG DRINKING WATER CARBOY BRUSH (RUBBER STOPPER FUNNEL FOR CARBOY) extract home brew kit: 5-GALLON STAINLESS STEEL OR ALUMINUM POT MUSLIN BAG 6.5-GALLON CARBOY SMALL BUCKET SANITIZER PRIMING SUGAR HOPS LONG SPOON THERMOMETER BOTTLE CAPPER MALT EXTRACT YEAST BOTTLING HOSE AIRLOCK 50 12-OUNCE BROWN BEER BOTTLES BOTTLE CAPS BOTTLING BUCKET WITH SPIGOT BOTTLE FILLER AUTO SIPHON SPECIALTY GRAINS Once you’ve developed your brewing skills, add a North Carolina twist to your beer. “Recently, I brewed a Foreign Extra Stout with 6-row malt, malted by Riverbend Malt House in Asheville. This beer won 3rd place in a competition our homebrew club does every other month.” — Silas Remove yeast from refrigerator. If liquid yeast, activate by Fill pot with 2.5 gallons of drinking water and place breaking pack, shake, over high heat. and set aside. Pour specialty grains in a muslin bag and tie off the end of the bag. Place bag with contents in pot and tie it to the pot’s handle. Steep as water heats, approxi- When steeping, don’t let the mately 20-30 minutes. Remove bag and bring to a boil. temperature exceed 170°, or you’ll risk creating a harsh-tasting beer. Boil-overs are common when brewing beer, so if you notice lots of froth Once boiling, remove the pot from the forming, stir vigorously and reduce heat. heat. Add malt extract. Stir until malt extract is fully incorporated. Place back Unfermented beer is called wort. on heat and boil for an hour. (Your particular brew kit recipe might require boiling the mixture longer.) Add any hops additions at the times specified by your brew kit’s recipe. As wort cools, sanitize carboy with carboy brush and Star-San, using the ratio of 1 ounce per 5 gallons of Remove pot “The faster water. Mark the 5-gallon from heat and you can cool point on your carboy cover. Place pot the beer, the with a piece of tape. in ice bath and less chance of cool to 80° or any nasties below. Add ice contaminating and replace your wort.” water as needed — Mark to the bath. Once cooled, attach funnel to carboy and Sanitize airlock, funnel, “Sanitization is pour in wort. Be bung in a small bucket. first and foremost careful not to pour anytime you any solid material brew. Everything into the carboy. Top has to be clean to up the carboy with prevent bacterial cool water until the infections from liquid reaches the ruining your 5-gallon fill line. beer.” — Mark Some suggest transferring Replace bung and wort to another Attach bung to attach airlock. Move carboy for mouth of carboy. carboy to a dark, secondary Rock carboy back cool space and let fermentation and forth for a sit for 2-3 weeks. halfway through couple of minutes the brewing to create oxygen. process. This isn’t necessary, Remove bung. Add especially when yeast to mixture. you’re first starting out, but it can create a smoother flavor. Sanitize bottles, bottle caps, auto-siphon, Use brown bottling bucket, bottles to Attach spigot to bottling hose, reduce the bucket. Make sure and spigot. likelihood of spigot is closed. skunking. In a medium pot, mix 2 cups water and priming sugar. Bring to a boil. Let cool. Pour priming mixture into bottling bucket. Siphon beer from carboy into bottling Don’t bottle before fermentation has bucket. Gently stir beer finished. “Bottle bombs going off in your and priming mixture. kitchen or basement are no joke. Plus, it’s more fun to drink the beer than mopping it up off the floor.” — Mark Attach bottling hose to spigot. Place bottle cap on Attach bottling hose to bottle mouth of bottle. Cap filler. with capper. Repeat. Press bottle filler against inside Move bottles to dark, of beer bottle. Once bottle is cool space. Allow 1-2 filled with 1 inch of space weeks for carbonation. remaining, remove bottle filler. Whew, you made it! Don’t let all these steps intimidate you. Make the process fun. It is a hobby and a very rewarding one in the end.” — Silas.

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