The All Grain Process (DonBethune)
posted Sat November 3rd @ 1:51 PM

All grain brewing starts with the Mashing process. All of your grains are crushed first, and the crushed grains are placed in your Mash Tun. Hot water is then added to the mash tun to raise the temperature of the mixture to between 148F and 158F. Typically water is mixed with grains at a rate of approximately 1.25-1.5 quarts per pound of grain. The temperature and amount of water for the infusion can be calculated using a tool such as BeerSmith. You then cover your mash tun and leave the mash for 45-60 minutes. During this time, complex sugars are broken down into simple sugars that yeast can easily consume. One typically stirs the mash every 10-15 minutes to prevent hot spots from developing in the cooler. Read More »

Moving to All Grain (DonBethune)
posted Sat November 3rd @ 1:48 PM

After you have some experience with Extract Brewing, you will inevitably find yourself wanting to make the move to All Grain. While the all grain brewing process does take 1-2 hours longer (for the Mashing and Sparging processes, it offers a much wider range of ingredients and better control over the brewing process. This article details some of the items you need to consider when moving from extract brewing to all grain brewing... Read More »

Tips for Better Beer (DonBethune)
posted Sat November 3rd @ 1:44 PM

This is a summary of some of the better tips I've collected over the years for making better beer. - BrewWiki Read More »

Drinking (DonBethune)
posted Sat November 3rd @ 1:35 PM

The blessed day has finally arrived to sample your creation. During the aging process excess yeast, tannins and proteins will settle to the bottom of your bottle. Get a clean glass, open your brew, and gently poor most of your beer into the glass leaving only the sediment and a small amount of beer in your bottle. Don't worry if... Read More »

Aging (DonBethune)
posted Sat November 3rd @ 1:33 PM

The most difficult part by far is waiting for your beer to come of age. While most beers are drinkable after a few weeks, the average homebrew reaches peak flavor anywhere from 8 weeks to 15 weeks after brewing. Read More »

Priming and Bottling (DonBethune)
posted Sat November 3rd @ 1:32 PM

The final step before bottling your beer is called priming. Priming consists of mixing sugar in with the beer to promote fermentation after bottling. A small amount of priming sugar will ferment and carbonate your beer. Read More »

Extract Brewing (DonBethune)
posted Sat November 3rd @ 1:24 PM

Brew day is my favorite part of the process. The smell of sweet wort bubbling away stirs something primeval in the human psyche. Since we are brewing a relatively simple extract beer, there is not much to set up. You need a clean pot large enough to hold 2 gallons of water plus the two cans (6 lbs of extract) and boil it (I recommend a 4-5 gallon pot if you can find one). Put 2 gallons of water into your pot and begin to heat it over your stove. Once the water has heated up a bit, open your cans of extract and slowly start mixing them into the warm water. The malt extract will have the consistency of heavy syrup, and you may need some hot water to get it all out of the sides of the can. The combined water and extract mixture is called "wort." Read More »

The Brewing Culture (DonBethune)
posted Sat November 3rd @ 11:37 AM

Sometimes referred to as craft brewing, the culture surrounding homebrewing has many strands. In the US, homebrew radio stations and brewpubs have become popular over the last 20 years; both have a tradition of promoting live, unpasteurised beers. Read More »

Process (DonBethune)
posted Thu November 1st @ 7:55 PM

The entire beer brewing process can be broken down into the following steps:
1. Making wort
2. Fermentation
3. Clarification
4. Conditioning
5. Packaging (in bottles, kegs or casks)
6. Consumption.
The principles behind the process of homebrewing beer are similar to commercial processes except in scale. A hopped wort is produced and yeast pitched into the beer to stimulate fermentation.... Read More »

Basic Homebrew Principles (DonBethune)
posted Thu November 1st @ 7:37 PM

Brewing relies on the conversion of sugars into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide by yeast through fermentation. Fermentable sugars are typically obtained by steeping malted grain (malt) in hot water during a process known as mashing. When malt is mashed at temperatures between about 60-70°C, natural enzymes in the grain break down large starch molecules into both smaller non-fermentable starch-like molecules known as dextrin and into fermentable sugar molecules. Read More »