Easy Homemade Craft Beer

You can start with a craft beer kit like the following:

Ingredients (to make 15 liters of homemade beer):

• 30 liters of dechlorinated water
• 4.5 kilos of barley malt
• 25 grams of hops
• An envelope of yeast to make beer (not bakery) and sugar.

STEPS TO TAKE

FIRST: MACERATION

          The goal is to convert the starch contained in the grains into fermentable sugars (the food of the yeast). Fill a pot with chlorine-free water and heat it, without boiling, at a temperature between 62 and 72 ° C.

To remove the chlorine from the water, you can boil it for 30 minutes, and then leave the pot uncovered to make sure that the chlorine has evaporated, or just buy bottled mineral water.             

The maceration will last between 60 and 90 minutes. Stir the mixture constantly, approximately every 10 minutes, with a long stirring spoon. Control the temperature from time to time. It is important that it does not decrease from 62ºC and does not exceed 74ºC, the range of action of amylases. 

At lower temperatures, the enzymes that consume starch are much less active. On the other hand, at temperatures above 74, they die. Keep in mind that maceration of 62-67ºC will help us to get light beers, since the beta-amylases act. This type of amylases produces more fermentable sugars. On the other hand, in the range 67-74ºC the resulting beers will have more body and will be sweeter.

SECOND: FILTERED

          Get rid of the flours and solid remains of the grain, as well as dissolve some of the sugar that remains in the malt. Introduce all the filling (a mixture of cereal and water generated during the maceration) in a filtration tank. You can use a plastic food jar. These vats have a tap, which you can use to start filtration. 

With the same jar, you can pick up part of the must and add it little by little from the top. As you add it, we advise you to use a long shovel or remover. Thus the wort will fall as a spray. Go repeating this process until the must that comes out of the tap is crystalline. 

Theoretically, this is achieved when the total volume of liters has been recirculated 3 times.

THIRD: CLEARED

           Once you see the must free of particles, it is time to do the sparging. The objective is to add water at 78ºC to get more liters and continue taking advantage of the sugars still present inside the grain. First, you have to make the most out of the tap, then add it to the cooking pot. You also have to pour water over the filling as a spray. 

For all this, you can use the jug again. Ideally, you should pour water every time it was at the level of the malt. Thus the grain will not dry out. The water must be between 74ºC and 78ºC. Repeat this process until, with the densimeter, you verify that the density has been reduced two points below the original density (OD). 

These levels will recover later in the boil.

FOURTH: COOKING

         The main purpose of cooking is the addition of hops, which will give bitterness, flavor, and aroma. You will need with a pot and a burner. During boiling, constantly watch the boiled. The eye that can create foam and overflow. Also, when the wort approaches boiling temperatures, you will see that a layer of foam will be created. Remove part of it: they are proteins that could hinder the work of yeast. 

To add bitterness to the beer, add the exact amount indicated by the recipe. Normally they are added 60 minutes before the process ends. But it all depends on the process you want to do (see post what is hops ). 

To flavor, add the hops between 15 and 20 minutes before the end of boiling. To get the aroma, add the aroma hops at the end of the boil, with the fire already off. If you added it before, the aroma would degrade.

FIFTH: COOL

         With a coil: Place it when the must is still boiling (10 mins before the end of cooking). This way it will be completely sterilized. Cover the pot afterward, since the must is very vulnerable to contamination once it cools. Then, circulate cold water inside the coil, until the must reach approximately 25°C. 

Ideally, use a thermometer with a probe to know the temperature. Then, transfer to the fermenter. Another option you have is to immerse the pot in cold water to cool it by contact.

SIXTH: FERMENT!

        Now we have to add the yeast (which is responsible for converting the must into beer). To do this, pour the yeast over the must, which will have previously been oxygenated during the transfer. Cover the fermenter and place the airlock. In about 12-24 hours, fermentation should begin, although there are strains of yeast that are faster than others, so we should not worry too much. 

On the other hand, for lagers, it is between 7 and 13ºC. However, taking density samples is the most accurate parameter that can help us determine the end of fermentation. If the density does not vary within 48 hours, the fermentation will be over.

SEVENTH: PACKING AND BOTTLING

       As easy as filling bottles directly from the fermenter. However, it is necessary to perform the priming: action by which you will feed the yeast to generate CO2. At home level, you can use dextrose or normal sugar (the latter is not recommended). The amount to be added is 6gr per liter. After half an hour, you can proceed to the bottle. 

Once you have all your bottled beer, the ripening will last about a month. To take place, again we will have to find a dark, cool and stable temperature (15ºC-18ºC). The ripening temperature and duration will vary.

Let the beers cool in the fridge. Then they will be ready for you to taste. Enjoy!

Cheers!