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DIY: Brew + Bottle

Posted on 11 October 2013

Fall almost asks for beers that make us linger a little longer. Perhaps it's the cooler days or cleaner air, but maybe it's just that as the leaves are putting on a different color, we want to too. And so we ask ourselves to take a bit more time, to taste the notes, and to fill a perfect Saturday with efforts reaped in a few weeks' time, hopefully friends nearby.

To help with our first fermentation, Brandon D'Imperio took the time to teach us how to home brew his favorite IPA from Topanga Canyon, California. Don't be overwhelmed by the task, brewing your own beer is like any other recipe, it merely calls for a little more attention to sanitation and a playful attitude for trying new things. Worst case, you've still got something sort of like to beer.

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1. CLEANING AND SANITATION
Be sure to inspect all equiment for any debris or films. Do not use soap, it can ruin the head of your beer. PBW or B-Brite both work great for cleaning your equipment.

2. STEEPING GRAINS
Crush your grains with a rolling pin. Put your grains in a muslin bag, add 1.5-2 gallons of tap water to your pot. Boil overs are messy, make sure to leave a gallon or two of headspace. Steep your gains at 155 degrees for 10-30 minutes. 10 minutes is fine if you’re pressed for time. You’ll need a thermometer for this stage. Remove the pot from the burner and let grains steep for another 5-10 minutes.

3. THE BOIL
Before returning the pot to burner add your malt extract. Make sure to
stir the water so the malt extract does not scorch on the bottom of your pot. As soon as you see a boiling bubble add 1 oz bittering hops and boil for at least 45 minutes stirring as needed.

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4. COOLING THE WORT
Pour the wort (pronounced “wert”) into the primary fermenter that contains 3.5-4 gallons of water. Make sure you have cooled your wort below 80 degrees.

5. FERMENTATION
Rehydrate your dry yeast in luke warm water (90-100 degrees) and let stand for 10 minutes. Then pour into the wort. Approx. 1-3 days after adding the yeast you should start to notice a healthy fermentation taking place. A head of foam will have formed and CO2 should be bubbling out of the airlock. After 5-7 days of fermentation, transfer into a glass carboy. A good rule of thumb is that the fermentation process takes about 2 weeks.

6. BOTTLING
At bottling time, heat 1 cup of water and add 3/4 cup of corn sugar. Bring the solution to a slow boil for 5 minutes, then cover with a sanitized lid and let cool. Add the corn sugar to the bottling bucket, siphon beer from your fermenter into your bottling bucket and fill the bottles using a
bottle filler. Cap your bottles and you’re done. Store your beer in a cool (60-70 degrees), dark place for 2-4 weeks. Not on a cool basement floor during the winter.

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