Homemade & Commercial

Wine, Beer, Spirits, Cider & Mead Guides

Alcoholic beverages; most commonly beer and wines made at home. Brews made from brewing kits purchased at shops specialized in spirits. The Beer Pirate features homebrew recipes, equipment requirements, and commercial productions information; and all the best practices needed to make that perfect batch!

It is always best to siphon beer into jars or bottles since in this way the heavy yeast deposit may be left in the fermenting vessel. If a lot of yeast passes into the bottles, as would happen if the murky wort were poured into bottles, a very heavy yeast deposit would form in them and, as we have seen, we do not want this.

Arrange the bulk beer on a table and the bottles on a lower level – a stool or on the floor. Insert the siphoning tube into the beer to a depth of a couple of inches or so. Suck the other end until the beer flows, pinch this end tightly and lower it into the first bottle and let the beer flow. Fill the bottle to within one and a half to two inches from the top, pinch the tube again and insert it into the next bottle and so on. As the level of the beer in the fermenting vessel falls, the tube may be lowered into it. If the beer falls below the end of the tube the siphon will be broken and you will have to lower the tube into the beer and suck again as you did in the first place. If the beer is draught beer or if you have checked with a hydrometer to ascertain the amount of sugar left unfermented the bottles may be stoppered at once and in the case of draught beer (non-gaseous), the bottles may be stored in a cool place. In the case of beers that are to ferment on in the bottles, the bottles should be kept in a warm place – not hot – for a few days and then moved to a cool place.

If you are making draught beer and at bottling time are proposing to make it into a gaseous beer, now is the time to do it. If this is what you are doing, then do not bottle from the fermenting vessel, but siphon off exactly one gallon and dissolve two and a quarter, or two and a half ounces of sugar in as little boiling water as can be used – about half a cupful – and pour this into the gallon. Stir a little to ensure dispersal and then bottle. This amount will produce enough fermentation to produce the gas required but not enough to burst the bottles.

Users of the hydrometer should bear in mind that two and a quarter ounces of sugar will raise the reading by 50. So it will be seen that the amount of sugar mentioned above is just about the amount required without it being too much.

By treating the gallon we overcome the difficulty and riskiness of adding so much to each bottle – the amount having to be so small that it would be difficult to measure satisfactorily.

Don’t forget to sterilize the siphoning tube, using the metabisulphite solution. Use proper siphoning tubing obtained from a home brew firm and get about six feet of it – it’s very cheap.

Having taken the hydrometer reading you will see at once how much alcohol will be made by comparing the reading (specific gravity) with its potential alcohol by volume. To increase the reading add 2% oz. of sugar for each increase of 50 you require: i.e. 4t oz. for an increase of 100 and 6% oz. for an increase of 150 and so on.

There is no need to go above these figures as 9% of alcohol is plenty for beers. The illustration on page 156 shows the hydrometer in a sample and registering a reading of 1.035.

We use the hydrometer in brewing to ascertain how much sugar the wort contains and to find out how much has been used up. This enables those who will be bottling fermenting beers to do so when there is just the right amount of sugar left to give the beer the required gas and to make sure that there is not enough sugar left to give rise to so much fermentation that the bottles explode.

We might argue that if we add a pound of sugar we know how much we have added and therefore know how much the wort contains. But it must be remembered that enzyme action has converted starches to sugar, the amount depending on the amount of malt used. Sometimes other materials are added to give starches into the wort; in this case we have no means of knowing how much sugar the action of enzymes has produced. By using the hydrometer we are able to find out, though the beginner need not bother with it unless he wants to know for sure how much alcohol he has produced.

The beginner would do well to make a few brews without using the hydrometer at the start. But if he is making bottled beers by bottling the nearly. finished-fermenting beer, he must use it to be on the safe side.

Now let me explain how it is used. Water has the gravity of 1000, often written simply as 1. We use water and its gravity of 1000 as a comparison – to put it simply. Therefore, as compared with water, or having a specific gravity of – whatever the figure might be. Now any liquid thicker than water will have a specific gravity of above 1000. The figure above the 1000 in our case refers to the amount of sugar in the wort. Therefore if we start off wi th a specific gravity of 1070, it means that the sugar content of the wort registers 70 on the hydrometer. All we have to do is take a sample of the wort in a trial jar supplied with the hydrometer, or a lager glass if you have not a proper trial jar. Let the hydrometer slide into the sample so that it floats clear of the sides of the jar. Make sure there is enough sample to float the hydrometer. Stand the jar on a level surface and note at what figure the liquid cuts across the stem of the hydrometer. This will be the figure representing the sugar content.

Comparing these to figures with those in the in Specific Gravity / Alcohol Percentage and you will see how much alcohol will be produced from the sugar. If you decide you want a stronger or weaker beer, all you have to do is to either add more sugar to increase the reading or add water to reduce it. Bear in mind that the more sugar the wort contains the higher the hydrometer will float. The less it contains the lower it will sink. Thus, as the sugar is used up by the yeast from day to day, the lower the readings will be from day to day.

It is not likely that you will take day to day readings, but if you did the result would appear like this:

At this stage, fermentation will begin to slow down so that the reading will drop by only one or two degrees a day. When the reading has finally dropped to 1.005 it is safe to bottle the still-fermenting beer. A reading as high as 1.008 is sometimes safe, but beginners would be wise to bottle their beers when the reading is 1.005 as sometimes unforeseen factors give rise to more gas being produced than expected. As their experience grows, and if they decide they want more gas, they can bottle when the reading is 1.006 or 1.007.

Note. I must mention so that confusion is avoided that readings as I have shown them are often written without the decimal point and appear thus 1006 instead of 1.006 or 1007 instead of 1.007. Don’t let this bother you if you happen to come across this elsewhere, as the figures mean the same whichever way they are written.

Most chemists, such as Boots and Timothy Whites, and many ironmongers stock thermometers covering all ranges of readings. The range best for brewing is from about 50 to boiling; if it goes beyond boiling point it will not matter. Many operators brewing in the simplest fashion seem to manage without one, but it is best to have one handy as it means that temperatures may be checked as required and this checking results in far more accurate brewing which, in turn, makes for far better beers.

When you get your thermometer, take my tip and put it in cold water – all of it – and bring to the boil and hold there for about one minute. This will harden it so that when it is put into high temperature liquids it will not break. It is very probable that all this talk about using a thermometer and hydrometer gives the impression to beginners that home brewing is a highly technical and complicated business – nothing would be further from the truth. The fact is that in using these simple instruments you are making the job much more simple and much more certain. Without them – particularly the thermometer – disaster can overtake you in the early stages, but this would not become evident until much later on when you might discover that, owing to having had the wrong temperature at the wrong time, there is an immovable starch cloud or that the beer lacks flavor or perhaps has gone far more bitter than it should have done.

The hydrometer can, of course, be done without, but as explained in the section covering this instrument, using it makes for safe working, gives you details of how fermentation is progressing, and allows you at a glance to calculate how much sugar to add to give a certain percentage of alcohol.

So don’t stint on these important items and don’t for heaven’s sake imagine this business to be complicated. When you have all the utensils and ingredients ready and have read through the details here once or twice, everything will become very clear and very simple to put into operation.

The fermentation lock beginners need not use a fermentation lock during the early days of beer making. But when they have had a bit of experience they may find it very useful – I do myself. Readers already making wines must forgive me for boring them by repeating details they already know about. In wine making we use a fermentation lock to ensure that the fermenting wine is kept safe from wild yeasts and bacteria and to cut off the air and oxygen supply so that the yeast, which must have oxygen, turns to the sugar for it, thus producing more alcohol than it would if it obtained oxygen from the atmosphere. It is a fact that high alcohol wines cannot be made without a fermentation lock.

In beer making we use a fermentation lock during the later stages of production and in order to keep the fermenting wort free of wild yeast and bacteria. We also use it so that we can put the fermenting beer into jars, thus freeing the fermentation vessel for another batch.

As will be seen, after three or four days, fermentation of the beer slows down; it is at this stage that it may be put into jars. If put into jars during the vigorous ferment, the yeast will be forced up through the lock to such an extent that you will have beery yeast all over the place.

But if the lock is fitted to jars filled to within four or five inches of the tops with slower fermenting beer, there will be no bother. Fermentation locks are supplied with bungs already fitted for about 25 6d. One, or maybe two is all the home brewer will need. Before fitting the lock rinse it in some of the sterilizing solution and then stand it on its bung downwards in a cup of the solution to make sure the cork is purified. It may then be fitted to the jar. A little of the solution is then poured in the open end or dropped in with an eye-drops dispenser. The gas being generated inside the jar will push the solution up to one side and bubbles will pass through. The solution closes up so quickly that airborne diseases are prevented from gaining access. The lock may be left in place until all fermentation has ceased or until you are satisfied that it has gone on long enough to leave the right amount of sugar left unfermented and the beer is ready for bottling. This, of course, depends on whether you are making draught beer, or are adding sugar to draught beer to produce a gaseous beer, or whether you are using a hydrometer to ascertain how much sugar is left unfermented. All this may seem to complicate matters, but as soon as you have made a few brews all this will fall neatly into the pattern of things.

If reading the outline on commercial brewing it will be seen that we need a mash tun for conversion and extraction of the mash-malt and brewery liquor. For this we may use a two-gallon polythene pail. This is quite suitable for a four-gallon lot, as we can make the amount up to four gallons at a later stage, thus avoiding the use of a larger vessel. We shall also need a copper for boiling the wort _ the strained mixture from the mash tun plus hops and any other additions. The copper may be an ordinary domestic boiler provided it holds two or three gallons comfortably. A galvanized copper (boiler) may be used provided no acid is added until the wort is poured into the fermentation vessel. Acid added earlier than this would react on the metal to produce unpleasant tastes and effects and even poisoning. A very large iron saucepan with a mottled blue lining or similar wash boiler would also be suitable. Even so, it would still be wise never to add acid until advised in the recipes. In this way risk of metal contamination is avoided. Lined vessels must not be chipped. Do not use enamel pails for boiling the wort as these often contain lead in the glaze; this can cause lead poisoning. For fermentation purposes a polythene dustbin bought especially for the purpose is ideal. Before using it stand it on a level surface and put in one gallon of water. Mark on the outside with suitable paint a line where this reaches. Then add another gallon and make another mark. Do this with a third, fourth and fifth gallon until you have a bin marked from bottom to top at gallon levels. This will avoid a lot of messing about later on when a recipe calls for making up to a certain level with water.

In addition to the three essential items mentioned you will need a 50-watt immersion heater costing about 7s. 6d. These are designed for tropical fish tanks and are used by home brewers to keep the mash in the mash tun at a suitable temperature. This saves the bother of trying to keep the mash at a given temperature over gas or other heat for hours on end. Power consumption by the immersion heater is negligible. Bear in mind that constant and correct temperature of the mash is of the utmost importance, as it is during this stage that enzyme action brings about the important changes already discussed. The heater already mentioned does this admirably when used with a two-gallon polythene pail. The above are essentials. A specific gravity hydrometer is not essential, but you will make your brewing much more interesting and results more certain if you use one. When to use is included in the recipes.

Barrels or storage jars are not needed. Far better to take the beer from the fermenting vessel directly into bottles. Quart bottles are best and these should be used when directed in the recipes.

Alternative fermentation vessel. Many operators making large quantities of wine use a thick polythene bag as a fermentation vessel. This may be used quite well for fermenting beers provided it has suitable support; an old barrel past its usefulness is ideal. Merely put the bag in this and fill with wort. Deep crocks or bread bins, or even round plywood flour bins, may be used. As the polythene acts as a lining, almost any vessel normally unsuitable for fermentation purposes may be used. Make certain that any container of this sort has no sharp edges, protruding nails or metal parts that might puncture the polythene bag; remember that when full of wort the pressure on such objects is considerable.

If a bag is used, the top may be gathered together and held in place by an elastic band. The gas formed will find an outlet for itself where the top is puckered.

When bottling time comes, the top may be undone, folded back over the rim of the container and the siphoning tube inserted. One drawback with this type of container is that top-fermenting yeast sticks to it, but this is easily cleaned off. Whereas bottom fermenting yeast settles and works from the bottom, top-fermenting kinds rise to form a nobbly pancake on the surface. This should be scooped off daily if large amounts of yeast are made in a short time. Sometimes, if this ‘cake’ is left on the surface, it turns an unpleasant brown color. This is quite natural and even if left undisturbed until all fermentation has ceased and then scooped off it will do no harm to the beer.

Here it is important to mention that fermentation vessels must be large enough to hold all the wort and to leave space for a good yeast head to form. If it is not big enough, the yeast will overflow, making a terrible mess.

Suitable polythene bags are best obtained from home brew supply firms, as these can be relied upon to be of true polythene and to be sound in seams and texture and of suitable gauge-thickness.