Beer Presentation Mike Brown

Welcome to ABC Homebrew

http://www.homebrew-guide.com/images/beer-2.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/Barney_Gumble.png

Common Types of Beer LAGER — German family of beers, pale coloured with a

crisp, clean taste

PALE ALE — Broad family of British styled ales including bitter and others. Should be a deep gold to deep amber, with noticeable hop aroma and bitterness.

AMBER ALE — Vaguely defined American ale style, where, basically, anything goes as long as it’s amber.

RED ALE — American ale style. Typically deep reddish-amber, not too bitter.

BROWN ALE — British ale style, medium amber to deep brown. Usually a toasted malt character not found in pale ale. Weaker versions called “mild”.

PORTER —Medium to blackish brown ales originally created in London. Stronger versions called “stout” porter, hence the origin of that name.

STOUT — A stronger, darker variant of porter.http://www.thevierling.com/beer.htm

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Cider Traditional farmhouse English cider is still (not carbonated)

Traditional French cider is slightly carbonated

PERRY is a kind of cider made from pears – now quite rare

• Homebrew cider is available in kits (concentrate) like beer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cider

Materials and Equipment

Beer mix and Yeast

• Beer mix contains concentrate• Also known as wort•Usually make 18 -22 litres of beer

• Yeast is needed to start fermentation process and turn sugar to alcohol

Brewing Sugar or Dextrose

• Sugar turns to alcohol

•More sugar = more alcohol

• Other sources of sugar (e.g. malt extract) are possible, depending on the type of beer and flavour desired

Fermenter and Spigot/ sediment reducer

http://www.autho-rity.info/brew/bottle.JPG http://www.aaoobfoods.com/images/water/spigot.jpg

Airlock

http://www.ebrew.com/Products_A/s-type_airlock.jpg

• Prevents air from entering fermenter during fermentation process

•Must be tightly sealed

Adhesive Thermometer

• Sticks to outside of fermenter

• Yeast operates best within a certain temperature range (depends on yeast)

• Ideal temperature varies between 16 - 25°C

• If yeast gets too hot, it will die and fermentation will fail

• If yeast gets too cold, fermentation will become sluggish and eventually stop

• Always check instructions on your yeast packet!

Hydrometer

http://www.boskbeer.com/USERIMAGES/hydrometer.jpg

• Used to measure gravity and estimate strength of beer

Using a Hydrometer to measure Gravity

• Original Gravity (OG), Specific Gravity (SG) and Final Gravity (FG) describe the concentration of sugars in the wort

• Sugar is heavier than water, alcohol is lighter than water

•OG is the gravity before fermentation.

• SG is the gravity as measured at an arbitrary point during fermentation.

• FG is the gravity after fermentation, i.e. when most of the sugars have been eaten by the yeast. Usually in the 1.006-1.025 range.

http://blog.geirove.org/2006/10/brewers-lingo-explanation-of-some-terms.html

Little Bottler

http://www.brew-it-yourself.co.uk/shop/catalog/images/little_bottler.jpg

• Used to bottle beer quickly and limit exposure to air

• Attaches to spigot on fermenter

Long Mixing Spoon

• Used to mix ingredients in fermenter

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Spoon.jpg

Carbonation Drops

http://www.northernbrewer.com/pics/fullsize/coopers-co2-drops.jpg http://www.brew-winemaking.com/productimages/5003.jpg

• Used in secondary (bottle) fermentation

• Give beer its “fizz”

• Drops slightly raise alcohol content but do not affect flavour

• Ordinary sugar can be used

Bottles

• PET or Glass?

• Must be dark coloured - too much light will spoil secondary fermentation and “Skunk” the beer

• Bottles must be stored away from direct sunlight

www.autho-rity.info

Overview of Brewing Technique

Step 1: Mixing• Clean and sanitise all equipment that will come into contact with beer before mixing

• Use boiling water to kill any bacteria

• Place beer mix in hot water for 15 minutes

• Pour beer mix into fermenter

• Add brewing sugar

• Add 2 litres boiling water

• Add approximately 20 litres cold water and stir

• Check that temperature is under 25°C

• Sprinkle yeast on surface of wort

• Seal immediately and insert airlock

•Take Original Gravity using hydrometer

Step 2: Brewing• Airlock should start bubbling after a few hours

• During fermentation, the yeast breaks down the sugar in the wort and turns it into alcohol. This is called primary fermentation

• Temperature control is vital at this stage

• The rate of bubbling will slow down during fermentation

• Fermentation usually takes around 4 – 7 days

• Use hydrometer to check Specific Gravity during primary fermentation

• If hydrometer reading is around 1006-1010 and remains constant over 24 hours, primary fermentation is complete

Step 3: Bottling• Bottles should be rinsed with cooled boiled water before first use

and sanitised before subsequent use – PET bottles will melt if boiling water is used.

• Add carbonation drops or sugar to each bottle (this is called “priming”)

• Connect little bottler to spigot and use it to fill bottles

• Continue filling bottles until fermenter is almost empty

• Discard sediment at bottom of fermenter

• Secondary fermentation takes place in bottle

Step 4: Enjoy

• Beer is usually ready to drink after 2-3 weeks of secondary fermentation

• It is best to let beer condition in the bottle for at least three months before drinking

• Beer will improve with age up to about 18 months

• Bottles should be stored upright away from direct sunlight

• If ordinary lemonade plastic bottles are used, beer will slowly lose carbonation and go flat

http://www.zillowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/beer.jpg

Potential problems

Infection – due to lack of sterilisation or poorly sealed fermenter

Exposure to light can spoil or “skunk” the beer

Over carbonation can make beer too fizzy and frothy

Poor temperature control can prolong fermentation process or cause it to fail

Using ordinary white sugar will make beer taste “cidery”

www.vpul.upenn.edu

Safety

• Glass bottles can explode

• Care should be taken around boiling water

• A full 23 litre fermenter is heavy, do not attempt to move it when full

• Estimation of beer strength is not accurate, avoid driving or operating machinery after homebrew http://www.freewebz.com/insanesite/nuclear-explosion.gif

Excessive consumption of alcohol can lead to:

• Blurred vision

• Reduced motor skills

• Violent behaviour

• Risk-taking

• Offensive behaviour or acts of vandalism

• Drink-driving

• Long term health issues including liver and brain damage

http://www.liquor.qld.gov.au/Patrons/Responsible+drinking

Responsible Drinking

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• For men:

No more than 4 standard drinks* a day on average; and No more than 6 standard drinks on any one day.

• For women:

No more than 2 standard drinks a day on average; and No more than 4 standard drinks on any one day.

* 1 pot ordinary strength beer = 1 standard drink