Prepare Yeast Starter (Swirl actively for 2 days)APPENDIX F
All-Grain Brewing Checklist
Beer Name:____________________________________________ Brew Day: _________________________ OG:___________
3 Days before Brew Day (for beers greater than 1.050)
Prepare Yeast Starter (Swirl actively for 2 days)
1 Day before Brew Day
Collect 7–8 gallons of filtered water
Chill the starter (or smack the yeast pack for smaller beers)
Clean fermenters and kettles
Day of Brewing
Remove yeast or starter from fridge
If your grain is not precrushed, crush the malt with your grain mill
Mash
• Heat 1.25 quarts of water/pound of grain to around 12°F above desired mash temperature
For example, heat 12.5 quarts of water (3 gallons) for
10 pounds of grain
• Start heating the sparge water (5 gallons) to 170°F. Hold there for the end of the mash
• While stirring vigorously, add the crushed malt to water. Stir thoroughly and break up any clumpy dough balls
• After the proscribed rest at temperature, if you’re using a multistep mash, heat the mash to the next temp. If applying direct heat, stir constantly to avoid scorching. For boiling water additions, consult a calculation program for appropriate amounts of water
Sparge
• Cover the top of the mash with aluminum foil. Punch numerous small holes in the foil
• After the final mash rest, open the mash tun drain and slowly collect the initial runnings. Add these runnings back to the top of the mash until the wort runs clear and free of grain, about 10 to 15 minutes
• Collect the runnings into the boil vessel
• Maintaining the slow flow rate, add sparge water to cover the grains. When the boil volume is at 5 gallons, stop adding water to the mash. Continue to runoff and collect 6.5 gallons of liquid. Aim for 60 minutes of sparge time
• Close the mash tun and move it off to clean
Boil
• If extra burner space is available, begin heating the wort after the kettle bottom is covered by ½ inch
• As the beer comes to a boil, clean and sanitize the carboys, chillers, and airlocks for the batch
• Clean out the mash tun. Don’t let it sit overnight!
• With a fine-mesh strainer, collect the scum that rises to the boil top until decently clear. Rinse the strainer in cold water between scoops
• Add the bittering hops and start the brew timer. Add the remaining hops at the appropriate time. Remember recipes always specify time as “time remaining” (for instance, a 5-minute addition goes in with 5 minutes left in the boil, typically 55 minutes)
• 15 minutes remaining, add yeast nutrient and kettle clarifiers (Irish moss, whirlfloc). If using an immersion chiller, add it to the kettle now to sanitize
• 0 minutes remaining, kill the heat and stir the pot rapidly to generate a whirlpool. Let rest for 10 minutes
Chill and Pitch (Everything’s Sanitary Now)
• Follow the instructions for your chiller and lower the temperature to 70°F or below.
• In mid-transfer to the carboy, grab a sample for hydrometer testing
• Either shake or use an oxygenation system to prepare the cooled wort for yeast
• Decant the spent starter liquid and swirl to suspend the yeast. Pour the yeast into the fermenter and seal the beer away
Ferment (1 to 4 weeks after Brew Day)
Ferment for 1–2 weeks at recommended temperature (generally 65°F to 70°F)
Check the hydrometer to confirm completion
For clearer beer, transfer to a sanitized carboy for 2 weeks of settling
Bottle (3 to 5 weeks after Brew Day)
Sanitize the bottling bucket, bottling wand, hoses, and spigots
Boil approximately ¾ cup of priming sugar in a cup of water for 10 to 15 minutes, add to the sanitized bottling bucket
Rack beer (via siphon) to the bottling bucket, allowing to swirl to mix with the sugar
Fill each bottle, cap, and set aside in a warm space for 2 weeks.
Chill and test a bottle. If carbonated, you’re ready! Otherwise, wait another week and repeat.
OR!
Keg (3 weeks after Brew Day)
Clean and sanitize a keg.
Pop the lid (store in sanitizer) and cover mouth with foil.
Rack beer into keg, seal, and add CO2 pressure.
Set your CO2 tank to the recommended pressure (see table) for your temperature. Hook up the CO2 and attach for a week.
Alternatively, shake the chilled keg for 10 minutes and allow to settle for several hours before serving.