|
|
 Mission Background: In 2001, the Company known as Mr.Beer® was 3 years into its long-term mission to spread joy through the magic of homebrewed beer. The company was manned by a small crew (3), including customer service staff in deep hibernation, to be awakened when the phones started ringing. Total beer kits sold each year measured in hundreds.
Mission Status: By 2010, crew expanded to 13. Customer Service Agents long for deep hibernation. Total beer kits sold each year measure in hundreds... OF THOUSANDS.
Mission Analysis: Brew. Bottle. Repeat as neccessary.
Without a doubt, the last decade has been good to Mr.Beer®. We like to think that our success is due -- at least in part -- to our committment to being good to you, our customers. With that in mind, this Brew News article is all about helping the thousands of new guys & gals get their beer oddessy off to a succesful start. We'll go over some of the most common questions and concerns that new brewers might have while brewing their first batch, and give you some tips to help overcome challenges you're likely to face.
First, we'll start with the basics: opening the box. Beleive it or not, lots of folks' first reaction when unpacking a kit is, "WTF? There's no can of Malt Extract!" There is, Buddy -- believe me. Take everything out of the box, then turn it upside down and shake it. The extract and Booster are hidden safely below a cardboard sheet on the bottom, and will come tumbling out (hopefully not onto your foot, cat, or child -- those things are heavy, and may leave a mark). Yes, this is easily one of the most frequently asked questions we get...
Once everything is safely out of the box, you'll probably be wanting to get into making some beer. Sounds good. Before you open that can of Hopped Malt Extract (HME) though, I've got a couple of suggestions.
1) Attach your spigot to the Keg, then fill that sucker with cold tap water. No leaks? Good. Many a sad fellow has jumped right in, with a full batch of beer, only to discover that the spigot leaked, was assembled incorrectly, or that there was a hole in the keg.
2) While you're there, check the temperature of your cold tap water. Is it cold? Shrinkage-cold? If it is the neighborhood of 35-45°F, you're good to go. If it is much warmer than that, you may want to consider filling a couple of 1-gallon water jugs and putting them in the fridge overnight. This will ensure that when you add cold water to the Wort in your brew keg, the temperature will drop to around 70°F, (a little warmer or cooler is fine) which is really ideal for pitching Yeast. As long as your tap water isn't coming out warmer than 70°F, this step is sort of optional -- if the wort is warmer that 76°F, you may get some off flavors, but you should try to lower the keg temp into the desired range as quickly as possible (try covering it with a wet t-shirt or towel). Yeast is happiest when pitched into the wort at or below the temperature you're going to ferment at (68-76°F). If the wort is much cooler than about 60°F, you'll likewise want to take some steps to warm it up a little bit -- but don't go crazy, the yeast has a natural tendency to warm things up a little. Try just putting it in a big ice chest with a warm bottle of water, or covering it with a blanket.
By now, you should be getting the hint that temperature is important in this process. It is, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it is the MOST important... that special honor is reserved for sanitation. It has been said that the work of a brewer is a lot like the work of a janitor.
Before brewing, you should always inspect and rinse your equipment -- to make sure it is clean -- before you even start to think about sanitizing. And yes, there is a difference. In brewing terms, clean equipment is visually free of dirt, crud, scum, etc; while sanitary equipment is clean and mostly free from any microbial contamination. Note that word: "mostly." In a home brewery, the goal is not to sterilize (or completely remove microbial contamination) -- to do so would be overkill. After brewing, you should always clean your fermenter immediately with warm soapy water, a soft cloth, and a bit of attention to detail. Be sure to rinse all the soap from the keg and dry it off before putting it away until next time. Many brewers use oxy products (e.g. Oxiclean) to clean their keg, which works very well, but any mild, unscented hand soap will work just fine. You should avoid using dish soap and hand soaps that contain lotion, as these products can leave a film on the surface of the keg that can impart off flavors.
As you wait for your beer to finish fermenting, I have just 2 more suggestions that will (hopefully) help you weather the anxiety.
1) Don't be afraid to give it a little extra time. You can absolutely make beer in 14 days, start to finish. BUT, you can absolutely make better beer if you give it a little longer to ferment (10-14 days) and a little longer to carbonate (another 10-14 days). If you're able to make it last a month or more in the bottle, you'll be amazed at how much your beer improves with Conditioning.
2) Don't freak out. It is tempting to hover over the fermenter and fret about the temperature, the amount of foam, or the spacing between each bubble, but your beer will probably be happiest if you leave it alone as much as you can over the next 7-14 days. Think of it as a teenager: it smells a little, sits around (apperantly doing nothing), and really wants nothing more than for you to just go away. That's okay. You'll get to spend more time together when it grows up. Just check it every so often to make sure it is at a comfortable temperature, and it'll be fine.
With these to guiding principals at the helm, you are well on your way to making a lifetime's worth of great tasting homebrew. If you've got other tips for new brewers, feel free to leave them in the comments! Happy new year, Homebrewers!
 |
|
Beer Quotes
" Life is too short to drink cheap beer. " Anonymous
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
