Home Brew Supplies and Process – by Andy Wittig 12/16/04

This document talks about some of the supplies you’ll need for brewing beer. I also talk about some of my processes. I’m sure other folks have some variations to the process, like adding a secondary fermentation. It works for me, I hope you find it useful. I’d suggest that you pick up the bible to home brewers. “The New Complete Joy Of Homebrewing” by Charlie Papazian.

This is the Brew Pot. When you make the wort (unfermented beer), you start with 1 ½ gallons of water, so make sure you have a large enough pot. This pot is 18 quart. I use a wooden spoon to clip on the Grain Bag (J) and Hopps Bag (K) and hang these over the boiling the wort at the proper stages of the brew process.

You will use the Gallon Jug for measuring water. 1 ½ gallons goes into the pot to brew for the recipes. You’ll also use the jug when you add 3 gallons of cold water into the carboy before you add the hot wort to the carboy, then top it off to make it up to 5 gallons. Always leave an airspace, I usually fill it with water up to where the carboy starts curving. You’ll use the large Funnel when you transfer the wort to the carboy.

The Wort Chiller, is not a must, but it’s nice to have. It will bring the temperature down to 70^ in about 10 minutes. If you don’t have one, you will need to wait about 8 hours before pitching the yeast (adding the yeast to the wort). This was the most recent purchase of my stuff. It’ll run you about $50-60. If you use a wort chiller, you’ll want to set this in the boiling wort to the last 10 minutes of the boil so it is disinfected from the heat of the wort. When the wort is finished cooking, take the pot with the wort chiller in it, to the sink . You will attach one side to the faucet and the other side just goes down the drain. When cold water runs thru the chiller, it carries the heat out of the wort.

The Carboy is used to ferment the beer. You’ll notice a thermometer on it, it’s a stick-on. You’ll also notice a handle, a very nice feature I’d suggest purchasing one of these.

The Cleanser (L) and Iodine (F) are used for cleaning your supplies and disinfecting them. Some people use bleach, but I hear that’s harsh on kegs and other stuff. I’ve used the Iodine for a long time and it seems to work fine. You just need a few drops in the water, it suggests you use cold water with it. The cleanser has something magic in it that attacks the malt and residual malt, so it works really great. I use the cleanser when I’m cleaning the carboy and the blowoff can and the blowoff tubes (more on that later). I use the Iodine by filling one of the sinks with water and adding it to it. I put utensils and other supplies in it before using them. I also add some iodine during the kegging and cleaning the carboy process.

You will need a couple of types of Tubing: One of about a 3 foot length of Tubing for Racking/Transferring and Bottling, and one of about 2 foot length Tubing for Blowoff during Fermentation. I don’t know the exact sizes gauge off hand, but the larger size is for Racking and the smaller one is for the blowoff. The brewstore will know what to sell you.

Once the wort is chilled to no higher than around 70^, you are ready to pitch the yeast. This simply adding the yeast to the carboy. I always use the liquid yeast, it’s much better than the dry stuff. When you purchase it, if you have a choice of some different packages, get the freshest one.

The beer will begin Fermenting – I like to cover my carboys with sweatshirts to keep drafts and light off the beer. A Blowoff tube is attached to a holed bung at the top of the carboy and out to a container. Fill the blowoff container partially with water so no air works its way back in up thru the blowoff tube. After a couple of days and when blowoff slows to just releasing CO2 without foam. And when the foamcap has subsided, replace blowoff tube with Airlock (N) filled with water. When you see that the airlock is not bubbling air and no visible CO2 is being produced in the carboy, fermentation is complete (about 7-10 days).

If you are going to keg, now is the time to clean the kegs or bottles. Most of the time, I do this work during the boil process to multi-task. When I (or a helper) clean kegs, I cleanse it thru the following process: Water, Water with Cleanser, Water, Water with Iodine, Water. If you use bottles, make sure to purchase a bottling brush (similar to my Carboy Brush (D), but smaller and straight, not curved like this.)

This is the Beer in Carboy prior to kegging. That is not foam on the top, but remains from blowoff during fermentation. It’s ready to be packaged in either a Keg or bottles. You’ll get 1 5 gallon keg out of a batch, or 48-49 12 oz bottles, or about 24 22 oz bottles.

The Racking Tube (C) is used for transferring the beer from the carboy to the Keg (or in your case, bottles). It’s stiff, and you attach the tubing (mentioned above) to it. Here is a picture of the Transfer via Siphoning and another one from a Different Angle. In my case, I keg, so here’s the Keg Getting Filled with the beer.

In your case when you bottle, you will have one additional step. You must transfer the beer from the carboy into another Temporary Container. You must be careful when doing the transfer not to include in the siphon any of the Spent Yeast and Hopps in the bottom 2” of the Carboy. This stuff is nasty!

You need the temporary container so you can add ¼ cup of corn sugar to the batch of beer prior to bottling. This addition of sugar will cause a tiny bit more fermentation to recommence which will give you natural carbonation in the bottles. I’d suggest purchasing (or making one like the picture) and have a tap on it. This will allow you to attach the tubing to it, then attach the Bottle Filler (H) or another picture to the other end of the tubing. It makes it easy since you don’t have to siphon. The bottle filler has a spring on it, so when you press down, it releases the beer. The bottles fill from the bottom.

This is a picture of a Hydrometer. It’s used for measuring the alcohol content and gravity if the beer. You take a measurement when you start fermentation, and when you complete fermentation. You siphon beer into this tube and the hydrometer floats in the beer. There is a calculation you make to determine the alcohol content.

This is a Bottle Capper and a new Bottle Cap.

These are Bungs.. One with a Hole and one without. They fit on the carboy. Make sure when you purchase it, that it fits the size of carboy snuggly.

This is a Carboy Brush (D) and it’s used for Cleaning the Carboy. It helps you get rid of the remains from the foamcap during fermentation.

I’ve been kegging for awhile now, it’s a nice break from cleaning all of the bottles, plus the final product is much clearer. This is a 5lb CO2 Tank. After I add the beer, I set it to 30lbs of pressure for the first night after kegging, then 10lbs for dispensing. Generally, I turn off the CO2 and turn it on every few days. The CO2 line goes from the tank thru the side of the fridge. The Manifold converts 1 CO2 line into 2 kegs.

This is the result: 2 Kegs of beer which are dispensed with picnic taps!