Introduction to Homebrewing

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Introduction to Homebrewing with Stephen D’Amico

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Basically, you want to be this guy: Charlie Papazian (Godfather)

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Going to play a game… Inspired by his book “the homebrewer bible” The Complete Joy of Homebrewing

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Every time you see this slide:

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Then, take a drink

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Ready?

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Awesome, let’s get started!

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A Brief History of Brewing (and Homebrewing)

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First, What is Beer? ● Water ● Fermented Sugars (Alcohol) ● Non-Fermented Sugars ● Yeast ● “Adjunct grains” ● Alpha Acids (Hops) ● … can keep going to increasingly more painful detail

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What is Beer, Really? ● Liquid bread

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The First Batch (~7000 b.c.) ● Beer was likely first created as an accident when barley for a batch of bread was left, wet, in a bucket outside ● Barley germinated in the water ● Natural airborne yeast got into bucket ● Bucket sits there for awhile ● Someone was like, “hmm, I wonder what this is?” ● Taste… Profit.

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Early Years (5000 b.c. - 500 a.d.) ● Mesopotamia ○ First brewers were women ○ Brewing was considered similar to baking bread ○ “One of the oldest professions” ● Egypt ○ Drink of the Pharaohs ○ Used ceremoniously ● Asia ○ Chinese and Japanese develop rice wines/sake

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Early Years (5000 b.c. - 500 a.d.) ● Romans ○ Had beer early but... ○ Developed “more sophisticated palate” (wine) ■ Probably led to downfall of Roman society; all of those pretentious Roman wine-o’s ● Germanic Tribes ○ Made “gruel-like” beers ○ Heavy on the grist, usually drank with straws ○ Probably tasted pretty terribly

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Early Years (5000 b.c. - 500 a.d.) ● Early brewers often worked in what would be considered a “‘highly unsanitary” fashion today ○ Reuse of tubs/spoons/stirrers that provided yeast to the beer accelerated process over natural fermentation ● Was described as “strong with a taste that must be acquired” in ~500 b.c. ○ Not much has changed!

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Middle Ages (500 - 1200 a.d.) ● Challenging to grow grapes in northern Europe ○ Grow a lot more grain; grain-heavy diet ○ Beer becomes most common beverage (after water (no really, the thing about drinking beer instead of water is false)) ● Unsophisticated packaging and preservatives make it hard to transport ○ Origin of alehouses ~800 a.d. ○ Evolved from Roman Inns

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Middle Ages (500 - 1200 a.d.) ● Start using hops ~900 a.d. ○ Some brewers thought they were “impure” ○ London brewers defined “ale” as only water and barley, while “beer” was water, barley, oats, hops, etc. ○ Didn’t quite catch on… yet! ● Monasteries ○ Abbeys became famous for brewing beer ○ Monks dedicated themselves to brewing ○ Became major beer suppliers in the period ○ Weihenstephan Abbey 1040 a.d.

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Early Modern Era (1200 - 1700 a.d.) ● Birth of the Brewery (~1200 a.d.) ○ Germans standardized barrel sizes ○ Pave way for beer exportation ○ Took a few centuries for these processes to spread ● Hops ~1300 a.d. ○ Hoppy beers become popular ○ Natural preservative properties discovered ○ Greatly improved beer quality ○ Hoppy beers gain acceptance in London by the ~1400’s

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Reinheitsgebot (1576 a.d.) ● German Beer Purity Law ● Required beer to be created from three ingredients ○ Water ○ Barley ○ Hops ● Yeast has not been “discovered” yet ○ Generally just took some of the sediment from the last batch and threw it in the next ● Sets the standard for quality

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Industrial Revolution (1700 - 1850 a. d.) ● Lots of technological improvements! ○ Thermometer, ~1760 ■ Consistent heating made beer brewing more easily reproducible ○ Steam Engines become economical, ~1765 ■ Power the pumps and automatic stirrers needed for brewing ○ Hydrometer, ~1770 ■ Allows brewers to measure sugar content in their mash (we’ll get to this later!) ■ Major efficiency improvements

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Industrial Revolution (1700 - 1900 a. d.) ● The “smoky” problem ○ Until this point, barley is roasted/dried in wood-fired kilns ○ Imparts smoky flavors in the malt ○ Tried to avoid by using dry wood/straw ■ Expensive… ○ Add more hops! ■ Usually works, but tastes strong ● Solved: Drum Roaster ~1817 ○ Porters and stouts become viable without too much smokiness

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“Discovery” of Yeast (1857 a.d.) ● Louis Pasteur discovers the role of yeast in brewing beer ○ Was previously thought to be a chemical reaction creating the alcohol ● Brewers now cultivate various yeast strains ● Learn which ones do not have “off- flavors” ● Now there are 100’s of strains used in commercial brewing

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Industrial Revolution (1700 - 1900 a. d.) ● Two big innovations ○ Bottom-fermenting Yeast 1870 ○ Refrigeration 1871 ● These two lead to production of Lagers ● Lagers will eventually replace ales in terms of production volume and popularity

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Modern Brewing (1850 - 1970 a.d.) ● In Europe... ○ Lots of breweries try to stick to “traditional” process ■ Lots of abbeys still brew beer ■ Process matures regionally ■ Belgian “lambic” style still open-air ferment ○ Family breweries grow to massive operations ■ Create the brewing conglomerates that we have today ■ SABMiller, Anheuser-Busch InBev, etc.

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Modern Brewing (1850 - 1970 a.d.) ● In the USA ○ Lots of breweries (in the 1000’s) until Prohibition in 1920 ○ After prohibition, only large breweries remain ○ During prohibition, beer gets “watered down” to increase profits ■ The beginning of “American-style Lager” ■ Uhg. ○ Consolidation to a few major players post WW2 ■ Schlitz, Bud, Miller, Coors, Pabst

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Homebrewing! (1978 a.d.) ● Homebrewing remains illegal after prohibition is lifted ● 1978, Congress passes bill to legalize small-scale brewing at home! ● Charlie Papazian founds American Homebrew Association within months ● He then publishes Complete Joy of Homebrewing in 1984

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Thanks Chuck!

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US Craft Beer Explosion (1980 - today) ● 1980 - 92 breweries in the US ● 1990 - 284 ● 1995 - 858 ● 2000 - 1566 ● 2005 - 1477 ○ Sadface… mostly brewpubs failing ● 2010 - 1813 ● 2014 - 3464

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Homebrewing Today ● Has grown into major hobby in US ● More and more home brew shops are opening in the US ● Estimated 1.2M homebrewers in the USA ● Ready-to-brew kits have come way down in price; reasonable starter kit will run ~$100 ● Competitions all over the place!

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Let’s Brew! (A 5gal extract-based batch)

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What goes into beer? ● Many ingredients over the years and brewers experiment with more all the time! ● Generally, though you’ll be using Malt, Hops, Water and Yeast

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Malt ● Dried, germinated barley ● Can be roasted to add flavor ○ Through Caramelization ■ Caramelized malts ○ Or Through Burning ■ Black malt/Chocolate malt ● 2-row or 6-row are “base malts” ● Extract sugars to produce Wort ● Malt Extract is dehydrated Wort

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Hops ● Bittering agent powered by their Alpha- acids ● Styles are rated on their potency ○ 3-4% alpha acid is fairly standard for flavoring ○ 10-14% is very strong, used for bittering ● As well as rated on their perfumes ○ Grapefruity, piney, citrusy, spicy ○ Lots and lots of varieties ● Natural preservative ○ Used in styles that were transported (IPA)

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Hops (cont.) ● IBU = International Bittering Unit ○ 10-20 is fairly mild ○ ~50-60 is a Pale Ale ○ ~80-100 is an IPA ○ 100+ are usually “Imperials” because they need more hops to balance the strong alcohol ● Add during the boil to add bitterness to the beer ● Impart more scents the later they are added (aroma hops at the very end)

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Water ● Clean water is an absolute must ● Tap water is fine, you can view your city’s water profile online ○ New York City’s water is pretty neutral ● Also, can buy bottled water for a consistent profile ● Avoid water chemistry unless you really know what you’re doing

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Yeast ● Ale yeast is easiest ● Comfy in temps from ~55º to 70º ● Rehydrate your dry yeast before adding to beer ● Create a starter for old yeast ○ A “starter” is just a small batch a beer to get the live yeast count up ● Lots of different strains that have different flavors. Experiment!

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Equipment ● Kettle ○ 7gal, usually want a few gallons of head room for boiling to prevent boil-overs ○ Stainless is ideal, aluminum turkey fryer works ● Spoon ○ Can be metal or wood, wood being harder to clean... ● Fermenter ○ A 5gal food-grade pail works ○ Lids specifically made for brewing (airlock)

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Equipment (cont.) ● Grain bag ○ Used for steeping non-fermenting grains in wort ● Hop bag ○ Not necessarily required, but can be helpful, especially when brewing low-hop styles ● Thermometer ○ Floating is usually good, though you have to be careful to keep it clean

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Equipment (cont.) ● Airlock ○ Allows CO2 to escape while keeping air out ● Hydrometer (w/test tube) ○ Measure specific gravity of the beer ● Siphon/Racking cane ○ Auto-siphon prefered! ○ “Racking” is process of transferring between containers ● Bottling Bucket ○ Second 5gal food-grade pail is great

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Equipment (cont.) ● “Bottle filler” w/tube ○ Spring-loaded stopper at end of tube to fill bottles from bottom to top ● Bottles ○ To put the beer in ● Bottle Brush ○ To clean the bottles ● Bottle Caps ○ To put on the bottles ● Bottle Capper

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Equipment (cont.) ● Cleanser ○ Used for cleaning equipment before use ○ Recommend an oxygen-based cleanser like PBW (professional brewery wash) because its great on organics ○ Avoid cleansers with perfumes ● Sanitizer ○ Used for anything touching the beer after boiling; doesn’t require rinsing ○ Recommend an acid-based sanitizer like Star

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Equipment (cont.) ● Heating element ○ Propane burners are great ○ Can use a gas stove ■ Electric stove = really slow ● Wort chiller ○ To chill the hot beer after the boil ○ Sink full of ice works just fine ○ Can get immersion chillers that will work faster, but require more work to setup/clean

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Ingredients ● 8lbs light dry malt extract ○ More malt = more alcohol ○ Malt extract is dehydrated wort so we don’t need to extract sugars ourselves (all-grain) ● .5lb 60L Caramel Malt ○ Mostly for head retention and some malty flavor ● 4oz Cascade Hops ○ Get that nice, American Pale Ale flavor

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Ingredients (cont.) ● Safale US-05 Dry Beer Yeast ○ Classic American Ale yeast strain ○ Easy and reliable ● 3cups of Corn Sugar, for bottling

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Preparation ● Clean everything. ○ Lots and lots of cleaning ○ Use the cleanser liberally ○ Never leave visible dirt or grime ○ Use one of your pails as a cleansing bucket ● Get your sanitizing solution ready ○ Follow the instructions on the package ○ Make the solution in your other pail ○ Anything that touches the beer after boiling must be sanitized

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Get Started ● Bring about 4 gal of water to a boil in your kettle ● While the water temperature is rising, put your crystal malt into the grain bag and steep it in the water ● Once the water gets above 190ºF, take the bag out ○ If you leave it in too long, the proteins in the husks with break down and cloud the beer

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The Boil ● Now that you’re boiling, slowly add your dried malt extract to the water ○ Slowly is key, add it too quickly and I’ll guarantee that you’ll get a boil-over ● Add water to ensure you’re at about 5.5 gallons of wort ● Bring the wort to a boil ● We’re going to boil for about 60 minutes, so...

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The Boil (cont.) ● Stir occasionally ● Keep the wort boiling ○ Not quite a powerboil, but a good rolling boil ● After about 15min add your first 1oz of hops ○ Repeat this every 15 minutes after ● After 60min, turn the heat off and add your last 1oz of hops ○ These are your aroma hops!

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Cooling ● I recommend putting a lid on your wort at this point ● The number one concern now is not letting the unfermented wort come in contact with any germs that might add off-flavors to the beer ● Ensure your racking cane and tubes are sanitized ● Move your kettle to your sink

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Cooling ● Surround your kettle with ice and fill in the rest with cold tap water ● Monitor the temperature of your wort, we’re waiting to get the temperature down to ~80ºF ● This will likely take a while, so...

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Racking ● Empty your cleansing bucket ● Rinse out the cleanser from the bucket ● Sanitize it with your sanitizing solution ● Place your kettle on a chair above your bucket (hooray gravity) and get your auto-siphon going ● Being careful not to disturb the sediment at the bottom of the kettle, siphon the wort to the bucket

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Racking (cont.) ● Once the beer is racked to bucket, its a good time to check the specific gravity, using a sanitized siphon, draw a sample from the beer and test the gravity with the hydrometer; record that ● Put the lid on the bucket, fill your airlock with sanitizer and put it in the airlock hole on the bucket’s lid

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Pitching the yeast ● Prepare your yeast ○ To rehydrate dry yeast, get about 2 cups of 75º water, add the yeast, stir it vigorously to create foam and let it rest for a little while (20 - 30min should suffice) ● Open your fermenter and “pitch” the yeast in ● Wait 3 weeks...

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Packaging ● Bring enough water in a clean saucepan to a boil to dissolve all of the corn sugar ● Sanitize your second bucket and add the corn sugar to the bottom ● Rack the beer from the fermenter into the bottling bucket with your auto- siphon, be careful not to disturb the layer of yeast at the bottom

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Packaging (cont.) ● Clean your bottles ○ I usually do a sanitize run on the dishwasher ○ You can scrub by hand with a rinse and then quick soak in sanitizer if needed ● Using the bottle filler and your auto- siphon, fill each bottle ● Cap the bottles ● Wait 1-2 weeks

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Enjoy your Homebrew!!

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Learn More ● http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/ ● http://www.howtobrew.com/ ● http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/Brew- Strong

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Where to buy? ● Brooklyn Homebrew ○ South Slope ○ http://www.brooklyn-homebrew.com/

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Thanks!