Make Your Own Beer Using Beer Kits

Beer Kits: An Overview

Using Beer Kits is the ideal staring point to learn the process of home beer making.

• Cost Effective as you need only the basic equipment to start.
• You will only require a small amount of time to prepare the Beer Kit as all the time needed to extract the malt from the grains has been done for you.
• You will learn many of the important skills in beer making in a short amount of time including the most important process - sterilisation of equipment.

• Many of the available beer kits are of great quality and there is now a large variety of different types of beer and ale to suit all tastes.

If you have never made your own beer before I would strongly recommend using a beer kit to start. This is an ideal way to learn about sterilisation, primary and secondary fermentations, yeast pitching, temperatures, hydormeter usage, barreling/bottling and enjoying the final product

What do Beer Kits consist of ?

A Beer Kit consists of one or two tins of extract pre hopped and formulated for a particular style of beer/ale lager or cider. They usually come with a sachet of compatible yeast and concise instructions. Some kits may also include a sachet of hop enhancer to be used at the brewers discretion. It is worth noting that some of the kits require sugar to be added although many have had the sugar added to the extract.

Lets Make Beer

1. Preparation

Rehydrate the Yeast

This process is optional as many of the yeast varieties supplied with beer kits can be used dry however by rehydrating the yeast it will make the fermentation process start quickly forming a protective yeast head over the wort. To rehydrate the yeast simply allow a small amount of boiled water to cool to 28°C and sprinkle the supplied yeast granules into this. Cover and leave this mixture for about 30 minutes. Simple.

Clean and Sterilise all equipment

Sterilisation of the equipment is important. Any bacterium or dirt that may get into your brew can make your beer taste like vinegar. The items that need sterilising at this stage are your fermenter bin, the bin lid and airlock, your brewers paddle, tin opener, thermometer and your hydrometer. It is also worth wiping over the beer kit tin after removing any labeling.

For cleaning I use a solution of VWP - a combined cleaner and sanitiser - available at most home brew stores although there are many products available for this purpose. Mix a solution of your chosen sanitiser in the bottom of your fermenting bucket and use a clean cloth and a bit of elbow grease to thoroughly wash the sides of the bucket. I usually put the other equipment into the bucket to soak for a short period of time. If your fermenter is of the type which has a tap fitted make sure that the tap and its mechanisms are well cleaned. Empty out the contents (I usually empty some of the sanitising solution into my pressure barrel and leave it in there for a few days) then as a precautionary measure swill a couple of pints of sodium metabisulphite solution around to rid the fermenter of any chlorine left by the sanitiser. Sodium metabisulphite can be purchased from your home brew store and is made up by adding one teaspoon per 1 pint of hot water. Once completed thoroughly rinse everything with cold water an keep the fermenter bin covered with the lid to stop any airborn particles from getting in.

Soften the Wort

To ease extracting the sticky wort from the can or cans it is a good idea to put the cans in either a pan or sink of hot water and leave for 10 to 15 minutes to soften.

2. Mixing the Beer

Open the can/cans of wort with your sterilised can opener and poor the contents into the fermenter.

To get all the sticky wort out of the cans fill them with boiling water, let stand for a couple of minutes then stir and pour into the fermenter

Add 6 or 7 pints of boiling water to the fermenter and if required the recommended amount of sugar (usually about 1kg) then thoroughly mix with the brewers paddle to fully dissolve the sugar.

Many people ask which type of sugar is best to use for home brew kits. I have made great brews with just normal everyday sugar and have found them non-detrimental to my enjoyment of the finished product. Your home brew shop will stock a variety of brewers sugars including glucose but my favourite has to be the spray malt/dextrous mix. I find this adds significant body to the finished product and a creamier head. It is more expensive to use than normal sugar but I would recommend it.

Add enough cold water to the fermenter to bring the level to the required amount of the brew kit (taking into account the several pints of water already added). A 40 pint kit is the equivalent of 22.73045 litres. I usually pour the water in gently at this stage so not to create a head on the beer as this gets in the way of taking a hydrometer reading accurately to ascertain the Original Gravity.

Taking a hydrometer reading to ascertain the Original Gravity

This is not something you need to do but by taking a reading at this stage it will help to determine the alcohol percentage of the final beer. To take a reading firstly take a temperature reading with your clean thermometer and write this down. Secondly place your cleaned hydrometer into the fermenter and wait till it settles. Take the reading and mark this down with the temperature. This reading is what is known as the Original Gravity often abbreviated to OG. Once the beer has finished fermenting we take another reading and compare the results to the OG to see how much of the sugar has turned to alcohol. From these readings we can find out the ABV (Alcohol by Volume) of the beer.

Aerating the Fermenter

This step is important for the yeast to work properly as there must be a good level of oxygen in the wort. There are numerous methods for adding air back into the liquor. I personally use a brewers paddle in the end of a cordless drill set to a lowish speed and mix for several minutes - many people do this by hand mixing with the paddle for 5 minutes plus causing good turbulence in the liquor but it does make your arm ache! Another method is to pour the liquor from one bucket to another several times.

Adding the Yeast

This is where the magic starts.

Measure the temperature of the liquor in the fermenter and ensure that it has dropped to around 18-21°C. (Higher temperatures will kill the yeast). Either sprinkle the provided dried yeast sachet over the top of the liquor or add your rehydrated yeast solution and give a gentle stir. Put the lid on the fermenting bin and place the airlock in the bung. The airlock should have the required amount of water added. Leave the fermenter in a warm area for the fermentation process to start. This is when pressure builds up in the fermenter by the gasses being expelled by the fermentation process causing them to escape through the airlock.

The fermentation process usually takes between 4 and 7 days.

If your liquor fails to start fermenting you will need to check the temperature of the liquor. If it is too cold for example below 16°C then the fermenter will need either placing in a warmer area or. a wise investment, is to purchase a brewers belt or heat tray. The brewers belts in particular are relatively cheap and simple to use. Once you have sorted the temperature of the liquor it is advisable to give the liquor a very gentle stir with a sterilised brewers paddle to agitate the yeast which may have settles to the bottom of the fermenter.

Alternatively the liquor may have been too warm at the time of pitching the yeast. If this is the case then the only way to save the beer is to pitch more yeast.

If the temperatures have been right through all the processes then you may be experiencing what is refered to as stuck fermentation. Again, a gentle stir so as not to allow excessive air into the beer, with a sanitised brewers paddle is advisable.