Grain Brewing - The Final Frontier

Have you tried kits and malt extract brewing and feel it's now time to have a go at making beer the real way? If so welcome aboard.

Not only is it possible to successfully mash at home, but with care and some planning you can routinely produce world class beer.

We suggest that before starting you have a good read of this pamphlet and if possible read any good books on the subject, for example, “How to Brew” by John Palmer, "Homebrewers Companion" by Charlie Papazian, “Dave Millers Homebrewing Guide”, “Designing Great Beers” by Ray Daniels or any of the Classic Beer Series.

A great source of Recipes is the Booklet produced yearly from results of the Victorian and Australian home brewing Championships. These are entitled “Vicbrew 2003” etc.

INGREDIENTS

MALT

Malt is the basis of all beer and it is impossible to brew without it. Once you have brewed a few times you will become familiar with the different types of malts and the influence they have on your brews. It is outside the scope of this pamphlet to fully explain what malt is and how it is produced other than to say it is derived from barley and is a completely natural product.

A large range of malts have become available in Australia in the past few years and this is the most rapidly changing area of the home brewing market. Top quality Australian malts produced by Joe White Maltings are now available. German malts by Weyermann and Hoepfner and British malts by Thomas Fawcett are also now available.

Varieties of Malt

The range of malts carried by all brewing shops is in a state of flux due to the huge range now available. All we can really guarantee is that the following list will change. We will update information and provide links to a web site in future editions of this pamphlet.

The EBC listing is the color produced in the final beer.

We currently carry the following varieties:

MALT TYPE EBC

Joe White

Pilsner 3 to 4
Traditional Ale 5 to 6
Malt Craft Wheat 3.5
Light Munich <20
Dark Munich 20-30
Amber Malt 30-60
Cara Malt 40-60
Crystal 115-145
Crystal Dark 250-300
Chocolate 500-800
Roasted Malt 1200-1500
Roast Barley 1200-1500

Thomas Fawcett & Sons

Maris Otter 4.5-5.5
Cara Malt 27-32
Crystal 120-140
Crystal Wheat 100-150
Pale Choc 500-550
Chocolate 900-1100
Black Malt 1200-1400
Roasted Barley 1000-1400
Torrefied Wheat 3.5-4.5
Flaked Barley 2.5-3.5
Flaked Maize 2.5-3.5
Pale Rye 2.5-3.5
Pale Oat 3 to 4
Amber 90-110
Brown 140-160

Hoepfner

Pilsner 3-4
Vienna 6-12
Munich 16-22
Weizen 3.5-4.5
Weizen Dunkel 15-20
Caramel (Cara Pils) 3-5
Caramel Hell 20-40
Caramel Dunkel 100-150
Roast Malt 1000-1300
Melanoidin ~40
Smoked ~5

Weyermann

Carared 40-60
Caramamber 60-80
Caraaroma 300-400
Carafa Special 1 800-900
Carafa Special 11 1000-1100
Carafa Special 111 1200-1300
Acidulated

Modification

Modification refers to the amount of germination which takes place in the grain during the malting process and from this we then know how the grain has to be mashed. Put simply, any malt that is under-modified has to have a protein rest during the mashing cycle. The protein rest makes certain enzymes become active and breaks down insoluble protein into soluble protein. If this were not to occur, the finished beer would be extremely hazy. Therefore this is an essential part of the mash when using undermodified malt.

Most malts now produced are fully modified and as such do not require a protein rest. However, many brewers prefer to use one, especially when making lagers, believing that increased maltiness and clarity result.

SUGARS

It is our belief that to produce first class beer, cane sugars should be either omitted or used very sparingly. The Germans actually have a law forbidding the use of anything other than Malt, Hops, Yeast and Water in their beer. In other words no sugar is used, and we've yet to taste a bad German beer.

If you are to use sugar it should only be as a flavouring adjunct and never just as source of alcohol. This therefore rules out the use of white sugar and dextrose. Small amounts of some dark sugars can add subtle flavour characteristics and are particularly good in English style beers.

We would never recommend more than 500 grams in a 25 Litre batch.

HOPS

Hops are the flowers of the female hop plant which is a perennial deciduous climbing vine. They are the seasoning in beer used to add bitterness to balance the sweetness of the malt and impart their aromas to the finished product. Almost all hops available for sale in Australia are pelletised, made by crushing the hop flowers and forming them into pellets.

The importance of hops in the beer cannot be overstated and it is essential to use fresh hops at all times. We store all our hops in the deep freeze and we strongly recommend you do the same with any you have at home. Below is a list of all the hops we have available along with approximate alpha acid ratings for these varieties. Also included is a guide to their aromatic qualities:

Pellets:
Fuggles 4 % Semi Aromatic
Pride of Ringwood 10% Bitter
Goldings 5 % Aromatic
Willamette 7 % Semi Aromatic
Tettnang 5% Very Fine Aroma
Saaz 3% Very Fine Aroma
Hallertau Hersbrucker 3% Very fine Aroma
Northern Brewer 7% Aromatic
Styrian Goldings 4% Aromatic
Hallertau 3 % Aromatic

Plugs:
Cascade 6%
Styrian Goldings 4%
Fuggles 5%
Goldings 5%
Perle 5%
Hallertau 3%

The alpha acid figure is the total bittering component in the hops when they are fresh and will differ from crop to crop & year to year. For example, if you required a particular level of bitterness applying the above quoted figures you would need twice as many Goldings hops as Pride of Ringwood.

There is a formula that can be used to calculate the quantity of hops required in a given recipe, based on the European Brewing Convention (EBC) Bitterness Units (BU). Bitterness Units are expressed as milligrams of alpha acid per litre of beer and some typical figures for well known commercial beers are as follows:


Victoria Bitter 22 BU
Coopers Sparkling Ale 24 BU
Guinness Stout 47 BU
Bass Pale Ale 28 BU
Lowenbrau 24 BU
Pilsner Urquell 40 BU
Cascade Premium Lager 25 BU

As you can see there is quite a bit of variance between different styles of beer. This is very useful information as home brewers are almost always trying to reproduce a particular commercial brand. With this information, and the final gravity of the beer, which determines the sweetness and body of the beer, the bitterness levels of any beer can be reproduced. The formula for this is as follows:

BITTERNESS UNITS = 10 x Required BU x Batch Size = g Alpha Acid.

This figure is then divided by the alpha acid figure for the type of hops you are using and a efficiency factor. To show this more clearly we will give an example for a 25 litre batch of Bass Pale Ale:

(1) (2) (3)
BU = 10 x 28 x 28
31 x 3.5%
(4) (5)

= 108.5

= 72 grams of Goldings hops in the boil.

Now what do all these figures mean ?

(1) This figure of ten is there to ensure we get an answer in whole numbers ie; 72 instead of 7.2;

(2) This is the BU figure for Bass Pale Ale.

(3) This is the batch size in litres. It is 28 instead of 25 due to the amount of wort that stays in the boiler at the transfer stage (explained later), that liquid which is heavily saturated with protein matter from the boil.

(4) This is the utilisation factor, or the amount of Alpha acid that is actually used during the boil. Brewing chemists have established that 31% is the maximum achievable in a 60minute boil. You would use figure of 25 if you were using cone hops.

(5) The alpha acid content of Goldings hops as a percentage by weight.

Here is another example:

Fosters Lager BU = 10 x 20 x 28 31 * 9.5% (Pride of Ringwood);

= 294.5

= 19 grams of hops in the boil.

WATER

This is another important ingredient in beer as even the strongest beer is 90% water. So it is important to use the cleanest and most chemically neutral water you can. As a general rule of thumb, Melbourne's water is soft and is perfect for Lager style beer once the chlorine has been removed from it. This can be achieved by filtering or boiling, the first of these being the simplest method.

When making beers with quantities of dark grain it is essential to add various mineral salts to the mash to balance out the acidity of these grains. It is beyond the scope of this paper to fully explain the chemistry involved in water treatment. For further information again consult the texts previously mentioned.

YEAST

Yeast is a vitally important ingredient in beer and has the ability to add all manner of subtleties to the finished beer, both good and bad.

For too long amateur brewers have suffered by having to use second rate brewing yeasts. No matter how good all your other ingredients are, if you have a sub-standard brewing yeast, you will finish up with sub-standard beer.

High quality Wyeast liquid yeasts are strains sourced from breweries all around the world and when used properly will give superb results. They are available in liquid packs in many Lager types as well as Ale and Wheat beer styles. Some of the available styles are:


German Ale London Ale 111 Danish Lager Forbidden Fruit
London Ale Northwest Ale California Lager German Wheat
American Ale British Ale 11 Bohemian Lager Belgian Trappist
Irish Ale European Ale Bavarian Lager Belgian Wheat
British Ale Belgian Strong Ale Danish II Lager Belgian White Beer
Whitbread Ale Scottish Ale Czech Pils Bavarian Wheat
Ringwood Ale Belgian Abbey 11 Munich Lager Belgian Ardennes
Belgian Ale Special London Ale Kolsch Saison
American Ale 11 Pilsen Lager Bavarian Wheat Leuven
Thames Valley Ale American Lager Weihenstephan Wheat Belgian lambic blend

EQUIPMENT

There are many ways to approach mashing & it is possible to make very good beer in the kitchen. However, it makes things much easier if you have some equipment which you can arrange so that the wort flows, using gravity, from a top sparge vessel, through a lauter tun into a boiler.

A successful and simple system for brewing 25 litres of beer would include the following:

- A mashing vessel, usually a stainless steel stock pot of 19 to 24 litres;

- A lauter tun – a plastic pail with a plastic false bottom with a hose going through the wall of the pail and a clamp on the hose;

- A stainless steel boiler, minimum volume 35 litres with a tap (a ball valve welded into the wall of the boiler is perfect) and a lid. A second hand beer keg is often used;

- A3 or 4 ring gas burner on a stand and gas;

- A copper cooling coil. The type used most commonly in Australia is a simple immersion chiller which is a length of 12mm copper tube coiled. The ends are bent and a hose is connected to run cold water through the coil & out to waste.

MASHING PROCEDURE

THE MASH

To explain the mashing procedure we will run through the basic procedure we use when brewing a single infusion mash.

Firstly, ensure that your equipment is clean.

Add the water to the mashing vessel, known as the mash tun. We use about 2.5 litres of water per kilo of malt.

Heat the water to 72 degrees Celsius. The grain is added next and once in, stirred continuously until properly wetted.

The temperature will now have dropped to 65 - 66 degrees. It is now up to you to maintain this level for the next 60 minutes. Longer mash times have traditionally been used but many commercial breweries employ a sugar rest of only 20 minutes.

A drop in temperature of 1-2 degrees over the period of the mash will not be seriously detrimental, however the strike (initial) temperature is important.

While mashing, heat the sparge water – about 20 litres – to 76-78 degrees.

A Brief Word On The Effect Of Temperature During The Mash.

You may be wondering about the temperature quoted for the mash of 65-66. This temperature has been found to produce the required balance for most beers. By balance we mean the proportion of maltose to dextrins and other complex unfermentable sugars.

Maltose is a fully fermentable sugar and when malted barley is mashed at 65-66, 80% of the total sugar produced will be of this type. The remaining 20% will be made up of dextrins and other less fermentable sugars.

The type of sugars produced is related directly to temperature. Using 65 as a mid point, the nearer the mash temperature is to 60 degrees the higher the proportion of maltose. This will result in a thinner beer lacking in body, as the residual dextrins supply much of the beer's flavour. The nearer the temperature is to 70 degrees, the higher the proportion of dextrins, which can result in a thicker, more syrupy beer due to the proportion of unfermented sugar.

High mashing temperatures are good for making full bodied Stouts and Scotch Ale type beers.

SPARGING AND WORT CLARIFICATION

Sparging is the process whereby the wort is separated from the grain and the grain bed is used as a filter to remove as much grain matter (draff) from the wort as possible. The grains are then rinsed with hot water to extract the remaining sugar.

To do this effectively, the mash must be heated to 76-78 degrees. This lowers the viscosity of the sweet wort, thinning it down so that it then flows better, allowing a good separation from the grain. Higher temperatures than this will result in the extraction of unwanted tannins and starch from the grains, causing harshness and haze problems.

Once the temperature has reached 76-78 degrees, transfer the wort into the lauter tun as gently as possible. Leave to sit for 10 minutes. This is called the mash out. It stops the enzymatic action in the mash & makes the wort more free flowing. Make sure you don’t raise the temperature above 78 as tannins can be extracted at higher temperatures making the final brew harsh.

Open the bottom outlet to slowly allow out some wort. At this stage it is necessary to filter out as much trub as possible if we want to achieve a truly professional result. This is done by returning the wort back to the mash as gently as possible to avoid agitating the mash bed. This should be done until the wort starts to run clear which usually takes about 10 minutes. This uses the grain bed as a filter to remove as much draff as possible from the wort to be boiled. This may seem like a lot of work, but it will make the beer taste much cleaner and allow the flavour of the malt to come through fully.

When the wort becomes fairly clear, transfer the first runnings into the boiler. When the level of the wort drops to just above the surface of the grain bed start to add the heated sparge water. Again this is best done gently to avoid disturbing the grain bed, using roughly the same volume of sparge water as was used in the mash. A Listermann sparger does the job perfectly but you can get by with a jug.

If you can use a hose to avoid splashing the wort as it drops from the mash vessel to the boiler this will reduce the risk of oxidation.

It is also advisable to keep the flow rate through the outlet hose to around 1 to 2 litres per minute. This will again reduce the chances of drawing through any unwanted draff into the boiler and will also allow the hot water to percolate slowly through the grain and remove all the malt sugars.

As a guide sparge until you have approximately 28 litres of wort in your boiler.

BOILING THE WORT

The most difficult part of the process has now been completed and it is now time to boil the wort. There are several reasons for boiling the wort as follows :

(a) Destruction of the diastatic enzymes from the mash. Even after a long mashing and sparging process there will still be some diastatic activity in the sweet wort. Diastatic activity means the activity of the enzymes in the grain that convert starch in the malt into sugar. If this were allowed to continue the correct ratio of maltose to dextrins would be affected resulting in an unbalanced beer.

(b) Sterilisation.

(c) Extraction of bitterness from the hops.

(d) Removal of excess protein which can cause haze and flavour problems.

(e) Evaporation of excess water.

Once on the boil, leave the sweet wort to boil for 30 minutes before adding the hops, and then boil for a further 60 minutes. The long boil is to remove the optimum amount of protein from the wort thus forming a good " Hot Break ".

HOT BREAK

Hot Break refers to the removal of protein from the wort by mechanical action due to the violent boiling action. This protein precipitates out of the wort to form a layer of fine debris on the bottom of the boiler.

If this were to remain in the wort it would cause haze problems and have an adverse affect on the flavour.

Hot break will generally be achieved by a 90 minute boil. The addition of Irish Moss 5 minutes before the end of the boil will greatly help this to occur.

COOLING AND THE COLD BREAK

The hot wort in the boiler must be cooled as quickly as possible for the following reasons :

(a) To bring the temperature down so that the yeast can be pitched before rogue bacteria can take hold.

(b) To achieve the Cold break.

The "Cold Break" is a phenomenon similar to the hot break. Although the hot wort appears relatively clear, once the temperature drops below 50 degrees Celsius a fine mist like material will appear and fall to the bottom of the boiler

It normally takes 30 minutes to cool 26 to 28 litres to pitching temperature.

To avoid transferring any trub into the fermenter it is wise to locate the tap at least 50 millimetres above the bottom of the boiler. Tapping off from this point reduces the amount of trub getting through to the fermenter.

Brewing Extract & Efficiency

Have you ever wondered how much sugar you may be leaving behind in your grain bed after mashing and sparging? Even if you feel you get a good extract you may be interested in knowing what efficiency you are achieving.

The formula below is based on the laboratory extract figure for Australian well modified malted barley. This figure is expressed as "Brewers Degrees per Kilogram Litre" (BD/KL). This means the maximum possible extract attainable from a kilogram of malt mashed to produce a litre of wort. "Brewers Degrees" (BD) are a simplified version of an "Specific Gravity" (SG) reading and are expressed as follows:

SG 1.050 = 50 Brewers Degrees
SG 1.012 = 12 Brewers Degrees

The BD/KL for Australian well modified malt is for"ale" 307, and for lager 302. This means that by following a strict procedure as laid down by the European Brewing Convention (EBC), one kilogram of malt mashed to produce one litre of wort would have an SG of 1307, or 307 BD/KL.

If this figure is entered into the following formula, efficiency can be calculated:

Extract Efficiency = Original Gravity in BD x Volume x100
BD/KL x Weight of Malt in Kg
This may look a little complicated but it is easier to understand when an example is used. This is an example for a brew made with 5 Kg of malt made up to 25 litres with an OG of 1050.

Extract Efficiency = 50 x 25 x 100
307 x 5

= 81.43 %
This figure has other uses. Once the percentage has been checked over several brews and an average is calculated, it can be used to calculate the required weight of malt needed to achieve a desired OG.

Quantity of Malt = OG in BD x Volume x 100
EBC Extract x Mash Efficiency

If a brew of 25 litres @ OG 1050 is desired and efficiency has been calculated at 82 % :
Quantity of Malt = 50 x 25 x 100
307 x 82

= 4.96 Kg say 5 Kg
A quick look at this indicates that we should roughly achieve 10 degrees of gravity for every kilo of malt.

FERMENTATION

After all the hard work of mashing and boiling you should now have the perfect environment for the yeast to take up residence.

The most crucial thing now is temperature, both the pitching temperature and that during fermentation. It is most important that you add the yeast at the correct temperature. If too high, the yeast at worst can be killed and at best the flavour will be spoiled by esters developed by the high temperature.

Esters are a form of acid that will be present in the beer as fruity flavours such as pineapple, banana, butterscotch. These flavours when occurring in small amounts can add subtle character to Ale style beers but when they overpower the beer can make it undrinkable.

So it is up to us to control the temperature of the ferment to reduce the esters or in the case of lager style beer to do away with them completely.

As you can well imagine, the type of beer produced is tied directly to the type of yeast you use. For the sake of simplicity we will recommend the type to use. Follow the fermentation temperatures indicated on the yeast being used. Once you become more experienced you may want to start experimenting with types of yeast and different temperatures.

SECONDARY FERMENTATION & CLEARING

Once the primary fermentation appears to slow you should rack your brew into a secondary fermentation vessel, leaving the sediment in the primary fermenter. A vessel exactly the same as your primary fermenter is perfect for this job and is an essential item in any amateur brewer’s armoury. This will separate the beer from the yeast in the primary fermenter and will allow it to clear of most of the remaining yeast.
Bottle sediment will be reduced, and the flavour and shelf life of your beer will be greatly improved. This is best done using a piece of tubing which fits over the outlet of the tap, this is then placed in the bottom of your second fermenter and the tap opened. Avoid splashing the beer at all cost, in order to reduce oxidisation (allowing air to come in contact with your brew) which can destroy your beer.

Once filled immediately add finings (we recommend isinglass finings in the form of Biofine) and allow to sit for one to two weeks.

These recipes are meant to be starting points for your own recipe design and not to be followed rigidly. Recipe design is one of the great things about brewing your own beer. Feel free to experiment.

RECIPES

(1) AUSSIE LAGER

3500g Pilsner Malt
75g Crystal Malt
500g Dextrose
18BU Pride of Ringwood Hops
10g in Soak
1 Sachet Saflager Yeast

(2) AUSSIE BITTER

3500g Pilsner Malt
75g Crystal Malt
500g Dextrose
22BU Pride of Ringwood Hops all in the Boil
1 Sachet Saflager Yeast

(3) DRY BEER

2500g Pilsner Malt
75g Crystal Malted Grain
500g Dextrose
20BU Pride of Ringwood Hops all in the Boil
1 Sachet Saflager Yeast
1 Vial Modiferm

(4) AUSSIE LIGHT

1500g Pilsner Malt
375g Cara Pils Malt
250g Dextrose or White sugar
250g Malto Dextrin Powder
20BU Pride of Ringwood Hops
1 Sachet Saflager Yeast

(5) CZECH PILSNER

4500g Pilsner Malt
500g Cara Pils Malt
35BU Saaz Hops inBoil, 30g Soak
Wyeast Czech Pils Yeast

(6) TRADITIONAL OKTOBERFEST LAGER

5750g Light Munich malt
25BU Tettnang Hops
2 Tsp Calcium Carbonate
Wyeast Bavarian Lager Yeast

(7) VIENNA LAGER

4750g Pilsner Malt
600g Vienna Malt
350g Light Munich Malt
25BU Styrian Goldings Hops in Boil
1 Tsp Calcium Carbonate
Wyeast Bavarian Lager Yeast

(8) DORTMUND LAGER

4000g Pilsner Malt
1000 Vienna Malt
27BU Hallertau Hops, all in the boil
20g Tettnang Hops in Soak
Wyeast Danish Lager Yeast

(9) MUNICH HELLES

4000g Pilsner Malt
500g Light Munich Malt
500g Cara Pils Malt
24BU Ultra in the Boil
Dry Hop with 20g Hallertau Hops
Wyeast Munich Lager Yeast

(10) MUNICH DUNKEL

2500g Munich Light Malt
2250 Vienna Malt
250 Carafa Special 1
20BU Tettnang Hops, 25g Soak,10g Dry Hop
Wyeast Bavarian Lager Yeast

(11) LONDON BEST BITTER

4000g Pale Ale Malt
300g Crystal Malt
150g Wheat malt
15g Carafa Special 1 malt
250g Brown sugar
30BU Goldings Hops,
30g Goldings in the soak,
Wyeast London Ale Yeast

(12) YORKSHIRE E.S.B

4000g Pale Ale malt
400g Crystal malt
60g Malted Wheat
250g Brown Sugar
35BU Fuggles Hops in the boil
30g Goldings Hops in Soak
Wyeast British Ale Yeast

(13) INDIA PALE ALE

5000g Pale Ale Malt
350g Caradunkel malt
250g Demerara Sugar
40BU Goldings Hops in boil
30g in Soak,
Wyeast London Ale Yeast III

(14) NORTHUMBERLAND BROWN ALE

4000g Pale Ale Malt
250g Crystal Malt
250g Cara Malt
75g Chocolate Special 1 malt
200g Lactose Powder
22BU Willamette Hops all in the Boil
Wyeast European Ale Yeast

(15) STRONG ALE

4500g Ale Malt
1700g Amber Malt Extract
200g Crystal Malted Grain
500g Demerara sugar
25BU Fuggles Hops
Wyeast Scottish Ale Yeast

(16) BELGIAN TRAPPIST ALE

3000g Pilsner Malt
2000g Dark Munich Malt
1000g Vienna Malt
500g Cara Aroma Malt
50g Chocolate Malt
500g Coffee sugar
32BU Hallertau Hops
Wyeast Belgian Strong Ale Yeast

(17) IRISH STOUT

4500g Pale Ale Malt
400g Roast Barley
500g Flaked Barley
40 BU Goldings Hops, all in the boil
Wyeast Irish Stout Yeast (Ferment at 18 - 20 Degrees)

(18) BLACK VELVET MILK STOUT

2500g Pale Ale Malt
2000g Dark Munich Malt
100g Roast Barley
300 Carafa Special II Malt
500g Lactose
25BU Fuggles Hops
Wyeast Irish Stout Yeast

19) BAYSIDE WHEAT BEER

3000g Wheat Malt
2500g Pilsner Malt
16BU Perle hops, all in the boil
Wyeast Weihenstephen Wheat Yeast