Extract Brewing Instructions
EXTRACT BREWING INSTRUCTIONS
We have many extract pre-assembled kits or get a recipe and well put it together for you.
BREW DAY:
1. Inventory - be sure you have all ingredients malts, hops, and yeast.
2. Clean & Sanitize - be sure to clean and sanitize all your equipment that will come in contact with the ingredients. We recommend using StarSan sanitizing agent.
3. Brew Pot - add 3 gallons of clean water to a 20 qt or larger stainless.
4. Steeping - if your beer recipe/kit has crushed grains and a muslin bag - continue with this step, if not, go to Step 5. Put grains in the muslin bag and tie a knot at the top of the bag so the grains will be able to move around loosely. When the water reaches approximately 155 degrees, turn the heat off and put the grain bag in the water. Steep the grains for 20 minutes. Pull the bag out of the water and allow the liquid to drain into the pot without squeezing. Discard grains and bag. The water is now wort.
5. Boil - bring the wort to a gentle rolling boil. Add LME and DME into the pot. Stirring well. You are going to boil for a total of 60 minutes. Stir well throughout the boil.
6. Hops - its now time to add bittering hops. Sprinkle them slowly into the boiling wort. By adding the hops slowly it will prevent the wort from boiling over. Continue to boil and stir occasionally. After 40 minutes into the boil, add the flavoring hops (if your kit did not come with flavoring hops, skip and continue to the aroma hops). After 55 minutes into the boil, add the aroma hops (unless your kit did not include aroma hops). Once youve boiled for a total of 60 minutes, remove pot from heat.
7. Cool Down - the wort must be cooled as quickly as possible. You can use a wort chiller or simply place your brew pot in a sink filled with ice and water. Once your temperature is below 80 degrees, siphon or pour wort into clean and sanitized fermenting pail. Stir in clean water (water temp should be approx. 70 degrees) to bring up to the 5 gallon mark on the primary fermenting pail. Take a hydrometer reading and record the OG (original gravity) below.
8. Yeast - sprinkle the contents of the yeast package over the surface of the wort. Stir yeast into wort with a clean and sanitized spoon. If you are using liquid yeast, follow instructions on yeast container. Place lid onto pail. Fill airlock halfway full with clean water. Place airlock into the grommet on the lid by gently twisting. Store the fermentor in a dark area that maintains a stable temperature approx. 65-70 degrees. The wort will start to ferment within the next 24 hrs. You will see bubbling action in your airlock - if this does not occur, be sure check out our Troubleshooting section.
9. Secondary - after 5-7 days, transfer your beer (no more wort - its beer!) into a clean and sanitized carboy or fermenting pail. Allow to sit for an additional 10-14 days. Record the FG (final gravity). Proceed to bottling.
BOTTLING DAY:
- In a small saucepan, mix 2 cups of water with the packet of priming sugar. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes and allow to cool.
- Prepare bottles and bottling equipment - be sure everything is clean and sanitized. 5 gallons of beer will yield 53-12 oz bottles; due to sediment and transferring, it is usually about 48-50.
- When all equipment and bottles are ready, pour priming sugar into a clean bottling bucket or fermenting pail (depending what equipment you have). Siphon the beer into the same fermenter leaving behind all sediment. Gently stir.
- Using your bottling equipment (see our Bottling Tips section at for more information on bottling) and fill your bottles. If using crown cap bottles, use capper and caps to seal the bottles. Fill each bottle within approximately 1 inch from the top of the bottle.
- Store bottles in a dark area between 65-70 degrees. Do not refrigerate.
- Your beer will carbonate over the next two weeks. Some beer depending on style and temp will carbonate faster or slower than two weeks. Try to have a little patience at this point!