Through a variety of posts in the last few weeks I've tried to explain different ways to make beer, all of which I have tried myself. These methods require different amounts of time, different equipment to some extent, and vary according to the use of malt extract and grains and combinations of both. I have no DIY or technical skills, and little space for brewing gear, so I have worked out ways to make all grain beers without any fancy equipment and with the lowest possible investment in gear, hence the simple AG "how-to" I posted last week (link below). To summarise the different methods:
1. KITS: Many brewers stick happily with kits, either preferring two can kits that contain everything, or using one can kits and adding sugars, LME or DME. Kit brewing is basically extract brewing, but the extract is already hopped, so no boil is necessary. Many people dry hop their kits in the FV, or add a hop tea, for fresh hop flavour and aroma. This is a very quick way to make beer, the mash and boil have already been done for you. You just sterilise everything, heat the can in hot water, add the contents to your FV with a few litres of water, rinse the can, mix in any extra sugars, stir thoroughly, top up, stir well again, and pitch the yeast when it's around 20C. Around 30 minutes.
2. Kit with steeping grains: As above but with the addition of some wort from a small amount of steeped specialty grains. I usually steep in 2 or 3 litres of water at about 60-70 and then strain and boil the liquid. Certain grains like crystal, chocolate, roast barley and black malt can be steeped and they add flavours to the brew. They can radically alter a brew, and should be used knowledgeably. The liquid needs to be boiled for 10 to 15 minutes to kill bacteria. This provides an opportunity to boil some hops for a few minutes to extract flavour, if you like, and the liquid is added to the kit ingredients in the FV before it is topped up. The steeping and boiling adds around an hour to the process, so around 90 minutes total.
3. Kit with Mini/Partial mash: Additional malt sugars and flavours can be added to a kit by mashing a quantity of base malt, such as Maris Otter. You can add any kind of grain to the mash because you are mashing with base malt, so there are no limits. See the "Using Grains with Kits" how-to guide: http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=50779
This is a great way to improve a kit, it makes a half kit/half AG beer in effect, and costs less than adding malt extract, but it adds 2 or 3 hours to the job of brewing. 3 hours total is pretty realistic, maybe 2.5 hours, if you mash for 45 minutes and boil for an hour, before adding the wort to the kit in the FV.
4. Extract: This uses unhopped extract, dry or liquid, or a mix of the two. There's no mash to do, but you have to boil to get your bitterness and flavour from the hops, which you add yourself. I add half the extract before the boil and half after. Hops are added according to the recipe. Many extract brewers boil for an hour, but you can reduce this by using more bittering hops for less time. A 30 minute boil seems like a good idea. It would enable a brew to be completed in an hour, perhaps, at a push. Probably 90 minutes more realistically. Most extract brewers only boil a proportion of the final volume, maybe 10 litres for a 23 litre batch. Heat the water, add half your extract as it heats up, add hops at the start of the boil, more hops during the boil, switch off and add the rest of the extract, cool, add to FV, top up, pitch yeast at pitching temperature.
5. Extract with steeping grains: An extract brew that includes steeping some grains. Steep the grains in a bag in your kettle as the kettle heats up, then add half your extract, bring to the boil, add hops as per the recipe, boil for an hour, add the rest of the extract, cool and transfer to FV, top up and pitch yeast. 90 minutes approx.
6. All Grain: Made entirely from grain, in theory, although sugars are often added in relatively small quantities for specific effects. Many people shy away from AG brewing due to its perceived complexity, but this is largely due to fancy equipment which is used to control things and to enable brewing in quantities of 5 gallons or more. If you are happy with 3 gallons or less, AG becomes a relatively simple job that can be performed in your kitchen with very little equipment. The two main ways to make AG are three vessel and Brew in a Bag (BIAB).
Three vessel requires a pot to heat water, a mashtun to conduct the mash/sparge in, and a kettle to boil the wort. Some people use the same vessel to heat the water before the mash and to boil the wort after the mash - and use a bucket to collect the wort from the mashtun, then transfer back to the original pot for the boil.
BIAB requires one large pot, large enough to contain all the pre-boil water and the grain. The grain is mashed in this pot with the entire volume of water, the grain is removed after the mash, and the wort is then boiled. Some people do this in a smaller pot with a proportion of the water, and then sparge with additional water in a separate pot, then combine the two worts for the boil. This can be done on a smaller scale quite easily in your kitchen with two 10-15 litre pots. Or one pot and a plastic bucket.
The first time I made an AG beer, I was blown away. It does make the best beer (I am regularly disappointed down the pub now), and is the cheapest for ingredients, but takes the longest. 4-6 hours, approx for a full size batch. You can probably make 5-10 litres in 3 hours. See the "Have a go at simple AG" how-to guide: http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=51779
7. Partial Mash: This is a cross between all grain and extract brewing. You make a small AG batch, which is hopped for a larger quantity, and then add extract and cold water at the end to boost the volume. You can make a 5 gallon batch very simply in your kitchen, and the quality is excellent. You can use any kind of grain because you are mashing with base malt. This method is the same as the kit plus mini mash method, except you use unhopped extract instead of a hopped kit, and do all the hopping yourself. Here is an example: http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=50780
1. KITS: Many brewers stick happily with kits, either preferring two can kits that contain everything, or using one can kits and adding sugars, LME or DME. Kit brewing is basically extract brewing, but the extract is already hopped, so no boil is necessary. Many people dry hop their kits in the FV, or add a hop tea, for fresh hop flavour and aroma. This is a very quick way to make beer, the mash and boil have already been done for you. You just sterilise everything, heat the can in hot water, add the contents to your FV with a few litres of water, rinse the can, mix in any extra sugars, stir thoroughly, top up, stir well again, and pitch the yeast when it's around 20C. Around 30 minutes.
2. Kit with steeping grains: As above but with the addition of some wort from a small amount of steeped specialty grains. I usually steep in 2 or 3 litres of water at about 60-70 and then strain and boil the liquid. Certain grains like crystal, chocolate, roast barley and black malt can be steeped and they add flavours to the brew. They can radically alter a brew, and should be used knowledgeably. The liquid needs to be boiled for 10 to 15 minutes to kill bacteria. This provides an opportunity to boil some hops for a few minutes to extract flavour, if you like, and the liquid is added to the kit ingredients in the FV before it is topped up. The steeping and boiling adds around an hour to the process, so around 90 minutes total.
3. Kit with Mini/Partial mash: Additional malt sugars and flavours can be added to a kit by mashing a quantity of base malt, such as Maris Otter. You can add any kind of grain to the mash because you are mashing with base malt, so there are no limits. See the "Using Grains with Kits" how-to guide: http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=50779
This is a great way to improve a kit, it makes a half kit/half AG beer in effect, and costs less than adding malt extract, but it adds 2 or 3 hours to the job of brewing. 3 hours total is pretty realistic, maybe 2.5 hours, if you mash for 45 minutes and boil for an hour, before adding the wort to the kit in the FV.
4. Extract: This uses unhopped extract, dry or liquid, or a mix of the two. There's no mash to do, but you have to boil to get your bitterness and flavour from the hops, which you add yourself. I add half the extract before the boil and half after. Hops are added according to the recipe. Many extract brewers boil for an hour, but you can reduce this by using more bittering hops for less time. A 30 minute boil seems like a good idea. It would enable a brew to be completed in an hour, perhaps, at a push. Probably 90 minutes more realistically. Most extract brewers only boil a proportion of the final volume, maybe 10 litres for a 23 litre batch. Heat the water, add half your extract as it heats up, add hops at the start of the boil, more hops during the boil, switch off and add the rest of the extract, cool, add to FV, top up, pitch yeast at pitching temperature.
5. Extract with steeping grains: An extract brew that includes steeping some grains. Steep the grains in a bag in your kettle as the kettle heats up, then add half your extract, bring to the boil, add hops as per the recipe, boil for an hour, add the rest of the extract, cool and transfer to FV, top up and pitch yeast. 90 minutes approx.
6. All Grain: Made entirely from grain, in theory, although sugars are often added in relatively small quantities for specific effects. Many people shy away from AG brewing due to its perceived complexity, but this is largely due to fancy equipment which is used to control things and to enable brewing in quantities of 5 gallons or more. If you are happy with 3 gallons or less, AG becomes a relatively simple job that can be performed in your kitchen with very little equipment. The two main ways to make AG are three vessel and Brew in a Bag (BIAB).
Three vessel requires a pot to heat water, a mashtun to conduct the mash/sparge in, and a kettle to boil the wort. Some people use the same vessel to heat the water before the mash and to boil the wort after the mash - and use a bucket to collect the wort from the mashtun, then transfer back to the original pot for the boil.
BIAB requires one large pot, large enough to contain all the pre-boil water and the grain. The grain is mashed in this pot with the entire volume of water, the grain is removed after the mash, and the wort is then boiled. Some people do this in a smaller pot with a proportion of the water, and then sparge with additional water in a separate pot, then combine the two worts for the boil. This can be done on a smaller scale quite easily in your kitchen with two 10-15 litre pots. Or one pot and a plastic bucket.
The first time I made an AG beer, I was blown away. It does make the best beer (I am regularly disappointed down the pub now), and is the cheapest for ingredients, but takes the longest. 4-6 hours, approx for a full size batch. You can probably make 5-10 litres in 3 hours. See the "Have a go at simple AG" how-to guide: http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=51779
7. Partial Mash: This is a cross between all grain and extract brewing. You make a small AG batch, which is hopped for a larger quantity, and then add extract and cold water at the end to boost the volume. You can make a 5 gallon batch very simply in your kitchen, and the quality is excellent. You can use any kind of grain because you are mashing with base malt. This method is the same as the kit plus mini mash method, except you use unhopped extract instead of a hopped kit, and do all the hopping yourself. Here is an example: http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=50780
Last edited:
