Matthew started his first batch of beer yesterday! It seemed like he had been making it forever, he knew each step and what to do, and the whole process went really smoothly. I am really proud of him, its so cool to watch him in action. Here is a very condensed version of the steps.
First he divided his grains in to two nylon stockings. I didn't get a picture of them, but he put them in this big pot and they stayed in until the water started to boil:
Then he took them out and squeezed any remaining liquid out of the grains. Then while he stirred, I added 7 pounds of wheat malt extract which has a dark caramel appearance and texture. It tends to try to stick to the bottom and burn, so it was really important to have me there to pour so Matthew could concentrate on stirring. Ahem :) After that was added, it went back onto the burner to boil again. Then he brought out the hops:
He divided them into three piles, because certain amounts had to go in at certain times to obtain the correct flavoring. They stunk up the kitchen something fierce!! They boiled for an hour total, and turned the brewing beer a pretty amber color:
While they were boiling, Matthew sanitized the strainer, spoon and bucket and lid that the beer would be going into to ferment. After the hour of boiling was up, he poured the beer into the bucket, straining out the hops:
When the beer had cooled to about 80 degrees, he added some beer yeast, and now we just wait! Its a pretty fun process, and hopefully this first batch will turn out perfectly!
First he divided his grains in to two nylon stockings. I didn't get a picture of them, but he put them in this big pot and they stayed in until the water started to boil:
Then he took them out and squeezed any remaining liquid out of the grains. Then while he stirred, I added 7 pounds of wheat malt extract which has a dark caramel appearance and texture. It tends to try to stick to the bottom and burn, so it was really important to have me there to pour so Matthew could concentrate on stirring. Ahem :) After that was added, it went back onto the burner to boil again. Then he brought out the hops:
He divided them into three piles, because certain amounts had to go in at certain times to obtain the correct flavoring. They stunk up the kitchen something fierce!! They boiled for an hour total, and turned the brewing beer a pretty amber color:
While they were boiling, Matthew sanitized the strainer, spoon and bucket and lid that the beer would be going into to ferment. After the hour of boiling was up, he poured the beer into the bucket, straining out the hops:
When the beer had cooled to about 80 degrees, he added some beer yeast, and now we just wait! Its a pretty fun process, and hopefully this first batch will turn out perfectly!
