How to Home Brew a Batch of Beer Part 1

[knightone57]

I am not sure what you put in when?Except for the dried malt.

[benshomebrew]

@knightone57

Add water, bring to 155 degrees, steep grains, discard, add more water, add dried malt, bring to boil, add 60 boiling hops, at 15 min left of boil add more hops and then chill and proceed to next video.

[benshomebrew]

@benshomebrew

Thanks Knight for the quality answer. I haven't been able to answer all the questions all the time, it's nice to see other brewers in the community helping out, too.

[BeTheGr8]

Very nice vid!

I'm gonna try my first batch soon, but i'm stuck with one thing. What is a good amount of ingrediënts? Howmuch water, malt (selfmade, not extract powder you use), sugar and hops do i need? Just the basics so i can start from there to develop my own taste.. I am REALLY looking forward to it, but must wait till summer for the hops to grow. Hope you get me started! Greeting from Belgium (THE beercountry ;-) )!

[chowner]

SPAM

[C5Rigzz]

Ben, thanks so much for your great instruction.

I have a question - we have a pretty average electric, glass cooktop stove from Maytag. The burner circles are just part of the glass. With the times, temperatures, and volume of water you talk about do you think the average household stove like ours can handle the job? Or, is this a gas-only/heavy-duty hobby?

[benshomebrew]

@C5Rigzz

No, you can use electric ranges as well. Sometimes it may take a little longer to get the boil going, but they will work just fine.

[C5Rigzz]

@benshomebrew

Thanks Ben!

[5tonyvvvv]

@benshomebrew Have you tried any gluten free beer brewing?. I made banana honey millet beer, it tastes great, and has the same alcohol content if not more! ,and its way easier to digest .

[futurevids09]

you mentioned not to squeeze the bag of malt when you steep it cause it can release tannins.

Assuming you do squeeze it by accidient; how much bitter will the brew get?

[benshomebrew]

@futurevids09

That's a tough one to answer because it all depends on how much grain you are using. Most of the times it's not noticable.

[lickmyshitbitchass]

Don you think i could do this in an apartment or will it make the whole building smell? personally i love the smell

[benshomebrew]

@lickmyshitbitchass

Do it! It's your apartment. Have fun with it and enjoy.

[jdg698]

Just ordered your 1 gallon kit and I'll be brewing IPA as well. Wish me luck!

[crazymonkeyshank]

yum yum yummy

[Deathowl90]

hops looks like weed lol from far away

[boogie1904]

you know that adding the DME to hot water is WAY easier to mix in and is actually the way it should be done right? steep grains, bring to boil, cut heat and add DME/LME, bring to boil and add the rest at the time right times.

[benshomebrew]

It's easier for me to add it to the cold water. I think it dissolves a lot easier and you're not left with a lot of foam on top.

Everyone has their own way; you don't have to heat the water up in order to add the DME to it. That's just how it's been written in recipes for a long time, doesn't mean it does anything more for the DME.

[OPE08]

@benshomebrew - I'm going to have to disagree with you Ben, it appears that it does not dissolve easier at all. Foam is one thing, but you chop at it with a paddle for a minute, and a whisk for half a minute and it still looks like watery biscuit dough!

I've never heard of this thing with better hop extraction from a lower sugar boil?

Use fermcap if you dislike boil-overs!! Fermcap is absolute magic!

cheers!!

[Playborn]

I know that hops and marijuana come from the same family, my question is: can I use weed instead of hops?

[benshomebrew]

playborn,

In short, you're better off using it the traditional way. Adding thc to beer is difficult and usually doesn't give you the results you're looking for. I've never done it, it's just going based off of a lot of threads people create in forums.

[Playborn]

@benshomebrew ok, cheers

D.

[jamesdizzle420]

@benshomebrew hmm well i know adding thc would be hard to get extracted in the beer...but what about for flavor because there are very floral and citric strains that i think would add flavor but ive also never smoked/tasted raw hops so i really wouldn't know if any strain of weed would be as bitter or floral as hops just a thought

[benshomebrew]

@jamesdizzle420

If you want a weed-like flavor in your beer then use summit hops. The only time I used them they had a very distinct weed flavor and aroma to them. I even had friends ask if I used weed in the beer! Good Luck.

Also, why brew a beer with weed like flavors if you've never smoked or tasted raw hops? You may not even like the flavor or aroma they give to a beer. Just saying.

[boogie1904]

sure if you want to get stoned from drinking beer you stupid hippy!! beer is brewed for the alcohol content and taste effect, not getting high. hops are meant for bittering the beer, not getting you high ok. if you want your beer to taste like ass, go ahead and use weed idiot!!

[Playborn]

@boogie1904 lol

love stupid people,

I just asked a simple question

[nodogyougay48]

@Playborn Marijuana won't dissolve the THC in hot water it has to be oil based or alcohol to dissolve it. There is a drink i never tryed it but its Green Dragon and its THC 190 proof Alcohol. The only idea of how you can make an THC brew would be to add this Green Dragon to your brew and if you should do that i would pack a ton of Rip with high THC into a small amount of Alcohol so that your brews yeast won't be killed.

[AUdioHipster]

@nodogyougay48 Yes Thanks for the post.... I would take the Bud and soak it in Bourbon and let it ferment with the wort ... a bourbon soaked bud has smell and taste that a hop could never do.... Try it and get your Beer to 10% you will forget about smoking ... only a good Abbey will do.... AudioHIpster

[nodogyougay48]

@AUdioHipster Yeah I've heard of that. Add the bud with spiced rum and let it set in the sun in a glass jar with a lid on it for a few days then you add it to the carboy before you add the wort. Kinda like dry hopping.

[AUdioHipster]

@Playborn Wow that would be so much better then Hops, and add some white oak chips soaked for awhile in Bourbon use better stuff like Very Old Barton... this will impart flavor, Hops are good only for me to add floral and flavor, to me if you leave too long, or you have a bitter buzz destroying beer and it not only takes your buzz away it tastes Bitter not smooth and you don't enjoy the real flavor of your Abbey. Doyen AudioHIpster Recording & Superlux Sales

[7novacane4]

Dude, what is up with the cheap spoon? Stainless Steel my friend !

[OPE08]

@7novacane4  - Plastic, even wooden spoons are fine before or during the boil, I have a nice wooden paddle I use for stirring my mash when I do 10gal batches.

I can't think of why I'd need to use a spoon or paddle post-boil...

[RANGER2D]

Can you add cold tap water as cooling water?? I have heard that you should boil it and chill it, but I have also seen brewers add "water" from somewhere to cool.... thoughts???

[benshomebrew]

@RANGER2D

I left a more detailed response in the second video of this series for you. Check it out.

[seethootss]

I've been brewing for like 3 years now. I prefer to liquid malt extract. But you should always add sugars in warm or hot water it will brake down better. to see how this works take powered sugar add a tbsp to cool water and mix, then add to hot water and stir and you will see the warm water will brake it down better.

[zodiak3000]

is extra light DME or LME good for use of ales or any beers? im new to brewing and just looking for useful info...

[benshomebrew]

Yes, I recommend using either of those for both ales and lagers. I don't sell dark lme or dme in my store because I believe the brewer should have the control over their color of beer and flavor in beer. And extra light will give you that control.

[RGH1502]

I have been brewing for about a year now. Great video! I have heard the term "hot break" but never really knew what it was. I have had a couple of close boil overs. great info!

[zodiak3000]

what about just a regular light LME? will this give too much color or body?

[benshomebrew]

Zodiak,

No. You can use regular light lme. It will work just fine for you. Just remember if you want body, additional color and flavor then you're going to have to use specialty malts like Crystal malts and chocolate malts.

[shrekfx1]

The wort will continue to foam until the protein clumps get heavy enough to sink back into the pot. You will see particles floating around in the wort. It may look like Egg Drop Soup.This is called the Hot break and may take 5-20 minutes to occur,depending on the amount of protein in your extract. Often the first hop addition triggers a great deal of foaming, especially if hop pellets are used.I recommend waiting until the Hot break occurs before doing your first Hopaddition and timing the hour.

[ozzyslasher1970]

awsom video ben. i got a free brew kit from my boss he never used it. i replaced all that needed to be replaced just got to get a stock pot and a few other ingredeints and i'll be brewing will post as soon asi get to that stage.your video is eeding my hungr to brew LOL.

[ricardovw]

is there any risk? i mean is there a chance to get intoxicated?

[benshomebrew]

Risk?  Not sure what you mean. Intoxicated . . . yes, when the final product is fermented, bottles and carbonated, then you can get intoxicated. If you are talking about actual bacteria infecting you and making you sick, then No. There is no bacteria in beer (either infected or not infected) than can get you sick. That's one of the big reasons why beer was a staple on pirate ships a long time ago. It was the safest thing to drink, even more so than water! :) I hope that answers it.

[percivallll]

Shouldn't it be.."is there any HOPE to get intoxicated?"

[Billpete002]

good vid, explains each step - nice and simple.

[tricod22]

great video!!! Thanks Bro! I love it when your son starts talking in the background :) got a young little home brewer on your hands.