Today we are starting our very first brew. Our good friend Jed has brewed before, so he has offered to help with the process. He's been my go to guy for questions and suggestions. We also have our friends Warren and Derek joining us to help. Like Alyssa and me, they have never brewed before, so we thought it'd be fun to learn the process together.
Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize:
One of the things I've come across during my research on home brewing is the importance of sterilizing ALL of the equipment. Needless to say, I made sure to sanitize EVERYTHING. I'm treating this like brain surgery (admittedly, I think I may being going overboard) but I just want to make sure we do this right.
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| Soaking the equipment in an iodine solution. |
The boil:
This part was pretty straight forward. After steeping the cracked grains for about thirty minutes, we added the malt extract and boiled for an hour. We added different hops at different times during the boil.
This part was pretty straight forward. After steeping the cracked grains for about thirty minutes, we added the malt extract and boiled for an hour. We added different hops at different times during the boil.
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| Alyssa and Jed are cracking the grains. |
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| We put the grains in this net to steep for thirty minutes. |
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| Steeping |
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| The hops smell SO good! |
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| Boil for 60 minutes. |
Time to chill:
Without a wort chiller to bring the wort's temperature down to 70 F, we decided to make an ice bath in this giant container I bought at my local kitchen supply store. This thing is HUGE. I actually don't even have a place in my house that is big enough to store it...except for under my kitchen table...which is fine since we usually eat on a few mats on my floor which is pretty common in Korea.
After a short adventure trying to buy ice, Derek, Jed, and Warren returned with a few giant frozen bottles of water. It took a lot longer than expected to bring the temperature down, but as soon as we finished, it was time to siphon the wort into the sterilized fermenter.
Without a wort chiller to bring the wort's temperature down to 70 F, we decided to make an ice bath in this giant container I bought at my local kitchen supply store. This thing is HUGE. I actually don't even have a place in my house that is big enough to store it...except for under my kitchen table...which is fine since we usually eat on a few mats on my floor which is pretty common in Korea.
After a short adventure trying to buy ice, Derek, Jed, and Warren returned with a few giant frozen bottles of water. It took a lot longer than expected to bring the temperature down, but as soon as we finished, it was time to siphon the wort into the sterilized fermenter.
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| The ice bath. |
The transfer:
This was interesting...I've never actually siphoned anything before so it took a few tries, but we eventually got it. Once the wort was in the fermenter, we "pitched" the yeast.
This was interesting...I've never actually siphoned anything before so it took a few tries, but we eventually got it. Once the wort was in the fermenter, we "pitched" the yeast.
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| Siphoning the wort into the fermenter. |
Let it burp:
Now that the lid of the fermenter is screwed on nice and tight, and our airlock is properly attached...we wait. We will let the magic happen for about 2-3 weeks before we bottle. I feel like a little kid waiting for Santa Clause to come on Christmas morning or something...except I don't think Santa gives 5 gallon buckets of beer to little kids.
Now that the lid of the fermenter is screwed on nice and tight, and our airlock is properly attached...we wait. We will let the magic happen for about 2-3 weeks before we bottle. I feel like a little kid waiting for Santa Clause to come on Christmas morning or something...except I don't think Santa gives 5 gallon buckets of beer to little kids.
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| Victory!!! The first batch of Kim Jong Ale is fermenting! |
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