Archive by Author

August 2013: Steeping grains: method and recipes

How to steep grains (and why)

 

Steeped grains add flavour, body, colour, body and head retention.

 

You can steep any of the following grains:

  • Roasted grains: eg, chocolate malt, black malt, roast barley. These give the black colour and characteristic roasty/chocolate/coffee flavours to stouts, porters and other dark beers.
  • Crystal malts: usually British malts, available in pale, medium, and dark. These give different degrees of amber colour, toffee flavours, and sweetness and help provide head retention and body. Good for bitters and pale ales. Can also be included in darker beers for flavour, sweetness, head retention, and body.
  • Caramel malts: the continental European version of crystal malt (basically any malt with “cara” in the name).

 

The grains must be milled (cracked open) before steeping. Some home brew shops will mill grains for you on request, or you can pulse them in a coffee grinder, or put them in a plastic bag and crack them by rolling them with a rolling pin or glass bottle.

 

The grains are steeped in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes to extract their flavour and colour. Here is the process:

  1. Heat 3 or 4 litres of water to 75C.
  2. Pour in milled grains, cover pot with a lid, and leave 20 minutes or more.
  3. Strain through a sieve or colander into another pot. Let as much liquid as possible trickle out.

 

The resulting liquid is then used for the boil (instead of water), as in previous recipes. The spent grains can be composted or fed to your chickens.

 

A simpler and less messy method is to use a grain bag instead of straining the liquid through a sieve. To steep grains using a grain bag:

  1. Heat 3 or 4 litres of water to 75C.
  2. Take the pot off the heat (you don’t want to burn the bag on the bottom of the pot), and line the inside of the pot with the bag.
  3. Pour the grains into the bag.
  4. Cover pot with a lid and steep 20 minutes or more.
  5. Lift the bag from the pot and allow the liquid to drain off into the same pot.

 

A grain bag costs about $25 from a home brew shop, or you can sew one up from very fine mesh polyester Swiss voile curtain material. After use, empty out the grains, rinse the bag thoroughly, and stick it in the washing machine along with your clothes.

 

 

Recipes

 

RA Yak

 

This was an attempt to come up with something roughly like Fat Yak pale ale using a Coopers Real Ale kit (hence the name). It follows the same process as July’s Ale Ordinaire recipe, except that grains are steeped for 20 minutes beforehand, and the hops are added at different times. The beer has plenty of flavour and a nice fruity hop character.

 

Nelson Sauvin is a New Zealand hop variety that has an intense flavour with overtones of passionfruit and white wine. Cascade is an American variety with a citrus fruit flavour. Nelson Sauvin can be overpowering if you’re not careful. A blend of 1/3 Nelson Sauvin and 2/3 Cascade works very well.

 

As before, wait 3 weeks after bottling for best results. As it ages, the malt becomes drier, and the hop flavours recede noticeably and become better balanced and more integrated with the malt.

 

Ingredients

 

1 x Coopers Real Ale kit

1.5kg light liquid malt extract

200g medium crystal malt

20g Cascade hops (10 mins)

10g Nelson Sauvin hops (5 minutes)

US05 yeast

 

Method

 

  1. Steep crystal malt 20 minutes (as per instructions above).
  2. Put unopened can of malt extract in sink of hot water for 10 minutes to soften extract and make pouring easier.
  3. While the liquid is coming to the boil, sanitise fermenter, airlock, grommet, a stirrer, and a clean sieve.
  4. When liquid is boiling, take pot off heat and slowly pour in the malt extract, stirring constantly to minimise caramelisation on the bottom of the pot.
  5. Bring back to boil (will froth up at first, so watch carefully in case it boils over).
  6. Boil wort for 20 minutes.
  7. 10 minutes before the end of the boil, add the Cascade hops.
  8. 5 minutes before the end of the boil, add the Nelson Sauvin hops.
  9. Meanwhile, soften unopened kit in hot water bath as per step 1. Pour into fermenter just before the 20 minutes is up.
  10. When the 20 minutes is up, switch off heat, strain wort through the sieve to remove the hops (optional) and into the fermenter, stir with sanitised stirrer to dissolve the kit.
  11. Top up with cold water to 23 litres, pitch yeast if below 24C, fit lid and airlock, and leave in a warm place for about 10 days to ferment.

 

 

Good as Golding

 

This recipe takes things a step further again. There is no kit to provide the bittering hops, so the wort needs to be boiled longer to extract enough bitterness from the hops. You need to allow about 3 hours for this one (including preparation and tidying up), but the results are worth it. This is a lovely lush and malty bitter that wouldn’t be out of place in an English pub.

 

Notes:

 

Malt: I made this recipe several times using English Muntons malt extract, which, although expensive, consistently gave me better pale ales and bitters than any other malt extract. However, to my dismay the importer has stopped bringing in Muntons extract and it can no longer be found in any brew shops in the Wellington area. I have therefore substituted Black Rock light extract. I’m sure the recipe will still work out fine but haven’t had a chance to try it with the Black Rock yet.

 

I also used the late extract method, which involves adding half the malt extract at the beginning of the boil and leaving the other half til 15 minutes from the end of the boil. This gives better hop utilisation, ie, allows more bitterness and flavour to be extracted from a given amount of hops. (The more malt extract is in a given amount of water, the lower the hop utilisation.)

 

Hops: East Kent Goldings is not always in stock. If you can’t find any, substitute NZ grown Goldings or UK or NZ Fuggles. Note the alpha acid level (6.75%AA), which is a measure of the bittering potential of the hops and is usually stated on the packaging. Even for the same hop variety, this varies from year to year and batch to batch. If your hops are (eg) 5.0%AA, you will need to add more hops to get the same bitterness (6.5/5.0 = 1.3, therefore multiply the weight of hops in the recipe by 1.3).

 

Ingredients

 

2 x Black Rock light liquid malt extract

250g medium crystal

125g dark crystal

100g carapils

25g East Kent Goldings (6.75%AA) (60 mins)

15g East Kent Goldings (6.75%AA) (15 mins)

Gervin ale yeast (or Nottingham or SO4)

 

 

Method

 

  1. Steep malt grains 20 minutes (as per instructions above).
  2. Meanwhile, put one unopened can of malt extract in sink of hot water for 10 minutes to soften extract and make pouring easier.
  3. Before bringing the liquid to the boil pour in the malt extract, stirring to dissolve.
  4. Add the first batch of hops.
  5. Bring wort to boil (will froth up at first, so watch carefully in case it boils over).
  6. Boil wort for 45 minutes.
  7. Meanwhile soften up the second can of extract as per step 2 above.
  8. After 45 minutes, remove kettle from heat, add the second can of malt extract and the second batch of hops.
  9. Bring back to the boil and boil a further 15 minutes.
  10. When the 15 minutes is up, switch off heat, strain wort through the sieve to remove the hops (optional) and into the fermenter.
  11. Top up with cold water to 20 litres, pitch yeast if below 24C, fit lid and airlock, and leave in a warm place for about 10 days to ferment.

 

July’s recipe: Ale Ordinaire

This is a much nicer brew than just using a kit plus sugar, without requiring much more time and effort (which means you can knock off a brew on a weeknight after the kids are in bed). Good for day to day drinking. Amber coloured, malty, not too bitter, but with a touch of earthy/herbal flavour from the hops. Styrian Goldings, Goldings, and Fuggles will all work well and give subtly different but broadly similar results. For best results, leave 3 weeks after bottling. It’s drinkable before then, but the flavours really come together and integrate after 3 weeks. Try one every week and see how it develops in the bottle.

 

Ingredients

 

1 x Coopers Real Ale kit

1.5kg light liquid malt extract

15g hops (Styrian Goldings, Goldings, or Fuggles) (20 mins)

US05 or SO4 yeast

 

Method

 

  1. Put unopened can of malt extract in sink of hot water for 10 minutes to soften extract and make pouring easier.
  2. Meanwhile bring 3 or 4 litres of water to the boil in a large pot. Make sure the pot is about double that capacity, because adding the malt extract will raise the level and the wort will foam and froth when it comes to the boil and also when the hops are added.
  3. While the water is coming to the boil, sanitise fermenter, airlock, grommet, a stirrer, and a clean sieve.
  4. When water is boiling, take pot off heat and slowly pour in the malt extract, stirring constantly to minimise caramelisation on the bottom of the pot.
  5. Bring back to boil, add hops (will froth up alarmingly at first then settle down, so watch carefully in case it boils over).
  6. Boil wort for 20 minutes.
  7. Meanwhile, soften unopened kit in hot water bath as per step 1. Pour into fermenter just before the 20 minutes are up.
  8. When the 20 minutes is up, switch off heat, strain wort through the sieve to remove the hops (optional) and into the fermenter, stir with sanitised stirrer to dissolve the kit.
  9. Top up with cold water to 23 litres, pitch yeast if below 24C, fit lid and airlock, and leave in a warm place for about 10 days to ferment.

 

Bright Ale Recipe

Acknowledgment

Recipe and method adapted from a post by Tony on the Aussie Home Brewer forum here:

 

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=26419

 

Description

This is a great summer thirst quencher that should appeal to lager drinkers. Light, refreshing, not too hoppy, and dead easy to make. It takes about 45 minutes more than using a kit but it’s worth it. The recipe uses a simple malt base and two hop varieties: Motueka (a New Zealand variety) and Cascade (a US variety). Both hops are added in three batches. The first batch is boiled for 45 mins to provide bitterness, the second is added for the last 15 mins for flavour, and the third is added at the end of the boil (called flame out) for aroma.

 

Little Creatures Bright Ale Clone

 

Batch Size (L): 23.00

 

Ingredients

3.00 kg light LME (Black Rock or Coopers)

300 g dextrose

Hops:

12 g Motueka (6.80%AA) 45 min

12 g Cascade (5.90%AA) 45 min

10 g Motueka (6.80%AA) 15 min.

10 g Cascade (5.90%AA) 15 min.

18 g Motueka (6.80%AA) 0 min.

18 g Cascade (5.90%AA) 0 min.

US-05 yeast

 

Method

  1. Dissolve one of the cans of extract in 14 litres of water. Bring to the boil, add the first (45 min) batch of hops, and boil 30 mins. Boil it so it’s rolling but not frothing. You want more that a simmer but less than a big frothing roll that boils over.
  2. Add the second (15 min) batch of hops and boil another 15 minutes,
  3. Switch off heat and add the flame out hops (0 min)
  4. Remove from heat and dissolve the second can of extract and the dextrose and crash chill in the laundry tub/bath tub by submersing the pot in cold water. Replace the water when it heats up.
  5. Pour it into the fermenter, straining out the hops.
  6. Top up with cold water in the fermenter, pitch yeast and keep below 20 deg.

 

Note: dextrose is an easily fermented brewing sugar available from home brew shops and some supermarkets. If you can’t find any, just use white sugar. It’ll be fine, honest.

Home Brew Suppliers

Brewers World (Kapiti Lights)

Stocks:

  • kits by Muntons, Brewcraft and Mangrove Jacks
  • US-05 and SO4 yeast
  • Black Rock malt extract
  • sanitiser
  • fermenters and other equipment.

Prices are steep compared with other outlets, but it’s local and easy to get to if you need something in a hurry. Poor selection of hops. No grains. Does not stock Coopers kits (probably because supermarkets stock them so cheaply).

 

The Brew House (Newtown)

Excellent selection of all types of brewing supplies. You can visit their shop in Newtown or order online and have your order delivered.

http://thebrewhouse.co.nz/

 

Baylands Brewing (Newlands)

Very good selection of hops and grains. Also stocks malt extract and US-05 and SO4 yeast. Order online and have your order delivered, or pick it up from Newlands on your way home from Wellington. (Pickup needs to be arranged in advance as it’s from a private home, not a shop.)

http://www.baylandsbrewery.com/store/drupal/

 

The Brew Shop (online only)

Excellent selection of all types of brewing supplies. The only place to currently stock affordable bulk dried malt extract.

http://www.brewshop.co.nz/

 

Great Expectations (Lower Hutt)

Good selection of most brewing supplies.

http://www.greatexpectations.co.nz/

 

Golden Bear Brewing

This brewery / restaurant in Mapua now produces fresh wort packs for home brewers. These are all grain brews that (unlike canned kits) have not been dehydrated. They come in 15 litre wine bag style packs for $40. Just open the pack, pour into your fermenter, add extra water if desired, add yeast (not supplied). A true high quality craft beer, and dead easy to make. The recipe and style changes from batch to batch. Once a batch is sold out, a new one is brewed.

Check the latest batch here:

http://www.goldenbearbrewing.com/content/brewery-fresh-wort-packs

Buy from here:

http://goldenbearbrewing.com/store/

 

Supermarkets

Countdown and Pak n Save in Coastlands both stock cheap Coopers kits, as well as sanitiser, crown caps, and carbonation drops. Many other supermarkets also stock Coopers kits.

How To Improve a Kit

Basic method

Most brewers start off with a kit brew. It’s an easy way to make beer and learn some basics of brewing. Most kits contain 1.5 kg to 1.7 kg pre-hopped malt extract. Usually the instructions on the can go something like this:

  • boil 2 to 3 litres of water
  • empty can into a sanitised fermenter
  • add 1 kg of white sugar into fermenter
  • pour on boiling water and stir to dissolve
  • top up to 23 litres with cold tap water
  • add yeast supplied with kit
  • ferment 7 days then bottle

If done correctly, this will usually give a passable but thin bodied and bland beer. However, a Coopers kit from the supermarket will cost $14 to $17, plus a couple of dollars for the sugar, which works out at less than $1.15 a litre ($2.30 a six-pack) for something that’s probably no worse than some of the cheapest mainstream commercial beers, and sometimes better.

For a little more time and money, you can use kits to brew something a lot better that’s still much cheaper than buying commercial beer.

 

Adding malt extract

You can improve the body of a kit beer by replacing the sugar with a 1.5 kg can of liquid malt extract (or 1.2kg of dried malt extract). This will yield roughly the same alcohol content as adding a kilo of sugar, because  sugar is fully fermentable but malt extract is not fully fermentable. The non-fermentable part gives the beer flavour and body.

The process is:

  • bring 2-3 litres of water to the boil
  • take the kettle off the heat
  • dissolve the malt extract in the water, stirring constantly so it doesn’t caramelise on the hot bottom of the kettle
  • bring the dissolved malt extract to the boil (still stirring)
  • boil 15 minutes to sterilise
  • use this boiled liquid to dissolve the kit as per the standard instructions above.

One of the best readily available kits is Coopers Original Series Stout. This kit can give you a respectable stout with just a can of extract added instead of sugar. Try pale malt extract to start with. Amber extract would also work fine. For a really inky black as midnight stout, some people add dark malt extract.

For lighter kits like a pale ale, I would stick to pale malt extract. A fairly bitter kit like Coopers Real Ale can handle a full can of added malt extract, but for a lightly hopped kit like the Australian Pale Ale or Lager a whole can of extract might throw the malt off balance with the hops and make the beer too sweet. In that case try half a can (or 500g dried extract) and 300-500g sugar. (Use dextrose rather than table sugar if possible.) Even better, use a full can and add more hops.

 

Adding hops

For hop flavour and aroma (but not much extra bitterness), add 20g or more of hops to liquid in which you dissolve the kit. Boil for 15 mins with the malt extract for a decent whack of flavour, or add at the end of the boil for flavour and aroma. (See the Toucan Pale Ale recipe below.)

 

Better yeast

The yeast supplied with Coopers kits is not the same yeast that’s used in the Coopers ales you buy at the bottle shop. It is chosen because it will work at a much higher temperature than most ale yeasts and therefore it is less likely to fail in hot Australian conditions when brewing without temperature control. It works, it ferments quickly, but it seems to leave a funky taste in the brew. For a few extra dollars there are better alternatives that result in a cleaner tasting beer.

Here are some good quality dried ale yeasts that I’ve tried:

Danstar Nottingham: excellent all round yeast, neutral flavour, ferments quite dry, settles well. Available online from http://www.brewshop.co.nz/

Danstar Windsor: not as dry as Nottingham, so results in a maltier, fuller bodied beer. Settles very well. Excellent for stouts and English bitters. Available online from http://www.brewshop.co.nz/

Fermentis US-05: excellent all round yeast, neutral flavour, ferments very dry. Can be a bit slow to settle. Good for hoppy pale ales and US styles. Available from most home brewing shops and online sellers (including Brewers World in Kapiti Lights)

Fermentis SO4: not quite as dry as US05. Settles well. Use for English styles. Available from most home brewing shops and online sellers (including Brewers World in Kapiti Lights)

Gervin Ale yeast: reputed to be the same strain as Nottingham (and it’s cheaper). I can’t tell the difference. This is my favourite dried yeast. Only available from the Brew House in Newtown (or online via their website http://thebrewhouse.co.nz/).

 

“Toucan”

A quick and easy way to get a full malt flavour is to do a “Toucan” (ie, two can) brew using two cans of kit instead of one can plus sugar or malt extract. This doubles the amount of malt, but bear in mind it also doubles the bitterness. Therefore it’s most successful with kits that are very low in bitterness. The Coopers Australian Pale Ale kit is only 18 IBU (a measure of bitterness) and so is ideal for this. Two kits combined add up to 36 IBUs, which is still fairly moderate, and the malt and hops remain in balance. Add some flavour and aroma hops and you have a nice all malt beer, not too bitter, with plenty of hop character.

The recipe below is just as quick and easy as doing a standard kit plus sugar brew, but it’s a lot tastier.

Toucan Pale Ale

2 x Coopers Australian Pale Ale kits

40 g Rakau hops (0 minutes)

20 g Nelson Sauvin hops (0 minutes)

20 g Rakau hops (dry)

10 g Nelson Sauvin hops (dry)

US-05 yeast

 

Instructions

  1. Bring 2-3 litres water to boil.
  2. Throw in the first lot of hops and turn off the heat.
  3. Leave hops about 5 minutes to steep.
  4. Meanwhile pour the kits into a sanitised fermenter.
  5. Pour the hot water onto the kits, straining the hops with a sanitised sieve.
  6. Stir with sanitised metal or plastic stirrer until kits are dissolved.
  7. Top up to 23 litres with cold water.
  8. Pitch yeast (once temperature is below 24◦C).
  9. After 2-3 days of fermentation, throw the dry hops into the fermenter.
  10. Wait another week before bottling.
  11. Leave bottles 3 weeks before drinking.

This recipe is ideal for trying different hop varieties, each of which tastes different and will change the taste of the beer. Rakau and Nelson Sauvin are two fruity flavoured New Zealand varieties that go together very well. Once you’ve brewed a batch according to the recipe (or if you can’t find the right hops), try replacing the hops in the recipe with one of these options:

  • a 2:1 blend of Cascade and Nelson Sauvin (40g Cascade and 20g Nelson Sauvin in the boil; 20g Cascade and 10g Nelson Sauvin as dry hops)
  • a 50:50 blend of Cascade and Motueka (30g of each in the boil; 15g of each as dry hops)
  • any fruity tasting hop on its own, such as Cascade, Motueka, Riwaka, Amarillo, Galaxy, Mosaic, or Zythos (60g in the boil; 30g as dry hops)

The hop flavour will be very forward in the first couple of weeks and will gradually recede and integrate with the malt flavours as the beer ages.

Adding grains

Adding steeped or mashed grains can improve the malt flavour and complexity of a brew, add body, improve the head, and transform the style of beer, especially if hops are also added. The process for steeping and mashing grains will be covered soon, both on air and here. Watch this space!