The Art of Brewing
Saturday, July 7. 2007
Enlightened as to how much beer I actually drink, I've gone ahead and set up a small brewing facility in my "home." To date, I've completed a "real ale" and a porter with a stout coming out of the fermenter this weekend. To date, the stuff has tasted like crap.
The equipment and process has been fun, though. I have a "fridge" capable of holding 3 corny kegs (5 gallons each) + the CO2 tank. I need to get a few more fittings to pressurize the kegs at the same time. I also need to build a wooden collar around the top into which to install a few shanks/faucets so I can keep the lid closed.
And making it doesn't seem too difficult (that said, none of the beer has been good yet -- I blame low ABV). And the result is cheap beer on tap every day of the week. To do it, you just heat up some hopped malt extract, mix in some dried malt extract, and fill the fermenter with water to the appropriate initial gravity. Place it upstairs to ferment for a week. Then siphon over to a keg and let it sit another week. It should be ready to drink, then.
I've make a batch a week for the past 3 weeks, usually on a saturday. I need to move a batch out of the fermenter and into a keg, but I don't think I'm going to make another batch this week. I'm lacking in kegs. Plus, I didn't have time for beer today. I went bowling with amber.
The equipment and process has been fun, though. I have a "fridge" capable of holding 3 corny kegs (5 gallons each) + the CO2 tank. I need to get a few more fittings to pressurize the kegs at the same time. I also need to build a wooden collar around the top into which to install a few shanks/faucets so I can keep the lid closed.
And making it doesn't seem too difficult (that said, none of the beer has been good yet -- I blame low ABV). And the result is cheap beer on tap every day of the week. To do it, you just heat up some hopped malt extract, mix in some dried malt extract, and fill the fermenter with water to the appropriate initial gravity. Place it upstairs to ferment for a week. Then siphon over to a keg and let it sit another week. It should be ready to drink, then.
I've make a batch a week for the past 3 weeks, usually on a saturday. I need to move a batch out of the fermenter and into a keg, but I don't think I'm going to make another batch this week. I'm lacking in kegs. Plus, I didn't have time for beer today. I went bowling with amber.
