How to Do My First Kit Brew
So you finally got up and bought the Home Brew starter kit you always wanted and now you are not sure what to do with it! Well you could read the instructions provided in the kit or follow these quick & easy instructions.
ASSEMBLING THE EQUPMENT.
- Put the rubber airlock grommet (black rubber washer) into the hole in the lid.
- Stick the thermometer onto the fermenter (the big white bucket).
- Put the sediment reducer (the white ‘top hat’) into the back of the tap with the slit facing up. Screw the tap into the fermenter.
CLEANING AND STERILISING
- Every time you use the fermenter (even the first time) you must clean and sterilise it.
- Wash the fermenter, lid & anything that will come into contact with the brew with a solution of hot water and brewing detergent. Rinse well.
- Mix a solution of Brewcraft brewshield or Morgans Sanitize (30ml to 1 litre of water) in an atomizer pump pack and spray anything that will contact the beer. Leave for 10 to 15 minutes to work. There is no need to rinse it off but drain any access.
MAKING THE BREW
- Take the lid off the can of beer concentrate and put the yeast pack to one side.
- Open the can and pour the contents into the fermenter. (You may want to stand the can in hot water for about 10 minutes to soften up the concentrate during the winter.)
- Add 2 litres of boiling water (3 in winter) to the fermenter and stir the concentrate to dissolve.
- Slowly pour in the bag of dextrose into the fermenter and stir to dissolve.
- Top up with cold water to the 23 litre mark. The thermometer should be between 18 and 30 degrees.
- Pour in the yeast and screw on the lid & insert the airlock. Half fill the airlock with cold boiled water or sanatising solution. Make sure the lid has an airtight seal.
- Take a hydrometer reading and record it. You will need this Original Gravity reading to calculate the approximate alcohol by volume of your beer.
- The airlock should start bubbling within 12 to 24 hours.
- It should take between 5 to 9 days for it to stop. (Your beer will ferment faster in warm weather.) Take a hydrometer reading when it has stopped and then a second one 24 hours later. If they are the same two days running your beer is ready to bottle.
BOTTLING
- Clean & sterilise 30 long neck or 60 stubbie bottles and the bottling tube.
- Attach the tube to the tap
- Add 1 carbonation drop per stubbie or 2 per longneck and fill using the bottling tube.
- Cap each bottle. If you are using twist top bottles twist the cap closed after capping.
- Store the beer (standing upright) for at least 3 weeks then chill and drink.