Homebrew Emporium
Brewing Instructions for Beer in a Bucket
1.Sanitation of all equipment and bottles is necessary for making good beer.
Install bottling spigots on fermenter buckets and add enough water to test spigots for leaks. Sanitize one fermenter bucket, airlock, mixing spoon,
thermometer (if available), and lid by filling bucket with cool water and
adding (2) tablespoons of household bleach to the fermenter. Let the bucket, airlock, spoon, thermometer and lid
soak for at least 15 minutes, then rinse with hot water. Sanitize your bottles and bottle caps when you
are ready to bottle. As an alternative to using household bleach to sanitize, Homebrew Emporium recommends one-step
sanitizer. A 1 pound bag is only $3.75 and no rinsing is necessary when using one-step sanitizer. It also sanitizes on contact
with no soaking time necessary.
2. We recommend bottled water for brewing, because unfiltered tap water contains chlorine which gives off flavors to your beer.
You will need 1½ - 2 gallons of water for your brew. You should chill 1 gallon of water
prior to brewing. The cold water will be used to cool your heated wort (beer).
3. Time to brew. Add ½ gallon of bottled water to a 6 - 8 quart stock/cooking pot. Place the can of malt extract in a
sauce pan with hot water for 10-15 minutes. This will thin the extract enough to allow you to pour ½ of the can into
the stock pot. Stir the malt to prevent scorching. Cover the can with the remaining malt and refrigerate until you are ready to
brew your second batch of beer. Continue to stir while bringing the malt to a boil. Once the malt begins to boil, add ½ of the hop package to the brew.
Seal the remaining hops and refrigerate for your next batch. Boil the malt and hops for 30 minutes. Adding more hops or
boiling for 60 minutes will add bitterness to your beer. Reduce the boiling time or use less hops for less bitterness. Do not place
a lid on the brew pot during boiling, it may overflow. NOTE: To increase the alcohol content and/or lighten the body of your beer, add 6 ounces of corn/priming sugar
to the brew pot when you pour in the malt extract. Save the remaining sugar for bottling and your second batch of beer.
4. Add 1 gallon of chilled bottled water to the sanitized fermenter. Slowly pour the wort from your brew pot into the fermenter. The
fermenter should be filled to the bottom lip ring (level of handle). CAUTION: Overfilling will reduce the necessary head space, which could result in blow-off.
5. Check the temperature of your beer. Once it is below 80° F, add 1 package of yeast and stir well to aerate the beer/wort. Refrigerate
the remaining package of yeast for your next batch. Do not add yeast until the temperature is below 80° F, it will not ferment properly. The yeast provided is designed to
work at temperatures between 65° and 80° with 65-75 being the ideal temperature range. Seal the lid tightly and insert the airlock in the gromet on the lid and fill
half full with water. Fermentation should start within 24 hours.
6. Leave the beer in the fermenter for 1-2 days. Sanitize your second fermenter and add beer from the first bucket trying to minimize aeration by tilting
the second bucket under the spigot. Seal with lid and reinstall airlock half filled with water. Leave the beer in the second bucket until fermentation is complete and beer appears clear in the spigot,
usually 1-2 days.
7. Time to bottle. Boil ½ cup of bottled water and add 2 ounces of priming sugar. Stir until all sugar is dissolved. Remove the beer from the fermenter and put it in the other sanitized
bucket. Add the dissolved sugar and mix thoroughly with a sanitized spoon. Fill your sanitized bottles
(12-15, 12 oz.) and leave at least 1" of space in each bottle to facilitate carbonation. Seal bottles tightly and store at room temperature out of direct sunlight for a minimum of 7 days. After 7 days,
chill a bottle and try it. Remember, homebrew improves with time. Save a few and try them after 4-6 weeks. Enjoy your brew!!!
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