makingbeer

EARTH ART AND FOODS

Here I used 4 pounds of grains which I
placed in a blender (enough to cover 2"
above the blade) and grounded it by turning
it on and off at 1 second intervals. You want
to avoid turning the grains into a powder;
1/4 cut chunks of the grains are most
desirable.

If you enjoy a genesee type beer, here is a recipe for my "lazy mountain stout" beer which I also use in
making our fine soaps.
First and foremost, the best beer is made by good quality ingredients and by that I don't mean the most
expensive product. Sometimes you pay more for a fancy, shiny label that gets thrown away anyways.
Starting clean and finishing clean will prevent you from ending up with the "house of horror" 5gallon of
beer that is hard to swallow. If you use dish soap to clean your 5 gallon glass jug, be sure to use as little
of it possible and rinse it several times to get rid of any residue or oil. Pay as much attention to washing
the outside of the jug (especially around the neck area) as you would inside. After washing your jug, allow
it to air dry and keep it in a dry room to avoid bacteria and molds to grow inside or outside of it. In
preparing the jug prior to pouring my beer into it I use a pressure cooker and turn my jug upside down
over the lid and let the forced steam heat the jug to about 160 for a few minutes. Every 3rd or fourth
time of using the same jug to make beer or wine, it's best to fill the jug full of cold water mixed 1/4 cup
of bleach and letting it sit for 24 hours before using it again.
Washing your hands and utensils are just as important as everything else. Try to keep open jars of
vinegar away from your brew or wine and make every effort to keep fruit flies from reaching the content
of your jar. If Fruit flies are a problem, use 4 parts vinegar to 1 part dish soap; mix well and place it
where they normally congregate.

Pour your grains in 1-1/2 gallon of cold
water, bring it to a boil and boil for 6-7
minutes.

After 6 minutes pour your liquid over a
stainer into another pot. You can use a
little cold water to rinse the grains off.
Both our dogs and chickens love the
grains so find a use for it.
Before going to the next level, it is
important to note that when hops are
added to the mixture, they have a
tendency to overflow and make a huge
mess. Before adding the boiling hop, I
turn the heat down or off, add the hop
and increase the heat with the lid off
until a hard boil is attained.

Here I have added 2 oz of boiling hops
(northern brew), 3 lb of dry dark malt
and a can of Mountmellick Irish stout
malt extract before hard boiling the
mixture for additional 50 minutes.
Added 2 oz UK Fuggle and boiled for
additional 10 min.
That is it.!
Another word of caution here:
After adding the yeast to your beer, it
will more likely begin to "boil" within
10-12 hours. If the mixture contain
enough hops and grain pieces in it, it will
clog the airlock and next thing you know
you are woken up to the sound of an
explosion concomitant with the

discovery that the celling and walls are splattered with the stuff you worked so hard to make. On way to
alleviate this problem is to run a hose from your jug's cap (where the airlock goes) into a 1 gallon bottle
with the end of the hose submerged in few inches of water.
Add two gallons of cold water to your 5 gallon jug to cushion the hot liquid and Pour the mixture over a
strainer and into your 5 gallon jug. Add enough cold water to fill the jug to its first upper ring before
adding 1-2 package of yeast. In 3-4 weeks add a 1/4 cup of malt extract or sugar to your mixture before
bottling it. Make sure your bottles are clean and clear. Boil the caps for 15 minutes before applying them.