| Hydrometer and glass container into which to insert hydrometer and beer. | European-style beer bottle | Capper and American-style bottles |
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Obtain a 3 gallon container in which to conduct the primary fermentation. It should be constructed of a material that will not leech out toxic chemicals in the presence of alcohol. It should have a lid to keep bugs from getting in but which will allow carbon dioxide gas to escape. There should be a hole in the lid into which you place an airlock with a little bit of water into it. This is to let out the carbon dioxide produced during fermentation I use a 2.5 gallon plastic garbage can with a faucet at the bottom and a lid with an airlock at the top (available from beer supply stores).
Pour in about 1.5 to 3 lb of hop-flavoured malt extract. For strong beer, add about 5 to 6 cups of sugar. Cane sugar is fine, but corn sugar (glucose) may give you a drier beer. Best to add it a bit at a time, stirring and then checking the specific gravity after each addition. Optionally, add about 2 tsp of fruit acid (if you are making a low alcohol beer, the acid helps retard spoilage - which should not be necessary if you drink it all up as fast as I do). Any fruit acid will do; I have used citric, which is cheap. Lemon juice could be used. Do not use ascorbic acid, it will retard the fermentation. A tsp of di-ammonium-phosphate (yeast nutrient, fertilizer) will speed the fermentation, especially in high-alcohol beers, but is not necessary. A tablespoon of gypsum will make the water hard and add to the quality of its taste.
Now, add water, 60-90 degrees Fahrenheit, up to a few inches below the top of your container. Do not fill it too full, or the fermenting mess will come out. Stir it all up thoroughly. You will need a spoon with a long handle. If you have a beer hydrometer, (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) check the specific gravity. It should be about 1.04, corrected for temperature. I suggest you buy a floating thermometer so you can correct for temperature. A beer hydrometer will also tell you what the alcohol content will be in the finished brew. The more sugar, the denser the liquid will be now (higher specific gravity) and the more alcohol the yeast will make. Five cups of sugar will give you about 6.5% alcohol (most commercial beer in the US is about 3.5%). Do not go above 9 or 10%, or you will kill the yeast and end up with a sweet, uncarbonated beverage. Also, do not drink 6.5% beer like 3.5% beer and don't drive after drinking a pint or more! If using a hydrometer, it is best to start out with less sugar than you think you will need and then adjust the specific gravity by adding more.
Now you are ready to add the yeast. I use dry yeast, available in beermaking supply stores (or you can use the dredges from a bottle from your last batch). You could use bread yeast, but I don't recommend it. It gives the beer a yeasty taste and does not stand up to high alcohol contents. If you can't wait to get beer yeast, wild yeast (bound to be there unless you used sterilized ingredients) may do for low alcohol beer. If you have already made beer before, the sediment from the bottom of a freshly opened bottle contains enough yeast to start your new batch. Add the yeast, put the top on the container, place in a warm place (70-90 degrees F), and wait a week or two.
If you have a hydrometer, you may want to monitor the specific gravity. When it drops to 1.005, it is ready to bottle. I let the beer go to draught, when the fermentation (bubbling) stops entirely - no sugar left. If there are not many solids in the wort, he specific gravity will be a bit below 1.000 (alcohol being less dense than water). I "rack" the beer at this point, that is, siphon (or use faucet) it off of the inch or so of yuck at the bottom of the container. I rack it into a second 3 gallon container with faucet. The reading from the hydrometer should be corrected for the temperature of the wort. I use an aquarium thermometer to check the temperature.
| Degrees Fahrenheit | 60 | 70 | 77 | 84 | 95 | 105 |
| Correction (add this much) | .000 | .001 | .002 | .003 | .005 | .007 |
At this point, you need to add more sugar for the secondary fermentation, which carbonates the beer (and raises the alcohol content yet more). I use about 10 tbsp sugar. Start with less and check the gravity. You want the gravity to be 1.005. Be sure to correct the gravity for temperature (instructions with the hydrometer will tell you how). DO NOT allow the gravity to exceed 1.005! If there is too much sugar, your bottled beer will EXPLODE, which could be FATAL (I'm not kidding - I've seen exploding bottles drive pieces of glass through wooden cabinets!). Now, bottle the beer (use siphon or faucet). I have a second, larger, garbage can with a spout at the bottom. I drain the fermented wort from the smaller container to the larger one. Stop draining before you get to the scum at the bottom Do not use disposable bottles, they can't stand the pressure and are dangerous. I use one pint returnable soft drink bottles which I collected while they were still in common use (see photo below). You can buy similar bottles from stores that sell beer making supplies. You need bottle caps and a capper. Alternatively, use the European beer bottles which have reusable caps and don't require a capper. You can get these by buying European beer or by buying the bottles from a brewing supply story. Pictured below is beautiful blue bottle that my son bought be -- however I recommend lighter colored bottles (clear or green), as it easier to see the level of beer in them as you are filling them. Keep the beer at 70-90 degrees F. in a safe place for a week or so. Then put one bottle in the refrigerator. When cold, give it a try to see if it is adequately carbonated yet. If not, let the rest of the beer ferment in the bottles a few days longer. It yes, move it all into the beer refrigerator, if you have one. (I used to have a second refrigerator to hold all of my beer). Otherwise, store them at room temperature in a safe place.
Suppose my initial wort has a specific gravity of 1.040 at 80%. Corrected for temperature that is 1.0425. I plan to ferment to draught and then increase the specific gravity to 1.005. Adding the .005 to 1.0425, I get a gravity of 1.0475. Using this online calculator, and assuming the final gravity will be 1.000 (usually will be a bit higher), I expect to produce a beer with 5.6% ethanol.
If your wort contained a lot of solids, then even after fermentation has stopped the specific gravity will be greater than 1.000. In that case, add .005 to the specific gravity to get target gravity for bottling. If you have a good hydrometer, it will show you what percentage alcohol the finished beer will have. If you ferment to draught then add .005 specific gravity to determine the final percentage (the secondary fermentation will produce some alcohol).
When you pour the beer out of the bottle (don't drink from the bottle), do it in one continuous movement. Watch the crud at the bottom of the bottle and stop pouring before it comes out. While there are lots of B vitamins in this crud, it looks nasty, does not taste good, and is a mild laxative (generates flatus too). This crud is not in commercial US beer because they artificially carbonate their beer. They also add all sorts of chemicals - detergent to make a head, for example. By the way, soft drinks can still legally contain 0.5 % alcohol, because that is the amount produced during a natural carbonation fermentation, as used to be done by the industry.
Cheap folks who refuse to buy a beer hydrometer can use this alternative method: Put the draught beer (no sugar left, fermentation completely stopped) into bottles and add sugar to the bottles. Use 0.5 to 1 tsp per bottle (12 to 16 oz), or use 0.5 tbsp of a 50% sugar solution (one cup sugar in one cup water). I do not recommend this method, given the great danger of explosion, great frustration of an undercarbonated batch, and cheap price (about $4 and up) of a hydrometer.
Keep your bottles, containers, etc. clean to avoid microorganisms that cause spoilage (you don't want 3 gal. of malt vinegar, do you?). Some folks routinely sterilize equipment with boiling water or chemicals, but I find that unnecessary except after having had a spoilage problem.
There are various laws regulating homemade beer production. An adult can make 100 gal. (200 per household) a year under federal law. I used to register as a wine producer with the Dept. of Firearms, Tobacco, & Alcohol, but I don't bother anymore, the law may not even require that any more. N. C. State law is fuzzy (says you must use native N. C. fruits). In any case, if you keep it at home, don't sell it, and don't give it away to narcs (alchs?, revenuers), you should not get in any trouble.
Supplies (including kits for beginners) are available by mail from E. C. Kraus, P. O. Box 7850, Independence, MO 64053 and from many other places. I have no connection with this firm, but I have been so pleased with their products, prices, and service that I used to buy all of my supplies from them. These days there are lots of other good beer supply places, shop around.
This has been a brief introduction to home brewing. Once you are into it, you may want to modify the recipe and try fancier methods. Think of the money you will save and the chemical-free delicious beer you will have.
You may wonder what a statistician is doing brewing beer. Well, modern statistics got its start in German astronomy, American agriculture, European casinos, and European beer brewing. Famous statistician Gosset used the pen name "Student" because his employer, Guiness Brewery, didn't want competitors to know what statistics they were using to fine-tune their brewing process. Another explanation involves a more personal bit of history. I attended the University of Salzburg in Austria one summer, and having spent more time in the beer halls than in the lecture halls, I acquired a taste for strong, dark beer. As a poor graduate student in the southern and then the midwestern U. S. I could not afford to buy such beer, so I learned to make it myself. In fact, most of the ingredients could be bought with food stamps at grocery stores! I can better afford to buy such beer now, but I still make several batches a year.
| Hydrometer and glass container into which to insert hydrometer and beer. | European-style beer bottle | Capper and American-style bottles |
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I frequently get a sherry flor atop my fermented beer, especially if I let I go a bit too long before bottling it. This is caused by the same sort of yeast that is used to produce the unique flavour in sherry wines. It never stays atop my beers long enough to produce a great change in the taste of the beer, and I do not mind a hint of sherry.
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Sherry Flor on Beer Just Before Bottling It |
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| Bottled Beer Atop the Fridge |
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Details on a Few Batches I Have Made
30-May-2020: 3.3 pound jar of Brewer’s Best Dark unhopped malt syrup, 2 tsp gypsum,1 tsp di-ammonium-phosphate, and four cups of hops tea (1.8 ounces Cascade hops). Before adding any sugar, corrected SG = 1.033. Added 2 cups of cane sugar bringing the SG up to 1.044, potential ETOH after secondary fermentation projected to be 6.5%. Started with an old package of Munton’s yeast. If not bitter enough at bottling, I’ll make some more hops tea to add to the brew while bottling.
15-June-2020: SG 1.012 uncorrected at 75 degrees, 1.014 corrected.
22-June-2020: SG 1.008 uncorrected at 78 degrees, 1.010 corrected. Primed with13 tbsp of corn sugar, SG 1.012 at 74 degrees, 1.014 corrected, increase of .004. Bottled 28.5 pints.
SG 1.012 uncorrected at 78 degrees, 1.014 corrected on 11-June-2019.
SG 1.011 uncorrected at 82 degrees, 1.104 corrected, on 27-June=2019. Time to prime for carbonation and bottle.
1-July-2019: SG 1.011 uncorrected at 80 degrees. Primed with 12 tbsp corn sugar, increasing SG by .004. Bottled
Beer 157
1-Sept-2018. Half a 3.85 lb can of New Zealand Miners Stout, 4 cups of sugar, 2 tsp gypsum,1 tsp di-ammonium-phosphate, 1 oz of Polaris hops pellets boiled for half an hour. Uncorrected SG 1.040, uncorrected. Corrected for temperature and priming 1.048. Potential ETOH after secondary fermentation projected to be 6.25%. Primed with 9 tbsp sugar and bottled 27 pints on 20-September-2018. SG 1.005, uncorrected, 78 degrees. Heavy sherry flor. Bottled was delayed due to Hurricane Florence.
Beer 156
19-May-2018. Half a 3.85 lb can of New Zealand Miners Stout, 4 cups of sugar, 2 tsp gypsum,1 tsp di-ammonium-phosphate, 8 oz of hops tea (found in the freezer when defrosting it). Uncorrected SG 1.040, uncorrected. Corrected for temperature and priming 1.048. Potential ETOH after secondary fermentation projected to be 6.25%. Racked on 31-May. SG 1.003, uncorrected. Corrected for 78 degrees, that is 1.005. Primed with 10 Tbsp of sugar, uncorrected SG 1.007 at 76 degrees, 1.009 corrected. Bottled 29 pints.
Beer 155
2. July 2017. Half a can of Mountmellick Stout hopped syrup, 4.5 cups of corn sugar, 2 tsp gypsum,1 tsp di-ammonium-phosphate. Boiled one ounce of loose hops (Cascade, 4.6% alpha) for an hour, added ice to cool it, and then strained it through a nylon bag before adding to the wort. SG 1.033, uncorrected, at 74 degrees. Corrected SG 1.034. Potential ETOH after secondary fermentation projected to be 5%. 14-July: Uncorrected SG 1.001 at 74 degrees. Added 12 tablespoons of corn sugar.
Beer 154
26. July 2015. Half a can of Mountmellick Stout, 4.25 cups of sugar, 2 tsp gypsum,1 tsp di-ammonium-phosphate. Boiled one ounce of loose hops (Cascade, 4.6% alpha) for an hour, let it cool, and then strained it through a nylon bag before adding to the wort. Managed to knock over and break my glass hydrometer bottle, dammit. SG 1.033, uncorrected, at 78 degrees. Corrected SG 1.045. Potential ETOH after secondary fermentation projected to be 6.5%.
8-8-2015: SG 1.004 @ 74 degrees. Corrected SG = 1.0055.
16-August: SG 1.001 @ 78 degrees. Primed with 13 tbsp corn sugar, SG = 1.005, bottled 27.5 pints.
7-October-2016: Primed with one teaspoon of sugar a bottle that was uncarboned, likely due to failed seal on the cap.
Beer 153
1. September 2014. Heated a 3 pound package of dried, dark malt extract in water. Boiled two ounces of loose hops (Cascade, 4.6% alpha) for an hour, let it cool, and then strained it through a nylon bag before adding to the wort. Added 2.5 cups of corn sugar, bringing SG to 1.045. Potential ETOH after secondary fermentation projected to be 6.3%. SG 1.010 on the 20th of September, has not dropped any in five days – must be lots of particulates in the brew. Racked and primed with 12 tablespoons of corn sugar. SG 1.012. Bottled 27.5 pints. Was not as good as my usual brews.
Beer 152
6. October 2013. Boiled one ounce of loose hops (Cascade, 4.6% alpha) and one ounce of pelletized Simcoe (12.4% alpha) for an hour, let it cool, and then strained it through a nylon bag before adding to the wort. Half a can of Cooper’s Australian Stout, 4.5 cups of sugar, 2 tsp gypsum,1 tsp di-ammonium-phosphate. SG 1.040, uncorrected, at 85 degrees. Corrected SG 1.043. Potential ETOH after secondary fermentation projected to be 6.3%. SG slowly dropped to 1.002, uncorrected, at 65 degrees. Primed with 12 tbsp, bottled 29.5 pints on the 27th of October, 2013.
Beer 151
11. July 2013. Boiled one ounce of loose hops (Cascade, 4.6% alpha) and one ounce of pelletized Citra (12.3% alpha) for an hour, let it cool, and then strained it through a nylon bag before adding to the wort. Half a can of Cooper’s Australian Stout, 2 tsp gypsum,1 tsp di-ammonium-phosphate. SG 1.043 uncorrected, 78 degrees. Corrected SG 1.045. Potential ETOH after secondary fermentation 6.5%. Primed with 9 tbsp of corn sugar, SG 1.004 uncorrected, 78 degrees. Bottled 26.5 pints.
Beer 150
22. September 2012. Boiled one ounce of Columbus hops (12.8% alpha) and one ounce of Cascade hops (4.6% alpha) for an hour, let it cool, and then strained it through a nylon bag before adding to the wort. Half a can of Mountmellick Dark Unhopped extract, 4.5 cups sugar, 2 tsp gypsum, 1 tsp di-ammonium-phosphate. SG 1.042 uncorrected, 74 degrees. Potential ETOH is 6.25%. Innoculated with the bottom of a bottle of batch 149. SG 1.000, uncorrected, 6. October. Primed with 10 tbsp corn sugar. SG 1.005 corrected. Bottled 28 pints. There was a flor on the wort.
Beer 149
15. August 2012. Boiled one ounce of Summit hops (14.5% alpha) for half an hour, let it cool, and then strained it through a nylon bag before adding to the wort. Half a can of Mountmellick Dark Unhopped extract, 4.5 cups sugar, 2 tsp gypsum, 1 tsp di-ammonium-phosphate. Potential ETOH is 6.25%. Started with Mountmellick yeast. On the 26th of August the SG was 1.004 at 75 degrees. On the 30th of August the SG was 1.001 at 82 degrees. I primed it with 9 tbsp of corn sugar and bottled
Beer 148
13. August 2011. Boiled one half ounce of Sylvia’s hops in two cups of water, simmered for one hour, and let sit in the pan overnight. Remaining half can of Mountmellick Stout, 4.5 cups sugar, 2 tsp gypsum, 1 tsp di-ammonium-phosphate. SG 1.040 uncorrected, 80 degrees. Potential ETOH is 6%. SG 1.000, uncorrected, on the 25th of August, as Hurricane Irene is headed our way. Primed with 11 tbsp corn sugar. SG 1.002 at 84 degrees, 1.005 corrected. Bottled 27 pints.
Beer 147
22. May 2011. Half a can of Mountmellick Stout, 1 cup of molasses, 4 cups of sugar, a cup of brown sugar syrup from a chunk of hardened brown sugar, a bit of lite peach syrup, last (I think) one cup of hops tea, 1 tbsp gypsum, SG 1.052, potential ETOH is 7.5%. Started with a packet of Mountmellick yeast. SG down to 1.004 on the 4th of June, 1.003 on the 11th, uncorrected, 82 degrees. Primed with 9 tbsp of corn sugar. Bottled 30 pints.
Beer 146
13. July 2010. One cup of hops tea, half a can of Mountmellick Stout, 1.5 cups of light corn syrup, ½ cup of blackstrap molasses, 2 cups of sugar, 1 tsp di-ammonium-phosphate. SG 1.049, corrected for temperature and sugar added for secondary fermentation. Potential ETOH is 6.3%. Started with the bottom of one bottle of Batch 145. On the 25th of July the uncorrected SG was 1.005, 88°. Primed with 8 tbsp, SG 1.009 uncorrected, 85°, 1.012 corrected. Bottled 28 pints.
Beer 145
23. May 2010. Prepared four cups of hops tea from one ounce of nugget pellet hops. Used one cup for this batch, froze the remaining three cups. Half a can of Mountmellick Stout, 4.5 cups of sugar, 1 tsp di-ammonium-phosphate, SG 1.048 corrected for temperature and sugar added for secondary fermentation. Potential ETOH is 6.3%. Started with a packet of John Bull Porter yeast from 2008. SG 1.001, uncorrected, 83°, sherry flor, on the 4th of June. Primed with 9 tbsp sugar, meniscus at 1.006, uncorrected. Bottled 26.5 pints.
Cheers, Bottoms Up, Prost, Salut, Skål, Sláinte, or you other favorite drinking salutation:
Calculator -- estimate final percentage alcohol from initial specific gravity
Auto-Brewery Syndrome -- making beer in your gut
Alternative Whiskey Academy -- drinking salutations in many different languages
Omniglot -- in several languages, some with audio
This page most recently revised on 11-Jan-2023.
