Partial Mash Brewing Instructions

These instructions are adapted from a few different resources provided by the 7 Bridges Cooperative Microbrewery and Classic Beer Style Series: #5 Porter (ISBN 0-937381-28-4). Specific ingredients are from the 7 Bridges Organic Robust Porter recipe.

Sanitizing Notes

7 Bridges recommends 1 Tbsp iodine (Iodophor) per 5/gal water.

Prepare the Yeast

Tubes (30 mins)

1. Remove from fridge and let warm to room temperature (70 °F). Allow at least 30 mins.

Smack Packs (3 - 24 hours)

1. Remove from fridge and let warm to room temperature (70 °F). Allow at least 30 mins.
2. Smack the pack gently in your hand and then shake gently to mix the released nutrient bath with the yeast.
3. Allow to build pressure. (3 - 24 hours)
   • 7 Bridges says, for each month beyond one month, pop the package an additional day in advance of brewing (up to 4 days). E.g., if your packet is two months old, pop the yeast two days before brewing; if it is six months old, pop 4 days before brewing.

Mashing

Mixing ground malt with water to extract the fermentables, degrade haze-forming proteins and convert starches to fermentable sugars and non-fermentable carbohydrates.

Beer is over 90% water. To brew good beer, you need good water. It should be chemical (chlorine, chloramine, etc.) free and have some basic minerals. Taste it!

1. In the main brew pot, heat 2 - 2.5 gallons of good water to 160 - 165 °F.
   • If using distilled water or soft water, add 1 - 2 teaspoons of gypsum.
2. Turn heat off, add grain bag and stir well.
3. Keeping temperature at 150 °F (by adding hot/cold water or adding heat), soak grains for 40 to 60 minutes.
4. Towards the end of the mashing, prepare the sparging water (see below).
5. The mash is complete when all of the starches have been converted to fermentable sugars. An easy way to test for this is to do a starch test.
   • Place a teaspoon of the liquid (make sure no grains are present) on a white plate, and add a drop of iodine. If the color of the iodine stays red, then the mash is complete. If it changes color to dark blue or black, continue the mash 10 or 15 minutes longer, or until it is complete.

Sparging

Rinsing the sugars from the grains with water.

1. In a separate pot, heat 1 - 1.5 gallons of good water to 170 °F.
2. Lift the grain bag out of the mashing water allow it to drain.
3. Filter the sparging water through the grain bag and into the main brew pot.

Brewing

The wort (unfermented beer) must be boiled before fermenting to kill unwanted organisms, settle protiens that can cause bitterness, and release the flavors and bittering compounds of the hops or brewing spices.

1. Add good water to main brew pot to make 5.25 gallons, 21 quarts.
2. Heat water to almost boiling then turn off heat.
3. Add malt extract and dissolve completely, stirring carefully to avoid burning the malt.
4. Turn on heat and bring to boil.
5. Once at rolling boil, add 1/2 oz. of NZ Pacific Gem hop pellets.
6. Add the cleaned Wort Chiller to the pot to sterilize.
7. Cook for 40 minutes. The wort should start boiling again before the 40 minutes are up.
8. Add 1/2 oz. NZ Hallertaur hops (flavor) (pellets?).
9. Add Irish Moss flakes. (Help settle proteins for a clear finished beer).
10. Boil (as covered as possible) for 15 minutes more.
11. Add 1/2 oz. NZ Hallertaur hops (aroma) (whole hops?).
12. Boil 5 minutes more.
13. Turn heat off.

Fermenting

1. Cool wort to 65 - 75 °F.
   • Now is a good time to clean and sanitize the funnel with snap-in filter.
2. Through funnel with snap-in filter, transfer wort into large glass carboy.
   • It is important to remove the whole hops (thus the snap-in filter).
   • Save a little unfermented wort to take a hydrometer reading with (O.G.).
3. Shake vigorously to oxygenate!
4. Pitch the yeast.
5. Attach blow-off tube and run into sanitized water.
6. In a dark place, ferment for 4 - 6 days at 60 - 70 °F. (Foam on top should be gone.)
7. Transfer beer to secondary fermenter being careful minimize oxygen contact.
8. Ferment for 7 - 14 days or until fermentation is complete.
   • Less then one bubble per minute.
   • F.G. near recipe target.

Bottling

1. In covered pot, boil bottling sugar in 2 cups of water for 15 minutes.
2. Keeping covered, allow to cool to 70 °F.
3. Clean and sanitize bottles. (6 22 oz. bottles per gallon)
4. Sanitize caps.
5. Add sugar to wort.
   • Either, pour the sugar in a sanitized vessel and then transfer beer into this vessel.
   • Or, pour sugar directly into current fermenting vessel and gently mix so as not to kick up settled solids. Mixing is important for the bottles to be evenly carbonated.
6. Sanitize racking cane, siphon and bottle filling attachment.
7. Fill siphon with sanitizing water (keep racking cane empty).
8. With beer vessel on counter-top (or other high place) and siphon tube below, place racking cane in fermenting vessel and release the sanitized water from end of siphon tube. This should begin the process of siphoning the beer. Discard the sanitized water and use the first tube-full of beer to take a hydrometer reading (F.G.).
9. Fill bottles and cap immediately to prevent contamination. Try not to suck up solids from the fermenting vessel.
10. Store bottled beer at room temperature (70 °F) for first few days (to allow for fermentation).
11. Transfer bottled beer to dark place at 55 - 65 °F for 1 - 3 weeks.
12. Drink beer when it is clear and nicely carbonated.
13. "Relax and enjoy your organic beer!"