2torial #0726:
Learn2 Brew Your Own Beer (continued)

Create the brew

This is when your love for mixing comes in.

• Heat 3 gallons (11 liters) of bottled water in your brew pot.

• Next, add the malt extract. To make it easier to scoop from the can, fill a bowl with hot tap water, and place the two cans of malt extract in it. After 3 minutes, open the cans and scrape the contents into your brew pot. Use your brew spoon to mix the extract and water.

• Slowly bring the mixture to a boil, regularly stirring the pot but leaving it uncovered. If the water threatens to boil over the top, reduce the heat slightly. After an hour, turn off the burner and put the lid on the brew pot.

What you have now is a malt and water mixture called wort, which must be cooled before you add yeast. Empty your sink and put a stopper in the drain. Place the covered brew pot in the sink and fill the sink with cool tap water, making sure no water gets into the brew pot. After about 3 minutes, check the sink water. If it's warm, empty the sink and refill it with cool water. Repeat the process until the sink water remains cool. To speed the cooling process, add ice to the sink water (but never to the cooling wort).

• While the wort is cooling, fill a bowl or cup with lukewarm water (about 95F, or 35C), open the yeast packet, and sprinkle the yeast into the water. Don't stir. Instead, cover the mixture with plastic wrap and let it sit for about 10 minutes. This activates the yeast, preparing it for addition to the wort.

• Make sure the spigot on the fermentation vessel is closed, then pour in the cooled wort. Add 3 gallons (11 liters) of bottled water. Finally, pour in the yeast mixture and seal the lid onto the vessel. Let the fermentation begin.

Note: While you may be tempted to simply mix your bottled water with the wort as a means of cooling, it's better to reduce the wort's temperature gradually instead of shocking it with an abrupt addition of cool water.