Simple All-Grain Beer Brewing¶

Download the original illustrated manual as a PDF

Introduction¶

When I started brewing, I tried making beer from tinned malt extract, which is what you are supposed to start with as a beginner before "graduating" to all-grain brewing. I found the end result rather poor, and the whole process felt a bit industrial rather than like a traditional country craft.

I decided to start all-grain brewing and found it was not hard at all. There are only a couple more steps compared with using tins, and the result is proper beer whose ingredients you have total control over. You can avoid additives you do not want in your final beer and experiment with endless beer styles and variations. You have made your own beer rather than just fermented the contents of a tin.

My main source of information for my first few batches was the brewing section in John Seymour's Complete Guide to Self-Sufficiency. Like the rest of the book, it is quite short on detail and leaves you to work things out for yourself. This is the simple all-grain process I developed, with minimal initial outlay and no unnecessary chemicals.

Equipment¶

John Seymour specifies arcane and ancient equipment such as old wooden kives and barrels. Although I would love to use them, they are difficult to source and store. I wanted to make about 20-30 litres per batch: enough to make it worthwhile, but not so much that bottling takes all day.

The main equipment is the mash tun and boiler. A metal vessel can perform both jobs, so I used a 30 litre stainless-steel chef's stockpot. I fitted it with a tap and a basic internal filter made from stainless-steel flexible-hose sheathing.

Mash Tun And Boiler¶

• 30 litre stainless-steel chef's stockpot
• Outdoor brass tap with hose connector
• 90-120 cm hose
• 30 cm stainless-steel flexible-hose sheathing, with the connectors and internal rubber hose removed
• 25 mm Jubilee clip

The original manual includes a drawing of the filter and valve assembly. See the downloadable PDF for the illustration.

Mashing And Boiling¶

• Wooden spoon
• Weighing scales and bowl
• Cleanable thermometer covering approximately 30-100°C
• Fermentation vessel large enough for the batch

Bottling¶

• Enough pressure-rated beer bottles for the batch; 20 litres fills approximately forty 500 ml bottles
• Swing-top bottles or bottles, crown caps and a capper
• Food-grade siphon tubing and a clip
• Small measuring syringe or spoon
• Measuring jug
• Protected storage boxes for conditioning bottles

Swing-top bottles are convenient because they are easy to clean, seal and reuse without disposable crown caps.

Before Starting¶

Plan the process around other jobs because there are long inactive periods. Heating 30 litres of water can take two hours or more, depending on the heat source. Choose the recipe and weigh the malt and other grains while the water heats.

The standard method uses a one-hour mash so the brew can be completed in a day. The original process also allowed an overnight mash, drained the following morning, for a stronger and fuller-bodied beer. Do not leave warm wort unattended for long periods: grain carries microorganisms, and prolonged warm holding can sour or spoil the wort.

Simplified Brewing Process¶

The clock times are illustrative rather than prescriptive.

10:00 - Heat The Water¶

1. Heat approximately 30 litres of water.
2. Allow it to cool or adjust it to the mash strike temperature required by the recipe. The traditional baseline in this method is approximately 66°C.

12:00 - Mash¶

1. Stir in the crushed malt and any other grains, breaking up dry clumps.
2. Hold near the recipe's mash temperature for approximately one hour.

13:00 - Run Off¶

1. Open the tap and drain the wort into the clean fermentation vessel.
2. Sparge with additional hot water if the recipe and vessel capacity require it.
3. Remove the spent grain and rinse the stockpot.

13:30 - Begin The Boil¶

1. Return the wort to the clean stockpot.
2. Bring it to a rolling boil, watching carefully for boil-over.

14:00 - Add The Hops¶

Boil for approximately one hour or as specified by the recipe.

• Bittering hops are added near the start of the boil for bitterness.
• Flavour hops are commonly added during the final 10-15 minutes.
• Aroma hops are added near flameout.
• Dry hops may be added to cooled, fermenting or fermented beer when the recipe calls for them.

15:00 - Transfer And Cool¶

1. At the end of the boil, transfer the hot wort into a clean, heat-safe fermentation vessel.
2. Cover it against contamination and cool it promptly using a wort chiller or a carefully managed cold-water bath.
3. Do not pitch yeast at the historical 30-35°C unless its manufacturer explicitly permits that range. Cool to the range specified for the chosen yeast, commonly around 18-22°C for ale yeast.
4. Rehydrate dried yeast only if the manufacturer's instructions recommend it.

16:00 - Pitch The Yeast¶

1. Check that the wort has reached the yeast's pitching range.
2. Pitch the yeast and ferment at its recommended temperature.
3. Ale fermentation often takes approximately 5-10 days, but temperature, gravity and yeast health all affect the duration.
4. Confirm completion with stable hydrometer readings rather than bottling according to the calendar alone.

Bottling And Conditioning¶

Bottles¶

Swing-top bottles are easy to clean and reuse. Ordinary beer bottles can also be reused with new crown caps and a suitable capper. Use only undamaged bottles designed to withstand pressure.

Casks And Pressure Vessels¶

Small wooden casks would be ideal for a traditional approach, but they are difficult to find. Plastic pressure vessels can hold the secondary fermentation, although I have found bottle-conditioned beer more reliable and enjoyable.

Cleaning And Filling¶

1. Clean and sanitise all bottles, seals, siphon tubing and equipment that will contact cooled beer.
2. Confirm that fermentation is complete before packaging.
3. Arrange the bottles securely and siphon in the beer, leaving suitable headspace.
4. Avoid splashing or aerating the finished beer.

Priming¶

The original method mixed demerara sugar or honey into a reserved portion of the final beer, then dosed each bottle with approximately 5 ml of this mixture using a 20 ml syringe. This remains a simple way to distribute priming sugar evenly, but the sugar itself should be measured as a calculated total mass rather than estimated with a broad spoon range.

1. Measure the actual volume and temperature of the finished beer.
2. Use a reputable priming calculator to determine the total sugar mass for the desired carbonation and sugar type.
3. Dissolve that sugar in a small measured quantity of beer using sanitised equipment. If heating the mixture, cool it covered before use.
4. Divide the mixture evenly between bottles with a sanitised syringe, or gently mix it into the full batch in a sanitised bottling vessel.
5. Seal each bottle and label it with at least a batch identifier.
6. Condition the bottles inside protected storage boxes, away from heat and direct sunlight.

The beer may be ready after one or two weeks, but many beers improve with longer conditioning.

Reusing Yeast¶

The thick yeast layer from the primary fermenter can be saved and used for another batch. Use clean, sanitised equipment and store the yeast cold for as little time as practical. Re-pitch only healthy yeast from a clean fermentation; discard it if there are signs of contamination or unexpected aromas. When dry hopping, crop the yeast before adding hops to reduce hop material in the saved culture.

Troubleshooting¶

Unexpected Smells Or Surface Growth¶

Funny smells or a thin white dusty layer can indicate bacterial or fungal contamination. Clean and sanitise all equipment thoroughly, especially anything that contacts the beer after boiling. When in doubt about a contaminated batch, do not package or drink it.

Cloudy Beer¶

Let the beer settle for longer, then pour it smoothly while leaving the final yeast sediment in the bottle. Bottle-conditioned beer naturally carries some haze. Fining agents such as isinglass or carrageenan can clarify beer, but this method normally avoids them because they are unnecessary and may affect flavour.

Further Reading¶

• John Seymour, The Complete Guide to Self-Sufficiency
• Tess and Mark Szamatulski, CloneBrews

Original Manual¶

Download or print Simple All-Grain Beer Brewing as a PDF