Oh, hi.
I'm Oscar from Grain and Grape.
And when it comes to fermenting a fresh wort
kit, this is how it's done.
So what exactly is wort?
It’s probably one of the first words you
will hear mentioned when you start learning
about home brewing.
Wort is the sugary liquid extracted from malted
grains that make up the bedrock of all beer.
Hops are added for bitterness, flavour and
aroma.
And then yeast is added which ferments the
wort, and the end result is beer!
It does get a bit more complicated than that,
but for now, let’s stick to the basics.
Wort comes in various forms.
You can make it yourself as part of all grain
brewing, but when starting out most people
choose to buy it premade in cans or fresh
wort kits.
You may have memories of your grandad brewing
in the garage with cans during those hot Australian
summers.
And while you can make perfectly good beer
with them, the wort inside has been reduced
down to a syrup.
Some people find that this process takes away
some of the more subtle flavours associated
with good beer.
We make all our fresh wort kits here at Grain
and Grape on our 500 litre Braumeister brewing
system.
So essentially the result you get is like
if you made it from all grain yourself.
(With way less effort).
So how do I make beer from a fresh wort kit?
Well, I’m glad you asked!
Most of our fresh wort kits are designed to
be diluted with three litres of water, making
about a 19 litre batch of beer.
Check the instructions on the label or ask
one of our staff if you are unsure.
So what you do is to boil 3 litres of water
to sanitise it and if you’re using unfiltered
water, to boil off some of the chlorine.
Proper sanitisation is a major key to successful
brewing.
Then cover your pot and let it cool to room
temperature.
Now while we wait for the water to cool we
can get a few other steps out the way.
Lay out all your gear in front of you, this
way you have enough space to work and can
keep track of everything.
A good general tip is to make sure your surfaces
around your brewing area are clean to avoid
contaminants getting into your beer.
Now, clean your fermenter of choice using
the “clean, rinse, sanitise” regime.
If your fermenter is new, assemble it and
just clean the inside using a soft cloth and
some detergent, unscented is better.
And then give it a really good rinse.
If you are cleaning after fermentation, remove
any gunk as thoroughly as possible.
PBW or Oxyclean are great unscented cleaners
to get out any stubborn bits.
Make sure if you’re using plastic that you
use a soft cloth and not something that might
scratch the surface because that can end up
harbouring bacteria.
And don’t forget to unscrew the tap from
the fermenter and give it a good clean.
Rinse out any leftover detergent with warm
water.
Prepare a few litres sanitiser according to
the directions on the label.
Keep a spray bottle of sanitiser close by,
it will come in handy.
I also like to make up a seperate jug for
dunking spoons and stuff in.
Coat all surfaces of the fermenter with sanitiser
and pour some through the tap.
You will notice that the sanitiser foams,
but don’t worry this is a good thing.
Do not fear the foam!
Once the fermenter is sanitised, don't rinse
it.
You can leave it on a clean surface to drain
or put the lid on and it will be fine until
you are ready to fill it.
You probably got a packet of dry yeast with
your fresh wort kit, something like this.
So now it’s time to go rehydrate that bad
boy!
Pause me and go to the yeast rehydration video in the description.
I’ll wait.
Promise...
Oh..
So, your yeast is now awake and really, really
wants to make some beer for you.
But whoa there cowboys, there’s a few more
things to sort out before you get to party.
Now sanitise the top of the cube by spraying
some sanitiser on it.
And before you do anything, make sure the
tap on the fermenter is closed!
I know, sounds silly but just trust me, double
check.
OK so the 3 litres of water we boiled earlier
is now cool.
Now we can add it to the fermenter.
Then open the cube and pour the wort on top
from a height and make sure it splashes around
and gets plenty of oxygen.
Early in fermentation oxygen is good for yeast,
it keeps them happy and healthy.
For most beers you’ll make this vigorous
pouring of the wort will be sufficient aeration
for a healthy ferment but as your beers get
stronger and your yeast get hungrier you might
want to look into introducing pure oxygen.
We’ll cover that in a separate video.
Now that your wort is all shook up and ready
to accept the yeast it’s time to see how
much alcohol you’re going to get out of
it.
To do this, we are going to use a tool called
a hydrometer.
This is one of the most important devices
in a brewers arsenal.
Fill your hydrometer sample jar nearly to
the top with wort from the fermenter tap,
place it on an even surface and pop your hydrometer
in.
Note down the numbers that it reads, something
like 1.050.
This is your starting gravity and is important
to know how much fermentable sugar is in your
wort.
Also, jot down the date alongside the gravity
reading, make it a habit to take lots of notes.
Check the links in the description for more
information on why measuring gravity is important.
Now that we have all those steps out the way,
we can finally let the yeast free…
Go on, get out of here!
Store your fermenter in a temperature stable
environment away from direct sunlight.
Under a staircase or in a cupboard are good
places to start.
Ideally most ale yeast like it about 18-20
degrees but depending on your house, this
can be a challenge to control.
If you want to start brewing good beer more
regularly, you can use a fridge with a thermostat
to precisely control the fermentation temperature,
but let's not sweat about that for now.
During fermentation is where things get weird.
There will be foam (also known as Krausen),
weird smells, strange noises and an overwhelming
urge to open the lid of the fermenter.
But just don’t.
You’re beer is fine.
Just leave the fermenter to do its thing.
After 5 days you should see the Krausen subside
and the airlock activity will decrease.
It is now time to take our second gravity
reading.
Ok cool, so now we can see the yeast has done
it’s thing because the hydrometer is reading
a lower number around 1.010.
We’re gonna leave it for another 2 days
and check the gravity again, if the number
is the same then we can be pretty confident
that primary fermentation has finished.
If you are unsure about any of this, give
us a call at the shop.
Primary fermentation can take slightly less
than a week, but this doesn’t always mean
it’s finished.
Once you are sure the final gravity is stable,
we are going to wait for about another week
and then bottle it.
Don’t trust the instructions on some homebrewing
kits, even though this seems like a long time
to wait it is important for the yeast to clean
up some of the byproducts of fermentation
meaning you get a cleaner tasting beer.
Once your beer is ready, you can bottle it
using your preferred method.
We will be making a bottling video to check
the description.
Once the bottles are capped, store them in
a warm dark place to mature.
Once again, around 18-20 degrees Celsius is
ideal.
The overall process, from fermenting your
wort, to having a cold beer is your glass,
should take anywhere from 4-6 weeks.
As you can see the overall process is pretty
simple, but there are a few steps that can
trip you up.
If you are unsure about anything we’ve discussed
in this video, check the links below.
Or chat to one of our staff members.
We are here to help.
Keep an eye on our youtube channel as we will
be adding videos that go into more detail
about the brewing process.
Just search “grain and grape Melbourne”
and hit the subscribe button, that way you’ll
never miss an update.
You can also learn about the brewing process
in person.
We run free brewing demos most Saturday mornings
from 9:30.
No need to book, just come on down.
Check our Facebook page for news and updates,
or subscribe to our newsletter!
(Oscar trash talks his co-workers)
