The Process: Extract Brewing

The Process

Boil

Add one gallon of tap water to a pot and bring to a boil. Using a lid will help it reach a boil faster. Add the malt extract to the boiling water and mix with a steel whisk to prevent clumping. This mixture is called a wort. Once the malt is dissolved make your first hop addition. The wort will boil for one hour after the first hop addition.

 

Add hops and other ingredients to the boil at specified times from the recipe. The first addition of hops will add bitterness to the beer. The later hop additions will add more to the flavor and aroma. You can experiment with this to craft your recipe how you like. Syrups, honey, sugar, herbs, and fruit can be added at the last 10 minuets of the boil to pasteurize. 

Cooling

 

After removing the wort from the heat, you must keep the lid on it. Cooling the wort as fast as possible will prevent infection. You can do this by running an ice bath in your sink or bathtub. Just keep the lid on it and let it be for about an hour. One trick I have used before is to pour salt on your ice. This will melt the ice and make the water even colder. While the wort is cooling you can make up your Starsan solution and begin sanitizing your fermentation vessel and air lock. 

 

Sanitize, Sanitize, Sanitize!

Sanitize a thermometer and check to see if your wort is cooled. It should be cooled to about 70 degrees Fahrenheit before moving to the next step. Once the wort is close to room temperature, or you are sick of waiting, sanitize the outside of the pot. I do this to prevent any water from the water bath getting into the fermentation vessel. Using a spray bottle with sanitizer can be handy in this situation. Don’t forget the bottom of the pot.

Aerate

 

Pour the wort into the fermentation vessel. Then back to the pot. Do this a few times to introduce oxygen back into the wort. When water is boiled, the dissolved oxygen is driven out. The yeast needs oxygen to reproduce. Once the yeast uses up all the oxygen, they will begin fermenting sugars in the wort to make beer. 

 

Ferment

Rehydrate the yeast per package instructions and pitch it in your fermentation vessel that is holding the wort. Put the lid on the fermenter with the air lock. Add some sanitizing solution to the air lock. Put the fermentation vessel in a dark, cool, and quiet place away from light, pets, and kids. After about 24 hours the airlock should start bubbling and there should be obvious signs of fermentation. 

 

The Ancient Brew: A Modern Approach to an Ancient Beer

       The History

The oldest know civilization was ancient Sumer. Their civilization existed as far back as 5,000 B.C.E. and was in located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq. Their beverage of was beer. However, it was not the cold fizzy beverage most of us are familiar with today.

 

Ancient peoples had somehow discovered the process of making beer. It is even more interesting that they found out how to replicate it. Some anthropologists have argued that civilization and agriculture was invented for growing grains for beer. I’m not convinced that this was the case, but there are certainly some tipsy benefits. 

 

What makes the discovery of beer interesting is the extra steps. Mixing honey with water or extracting juice from fruit will naturally ferment if exposed to air. The sugars in honey and fruit are smaller and readily available for yeast to consume and convert them to alcohol.

 

Grains like barley, wheat, and rye are all considered grasses. For the sugars to be readily assessable for the yeast to eat the grain must be malted. Malting encourages the seed to germinate. Maltsters will expose the grains to a warm and humid environment to promote the grain to germinate and then dry the grain to stop the process.

 

Malting is necessary because it produces enzymes in the grain. When the dried grain is mixed with hot water the enzymes are activated and breaks down large starch molecules into simpler sugars that yeast can eat and turn into alcohol. This process is called mashing. 

 

It’s easy to understand how beer could have been discovered after understanding the basic process. You can imagen an ancient ancestor leaving out a bowl of porridge only to return to a sour fermented gruel. Someone must have enjoyed this gruel enough to recreated it. Doesn’t that sound refreshing, gruel?

 

The ancient Sumerian’s process of making beer was quite crude compared to modern standards. They left plenty of their writings in the form of clay tablets. They used a type of writing that is called cuneiform. Their texts describe malting grain, mixing it with water, and adding chunks of yeast cultures from bread starters. You know the Sumerians were hardcore because they didn’t even filter out these chucks from their beers. They used large straws to avoid drinking the chunks that floated to the top.

 

Image Credit: Jared Kelly: Armstrong undergraduate Journal if History

One series of texts that describes how important beer was to the Sumerians is the Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh was a tyrant king whose people asked the gods to overthrow. The gods sent a wild man, Enkidu, to fight Gilgamesh. To tame this wild man Gilgamesh devised a plan. He hired a prostitute to sleep with Enkidu and feed him bread and beer to tame him. This is some real academic stuff here. After Enkidu’s encounter with the lady of the night, him and Gilgamesh had a brawl, shook hands, and were bros ever since. 

Image Credit: Richard M Wicker: DP.LA

 

To the Sumerians, consuming beer and bread was what made us human. It separated humans from animals. It was a sacred rite. It is reminiscent of the catholic Eucharist where the blood and body of Christ is consumed in the form of bread and wine.

Image Credit: Claude Moore: UOV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m an open-minded person, but after reviewing the way their beers were prepared, I’m not interested in trying it myself. So, I threw together a modern interpretation of their ancient brew. This is based on some of the ingredients they were known to use. These include barley, wheat, dates, and cardamom.

 

Equipment:

The equipment needed for this brew is basic, affordable, and easy to find. A few items are basic kitchen equipment you are likely to already have. Many online brewing shops will have kits that cover most of what you need like this one from Northern Brewer. This package even includes a recipe kit. One thing to note is that the bottles are not included in this kit. 

 

You can reuse pop top bottles you have laying around. My advice is to go buy a pack of Sam Adams or any craft beer you like. A 12 pack of Sam Adams will run you about $20.00. A 12 pack of bottles from Northern Brewer is about $12.00 after tax, not including shipping. You just got 144 ounces of Sam Adams for $8.00. Simply run the empty bottles through the dishwasher to steam off the labels.

 

• 1 gallon fermentation vessel
• Air lock
• Stock pot with lid
• Thermometer
• 12 pop top bottles
• Capper
• 12 Caps
• Auto siphon racking cane (may not be necessary with Big Mouth Bubbler)
• Steel whisk 
• Starsan sanitizer

Ingredients: 

Can you guess the number one ingredient in beer? It’s water…just water. Tap water is fine to use in your brew. Even if your tap water smells like chloramine from municipal systems it should be fine in your beer. The 1 hour boiling process will drive off any chlorine smell or taste. You can pick up a gallon of spring water to top off your fermenter if you are worried about the chloramine smell.

 

The Dry malt extract is the product obtain from the mashing the grain and driving off all the water. It is essentially concentrated sugar and protein from the grain. Malt extract comes in several varieties, but here we are only focusing on amber and wheat malt extract. I bought 1 pound of each and used ½ pound from each for this recipe. You can add more to increase the body of the beer and potentially boost the alcohol.

 

You will usually find hops in a dried pellet form. The hops will bitter the beer and balance the sweetness from the malt. Hops also have antibacterial properties that will help preserve the beer. There are many hops on the market that offer a variety of smells and flavors. Some are described as spice, fruity, citrus, and earthy. The hops I chose for this recipe are Simcoe that bring a citrus, grapefruit, and tropical wood quality.

 

Here I’m using an American ale yeast. I selected this because American yeasts are described as clean. They don’t leave any funky flavors like some German and Belgian yeasts. This allows for the other ingredients to really shine. 

 

There is a lot to understand about yeast that is not in the scope of this blog. Beervana has a great article that goes into more detail about yeast. It even describes some new mutations of an old strain along with some genetic modifications that are taking place. It’s an exciting time to make beer.

 

Finally, I included date syrup and cardamom seeds. These have been cited as additions to ancient Sumerian beers. The date syrup will not only give the beer more flavor but can also boost the alcohol a bit. The cardamom will add flavor and aroma. Just follow the basic brewing processes. 

• 1 gallon water 
• ½ pound amber dry malt extract
• ½ pound Bavarian wheat dry malt extract
• 2 tablespoons Simcoe hops (1 tablespoon at T-60 min. and another at T-15 min.)
• ¼ cup date syrup (add at T-15 min.)
• Crushed seeds from 1-2 cardamom pods (add at T-15 min.)
• American ale yeast 

This was my first 1-gallon batch in my home brewing career. 5-gallon batches are considered a standard for home brewing. 1-gallon batches are great for experimenting with new recipes before going for the big batch. It is also quick and easy. Any one can do it!

 

I decided to use a gallon jug I had originally used for making yeast starters. This is usually done when making highly alcoholic beers. Using this type of jug is not recommended for primary fermentation, but I decided to try it anyway. 

 

I checked on beer before leaving for work the next morning. There were no signs of fermentation yet. My paranoia set in. Did I purchase a dead yeast packet? I messaged my wife to check on it for me. She eventually responded, saying it was foamy. 

 

 

The next day while I was at work my wife had checked on the beer again. The fermentation was so active the yeast began pushing the beer into the airlock. This is bad news because it opens the beer to infection from airborne yeast and bacteria. I ended up having to rig a blowoff tube. One end of the tube connects to the airlock and the other end sits in a bowl of sanitizer. You shouldn't have this problem with the big mouth bubbler. 

 

 

This felt like a pretty big fail as I know this was likely to be a problem. Brewing is very similar to life in the sense that not everything goes as planned. It sometimes feels like a miracle that anything goes right at all. If you encounter any problems with your brew, try to stay positive and be proactive. Beer reminds us we are only human, and we all make mistakes.

 

 

Come back to outmoded ales to see the results. There will also be a follow up post after bottling and conditioning. At the beginning of every month there will be a new recipe posted. Give this one a try and please leave any comments, questions, or advice! 

 

-Prost!

 

Why Outmoded Ales? Isn't beer just beer?

Greetings fellow humans. You may be wondering why anyone would be a beer enthusiast. You may be wondering why a blog would focus on beers from the past when there has been an explosion of microbreweries across the nation. After all, isn't beer just beer? Well, yes. That is technically correct, however, there are nuances to the many different styles. Many microbreweries are pushing the envelope of what beer is. Types of ingredients, amount of ingredients, alcohol percentage, and even brand logos have come a long way from what the market used to offer. That being said, there are a plethora of beers from past ages that can still be enjoyed today.

Image credit: Cottonbro studio/Pexels

Sometime in 2012, after I turned 21, I had tried several beers. I remember thinking, "Why do people like this stuff?" It was not that appealing to me. These were major market brands like Budweiser, Miller, and Pabst Blue Ribbon. All these beers are of a particular style called American adjacent lagers, and have dominated the market since the end of prohibition.

One day, I found myself wondering around kalamazoo, Michigan. This town is known for their microbreweries. I had time to kill, so I figured I would stop into a pub to grab a meal. I scoured the beer menu looking for something unfamiliar. I decided to select a beer called Bell's Two Hearted IPA. After receiving the glass I indulged in to a sensory experience that was novel. The smell wasn't like any other beer. It was fruity and sweet. The taste was punchy and complex. I thought to myself "What is this magical potion!".

 Image credit: Kalei Winfield/pexels

At that time I was a broke 21 year old college student, and sampling beers was something I couldn't do often. I began researching different styles of beer, and had found many that were not represented in the market. These two factors lead me to learn to brew for myself. I'm still broke, and there are still many beer styles that are not on the market. Some things never change, but that's beside the point. 

I was not intrigued by beer simply for the sensory experience, or the effects of alcohol. It was the art form. Beer is a representation of many subjects. A true convergence of art, science, history, and philosophy. Direct experience is the ultimate form of knowledge. Imagine trying to describe the smell of a bouquet of flowers, or the joys of bonding with your dog. Could you do it justice? It is through understanding these different aspects of beer,  and experiencing them, that we can gain a better understanding of our history, and what it means to be human. 

This blog will address the subjects mentioned above throughout later posts. I will be sharing some recipes, history, and science without getting too geeky. This will be interesting and helpful for experienced and novice brewers alike. I will focus on ale style beers of the past. I chose to focus on ales using extract malt for simplicity and quick turn around times. Hopefully you will gain an appreciation for beer, or at least learn something new. Please, feel free to ask questions or even offer advise.

-Cheers!