Strong Red Ale, Part One

It's been a while since I've brewed beer, but, what with some free time this summer and an increase in beer prices, I figured it might be fun.

I decided on one of my favorites from Charlie Papazian's The Joy of Homebrewing, "Special Strong Red Bitter." It's from a chart in the book, and you basically make the recipe based on suggested ingredients. I started out by boiling 2 oz. of unmalted lightly crushed (in a ziploc) barley in a gallon of water, then scooping the barley out with a strainer. This adds a little bit of roasted bitterness to the beer. I then added 6.6 lbs of Munton and Fisson's Unhopped Amber Malt along with 1.5 oz. Cascade Hop pellets, and brough everything to a boil again:

Meanwhile, I sanitzed everything that would come in contact with the beer (including the carbuoy, which isn't pictured). (Sanitizing is perhaps the most important aspect of beer brewing. Biologists actually leave out malt in order to try to grow bacteria so, needless to say, everything should be well-soaked in a weak bleach solution--1/4 cup per five gallons).

During the last five minutes of the boil, I added another .25 oz. Cascade hops for flavor and then, during the last two minutes, added .25 oz. more for aroma. Cascade are an American variety of hops grown in the Pacific Northwest with a strong citrus flavor and aroma.

Meanwhile, I added 3 gallons of cold water to my carbuoy. After the boil, I sparged (poured) everything through a strainer into the carbuoy using the small pan as a ladle. Towards the end, I allowed the last bit of hops and grains in, as straining and pouring gets a bit tricky in a one person operation (I always used to do this anyway).

I added a bit more cold water, then let everything cool to 85 degrees or so, then sprinkled yeast on top and finally attached the airlock (this allows air to bubble out, but no outside air can get in). Within a few hours, the yeast started converting the sugars into alcohol:

All brewing ingredients--malt, hops, yeast--were purchased from Warehouse Beverage on Mayfield Road.

I'll blog again on this once I bottle the beer, and then again when I try it.