Grain to Extract Conversion Chart

Alcohol is an important part of beer, arguably the most important part, not just because it's mind altering affects have undoubtedly helped to shape the world, but because it adds depth and flavor to beer that can't be duplicated without it. The amount of alcohol in your beer is dependent on the fermentables, or fermentable sugars, in this case from malted grain. Many people use malt exclusively, but many others use malt extract or a combination of both for their fermentables. However, beer recipes often only come in one version (all grain, or extract), so converting the recipe to your desired method of brewing can sometimes be a source of confusion. No need to worry. Use this chart to help you with the conversion and it will get you very close. Save your brain power for choosing which beer to drink while you brew your next beer.

Brewing For Competition

On June 27th our store will be hosting a "Brewing for Competition" class. Aaron Selya from Epic Brewery will be speaking about how to brew to style and how to classify your beer for competition. This Free class will be at Salt City Brew Supply, but space is limited so you must call us and RSVP.

As the Beer Nut's Beehive Brew Off and Grace Lutheran's Bier Brauen Competitions grow closer (registration is already open for the Beehive Brew Off) it is important to know what category you should choose to enter your Oaked Wee Heavy Smoked Scottish ale.

These competition are AHA sanctioned competitions and follow the BJCP Style guidelines. The style guidelines are really interesting to flip through when you are making your beer (or tasting it), and there is a free PDF download here. So download the style guide, set aside some of those awesome beers that you haven't been sharing (because they are just too good), come to the class, and try your hand at being a competitive brewer this year... or next.

 

Homebrewing Jargon - The Sequel

This is the extended Jargon list from the last post, enjoy:

Alpha Acid - the acids in hops that affect their bitterness. Shown as a percentage.

Beta Acid - the acids in hops that help inhibit bacterial growth and spoilage. Not usually a big factor in most home brews.

Hop Utilization - how efficiently your wort is dissolving the alpha acids from your hops into solution.

AAU/HBU – the potential bitterness from hops derived from the Alpha Acids in the hops. One ounce of hops with 1 percent alpha acids contain 1AAU. One ounce of hops with 2 percent alpha acids contain 2AAUs. Similarly, HBUs can be used the same way. Two ounces of hops with 10 percent alpha acids would equal 20HBUs. Because the Alpha Acids change with every harvest, most beer recipes will specify how many HBUs or AAUs of hops are needed.

IBU - International Bittering Units is a measurement gauging the bitterness of your final beer. If you know your boil time and potential hop utilization you can predict your IBUs form the total AAUs/HBUs in your recipe. For a quick understanding of the IBU scale, Blondes can be 10-20 IBUs, Pale Ales can be 20-40 IBUs, IPAs can be 40-80 IBUs, and Imperial IPAs can be 60-120+ IBUs. 

Wet Hops - fresh hops right off the vine. You need 6 times the amount of we hops to equal that of dried leaf or pellet hops.

Dry Hopping - adding hops to your secondary fermenter to boost the hop aroma of your beer.

ABV/ABW - alcohol by volume and alcohol by weight. The alcohol in most beer in most parts of the world is measured by volume. ABV is the easiest and most popular way to measure alcohol in home brewing also. Utah measures alcohol by weight which is a bit confusing for many since it appears lower than when measured by volume. 3.2%abw beer in Utah is the same as 4.0%abv beer everywhere else.

Grain Bill - the type and amount of grain used in your beer. The grain part of a beer recipe.

Lovebond - this is a measurement of the color of grain after it is kilned or roasted.

SRM - this is a measurement of color in your final beer.

Trub - the gross and often smelly stuff at the bottom of your beer after fermentation. This is a mixture of yeast, hops, and grain particulates along with heavy proteins that have been pulled or fallen out of suspension over time.

Cold Crashing - cooling down your fermented beer for a short period of time, usually less than 24 hrs, before bottling with the intention of forcing more particulates to fall out of suspension making for a clearer final product.

Fining - making your beer, mead, cider, or wine clear.

Lagering - cold aging beer.

Ale - warm fermented beer.

Lager - cold fermented beer.

Sour Beer - this refers to beer that has been intentionally infected with specific strains of bacteria or wild yeast to impart a sour or tart flavor.

Pellicle - a lumpy, or slimy film that looks much like mold that forms when wild yeast or bacteria like brettanomyces is introduced to your beer. This can be intentional or by accident, but either way you will want to isolate any equipment you use with this contaminated beer and use it only for sour beers.

Diacetyl Rest - the act of warming your cold fermented beer just before lagering to reduce the amount of diacetyl (butter flavor) in the final beer. Raising the fermentation temp at the end of primary fermentation to 60°F for a couple days before cold aging your beer gives yeast a chance to consume the diacetyl.

Primary Fermentation - the aggressive yeast activity that does much of the work converting sugar to alcohol.

Secondary Fermentation - transferring your beer to a different vessel after primary fermentation. This is where your beer will age and clear in the absence of most of the trub that is produced during primary fermentation. This can also be the time to dry hop or start another kind of fermentation by adding either fruit or other fermentables or by adding bacteria.

Tertiary fermentation - a fancy word for Third fermentation, this is where you age and clear your beer if you started up fermentation again during your secondary fermentation.

Homebrewing Jargon

Just as there is with any hobby, there are a lot of words and terms that are thrown around in the homebrewing world that cause some confusion to people just starting out or are looking to progress in the hobby. Some of these are old words intended specifically for brewing, but I'm fairly certain some are just used so people in the know can feel smarter than the people just starting out. Well, here is a list of words and phrases that will familiarize you with the hobby so you can go into a conversation with a seasoned home brewing veteran and hold your own. Because of the length, I will be splitting this into two posts. Here is part 1:

Crush/Mill - to get at the sugary goodness inside the barley kernel it is necessary to crush it first using a mill to crack open the barley making sure not to crush it into fine powder.

Malt - the sugary goodness inside the grain is only starch when it is harvested, so the grain must be malted by soaking in warm water and tricked into sprouting. This process starts the natural enzymes in the grain to start converting starches to sugars. By drying them quickly the enzymes are halted and you get malted grain, also just called malt.

Steep - just like tea, in order to get the flavor and color from your grain in an extract/grain batch of beer, soaking the grain in warm water will get you much of the character of your beer.

Mash - when you ad your hot water to your grain it is called your mash. If you have ever made Oat Meal, Grits, or Cream of Wheat, you have made a mash before, you probably just never used too much water and collected it to drink later.

Single Infusion Mash - the strike water is added at the beginning of the mash time and the temperature is held during the entire mashing process.

Step Mash - a more complex mashing program where the strike temperature is low and gradually increases over time during the mashing process. For instance you may start at 113°F for the first 15 min, then increase the mash temp to 150°F for the next 50 min and finish the last 10 minutes at 168°F. When viewed on a temp over time chart this looks like steps.

Protein Rest - part of a step mash program. There are different proteins in your beer that will breakdown at certain temperatures during the mash and reduce haziness. Although most brewing grain these days are modified well enough (meaning the starches have already been turned to sugar and proteins have already been broken down), there are circumstances where a protein rest may still be needed.

Sparge - this is just a fancy word to describe the process of rinsing you grain in order to pull out more sugar, color and flavor. If you pour warm water over your bag of grain in a partial mash or grain/extract recipe it called sparging. Draining (Lautering) your mash while you add water at the same rate you are draining is called fly sparging. Draining your mash, then adding a bunch more water, then draining again is called batch sparging.

Strike water - this is the preheated water you add to your grain in the mash.

Hot liquor tank (HLT) - this is a bit misleading since there is no alcohol involved. It really should be called a hot water tank. It is any vessel that holds your preheated water to be used for you mash or your sparge.

Boil Kettle - a big stock pot for boiling your wort and adding hops and other adjuncts such as coriander, orange peel, pumpkin, etc.

Lautering - draining the liquid from your mash.

Mash/Lauter tun - a mash tun is any vessel (commonly a kettle or a cooler) that holds your mash. A lauter tun is any vessel used to drain the liquid from your mash, which in homebrewing is the same vessel as the mash tun. These names can be used interchangeably or combined. It is often referred to as an MLT. Most MLTs use either a false bottom (shown below) or manifold to separate the wort from the grain.

 

Wort - often pronounced wert, it is the sugary liquid that will eventually turn to beer after yeast is added and it is fermented.

Racking - transferring your beverage by siphoning.

Pitching - referring to yeast it just means adding.

Pitch Rate - the ratio between the amount of yeast you are adding to the density and volume of your wort.

Flocculation - how much yeast will stay in suspension.

Attenuation - how much sugar the yeast will eat before falling out of suspension.

Specific Gravity - a measurement of density of liquid. Hydrometers are an inexpensive and reliable way to read your Gravity.

Original gravity - the density of liquid before fermentation. Abbreviated O.G.

Final gravity - the density of liquid after fermentation. Abbreviated F.G. This number will be lower than the O.G. since alcohol is less dense than water.

Plato - another measurement of density similar to Specific Gravity. Often used to yeast pitch rate calculations.

Wine Additives

In many ways wine is easier to make than beer, but all of the additives can get confusing.  In a culture pushing towards preservative free foods and beverages, it is easy to be turned off by the word additives, but almost all of these items, with the exception of many of the clarifying agents, are naturally produced in wine to some degree. The home winemaker just needs to use them in a way to help them control the outcome of their wine and to keep it fresh and palatable over a long period of time... something that humans have been doing since ancient Greece. Here is a list of items to help you make your next batch of wine.

Preservatives

Kills unwanted bacteria and helps to protect your wine from oxidation. Used by the home wine maker to inhibit bacterial growth, stop fermentation at a desired point and even for sanitation, these are important chemicals, and while sulfides are also naturally occurring in wine, some people do have sulfite allergies.

Campden (potassium metabisulfite): Forms sulfur dioxide gas prevents microorganism growth and acts as an antioxidant.

Sodium Metabisulfite: Acts in the same way as Potassium metabisulfite, but adds sodium, which some people try to avoid in their diet. Tannin: This naturally occurring preservative is found in many plant materials including parts of the grape itself. Tannins lend a sharp bitterness that helps balance the sweetness from the grape juice and enriches the body.

Stabilizers

Sorbate: Although not a sulfite, it goes hand in hand. Sorbate is used to inhibit future cell growth and multiplication, but when Sorbate is used a sulfite needs to be added also, not only to kill current yeast/bacteria cells, but to prevent a compound called geraniol from forming which can give you off flavors and aromas.

Dimethyl Dicarbonate: The application of DMDC is particularly useful when wine needs to be sterilized but cannot be sterile filtered, pasteurized, or sulfured

Yeast Nutrient and Energizer

Diammonium Phosphate: A major element in most yeast nutrient mixtures:

Energizer: Vitamin mixture, almost pure vitamin B, Which is also found in yeast nutrients.

Enzymes

Used to break down fruit cell walls to increase juice production and clarify.

Pectic Enzymes: Used mainly in home wine making to clarify by removing pectin haze.

lysozyme: Slight flavor modification by changing malic acid into lactic acid

Oak

This is an additive in the sense that flavors can be leached out of oak barrels or cubes to add a level of complexity to the wine that it might not have otherwise. Oak Tannins are similar to grape tannin, but can react with people differently.

Oak Essence: To impart oakiness at any stage of production

Fining and Clarifying

These are additives, but they are “added” in an effort to attract unwanted particles from your wine and eventually fall out of suspension, leaving virtually all of the additive behind and out of the bottle. You could call the take-outatives. + indicates positively charged (attracts negative particles). - indicates negatively charged (attracts positive particles)

+ Albumin:  This is one of the proteins found in egg whites, and yes many wineries in Europe still use egg whites to fine wine today, although it is required that the bottle is labeled as such.

+ Casein (potassium caseinate):  Milk byproduct usually used as a substitute for gelatin it can reduce tannins from reds and brown color from whites.

+ Isinglass: - Made from the swim bladders of fish this fining agent is not very aggressive and best used as a final touch to wine that is already fairly clear.

+ Gelatine:  Like Bentonite this animal protein can be used before and after fermentation, This fining agent is popular in clearing out unwanted tannin (negatively charged) from red wines. Gelatine has the potential to create haze in relatively tannin free white wine.

- Bentonite:  Popular in North America this volcanic clay is super absorbent and fall out of suspention well. It can also be used before or after fermentation.

+ Sparkolloid:  Fossilized remains of algae this is a brand of clarifying agent that is a mix of polysaccharides and diatomaceous earth.

- Kieselsol:  Silicon Dioxide works well with positively charged agents and has the benefit of removing bitterness from white wines.

+ Chitosan:  This fining agent is gentle on the character of your wine, but should be used in addition to a negatively charged agent. Chitosan is the structural element of the exoskeleton of crustaceans.

+/- Super Kleer:  Promotes flocculation of suspended proteins & other matter, producing a clearer wine. Kiesosol & Chitosan formulation

Bocksin: Fixes Hydrogen Sulfide problems (rotten egg smell)

Acid Control

Acid helps determines the very nature of the wine itself. Color, flavor, intensity, aroma, and brightness, so controlling acid is critical in wine making, or at least wine recreation. An acid test kit may be used to determine the acidity and usage

+ Increases Acidity (lowers pH)

Tartaric Acid: Sour/Bitter flavor found in many plants, particularly grapes and bananas. High in antioxidants

Malic Acid: Contributes to the sourness of green apples and grapes. Part of an acid blend.

Citric Acid: A natural preservative used to add an acidic taste to foods and soft drinks.

Acid Blend: Combination of citric, malic and tartaric acids used to increase acidity of wine.

Ascorbic (Acid Vitamin C): Has anti-oxidant properties, acting as preservative and helps preserve color in white wines.

Lactic Acid (bacteria): Responsible for the sour flavor of sour milk products and sourdough breads.

-Decreases Acidity (raises pH)

Calcium Carbonate (chalk): Used for acid reduction in wine (raise pH). First reduces tartaric acid, so care in dosage should be taken to prevent complete deduction of tartaric acid. 1/2 ounce in gallon reduces acid by .1 pH unit.

Potassium Bicarbonate: Used for acid reduction in wine. Use at a rate of 2gm/liter for acid reduction. Dissolve in small quantity of wine then add to batch ¾gm/gallon reduces acid by .1pH unit.

It’s summer time to brew hot

Now that it is warming up, it is a good time for homebrewers to try their hand at an old Belgian style beer that gets “better with a little extra heat. Saisons can be a light bodied flavorful ale that is perfect for summertime, but in direct contrast to lagering a beer to smooth it out, Saisons embrace a warm fermentation.

Some History:
Saison is an old world style of beer that has recently received a revival amongst craft brewers and home brewers throughout the world.  A group of beers more than a exact style, Saisons originated in Wallonia, the southern and predominantly French speaking region of Belgium, as a refreshing and nourishing drink for farmhands and seasonal harvest workers (les saisonneirs). Much like an unwanted house guest, farm workers would consume upwards of five liters of this beer per day since the other available water sources were of questionable quality.  Given the volume of consumption, alcohol was only 2-2.5% or less making the beer refreshing which prevented the hired help from getting plastered.  The mechanical revolution took all of the farm jobs and put them into factories, and as a result most all of the rustic farmhouse breweries disappeared, taking with them hundreds of years of brewing tradition. 

What most Saisons have in common is a light golden/orange color, very dry finish, and either a crisp sourness or bitterness (or sometimes both).  The farmhouse breweries would use their own grains, and due to the higher tax rates on malted barley versus other grains, would have certainly used a mixture of barley, oats, rye, wheat, and spelt.  Each brewery had their own unique strain of yeast that was a blend of common brewing yeasts, wild yeast, and other bacteria.  These wild yeasts and bacteria, combined with limited knowledge of sanitation, gave the Saison a distinct dryness and sour flavor reminiscent of other farmhouse style such as Bier de Garde and Gueze. The Saison was fairly generously hopped with local noble hop varieties, which helped preserve the beer during aging. Typically, only generous bittering and aroma additions were made, and it wasn't uncommon to dry hop the finished product. Other spices such as ginger, coriander, peppercorns, and orange peel were commonly used as well. The beer was then aged in oak barrels for four months or as long as several years to give the sourness from the yeast time to blend and balance with the bitterness from the hops. While the versions given to the farmhands were lower in alcohol, export and specialty versions could have alcohol levels from 4-9%

If you want to step out of your comfort zone a bit from the classic ales or lagers you have been brewing at home, give this recipe a try:

Caramunich III 8 oz
Acid Malt          4 oz
Wheat DME     1 lb
Pilsen Light LME 4 lbs
Corn Sugar      1 lb
Kent Golding    1.5 oz (60 min)
Strisslespalt     .5 oz  (20 min)
Strisslespalt     1 oz  (0 min)

Yeast:
Wyeast 3711 French Saison
(Ferment 70-80°F)
Get even hotter:
Wyeast 3724 Belgian Saison
(Ferment 75-95°F)

5 Tricks For Your Next Extract Batch

Just a few things to help out hopefully.

 

Boil some water while you are steeping:

With stovetop home brewing, much of your time is spent heating up water. A simple trick to cut down some of this time is to use two kettles at the same time. Try doing your 30 minute steep in a smaller pot, since you only need a gallon or so (enough to cover your grain). During the steep (or maybe even before) start bringing your big kettle of water to a boil, making sure to leave some room for the water from your steep. Now you will have water near a boil the instant you are done with your steep saving you some time.

Use one muslin sock for your hops

Many times people will almost instinctually assume that all of their different hop additions will need to be separated in the boil, leaving them to buy a separate small straining (muslin) bag for each hop addition. Muslin bags are pretty inexpensive, but if you are doing a big IPA the cost can start to add up, not to mention the hassle of tying up a bunch of hops in a bunch of different little bags. Next time try just one large muslin bag, and keep the open end out of the pot (wrapped around the handle so it doesn’t slip into the pot). Each time you have to add some hops to the boil, just Keep adding them into the same sock.

 

 

Wort Cool Down:

Cooling down your hot wort can take some time and while putting it in an icebath in your sink is a great way to cool it down quickly there is another technique for a quick cool down in the event you are out of ice. If you have ever just put your pot in some cold water in your sink you have undoubtedly found out that all you get is a sink full of hot water in a matter of minutes. Ice helps this, but you can also put a rag or paper towel at the bottom of your sink rather than stopping up the drain completely. A partially stopped up drain  will allow the water to slowly drain, and lets you to simultaneously run cold water from your tap into the sink. Now you have a cold water bath that will continue to transfer heat away from the pot and down the drain.  

Chill Your Top-Off Water:

If you find yourself needing to top off with some water in your fermenter to get to the five gallon mark there are actually some benefits to doing so. In a five gallon pot (20 qt) you usually start your boil at about four gallons and boil down to 3-3.5 gallons leaving you with about two gallons needed to add to your fermenter. Put this water in the fridge (or even the freezer) to get nice and cold. Now you don’t have to wait so long cooling your wort in an ice bath. If you can get two gallons of really cold water into your fermenter it is likely you only need to get your wort down to about 100 degrees. The top off water will bring it down the rest of the way to room temp and you can pitch your yeast. There is an added benefit to this. Pouring in the cold water aggressively will churn up your wort and plenty of oxygen which is essential to a healthy start to fermentation.

Use the sani rinse on your dishwasher:

Lot’s of people complain about the bottling process because you must clean and sanitize dozens of bottles. Washing, rinsing, sanitizing can be a pain, but if you treat them like any other dish you would use at dinner time, you can take out a bunch of the hassle. First, treat them like a dish; when you are done with a beer, rinse out the bottle and make sure you get all the yeast sediment at the bottom, then put it in the dishwasher with the rest of you dishes. Then just put your clean bottle away in your bottle box to use again some day. When bottling day arrives, put all your cleaned bottles in your dishwasher and set it to sanitize (most newer washers have this setting). Use a little bit of Oxy based cleanser, like PBW or OneStep and you will have a couple of racks full of sanitized bottles ready to use for bottling.