Cat Bytes Learning Center: Brewing Beer

Three words: clean, cleaner and cleanest. In order to produce a successful home brew, it is key to make sure all of the equipment is as clean as it can possibly be. After the cleaning has been finished, it is time to get rockin' on the first brew.

Boil water; about six gallons for a five gallon batch.
If your recipe calls for adding grains, it is easiest to use them first. It is best to put the grain in a straining bag. If using a kitchen strainer, it is best to seep the grain in a separate pan.
Seep the grain in hot brewing water for 15 to 20 minutes.
Rinse the grain with more hot brewing water. This is called sparging.
Be careful not to put too much liquid in the boil kettle. Sugar grows when it gets hot and boilovers are a mess.
Mix the malt extract into the liquid in the boil kettle. This makes what we call a wort. Make sure everything is fully dissolved before bringing the wort to a rolling boil.
Once the wort is at a rolling boil, add the hops. Most recipes will specify various amounts of hops to go into the boil at different times.
Additions at the start of the boil, half way through the boil and in the last ten minutes are standard.
After an hour of boiling, chill the wort to around 80 degrees F and then add the yeast.
Seal the pitched wort in a sanitized fermenter fitted with an airlock. If you are using two-stage fermentation, siphon from the primary to the secondary as soon as the foaming has subsided and the beer will fit into the secondary. This is called racking.
Wait until the yeast falls to the bottom of the fermenter and the beer is clear, (not cloudy) and stops bubbling. This means it is done with the main ferment.
Rack into a sanitized bottling bucket, add dissolved priming sugar and bottle.
Keep bottles at fermentation temperature for at least two weeks to allow it to carbonate and allow it to age for as long as you can wait.