For many years Home Make It has assisted the Italian community with their efforts of producing homemade wines and salami and have recently seen an insurgence of these families now bringing the brewery to their backyards and making home brews as well.
Not surprising really, as the ever-growing thirst for home brews and craft beers is also reflected in the craft beer industries, especially in Australia and Italy. Recent reports predict that the development of microbreweries will continue to see growth, as a result of consumers persistently seeking unique flavours, premium styles and diverse beer drinking experiences.
Coinciding with the craft beer mania is the pairing of beer with food, which is also becoming increasingly popular. With so many great craft beers and variety of beer styles available it’s very enticing to try them together. It has also been suggested that beer may in fact be more food-friendly than wine. Due to the infinite possibilities for flavour variety and matching, we are even noticing beer become part of menus in popular venues. This food pairing theory may need to be left up to individuals to test for themselves according to personal tastes.
So for those who have ever been tempted to have a go at becoming their own ‘master brewer’ and feel inspired to dabble with different flavours and methods of beer making, there has never been a better time to get involved. Home Make It brewing specialist Cade Butler aims to demystify the beer making process and expresses just how easy is to set up a backyard home brew kit and be brewing your own preservative free, quality and exotic flavoured beers in no-time.
To make a 23 litre batch you will need:
3kg Joe White Ale malt 1kg Gladfield manuka smoked malt 500g Gladfield toffee malt 500g Joe White Chocolate malt 500g Munich malt
Single temperature mash at 66°C for an hour
1 Hour boil
Whirfloc fining for the last 10 minutes of boil
20g Summit hops for 60 minutes 30g Cascade hops for 30 minutes 30g Cascade hops at flameout 30g Amarillo dry hop for 3 days
Original gravity reading approx. 1050
PROCEDURE
Heat 30 litres of water to 70°C in your mash vessel.
Mix in milled grain in to the strike water, making sure there are no dry lumps of grain. The grain should have brought the water temperature down to approx. 66°C. Try and maintain this temperature for an hour, stirring occasionally. Then, increase temperature to 74°C for 10 minutes to stop the conversion process.
Then start draining your liquid into your boil kettle through your false bottom (the large stainless steel filter on the bottom of your mash vessel that keeps your grain and water separate), pour approx. 5 litres of 74°C water over the grain while it’s draining to wash any excess sugars off the grain. Turn off the tap once your boil kettle hits approx. 34 litres.
Turn your boil kettle up and once it’s got a nice rolling boil, add the first hop, 20g of Summit. After another 30 minutes add 30g of Cascade hops. 20 minutes later, add some kettle fining. Then 10 minutes later add another 30g of Cascade hops and stop the boil.
Cool your wort down to 24°C using whatever means you have (an ice bath, immersion chiller or no-chill cube) and pitch your yeast.
Ferment at between 18-20°C for a week and a half, then add 30g of Amarillo hops to the fermenter for 3 days.
Then take your gravity reading and bottle or keg when the final reading is approx. 1010-1015.
For the those wanting to develop their brewing skills further and ready to experiment with grains visit the friendly staff at Home Make It and check out the vast array of brewing equipment and ingredients available to get you started and on your way to brewing up a storm!
Looking for something special to pair perfectly with your homemade salami? Give this very popular, dark and slightly smokey Fireplace dark ale brew recipe a go.
Contact the Home Make It team for further information or assistance with this process and recipe.
Clayton Store: (03) 9574 8222Reservoir Store: (03) 9460 2777Email: info@homemakeit.com.au
