Extract Brewing Basics

Just about every homebrewing career starts with extract brewing rather than all-grain brewing. Extract brewing requires considerably less equipment, initial brewing knowledge and time than all-grain brewing. And for many homebrewers, that continues to be their brewing style of choice, even after they've learned enough to write their own book on brewing!

And with the high quality of brewer's grade malt extracts on the market today (Briess CBW^® pure malt extracts), professional brewers and homebrewers alike are brewing award-winning extract beers that rival their all-grain counterparts.

Extract brewing takes less equipment and time because we do a lot of the work for you. A typical extract homebrewing session takes about three hours, while an all-grain batch could take up to eight or so. Or more. Or less. Anyway, for extract brewers we've taken care of about the first five hours ( Steps #1-3) in the basic brewing process for you:

1. Mill the grains
2. Mash the grain with hot water to convert the starches to sugar
3. Lauter (filter) the sugary liquid (wort) from the spent grains (After this step, Briess condenses the wort to make malt extract. Homebrewers continue with Step #4.)
4. Boil the wort
5. Cool the wort
6. Pitch the yeast
7. Ferment
8. Bottle or keg
9. Wait patiently
10. Enjoy!

After Step #3, we condense the wort to about 80% solids to make Malt Extract. Extract brewing involves adding water and picking up the process with Step #4.

The typical batch size for most extract and many all-grain homebrews is five gallons.

When it comes to homebrewing, don't be afraid to use your lifeline! There's a ton of resources available. Megabytes of information live on the internet, great homebrewing books have been written, and your local homebrew shop is always a great place to talk homebrewing (and, of course, purchase the supplies you need). Check out our "Links" page for some resources. Let us know of good resources you'd like us to add.

If there's a homebrew club in your area, join it. You can learn as much as you want and you'll have a great time meeting new people and sharing brewing and beer stories with them!

And, most important, have fun! Homebrewing is a fun and rewarding hobby. Will every batch turn out? Probably not. But as you learn what you're doing right (and wrong) you'll start brewing better and better beer, more consistently, and with few or no bad batches. The downside? Your friends might never want to go home!

"How To Home Brew 101"

1. Sanitize all equipment. If water contains chlorine, allow it to stand in an open container overnight before brewing.
2. Immerse canisters of Briess CBW^® malt extract in warm tap water and let stand until softened.
3. In a large pot, bring 1 to 1-1/2 gallons chlorine-free water to a near boil.
4. Add Briess CBW^® malt extract and stir to dissolve.
5. Add the first hops and bring to a rolling boil.
6. After 40 to 55 minutes of boiling, add the finishing hops. (Or follow your recipe for hops additions. Each recipe provides a specific boiling time for all hops. As a rule of thumb, when inventing your own recipe, add finishing hops after 45 minutes of boiling.)
7. Remove from heat and cool the wort to less then 80° F.
8. Transfer to primary fermenter, carefully pouring wort off of the sediment which is called "trub" (pronounced troob).
9. Standard homebrew recipes yield five gallons. Prior to brewing, use a permanent marker or tape to indicate the five gallon level of your fermenter. After transferring the wort, add sanitized water to reach the five-gallon level.
10. Pitch yeast.
11. Shake vigorously to aerate.
12. Seal with fermentation lock and let stand in a cool, dark place. Unless otherwise specified in the recipe, allow to ferment at 70° F for seven days.
13. Siphon ("rack") into secondary fermenter and seal with fermentation lock. Let stand in a cool, dark place seven to 10 days for ales or 14-21 days for lagers.
14. Sanitize 60 twelve-ounce bottles.
15. Add one cup Briess CBW^® Golden Light LME or 3/4 cup corn sugar to hot water. Stir to dissolve and add to secondary fermenter. Mix well.
16. Bottle, cap and store at room temperature for seven days or the period of time specified in the recipe.
17. Refrigerate and enjoy! Many beer styles can be enjoyed 7 days after bottling. They will improve, however, with 3 to 4 weeks of aging. Some beer styles must be aged three to four months, while other high-gravity beers need as much as six months to a year.

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