Summer Drinks #2 - Beer

Once I finished getting Jill's wine started I cleaned up really well and got my beer making equipment ready.  Which is just my wine making equipment with the addition of a scale and large stainless bowl.

Since I do not have the time or equipment to create full boil beers I begin with quality extracts and build flavour from there.

I chose the Blue Mountain Lager kit produced by Morgan's Brewing for this batch.

I have used a few of the Morgan's kits as my base in the past.  They have always turned out well but what I like about them is that there are no surprises.  The description they give of their final product is very close to what you do end up with making it easy to adjust to your taste without having to necessarily make a batch to check on flavour first.  (I do recommend that you do make a batch of the bases though).

After sterilization I warm the can in hot water for a few minutes so the malt will pour easier and then add it to the fermenter.  I use warm water to rinse the can but add it all to the primary so no flavours are lost down the drain.  I incorporate the water and malt together well with the mixing spoon. 

Now for the sugar.  The instructions always say to add a kilo of Dextrose or the brew enhancer.  I have always found it very difficult to locate the brew enhancer but doing some research I have discovered that it is a mix of Dextrose and Malto Dextrin. Malto Dextrin is a sugar that doesn't fully ferment and gives a much nicer mouth feel to the final beer.

Since the sugars that go into the beer make such a huge impact on the flavour I weigh them out myself at home.  I added .75Kg of Dextrose, .3Kg of the Malto Dextrin and then another .3Kg of dry pale malt extract. I like my beer a little more malty than this kit makes.  If you notice I also added just a little more than a Kilo of sugars.  This is because I still want the alcohol content to be in the normal 5% range and with the Malto not fully fermenting it would end as a light style.

Because I added a little extra malt to the mix I try to balance it out with some dry hopping.  I add about an ounce to an ounce and a half of dried cones to the wort now.  I find that this way it gives me the aromas that I am looking for without the "green" flavours since it only sits for a few days until I transfer to my secondary. 

Add the yeast and now we wait.  A few days from now and we will be ready for the secondary.