Beer In A Can Method

Introduction

Most of the cheaper and mid range beer kits come in 1.5Kg-2Kg cans with a little packet of yeast in the top - these kits usually make 40 pints though some I have seen make just 24 pints of strong ale.

The main thing to note with these is that in almost all cases sugar needs to be added - never use granulated or caster sugar it will add a nasty taste to the beer. At the very least use GlucoseBrewingSugar though even better is spraymalt or malt extract such as MuntonsDarkMaltExtract. The malt sugars are what should be in beer, the cheaper kits simply don't provide enough. While the glucose will give you the alcohol strength, it doesn't make up for flavour or colour, this is where using the malts gives you an advantage. The down side of the malt extract is the price - 1.8Kg for £11 in my local brewing supplies - about the same as a beer kit. However you only need to substitute it for equal quantities of glucose. Most kits I have seen call for 1Kg of glucose, so you can either use 1Kg of the Malt extract instead - or a mix. I often use 600g of the extract and 400g of sugar, so I can get 3 batches from a can of extract - but I see nothing wrong with 900g:100g or any other combination. Though personally I wouldn't use less than 50% malt extract if you are using it as it would defeat the whole point of adding flavour and colour. I suggest just experiment until you get a taste you like.

Preparation

First of all sterlise everything you are going to use. This means your FermentingBucket, BeerStirringPaddle, and weighing utensils (though I don't have a need for these myself), your BrewingHyrometer and for good measure I usually drop my scissors and can opener in the bucket for good measure. Everything should be cleaned before sterilising. Start filling your bucket with hot water form the tap. I find I can't get mind under the sing tap so us a jug with the bucket on the draining board. 5 levelish tea spoons of LwpSterilisingPowder into the bucket as you fill it will make up the sterilising solution. Make sure you give it a good stir so the powder doesn't just settle on the bottom. Also be sire that the lid for the bucket is either soaked in the sink or pushed into the bucket so it is also sterilised. Leave everything in there for about 30 minutes. Drain off the equipment and rinse very well with cold water - there should be no lingering smell of chlorine on the equipment as this could be passed to your beer. I find it best to drain the liquid at least partially out through the tap in my bucket to be sure that is also sterilised.

While your equipment is soaking I suggest you put the unopened beer kit can in a pan full of hot water and just leave it on the side (take the label off first since this usually has the instructions on it). This will warm the syrup like contents and make it easier to get out of the can. Also boil a full kettle of water, you will need it shortly.

Into The Bucket

Open the can(s) and pour the contents into the bucket, also add the sugar/spraymalt if they are being used. Now pour the boiled water into the almost empty can and give it a good stir, pour this into the bucket (using oven gloves, it will be hot) give this mixture a good stir until everything is dissolved (this can take a long time with spraymalt - don't worry and just carry on if there are still lumps, it will dissolve eventually). Now fill the bucket up to the required level using cold water - fresh from the tap is perfectly fine in most areas, I use the now empty can as its already sterilised. Doing this from a height works quite well (ie having the bucket on the floor while you get the water from the sink) this aerates the water which will assist the yeast to get started. Once the bucket is full drop in the BrewingHyrometer if you have one and measure the gravity, this measurement and the final measurement will allow you to gauge the alcohol content of the beer. Open the yeast packet, pour it into the bucket and give it a good stir.

Now cover the bucket with a cloth, towel or even a T shirt (it doesn't matter as long as its clean) and place the lid on the bucket, don't seal it, air will need to escape. It isn't necessary to use an airlock when brewing beer.

Leave the bucket in a warm room - somewhere that will stay 20-25C for7 days to ferment. High strength beers may need a day or two extra.

Dead Yeast

In the first couple of days of fermenting you should check the beer daily, a think head of yeast should grow on the beer - this is exactly what you want as its a barried against infection of the beer by other nasties. However on the top of this nice light coloured foam is darker coloured gunk which is the dead yeast. You should scrape this off, otherwise in a couple of days it will fall into the beer and give it that nasty yeasty taste that is usually associated with home brew.

To scrape it off I use the back of the stirring spoon - make sure it is still clean as you don't want to ruin your beer at this point, place the spoon on top of the dead yeast gently, in general it will stick to it. If not spooning it up works, though try to avoid taking too much of the clean foam.

If the yeast has been particularly vigorous then it may have reached the top of the bucket and your clean cloth - this makes your life easy as the dirty yeast is probably now stuck to the cloth/T shirt - just change the cloth and put the other one in the wash (though be warned before using a favourite shirt that it will leave stains)

Bottling

I bottle my beer, many people prefer kegs but because I like to keep a variety of beers its easier for me to switch between bottles than it is to have 7 kegs on the shelf. Dishwashers are great for cleaning bottles, especially if they have a very hot (70 degree or higher) setting. I run them 3 times, once after drinking the contents and putting them in the cupboard empty (so that they don't smell), then on the day of bottling once with LwpSterilisingPowder in the soap compartment instead of normal dishwasher soap, then once more with no soap at all to make sure they are well rinsed. Inspect the bottles inside by holding them up to a light or winder to make sure there is nothing stick in the corners at the bottom, if there is they put them to one side and clean them later with a bottle brush.

Add 1 level tea spoon of GlucoseBrewingSugar or a little bit more than that of LightSprayMalt^? per 500ml bottle (if you find your beer flat then try a touch more next time but be careful, too much priming sugar and your bottles may explode), then pour in the beer - I find having a bucket with a tap makes this process a lot easier. I usually end up filling each bottle in 2 stages, as when filling it first you get quite a lot of foam, let this subside then top it up - having the bucket on the windowsill above the kitchen sink works great, no mess to clean up as spillages end up in the sink and its a comfortable height for me to work at.

If using a crown capper then make sure your caps have been sterilised - the same way as you prepared the tools last time. Grolsch bottles make a good alternative to using a capper and cuts down on the equipment you will need.

After capping shake the bottle to make sure the priming sugar is dissolved and place in a warm room, the same as fermenting temperature for 7 days, them move to a cooler room - a cellar or garage at about 15C is ideal. Leave there for at least a week until the beer clears, leaving the beer longer will improve the flavour - I find once the beer has been in the bottle for a month or two the flavour is much improved.

Enjoy

Invite your friends round, crack open a few and enjoy them. Just remember these are bottled conditioned beers so will have a sediment in the bottom of the bottle. Pour the beer in one motion and don't pour the last half inch of beer, never pour half of the bottle then try to pour the other half later - the sediment will be all mixed up in it.

Have fun!!