Beginners Outline (for beer kits) 20 Minute Boil

  1. Bring 1-2 gallons of water to a boil. If it is city water, let it boil for 5-10 minutes to allow the chlorine in the water to escape. Pour malt syrup, dry malt, corn syrup or rice solids into the boiling water. Stir well to insure no malt sticks to bottom of boiling vessel. Watch for boil over.
  2. Bring this mixture (called 'wort') back up to a rolling boil. Add any flavor/bittering hops directly into the wort. Allow it to boil and roll for 20-25 minutes. You do not have to stir. Regulate heat under boiler so a boil-over does not occur.
  3. If any hop aroma is desired, add aroma hops 2-5 minutes before the end of the 20 min boil. Boil for 2 more minutes, then shut off heat. If you are not adding any finishing (aroma) hops, just turn heat off after the 20 min rolling boil.
  4. If possible, place your boiler into a sink of cold water. Keep the lid on the boiler. Circulate cold water around the pot for 10-15 min. Try to cool the wort to 120-130 deg. F.. After cooling, pour the wort into your sanitized primary fermenter. If you are using a glass primary fermenter, add some cool water to the primary first so that the hot wort doesn't shatter the fermenter. After adding the wort to the fermenter, top up your fermenter to the 5 gallon mark. Use only cool or cold dechlorinated water (e.g. spring water). All of the water that is used in your beer must be clean and dechlorinated.
  5. When the temp of your wort in your fermenter reaches 70-80 deg F., sprinkle or pour in the recommended strain of yeast. Stir in and cover your primary with lid and airlock (fill it half way with water). Place primary in a cool place (60-70 deg. F). Allow it to ferment until the airlock is only bubbling 1 x per minute. Your beer should be done fermenting. Check the specific gravity for the next two consecutive days. If it doesn't change, the beer is ready to be racked (transfer to a secondary fermenter) or bottled. If you do not intend to do a secondary fermentation (clarification step) go to step 7.
  6. Siphon beer from primary fermenter into a 5 gallon glass carboy (secondary) and try to avoid splashing. Add a fining agent if you wish to speed up the clarification process. Put airlock and stopper on carboy. Allow beer to sit 5-10 days or as required until beer is clear and a large yeast sediment is noticeable.
  7. Siphon beer into a bottling bucket. Be sure to leave yeast sediment behind. Dissolve 3/4 cup corn sugar in 1 cup boiling water or wort. Boil 2 minutes. Stir this mixture into the 5 gallon batch of beer. Stir well to get the mixture evenly disbursed. Fill sanitized bottles to within 1 inch of the top. Cap bottles and allow them to carbonate and mature (usually 2 weeks at 60-70 deg f.). Chill beer before serving (45-55 deg F.) and pour into a glass. Be sure to leave yeast sediment behind when pouring beer from bottle to glass. Enjoy!