A quality dry (granular) yeast is provided with this Kit. If you prefer a Wyeast liquid culture, we recommend the:

Bohemian Lager Yeast #2124

 

Homebrew Heaven's Smokee The Beer

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Approximate Starting Gravity: 1.050 - 1.057

Approximate Ending Gravity: 1.012 - 1.016

Approximate Bitterness: 24 IBU's

Approximate Color: 13 SRM
Approximate ABV: 4.8 - 6.0%
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AVAILABLE: SEP thru MAR

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Ingredient Kit Instructions:

 

This Beer Ingredient Kit makes 5 gallons of heavenly homebrew. This is equivalent to about fifty-two 12 oz. Beers. Only the finest ingredients are chosen and used in the making of this kit. Should you have any questions regarding this kit, Homebrew Heaven of Everett, WA will be happy to help you out. Our phone number is (425) 355-8865 (local), or (800) 850-2739 if you are calling from out of town.

 

Our Smokee The Beer is a Rauch style smoky flavored beer. This ale follows mostly traditional ingredients providing a beer that has a well balanced malt profile & not too hoppy. A good beer for those colder nights!

This Kit Contains: 1 Package of Amber Dry Malt Extract with Bittering hops (Hallertauer), already mixed into the dry malt   1 Package containing Specialty Grains, along with a cheesecloth grain bag   1 Package of Flavor hops (Hallertauer) with Clarifier Tablet   1 Package of Finishing hops (Tettnanger)   1-2 Package(s) of Lager Yeast – 10g minimum   1 Package of Corn Sugar that is used to “prime” the beer just before bottling

Equipment and Sanitation

It is necessary to assure that EVERYTHING that comes in contact with your ale wort after boiling is sanitary. By this, we mean free from bacteria and other wild yeasts. Your brewpot, spoon and wort chiller (if using one) will be sanitized by the boiling of your ingredients, but from that point on, your fermentor, carboy, airlock & stopper, etc., should be sanitized thoroughly. We recommend an iodine-based product called Iodophor for this purpose. We also recommend that your fermentation be done in a sealed container with an airlock affixed to it (closed fermentation) to avoid airborne bacteria. A sealed six-gallon (or larger), food-grade bucket works great as a fermentor. If you add water to your fermentor after the boil, it’s usually OK not to boil it, but if you want to be absolutely certain of avoiding bacteria, you can boil it ahead of time (be sure to cool it before using).

 

Always sanitize your siphon equipment (bottle filler, racking cane and tubing) and bottles prior to bottling your beer. Bacteria infections are rare, but most originate from the siphon equipment.

 

INSTRUCTIONS

 

General Note: It is best to cook your entire batch of beer (6 – 6.3 gallons starting volume of water for a finished batch volume of 5 gallons after evaporation & trub removal). If your brewpot is not big enough to do that, you can do a “concentrated boil” using 3 – 4 gallons of water to start with, adding the balance of (cooled) water volume to the primary fermentor before pitching the yeast. In other words, boil as much water as possible to start with. We recommend using at least 3 gallons.

 

1. Add the water to the brewpot. We like to start with about 6 gallons. See General Note above.

2. Put the specialty grains into the muslin grain bag & tie a knot at the top of the bag. Leave some room for the grains to “swish around” within the bag. Suspend the filled bag in the water to avoid scorching, or burning a hole in the bag & heat to between 165º F - 170º F. Be sure to occasionally give the bag a light squeeze & use a teabag motion to help swish things around a bit. When the water reaches 165º F - 170º F, remove the bag…it has done its’ job. Exceeding 170º F will cause tannins to leach out of the grains, which can make your beer astringent.

3. Continue heating until the water comes to a boil. Now it’s time to add the dry malt extract. You will have to add the contents slowly while stirring to mix. We like to remove the brewpot from the heat for this step, to prevent the malt from scorching at the bottom of the brewpot.

Dry malt takes a while to dissolve into the water. Just keep stirring until the entire amount of malt has been emptied into the pot.

 

4.       Now, bring the mixture back to a boil and make note of the time when you have achieved a good rolling boil. You’ll be boiling your mixture (now called wort) for one-hour total time from this point on. This one-hour boil ensures a good breakdown of the malt & hops. Ideally, you’ll maintain a nice rolling boil (not too vigorously now) for the entire time. It is ESSENTIAL that you WATCH FOR BOIL OVERS at this stage. Your beer will not be ruined, but a boil over makes a BIG, STICKY MESS! Keep stirring the green stuff (hops) back into the boil as they like to stick to the sides of the brewpot.

 

5.       At 15 minutes before the end of the boil (45 minutes after the start of the boil), it is time to add the package of Flavoring hops and Clarifier Tablet. This addition adds a unique flavor and aids in clarifying your finished beer. If you are going to be using a wort chiller to cool your finished wort, you should place it into the brewpot for the last 10 – 15 minutes of the boil to sterilize it.

 

6.       At 60 minutes from the start of the boil, turn off the heat and cool your wort as quickly as possible. The best way to cool your wort is with a wort chiller. If you don’t have one, you can set your brewpot in a sink full of ice water. A wort chiller will cool your wort in a bout 15 minutes, whereas the “sink full of ice water” method takes at least an hour, so leave the lid on the pot to avoid airborne bacteria. If you boiled less than 5 gallons, you can add cold water to help cool your wort. The point is, cool it quickly, keeping the pot covered if possible!

 

7.       When your wort has cooled to 80°, or below, it’s time to pour it into your primary fermentor. Go ahead and splash your wort in order to aerate or “oxygenate” your wort at this point. Yeast “like” a little oxygen at this point ---- but never after. Don’t worry about the residue. It is protein and hop residue (called “trub”).

 

Now you should take a “starting gravity” reading (approx.1.050 – 1.057), using your hydrometer and test jar. If you record this number, you can use it to determine your actual alcohol per volume at bottling. After pouring the wort into your primary fermentor and taking a hydrometer reading, you can add (“pitch”) your yeast. When using the dry yeast that came with the kit, either stirring the yeast into the wort, or sprinkling it on top will work just fine. We usually just sprinkle it on top. While you can make a yeast starter following the directions on the yeast package, it is not necessary. Be sure to put a tight sealing lid on the fermentor & use an airlock.

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE – PLEASE READ ACTIVE FERMENTATIONS

When brewing conditions are ideal; fresh malts and / or grains, good boil, well oxygenated wort, correct pitching temperature for yeast, fresh yeast, and consistent fermenting temperatures, the fermentation can be very active. Large amounts of malts such as you find in higher gravity beers, can also result in an overactive ferment.

When this happens it is not uncommon for your wort to exit out through your airlock usually clogging the airlock causing pressure to build up inside your fermentor. If the pressure builds too high before primary fermentation subsides, the lid and / or airlock on your fermentor can very well blow off, spraying your precious beer all over the room & ceiling. What a messy clean up!!!

 

To avoid this, we advise using a “blow off” tube consisting of at least 3 feet of ½” minimum to 1” diameter tubing placed through the opening of your plastic or glass fermentor in place of your airlock and rubber stopper. Do NOT extend the tubing end too far into the fermentor. Leave at least 2” between the end of the tubing & the fermenting wort. Place the other end of the tubing into a small container of water. A pint or 2 of water should do.

 

Once fermentation has subsided (little or no bubbles in your container of water) you can remove the tubing & replace the airlock & stopper for the remainder of the fermentation.

 

Be sure to clean & sanitize your airlock & stopper as well as the tubing.

 

8.       At this point, it is best to keep your fermentor at about room temperature (65° - 75°) until you see some activity (bubbling) in your airlock. This may take from 8 – 36 hours with dry yeast. Be sure to fill your airlock halfway to provide a barrier between your wort and potential “invading” bacteria. Since this kit contains a lager yeast, you can either continue the fermentation at room temperature, or you can move the fermentor into a cool place. Lagers are improved if you can move them into a cool place (preferably about 40° - 55° F.. Moving to a cool place causes the fermentation to slow down, and to produce a more “authentic” lager beer.

 

1. How long can you expect the fermentation to last? That depends on temperature, the freshness of the yeast and many other factors. With the Dry Malt Extract we use, at room temperature, the “primary fermentation” can take place in as little as 1 – 3 days. At a cooler temperature, it may take 2 – 3 weeks. These are only estimates. In any case, wait for the bubbling in the airlock to slow down to perhaps one “bubble” or less, per minute (again…only an estimate) before transferring the beer to another container (Typical gravity readings at this point would be between 1.025 – 1.030). This is called a “secondary fermentation” and serves to clarify and “condition”, or age your beer. Homebrew Heaven likes to use a glass carboy for this step, although another plastic bucket will do just fine.
2. Transfer the beer by siphoning off the clear beer leaving all the trub (crud) behind. There is no need to strain out the trub – leave it in the bottom of the primary bucket. Give it to your garden, compost, or just toss in the garbage can. We’re after clear beer here, remember?

 

1. After the bubbling has completely ceased in your secondary fermentor, it is time to bottle your beer. Make sure there is at least 3 minutes between each “bubble” through your airlock before bottling. A more sure method of determining if it is time to bottle would be to take 2 or 3 consecutive hydrometer readings, 1 each day for 2 – 3 days. When your readings stay the same without changing (“ending gravity” reading approx. 1.012 – 1.016), it is time to bottle. This ensures that there is no residual malt left to ferment. You will be adding corn sugar when you bottle in order to provide the right amount of carbonation. If there is still malt extract to ferment, you could have over-carbonated beer, or worse yet, exploding bottles.

12. To bottle, siphon off the good stuff – clear beer, into another sanitized container. Your primary fermentor works fine for this. Next, stir the package of corn sugar into about 16 oz. of lukewarm water until it dissolves. Add this mixture to the beer and stir gently to mix. Siphon your beer into sterilized bottles, leaving about ¾” of headspace in each bottle and apply your caps to the bottles.

13. Your beer will be ready to drink sooner if you place your bottles in a warm (room temperature) place. Allow about 7 - 14 days before trying one if you do this. If you leave your bottles in a cool place (60°; any cooler & your beer may not carbonate properly) you should allow an extra week or so. Be sure to store your bottles out of direct sunlight, or it will get a “skunky” smell if you do. Your beer will get better and better with aging, but who can wait? Enjoy! You can make more, right?

We sincerely hope you have enjoyed your Smokee The Beer kit! Let us know what you think!!

 

Variations

 

1. Try using the Wyeast Bohemian Lager #2124 liquid yeast culture (available at Homebrew Heaven) in place of the dry ale yeast.

2. Try using 1.5 cups of light DME (available at Homebrew Heaven) in place of the corn sugar when bottling. This will add a little more malt flavor and give your beer a creamier, dense head, however doing this can greatly increase the time it takes to carbonate. This can be done with any beer.

    

Homebrew Heaven
9109 Evergreen Way

Everett, WA  98204

(425) 355-8865

(800) 850-2739

E-mail: brewheaven@aol.com

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Read Complete Questions & Answers | Ask a Question

5/17/2010 -- what is your phone number?

2/18/2010 -- I have my stout in the primary, just about to transfer to the secondary. I added oats to the boil and am thinking about putting some coffee and a vanilla bean into the secondary. What would be the best way to do this and do you think it would be too much??

9/3/2009 -- Is it possible to hop a bock beer more to give it a more balanced taste? and if so which hops would give such a end result? P.S. not a computer savvy guy, e-mail address is my wife cut me some slack on the name.

8/1/2009 -- I just finished my first batch of wheat beer and have transfered it to the primary, it's been about 28 hours and i've only noticed about 1 bubble per minute in the airlock. Is the yeast doing it's job or should I add another packet? Also a solid layer of sludge has formed on the surface of the beer, is this normal? Cheers!

12/18/2008 -- Greetings... I brewed a batch of Smokee the Beer over the last couple months. Both fermentation stages were done in my garage, and the temperature in there ranges from 48-55 degrees. I bottled it two weeks ago and tried one yesterday. It produced NO head and tasted flat. No bubbles are in the beer, either. It just doesn't seem to be carbonated at all. Did I do something wrong?

9/7/2008 -- I am a big fan of your ingredient kits but have noticed that the selection has been very low lately. Why are some of your best ingredient kits no longer available?

4/27/2008 -- what are the pros and cons of the dry yeast included in your ingredient kits vs the optional wet yeast culture? i'm especially interested in whether one produces more alcohol over the other and viability of the yeasts after shipping, and i welcome any other info you care to share.

3/12/2008 -- On the directions to your kits it is stated that the beer will get better with aging. I've brew a few of your kits and I would like to know the proper way to age the beers. I've brewed the west coast blonde Ale, Diamond Knot IPA, Steadfast scottish Ale, and the Kangaroo Tail Ale. Thank You, John Newman

2/19/2008 -- i purchased the brown ale, followed the directions but it's ben over 10 days and im still not getting any bubbles through the air lock. Beer temp is aprox 68 to70 degrees,what do you think?

1/26/2008 -- I live about an hour (if traffic is good) from the address on your website. Do you have an actual store or is everything here based solely online?

6/25/2007 -- I am eager to bounce into the world of Home Brewing. What type of beer should I attempt to brew first, if I am a rookie at this? Should I attempt bottling first, then move onto kegging? Thanks, and Happy Brewing!

1/25/2007 -- My first brew! First fermentation took 3 days. Been in carboy now for 4 days - no more activity - so I took a hydrometer reading - now at 1.010 original was at 1.042. Could it be ready for kegging? Seems crazy fast. This is the American Pilsner by the way. Great site!

1/15/2007 -- I just brewed your St. Pete's Pilsner, needless to say, I'm getting impatient waiting to try it. But my question is as follows: I would like to know the weights of the malts, grains, hops, irish moss, and yeast used to make batch. Could you inform on that? I am trying to keep a record and I failed to do that myself. Thanks.

1/8/2007 -- I just brewed my first batch (St. Peter's Pilsner) and I think my impatience got the best of me. I placed the primary fermentor in my basement with a room temp at 55 degrees (approx. 6 days). I misread the directions as to when to switch the beer into the secondary fermentor. There was one bubble every 40 seconds, I didn't wait for the one bubble/minute or less. Is it ruined or is there . . .

1/6/2007 -- My batch of Vanilla Wiezen has been in the secondary fermenter for about a week now and I have not seen any bubbling. Is it possible that all the fermentation took place in the primary? What kind of reading am I looking for in the Wiezen prior to bottling? My first reading was 1.042. Thanks for the help.

1/3/2007 -- I see you get questions refering to this quite a bit. After 3 days we haven't seen any bubbling, and I made sure my seal was good again after reading, and it seems to be. I still ask because we had to alter the procedure a little to accommodate our indoor equipment. I could only use 2 gallons of water initially, but other than that followed everything else exactly. We also used the Wyeast Scottish . . .

12/30/2006 -- I have started brewing a batch of Shamrock Irish stout, it has been 72 hours and I have seen minimal productivity in the primary fermenter (1 major bubble from the air lock). The temp in the area of fermantation is approx. 68 degrees, my starting SG was 1.046, i am worried that nothing is occurring. should I transfer to carboy or take a reading first and then transfer? also, what's the best procedure . . .

11/5/2006 -- I live in Seattle, can I come and pick up the bottles in Everett? Do you have a "brick and mortar" store?

4/9/2006 -- With your recipe kits, what would happen if i added the hopped extract to the water in the at the same time i added the specialty grains and started heating? I don't really like moving 6 gallons of boiling water off a cooker to prevent scorching the extract and thought adding the extract right at the start would help.

3/26/2006 -- I brewed Procrastinator Bock at the end of last year, and I'm really enjoying the fruits of my labor. I'm down to about 12 bottles... :( Anyway, I want to brew another batch, but I'm ready to try a little bit of manipulation of the original recipe in order to tweak it. Do you have the original recipe quantities so I can modify it slightly?

3/26/2006 -- Delayed fermenting question...For three days, my IPA was happily bubbling along when we got a cold snap.. Then there was a decrease in fermenting for a good 2 days or so, even though I moved the primary fermenter inside from the garage. Will this affect taste adversely? Should I rack it into the secondary fermenter earlier/later or anything? Or toss the whole batch and start fresh? Thanks . . .

2/20/2006 -- I just finished the ESB kit. When I put the wort into the primary I had to add water in order to bring the level up to 5 gallons. So I added the water and took a SG reading and only got about a 1030 reading. Do you think that I grabbed some of the water in my sample and that is why the reading is low? Is there anything I should do now? The batch seems to be bubbling away nicely.

8/7/2005 -- I just started and this is the first beer I have brewed. Being a beginner, I of course made a mistake. I didn't put in the Irish Moss, but everything else I did according to the directions. What kind of effect will this have on the beer?

5/16/2005 -- i just asked a question but forgot to ask about your kits. Do the kits come with all the ingredients that i need or do i need to buy other ingredents to make my beer? and thanx again,i noticed that you don't try to sell people needless products when they ask you questions about home brewing. you just want to help people make better beer at home.

11/2/2004 -- My friend and I have recently purchased your Belgian Ale kit. We followed all the proper steps to ensure a good brew, things were going well until the onset of Hurricane Ivan. Our brew was in the first stage primary fermentation. It has been there for a little over a month and a half. Can we proceed normally from here and actually produce a good product or should we consider this batch- botched and . . .

5/16/2004 -- I noticed in the recipes from "Capturing Beer" that the author recommends using less bittering hops when brewing up a full 5 gallons (instead of boiling 2-3 gallons and adding water to the primary). Do you recommend tinkering with the bittering hops of your kits (St. Pete's, etc) when boiling up a full 5 gallons of wort in the brewpot?

4/9/2004 -- I have your St Peter's Pilsner kit but desire some info not found in kit. Two questions.... Is there a full 5 lbs of the dry malt in the package ?? What bitterness rating may I expect using your recipe exactly to the best of my ability ?? I've 8 years brew experience.

3/25/2004 -- I am returning to home brewing after about 10 years off - don't ask! I made several batches of a kit called something like "Irish Ale" which was suggested by the retailer where I bought my original supplies. It was amber colored and well received by all. My understanding was that pilzners and ales could be made without cooling, lagers and stouts required cooler temps. (50 deg or so). . . .

3/23/2004 -- I am a beginning homebrewer and I am trying to determine the Alcohol by Volume of your beer kits. How you you go about using the specific gravities (starting/ending) to determine the alcohol by volume?

3/13/2004 -- 1. For a first time home brewer, is there a recipe that is cheap and easy, like only one thing to mix with the water? I want to have a test run to make sure I have the steps and the sterilization right, even if it makes a run of the Mill(er) style beer. I do not want to waste $30 on a good ale kit and turn it to vinegar as a learning experiment when I could just waste $5 of malt syrup! I have . . .

2/20/2004 -- what ingredient kit do i have to buy thats close to the taste of coors light or bud light?

1/4/2004 -- I have started a batch of this beer (St Peter's Pilsner) and have the primary fermatation going in a cool place, but at what temparture should the secondary take place.

12/27/2003 -- A while back you answered a question about adding blackberries to make a blackberry wheat. How about adding cranberries for a cranberry wheat?

11/30/2003 -- Is it possible to modify this or any other recipe as to gain a higher gravity or alcohol content in a lighter ale?

11/26/2003 -- I recently bought Shamrock Stout. The bubbles were down to under a minute within 2 days, which is when I transferred to the secondary carboy. The bubbles aren't apparent now... which leads me to believe I should add more yeast. The temperature was 78 f at initial yeast introduction, yet now I am concerned that the yeast was not good... Should I add another packet now, or am I thinking too much . . .

11/9/2003 -- What is the life span of the beer (period of expiration)

10/12/2003 -- I FELT LIKE THE BREW KITS I'VE BOUGHT IN THE PAST LACKED A PUNCH (ALCOHOL CONTENT). WILL USING DME INSTEAD OF SUGAR LOWER THE ALCOHOL CONTENT? HOW STRONG SHOULD I EXPECT MY BEER TO BE BREWING YOUR KITS, I.P.A.AND ST.PETERS PILSNER, ALSO APPROXiMATELY HOW MUCH LONGER TILL DRINKABILITY OR CARBONATION THAN CORN SUGAR? THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP TODAY PLANNING ON ORDERING MY EQUIMENT AND BEER KITS . . .

9/20/2003 -- I ordered some of this with the liquid yeast here recently. When in the initial brewing stage, I mixed in the liquid yeast as per instuctions, and 24 hours into the brew, I saw no action at all in the check valve, so I removed the check valve, and added the dry yeast I had that also came with the package. Upon entering the secondary fermentation stage, there seems to be a slightly different odor than . . .

8/2/2003 -- What is the approx. amount of alcohol content in these beers? Just so I know what to expect when I brew it.

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