GB2145427A - Home brewing kit - Google Patents

Abstract

A home brewing kit comprising fermented black beer (defined as beer, the worts whereof before fermentation having a specific gravity of 1200 DEG or more) and a yeast capable of initiating and maintaining further fermentation within the environment of the black beer when diluted.

Description

SPECIFICATION Home brewing kit This invention relates to a home brewing kit.

Home brewing is becoming increasingly prevalent and there are a number of different types of kits on the market. The simplest kit merely comprises a can containing concentrated malt extract having hops and other flavouring and/or colouring ingredients already dissolved into the malt extract.

All the user need do is to dilute the contents of the can, add sugar and then add the yeast provided with the kit whereupon, in appropriate temperature conditions, fermentation will commence. Other kits contain raw malt extract in powdered or syrup form together with flavouring and if required colouring additives, for example selected from hops, crystal malt, black malt, caramel etc. With this type of kit the additives are boiled together with the malt extract and with the required amount of sugar. The resultant mixture is then diluted and yeast added to effect fermentation.

Acceptable beers of various types can be obtained from these kits providing that care is taken to maintain at all times conditions that are close to the optimum fermentation conditions. One requirement that is emphasised is the need for substantially sterile containers and for air-borne bacteria to be excluded from the fermenting mixture. This exclusion is usually effected by some form of trap which allows the escape of gases formed during fermentation but does not permit ingress of air into the mixture. Bacteria that may penetrate the mixture often find an ideal growth environment and can affect the success of the finished beer.

According to the present invention a home brewing kit comprises fermented black beer as hereinafter defined, and a yeast capable of initiating and maintaining further fermentation within the environment of said black beer when diluted.

Black beer is defined as beer, the worts whereof before fermentation having a specific gravity of 1200 or more. The definition includes beers that are of the description cailed or similar to black beer, mum, spruce or Berlin white beer and any other preparations of a similar character.

The use of fermented black beer rather than malt extract as the starting material for a home brew kit has a number of advantages. First, the user has the benefit of an initial alcohol content in his starting material which can lead to improved quality of the final product. Further, the alcoholic environment that is immediately present from dilution of the starting material is inimical to the growth of bacteria. While this does not obviate the need for reasonable sterilisation of the vessels involved in home brewing it does make it possible to dispense with means that prevent airborne bacteria coming into contact with the fermenting mixture. Additionally, the time required for the home brew process can be significantly shorter.

The alcoholic environment that is present after diluting the fermented black beer as required may be inhibiting to further fermentation. Accordingly, the yeast provided with such a kit must be capable of initiating and maintaining fermentation in this environment. While dried brewers yeast may be suitable, it may be preferred to use a yeast identical to that used in the fermentation of the black beer on which the kit is based.

It is preferred to use black beer with an original gravity of 1200 to 1252", more preferably of 1201" to 1205". A black beer of gravity 1201" will, after sixfold dilution with water, produce a finished beer of approximately 1034" original gravity. If beer of higher original gravity is used then the dilution factor wouid be increased. As an example, using black beer with an original gravity of 1252" this could be diluted eightfold to produce a similar final beer of 1034" original gravity.

The black beer used in the kit has desirably been fermented out, i.e., taken to the limit of possible fermentation for the original gravity, rather than having had the fermentation process artificially stopped by pasteurisation or by other known means. A kit including fermented out black beer of 1201" gravity will, after sixfold dilution, ferment out in three days, given suitable conditions as opposed to about ten days with present conventional kits.

Higher original gravity beers would, however, take slightly longer than three days to produce the final home brewed beer.

The black beer used as a basis of the kit can be made by conventional methods to any suitable recipe based on ground, arsenic-free malt, either raw or liquid sugar, caramel, hop and/or spruce or extracts thereof, yeast and water. The proportions of the ingredients are chosen to obtain the required original gravity, alcohol content and flavour and desirably are such that the original gravity is at least 1200 . The mixture is fermented out using a suitable yeast, that presently preferred being Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ellipsodideus) of the strain University of California, Davis No. 522, 'Montrachet', manufactured by, and commercially available from, Swiss Ferment Co. Ltd. of Basle, Switzerland. The mixture is then fined and filled in appropriate quantities into airtight containers, for example tins, jars or bottles.

Kits can then be made up on the basis of this product, an appropriate quantity of suitable yeast for the home fermentation and any other flavouring, colouring or process additives that may be considered desirable for the home brew process.

The yeast may desirably be Saccharamyces cerevisiae (ellipsodideus) as specified above, dried brewers yeast, or any other suitable yeast.

In preparing home brewed beer from a kit based on black beer of 1201 original gravity, fermented out with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ellipsodideus), and including this yeast in the kit, a suitable vessel is first sterilised by rinsing with boiling water, and the appropriate volume of water is then poured into the vessel at a temperature of approximately 26"C. The fermented out black beer is then added to the vessel along with the yeast and the whole is gently stirred. If the vessel is open it should be covered with a clean cloth, while if the vessel is closed, the vent therefrom should similarly be cov ered. The vessel should then be placed in an environment where the temperature will be about 26"C until fermentation commences, whereupon the vessel can be moved to a somewhat cooler location.Temperature and specific gravity of the fermenting material should be checked daily, the objective being to hold the temperature during fermentation between 252 and 28- C. When fermentation is complete, generally in about three days, the beer should have a specific gravity appropriate to the type being brewed.

For example, if the volume of water used is five times the volume of biack beer (a sixfold dilution) and the amount of yeast is 0.44 g/litre of black beer, a finished beer of approximately 1034 original gravity will be produced.

Once fermentation is completed, a fining may be carried out if necessary, extra hop extracts can be added if desired to achieve the required level of bitterness and carbonation and head stabilisation, with permitted agents, can be effected. The product can then be bottled and primed with a little sugar to produce carbonation. Any required or optional additive or agents may be included in the kit.

Kits utilising black beers of higher original gravity will generally take longer before fermentation is complete, and may be used in the home brewing of higher gravity beers. Yeasts other than those specifically mentioned may, of course, be used.

It is found that, due to the initial alcohol present in the home brewing process, the fermentation proceeds more reliably than with existing kits. The eventual beer has improved stability and appearance compared with conventional kits, and the home brewing operation is substantially simpler than with conventional kits, because of the higher speed of the process and it not being necessary to add sugar in the home brew operation.

Claims (7)

1. A home brewing kit comprising fermented black beer as herein defined, and a yeast capable of initiating and maintaining further fermentation within the environment of said black beer when diluted.

2. A kit according to claim 1 in which the black beer has an original gravity of from 1200 to 1252".

3. A kit according to claim 1 in which the black beer has an original gravity of from 1201" to 1205 .

4. A kit according to any one of the preceding claims in which the black beer has been fermented out.

5. A kit according to any one of the preceding claims in which the yeast is identical to the yeast used in the fermentation of the black beer.

6. A kit according to any one of the preceding claims in which the yeast used in the fermentation of the black beer is Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ellipsodideus) of the strain University of California, Davis No. 522, 'Montrachet'.

7. A home brewing kit substantially as herein described.