Bill Drew of Craggie Brewing Co. shows us the process of brewing coffee is very similar to brewing beer. To see the original article in it’s entirety, visit www.allaboutbeer.com.
This article originally appeared in All About Beer Magazine, Vol. 23, #5 in November, 2002. Special Thanks to Bill Drew of Craggie Brewing Co., and Julie Johnson, Editor of All About Beer Magazine)
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
(1) electric drip coffee maker with a water-heating compartment and a hot plate
(1) wooden rolling pin (marble is too heavy)
(1) coffee filter
(1) saucepan, larger than 2 quarts
(2) 1-quart canning jars with lids
(2) 6-inch squares of cheesecloth
(2) rubber bands
(1/2 gallon) filtered-not distilled-water
Brewing ingredients
1 1/4 cups malted barley
• You can use all “base malt,” such as 2-row or pilsner. Base malt provides the sugar content for fermentation. Or use 1 cup of base malt and 1/4 cup specialty malt(s), such as crystal or chocolate malt, which will provide added color and flavor.
5 to 7 hop pellets
• Which are the cones of the hop plant compressed into little nuggets.
1/2 packet of Champagne yeast
• You can even use baker’s yeast
THE STEPS Before you begin: SANITIZE everything as best you can!
Step 1: Measure 1 1/4 cups of malted barley. Using the rolling pin, gently apply just enough pressure to the grains to crack them.
Step 2: Place the cracked grains into the coffee pot. Place 2 cups of filtered water into the coffee machine and turn it on. Let the coffee maker do its thing; it will keep the water/grain mix at a constant temperature for about an hour before it shuts off.
Step 3: Strain the liquid through the coffee filter, and place the filter full of grain into the filter basket. Pour the strained liquid back into the water-heating chamber. Add 1 cup of water to the strained liquid in the chamber and turn the machine back on. After the liquid flows into the coffee pot, turn off the machine and pour the liquid back into heating chamber. Repeat five times, adding another cup of water each time. Keep a close eye to make sure it does not overflow.
Step 4: Now you have a sugar-rich liquid called “wort” (pronounced “wert”), or sweet liquor. Place the wort into the saucepan and get it to a rolling boil. After 20 minutes of boiling, add 5 to 7 pellets of hops, boil for an additional 30 minutes, then turn off the burner.
Step 5: Stir until you have a whirlpool. This will pull leftover sediment into the center of the pot. Carefully pour the wort into the canning jar, pouring down the side of the jar without splashing. Splashing hot wort would allow unwanted airborne organisms to get established.
Step 6: Next, you need to bring the temperature of the wort down to a level where yeast-the organisms you want in your wort-will thrive. The brewery uses a wort chiller or heat exchanger; you just place the jar into a sink filled with cold water.
Step 7: Let it cool until the liquid reaches between 60 and 70 degrees F. Screw the top on the jar and shake vigorously; this aerates the wort. Take the top off the jar and add yeast.
Step 8: The jar is now your fermentation tank. Place a piece of cheesecloth over the top of the jar and secure it with a rubber band; the cheesecloth will keep stuff from falling in your wort, and the carbon dioxide produced by fermentation should keep out other contaminants.
Step 9: Place the jar in a cool, dark place. The sweet liquor will become beer in five to seven days.