How to Brew Beer in a Coffee Pot

This is a pretty neat application for a coffee pot. I have brewed beer and wine the conventional way, but wanted to check this out and try it at home.

What you will need to brew the beer:

1. An electric drip coffee maker with a water-heating compartment and a hot plate.
2. A wooden rolling pin (marble is too heavy)
3. One coffee filter
4. A saucepan, larger than 2 quarts
5. 2 1-quart canning jars with lids
6. 2 6-inch squares of cheesecloth
7. Two rubber bands
8. 1/2 gallon filtered-not distilled-water

Brewing ingredients, from a homebrew supply store:

1. 1 1/4 cups malted barley. You can use all "base malt," such as 2-row or pilsner, 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.
2. 5 to 7 hop pellets, which are the cones of the hop plant compressed into little nuggets. Hops add bitterness to the flavor of beer, and help preserve it. The variety is your choice.
3. 1/2 packet of champagne yeast (or you can even use baker's yeast)

Before you begin: Make sure everything you are using is as close to sanitary as possible. Use a dishwasher if you have one. Set the drying cycle to heat dry with no rinsing agent.

Measure 1 1/4 cups of malted barley. Using the rolling pin, gently apply just enough pressure to the grains to crack them. You do not want to make flour.

Place the cracked grains into the coffee pot. Place 2 cups of filtered water into the coffee machine and turn it on. The temperatures of the water-heating chamber and hot plate-170 degrees F and 150 degrees F, respectively-are perfect for brewing! 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.

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.

Now you have a sugar-rich liquid called "wort" (pronounced "wert") 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.

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.
place the jar into a sink filled with cold water.

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.

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.

Place the jar in a cool, dark place. You will have beer in five to seven days. Not to shabby!!

If anyone makes this stuff let me know and invite me over for a couple of pints ;)

+dwebb