Using the WeekEnd Brewer Five Gallon Equipment Kit

Pre Chill (refrigerate) 2-3 gallons of clean, chorine free water.

After washing the 6-1/2 gallon fermenter with very mild soapy water, rinse it well. In the 6-1/2 gallon fermenter add 1 gallon warm to hot water and One level tablespoon of the One Step Cleaner- Sanitizer. Mix well, cover the insides of the bucket and lid of the bucket. Pour some of the Sanitizer over the air lock. Dump out all Sanitizer and let the fermenter set upside down on clean paper towels. Let all equipment air dry. Do not rinse. Let Sanitizer air dry only.

    Rehydrating Yeast:

In clean small pan, that can hold 2 cup of water. Boil 1 cup of chorine free water with 1 tablespoon of the Malt for 4-5 minutes. Place boiled Malt water into a freezer covered to cool. Malt water should cool to approximately 75 deg. (Baby bottle temp.) Sprinkle in the Yeast, do not stir and let stand until ready covered. (NOTE: Mixture temperature over 90 degrees can kill your yeast.)

If using canned Blended Malt. (John-Bull, Muntons, Coopers etc.) Open the can, place open can upright into a small pan with 2-3 inches of water around the out side of the can. Let the water come to a boil for 4-5 min. This will soften the malt and allow it to pour easier.

In a larger pot, (stainless steel preferred) that can hold 2 gallons (8-12 quart) of water. Add 1 gallon of clean chorine free water. Heat water to near boil and remove pot from the heat. Add all malts and blend well. Add a cup of the warm mix into containers to remove all malt. Return pot to heat and bring to a boil for NOT more than 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat. This mix is the Wort.

Place the covered pot with the Hot Wort into a sink.  Fill the sink with 3-4 inches of cold water around the outside of the pot. (Adding ice to the water will speed the cooling faster). LET THE POT COOL TO TOUCH. (approx. 100 degrees)

Pour one gallon of the pre-chilled water into your sanitized fermenter. Add into the fermenter the cooled Wort. With your paddle, aerate the wort very well by beating for 1-2 minutes. Top up to the five-gallon mark on your fermenter with the pre-chilled water. Stir VERY-VERY well to blend. Sanitizes the hydrometer. (CAREFUL IT IS THIN GLASS). From the spigot take a sample reading.  Log this Original Gravity (O.G.) reading for later use.

Add all the rehydrated yeast mix when the Wort is at 72-74 degrees.

Seal fermenter with the lid. Snap on one corner and then around the complete rim. Place the air lock into grommet. Air lock should be filled 1/3 -1/2  way with clean chorine free water. Place an object ( two or three pieces of rolled up news paper works well) under the bottom of the bucket edge at the spigot. Raising the spigot about an inch.

The Wort should start to ferment in about 18-24 hours. Raising the bonnet in the AIR LOCK upwards and making a clicking noise as the Co2 bubbles out the vent holes. See Trouble Shooting. The Wort will ferment for approximately 3 to 6 days at 72 to 74 degrees. If the temperature falls below 69 degrees the Wort will slow or stop. If the Wort temperature raises above 75 degrees, it will finish more rapidly.

After the Wort has completely stopped fermenting and the air lock is no longer bubbling. Sanitizes the hydrometer. (CAREFUL IT IS THIN GLASS) DO NOT Open the fermenter.   From the spigot remove a sample of the beer into the test tube for the hydrometer. Remove enough beer so the hydrometer will start to float. Reading across the liquid line of the beer in the test jar. Read from the Specific Gravity scale. Normally your Finish Gravity (F.G.) reading it is about 1.012-1.010. for most ales. If your reading is at this range you are now ready to go on. See Trouble Shooting

If you need to move the fermenter to a place high enough, where you will be able to siphon down to the bottling bucket. (Example the kitchen counter to a chair). Then move the fermenter now and let it settle for 24 hours. Do Not Open. Place an object ( two or three pieces of rolled up news paper works well) under the bottom of the bucket edge at the spigot. Raising the spigot about an inch.

After 24 hours sanitize the bottling bucket, bottles, caps, transfer hose, bottle filler and the hydrometer. Do Not Open the fermenter. ARE YOU  READY?

Take a final hydrometer reading. Remember the hydrometer is thin glass. If this reading is still1.012 or lower. You are ready to bottle.

Next: Blend well the priming sugar into the 1 cup of water and one cup of the finished beer.  ( use the beer from the hydrometer test) . Boil the sugar bee/water mix for 3-4 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and  Cool the mix to the same temperature as the beer.

While the Prime Mix is cooling it is time to sanitize the Bottling bucket, Bottles and caps. ANYTHING that will touch your beer.

An easy way to sanitize your bottles:

            First: Add two gallons of HOT water and two level tablespoons of One Step Sanitizer into your bottling bucket. Make sure the spigot is closed and the seals are tight. If you have a dish washer with the little tines for glasses, it makes a great drying rack. Pour some Sanitizer over the tines. Bottle Drying Trees are a great addition.

From the bucket spigot  fill your bottle with 2-3 inches of Sanitizer solution. Swish around the solution in the bottle and dump out. DO NOT  pour the Sanitizer in the bottle back into the bottling bucket. Turn the bottle upside down and let it air dry. Pour some Sanitizer over your caps. Pour the caps into a strainer to air dry. After finishing the bottles and caps. Attach the spring loaded bottle filler tube onto the bottling bucket spigot. (Using approximately 1-1/2 inches of the tubing.) Open the spigot and let the filler tube start to  fill with sanitizer. Place a fill tube into a beer bottle, press up on the filler spring and let the bottle fill with sanitizer. Now the filler is sanitized outside an in. Remove the filler from the out side of the tubing being careful not to touch the filler tube. Place the tube into an empty beer bottle to drain and then dry. Dump out any remaining sanitizer in the bottling bucket. Pour into the bucket a cup or two of clean water to rinse the bottling bucket out.

Always make up the Sanitizer solution just before use.

Attach the sanitized transfer hose to the fermenter spigot. NOW - Remove the Air Lock. Let the beer flow into the 5 gallon bottling bucket, DOWN THE SIDES or onto the bottom. It is important not to splash the beer as it enters the bottling bucket.

Pouring slowly, the priming sugar mix into the beer as it is transferring from the fermenter to the bottling bucket. Be careful not to splash or aerate the beer. With the (sanitized) paddle slowly blend or fold the priming sugar mix in. Cover the bottling bucket. ( we don't want doggy hairs, baby rattles or other stuff to get into your beer.

Reattach the sanitized bottle filler to the bottling bucket spigot. (Using approximately 1-1/2 inches of the tubing.) Open the spigot and let beer flow into the filler tube. With a Sanitized bottle. Insert the filler into the bottle and release the beer. (Note: the first run may have some sanitize in it, so pour out the first ounce or two and then continue) Fill the bottles to the brim and stop by lowering the bottle and letting the spring filler close. After the filler is removed from the beer the level will drop about an inch. Fill 2-3 bottles at a time and place caps on top. Next start capping and filling, continue till done. If the cap sticks in the capper, place a small amount of cooking oil on the brass bell.

Place all bottles out of light for 7 to 10 days to carbonate. Bottles should always be stored at the same temperature that the beer fermented at. After 7 to 10 days put one bottle in your refrigerator and chill. Test the Beer for carbonation. It will taste a bit on the green side. Age for two more weeks. After two weeks place as many bottles as you like into your refrigerator and chill.

Light beer, Pale ales need only a few weeks to age. Amber ales and Brown ales will take a couple of weeks longer, Darker beer will take longer to age.

Remember, never serve your beer into a frosted glass. Always serve into a chilled or room temperature GLASS. Pour the beer slowly so that the sediment that has formed at the bottom of the bottle will stay in place and give you a clean  and low sediment beer.

But if you are making a German Hefeweizen. Stir up that yeast and let it pour right in.

 Good Brewing and Please always be a responsible home brewer. Never Drink & Drive.

 ENJOY.

                Questions: Ask the Brewer or call 1-800-320-1456

Trouble Shooting:

           After 24 hours their is no movement in the air lock.

•  Make sure the lid is snapped completely down tight on the bucket. Also check to make sure the Air Lock has water in it half full.

• Make sure the temperature is NOT BELOW 68 degrees. If it is, Raise the temperature to 73-74 degrees. Next- With the lid on, slightly tip the fermenter on it's corner and give the Wort a good swirl. This will normally restart the fermentation in a few hours.

• Take a hydrometer reading. If the reading very high (10040-1.050) and has not dropped, check your temperature. If the fermenter is below 68 degrees. Raise the temperature to 73-74 degrees. With the lid on, slightly tip the fermenter on it's corner and give the Wort a good swirl. This will normally restart the fermentation in a few hours. If all else fails you can add a another yeast.         Always address the problem of slow starting with in 24 hours of starting the batch.

The Finish reading it is about 1.018-1.014.

• Take a hydrometer reading. If the reading very high (1.018-1.014) and has not dropped, check your temperature. If the fermenter is below 68 degrees. Raise the temperature to 73-74 degrees. With the lid on, slightly tip the fermenter on it's corner and give the Wort a good swirl. This will normally restart the fermentation in a few hours. If all else fails you can add a another yeast.