For centuries, beer has been an important drink which has survived the passage of time, all the while adapting to changes and current trends.
Costa Rica has caught the fever of artisanal beer, which currently competes with traditional beers from both Costa Rica and from around the world.
You can host your own parties and tastings at home, and you can become a master brewer yourself.
Here are the first steps you need to learn this ancient art: For the first 15 liters of your homemade beer, the ingredients that you will need are 30 liters of dechlorinated water 4.5 kg of malted barley 25 grams of hops, and one envelope of brewer’s yeast (not yeast bakery). Ok, ready? Let’s begin!
Step 1
Malt the barley in a large pot, minimally germinating the grains in water after grinding them. After that, the barley (now, malted) is mixed with hot water, forming a porridge that must be kept hot for two hours, at 65 ° C. Once the water is removed, what remains is the must, a dense, sweet liquid.
Step 2
The must must be gushed for an hour and a half. Meanwhile, add, in parts, the hops, the ingredient that aromatizes and gives the desired bitterness to the beer.
This process also results in the sterilization of the product, which prevents the liquid from being filled with bacteria and undesirable, but not from residues.
That is why, when the boil is finished, it must be stirred vigorously to facilitate that the residue goes to the bottom of the pot. And there they will stay: Your beer will be transparent or it will not be anything.
Step 3
From now on, we must not forget something primordial: the liquid must be treated only with elements and containers disinfected: it will not leave good taste the encounter with bacteria non gratas.
That is why, and as it is necessary to cool it down or yes (and, moreover, that the product must go from 100 to 20 ° C in the shortest possible time), we will use the serpentine method, which consists of passing the beer through Inside of a coiled copper pipe, cooled with ice.
Then the yeast is incorporated, which must be moisturized from the previous day.
Step 4
The mixture of must, hops and yeast goes into a vessel for fermentation.
This last one turns the sugars of the must into alcohol and gas. Since we would not want to draw the neighbor’s attention (which is what the explosions normally achieve), the container is covered with a punctured balloon.
This way air comes out, but it does not enter.The liquid will take a week in a cool and dark place to lower its density and, once uncovered, light the view with its green and foamy.
Then it will be transferred to another fermentor (or the same, washed and disinfected as appropriate), which should go to the cold for another week.
Step 5
After those seven days, our beer will be ready for bottling.
It will complete its maturation once enclosed in the beloved amber containers.
It reaches you with 15 days of rest in the refrigerator to achieve it.
But since you waited so long, let it go for 30 more days: you will thank us. Cheers!