This is a Re-Hashing of a few good recipes that I have come across in my home brewing adventures. All of them are easy to follow, and you should have no problems locating the materials to make them. Many of them, especially the Honey Ginger Beer, are fantastic for the dog days of summer. I make no claims to inventing these recipes, but friends and I have had tremendous results using them! Enjoy! Honey Ginger Beer ----------------- 1 Can (3.3 - 3.5) of Plain Light Malt Extract (I use John Bull) 1 Oz. Hallertaur Hops (leaf or plugs) 3 lbs. Honey (Sue Bee, Country Clover, Whatever..) 3 Oz. Fresh Ginger Root (Sliced and diced) 5 Tbsp. Liquid Finings (Irish Moss'll do instead if added to the boil) 1 Pkg. Fermenting Yeast (Glenbrew is good for a special dry taste) 1 Cup of Priming sugar (Come bottling time) 2 Mueslin Boiling bags (for the hops and ginger) Pour 1 or 2 gallons of water in your boiling pot and add the malt extract to it. Stir it and get it to a slow rolling boil. Stick your hop plugs into a boiling bag and boil them in the malt for roughly a half hour at a low simmer. After 15 minutes, add your ginger to the other boiling bag and stick that in the boil. After the half hour, remove the hops and ginger. In your primary fermenter, add the 3 lbs. of honey and pour the hot liquid over it. Fill with cool water to the Five gallon mark and stir it up well. Allow it to cool until the temperature is between 70 and 80 degrees (usually about 2-3 hours, unless you have space in the fridge). When fully cooled, add the yeast to a few ounces of lukewarm water, stir, and add it to the fermenter. Incorperate the yeast by stirring slowly. (If you have a hydrometer, your Beginning specific gravity should be around the 1040 mark.) Close your fermenter and let it ferment for 5-7 days (if you prefer a secondary fermenter, transfer the wort to your secondary fermenter after 2 days). Fermenting will be finished when your airlock hardly bubbles at all, or not at all (for you hydrometer users, it'll be ready to bottle after it hits and stays at or below SG 1004). 24 hours before bottling, add your liquid fining agent to the wort to help settle out the extra protien. Prime the wort in your favorite way (either bottle by bottle or mixing all of the sugar into the wort) with the sugar, bottle, and cap. I find that letting the beer sit in a warmer room for a day or two (70-75 deg) aids in the initial carbonation. After that, store it in a cooler location (55-65 deg) and allow it to age for a month. It should be ready to taste after two weeks, but waiting the extra time greatly improves the quality. But I don't need to tell you that. This is a delightful dry summer beer, with a nice aroma, slight ginger taste and a fantastic mellow ginger aftertaste. Chilled, this is one of my all time "Hot Weather" favorites. Light Summer Beer ----------------- 1 Can (3.0-3.3 lbs) of Light Malt Extract (John Bull, yet again) 3 Cups of Priming sugar (2 cups go in the fermenter, one for bottling) 2/3 Oz. Hallertauer hops (leaf or plugs) 2 Tsp. Burton water salts (super fermentation time!) 1 Pkg. of Lager Beer Yeast (Bottom fermenting yeast) 2 Mueslin boiling bags (for the hops, yet again!) Fill your Boiling pot with the can of malt extract and a gallon or two of water. Stir it well, and get it going on a slow rolling boil. Stick half of your hops in each bag, and add the first bag to the boil. Let it boil for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, add the second bag to the boil and let both bags boil for an additional 10 minutes. Remove your hop bags from the boil when finished, and stick the Burton water salts and Priming sugar into your primary fermenter. Pour the boil into the fermenter and mix in the salts and sugar well with some slow spoon action. Next, add a few more gallons of water to fill your primary fermenter to the 5 gallon mark. Close your primary fermenter, attach your airlock, and let the wort cool to 70-80 degrees. Use a fridge if you have the means. Next, add your yeast to a couple ounces of warm water, stir the yeast water up, and add it to your primary fermenter. Mix the yeast in well, re-cover the fermenter, fill the airlock chaimber with water and let fermentation rip for 5-7 days (you secondary fermenter users, transfer the wort to your secondary fermenter after 2 days). Bottling will be ready after the specific gravity of the brew is below 1.004, or there is hardly any bubbling going on in your airlock. Fill each bottle with about a Teaspoon of the remaining Priming sugar and fill your bottles with the beer. Cap them, rock them back and forth to mix the sugar into the brew, and let them age for a month or so in a cool dry place (60-65 deg). This recipe makes a really nice light summer beer. It has excellent hop flavor with little aftertaste. I have enjoyed this one time and again on those 95 degree days. Champagne Celebration Beer -------------------------- 1 Can of light liquid malt extract (Munton & Fison used on this one) 4 cups (32 Oz.) of White Grape Juice (Welches 100%) 1/3 Oz. Hallertauer Hops 1 Pkg. of Lager Beer Yeast (Bottom Fermenting) 1 & 1/4 cups corn sugar (for priming) 1 Mueslin boiling bag (for the hops) Mix the malt extract and about 2 gallons of water in your boiling pot and bring to a rolling boil. Place the hops in the boiling bag and stick it in the boil for about 25 minutes. After boiling 25 minutes, remove the hops and pour the white grape juice into the primary fermenter. Pour in the boil on top of the grape juice, and stir it with a spoon to mix well. Add enough water to raise the wort to the 5 gallon level. Cover the primary fermenter, and allow it to cool to 70-80 degrees. Take your lager yeast and add it to a few ounces of warm water. Stir it up to dissolve it, and pour the yeast water into the wort when it has cooled. Stir in the yeast with that spoon, cover the primary fermenter, attach and fill your airlock, and let the batch ferment for about 5-7 days (secondary fermenter users, siphon into your secondary fermenter after 2 days). Fermentation is finished when there is little to no bubbling in your airlock, or when the SG is below 1.004. Add 1 & 1/4 teaspoons of corn sugar to each 12 Oz. bottle, and add the beer to each bottle. Cap all of the bottles, and shake them a little to dissolve the sugar into the solution. Allow the beer to sit in a warmer room for two days (70-75 deg) to incourage hearty carbonation, then move them to a cooler room (60-65 deg) to age for about a month. It's ready to sample in about two weeks, but will greatly improve over time. This beer is very light, and great for the summer season. It has a light Hops taste, and light hops aroma, with a fantastic taste and little aftertaste. It has quite a bit of fizz, hence its name, but it is a favorite brew among many, especially women (my Girlfriend loves it!)