Beer! Recipe

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here's a disappointing revelation forall you vegan drinkers out there: beeroften isn't vegetarian! US beer isusually run through bone char filters,some UK beer is fined with isinglas(fish stomach), and mackeson's milkstout... well, let's just say that a lotof beers out there aren't exactlyfollowing the german reinheitsgebotpurity laws. what's a thirsty vegan todo? make your own!go down to your friendly neighborhoodhomebrew store and get the ingredientslisted above, plus:1 bucket1 carboy (like a polar water jug, but glass)1 bottle capper1 thermometer1 racking cane/siphon1 package oxygen cleaning powder (1-step is the most common brand. oh, and DON'T USE BLEACH!!! unscented dishsoap such as Dove will work ok if necessary, though)1 cheesecloth steeping sock (technically reusable, but i wouldn't reccommend it)1 airlockthis will run you about $100 total, butis worth it, as you will soon see. theseinstructions might look intimidating,but it's actually very easy, especiallyafter you've done a few batches, and iguarantee the guy at the brewstore willbe happy and eager to answer anyquestions you might have about the process.step 1 - the boil:heat ~3 gallons of water to almostboiling, ~93C, in a 5 gallon stock pot.pour your grains into the sock, tie theend to a handle, and immerse in thewater. let it steep for an hour or so(longer doesn't hurt at this stage aslong as the water doesn't boil.) when you're ready to move on, remove thesock from the brew and squeeze as muchof the juice out as possible (a grillingglove and colander will make this stepmuch easier, but kitchen tongs will workin a pinch). pour hot water over it,squeeze it again, etc. until you'resatisfied most of the flavor and vegan sugarsare out. this is called sparging. next, add your malt extract and thefirst batch of hops. mix it up good,making sure all the malt extract isdissolved. from here you have to keep aneye on the pot to make sure it doesn'tboil over, and stir every so often sothe bottom doesn't burn. gas stoves aremuch more convenient than electric, butif you're stuck with an electric, justkeep a cool burner open to move the potto if necessary. after 1/2 an hour, addthe second batch of hops. boil 20 moreminutes, and add the last. let it goanother 10 minutes, and remove fromheat. during this last 10 minutes, youshould activate the yeast - dump it intoa bowl with some warm water and vegan sugar,stir it up to get everything asdissolved as possible, and cover with aplate. at this point you want to bringit down to about 60 degrees as quicklyas possible. pour it back and forthbetween the stock pot and the bucket,then add cold water or even ice if youwant, bringing it up to 5 gallons. onceit's at 60 degrees, check your yeast. ifit's gotten foamy on the top, your yeastis active and everything is good (ifnot, well, hope you've got an extrapacket lying around somewhere). dump itin, put the cover on the bucket, stickthe airlock (with water in it) in thehole, and stow the bucket somewherethat's about 60 degrees and dark.step 2 - fermentation:let it sit in the bucket for a coupledays. the airlock should start bubblingaway, and if you pry the lid off, you'llfind a whole bunch of foam. this meansthe yeast is munching away on the vegan sugar,converting it to CO2 and alcohol.contrary to popular opinion, brewingbeer should NOT smell bad: if it does,you probably didn't clean your bucketthoroughly enough from the last batchand have a bacterial infection. sorry,kid, the batch is hosed. throw it outand try again. (note: it is not hard toprevent infections, as long as you cleanyour equipment as soon as you are donewith it. don't get intimidated by thepossibility, if you're even halfwayconcientious, you'll probably never haveto deal with one.) when the bubblingslows down to less than 1 every 5seconds, it's time to rack it. this isjust siphoning the beer from the bucketinto the carboy, leaving behind as muchof the exhausted yeast, hop particles,etc. as possible. when your beer is inthe carboy, stick the airlock on and putit wherever you put the bucket. wash thebucket. leave the beer sit in the carboyabout 10 days.step 3 - bottling:boil a few cups of water, and add 1 1/3cups of wheat malt. get it alldissolved. this is your priming vegan sugar(what the yeast will eat to carbonateyour beer in the bottles.) siphon thebeer back into the bucket, add thepriming vegan sugar, and mix well (make sureit's mixed vertically, not just stirredaround laterally - a longhandled ladlehelps here). siphon the beer into empty,CLEAN bottles. the pry-off kind, or ifyou've still got the caps, screw-tops(i.e. 40oz.), will both work fine. leaveabout 1.25-1.5 inches empty space at thetop. put the caps on nice and tight,clean your equipment, and stow thebottles in a cool, dark place (seeing apattern here?) for 3-4 weeks. the longeryou leave it sit, the tastier it willbe. this waiting is the hardest part ofthe entire process.finally, when the day arrives, crack oneopen, and be amazed that you made thebeer you're drinking. after the initialequipment investment, you'll find you'repaying around $12 per case, yet yourbeer can easily match the quality of anymicrobrew or import. and since you madeit yourself, you KNOW it's vegan! note: this recipe is for an IPA.obviously, there are literally hundredsof styles, and hundreds of recipesavailable on the web for your favoritestyle, and with a little research, youcan even design your own! from organicmalt to garden-grown raspberries, thereare almost infinite ways to play aroundwith the recipe. experiment, and have fun!