Making Beer at LBC Step 2, the cooling/pitching

To cool the wort, we decided to put it out in the snow. A bad idea. Not only is it unsanitary but it just doesn't work. I was nonplussed when John suggested this but later when he mentioned that he normally used a bain-marie I asked him why weren't we using a bain-marie instead of the snow since we had to cool the wort down as quickly as possible.

As it turns out, he was trying to save me the cost of ice. John and Carla live in Brooklyn and so for them, ice is dear. I reminded him that we were a restaurant as well as an inn and an art school and we produced about 100 lbs of ice with a 90 minute recovery time. So, we switched to using a bain-marie and that is the way to go to cool down your hot wort.

When all was ready, we strained the beer and added the appropriate amount of water to bring it to 5 gallons. Remember, this is a 5 gallon recipe.



The we had to aerate the beer and pitch the yeast.



Just as with my chocolate recipes, my confections, if you don't know how to make beer, you probably shouldn't even attempt this. However, one quick class at City Brewshop and you'll be golden.

Up next will be the bottling. At this point we are waiting three weeks to ferment the beer. Enjoy.