Below you can find a step by step to producing great quality beer with the mangrove Jack's Craft Series Beer Kits. Let's get started.

1. Clean and sanitise your fermenter, lid, airlock and mixing paddle with your preferred home brew sanitiser.

2. Remove the yeast (plus hop sachet and other dry additives if included) from the dry compartment of the pouch and set aside for now.

3. Add 3L (3 US qt) of boiling water to the fermenter, pour the liquid malt extract from the liquid compartment of your pouch into your sanitised fermenter and squeeze out remains. Add either dextrose brewing sugar, a Mangrove Jack's Pure Malt Enhancer or Mangrove Jack's Brew Enhancer (refer to pouch label for required amounts of fermentables needed). Add any other dry additives if included (but NOT the hops), then stir until completely dissolved.

4. Top up with cold tap water to the required volume (see front label for the total amount this kit makes). Stir well. Check liquid temperature is below 25°C (77°F), if not then stand the fermenter in a bath of icy water to cool it down. Add the contents of the yeast sachet and stir to mix.

5. Fit an airlock and grommet or bung to the fermenter lid and then secure lid, making sure the seal is air tight. Half fill the airlock 'U' with boiled water that has cooled or sanitiser to protect the brew during fermentation.

6. Leave to ferment at a constant temperature between 18–22°C (68–72°F) for lagers, pilsners and helles beers and between 20-25°C (68-77°F) for ales and wheat beers. Cooler temperatures will extend fermentation time by several days; below 15°C (59°F) fermentation may stop altogether. Fermenting above the recommended temperature will reduce the quality of your beer.

7. If you have dry hops: After 7 days, check the Specific Gravity (SG) using a hydrometer. If the SG is 1.020 (for Dextrose) or 1.025 (for Pure Malt Enhancer), or below, add the hop pellet sachet but DO NOT STIR (the hops will break up and disperse naturally). If the SG is higher than 1.020 (for Dextrose) or 1.025 (for Pure Malt Enhancer), check again in 1 or 2 days until the SG is 1.020 (for Dextrose) or 1.025 (for Pure Malt Enhancer), or below before adding the hop pellets. Replace the lid and leave to continue fermenting with the hops. NOTE: Dry hopping can result in small hop particles in the finished beer. If this concerns you then you can dry hop in a hop bag. Just be aware, this may result in less hop flavour and aroma in the finished beer. Leave to ferment for a further 2-3 days or until the airlock has stopped bubbling, check the SG again using a hydrometer. If fermentation is complete, the SG should be equal to or below the value shown for the beer style in the following table. If the SG has not yet reached the desired level, leave for a further 1-2 days before checking again.

If you do not have dry hops: After 7 days or when the airlock has stopped bubbling, check the Specific Gravity (SG) using a hydrometer. If the SG is at or below the SG in the table, fermentation is complete. If not check again in 1 or 2 days.

NOTE: The gravities displayed online are based on using dextrose brewing sugar, and Mangrove Jack’s Pure Malt Enhancer. If you use Mangrove Jack’s Brew Enhancer, use the Pure Malt Enhancer as an approximate guide, your SG may be slightly higher. Once fermentation is complete, proceed to bottle your beer. For best results, ensure a minimum of 2 days infusion time between hop additions and bottling.

Important Warning: Never bottle until fermentation is complete. the only way to be completely sure fermentation has finished is by seeing exactly the same SG reading over a 48 hour period.

8. Clean and sanitise bottles, bottling valve or syphon tube before use. Use Mangrove Jack’s PET or amber glass flip top bottles. Reject any glass bottles which have the slightest chips, cracks or imperfections. Don’t use non reusable bottles.

9. Fill your bottles leaving 5 cm (2“) headspace (measure from the very top of the bottle). Before sealing bottles add Mangrove Jack’s Carbonation Drops (this replaces priming sugar, 1 drop is equivalent to 0.5 tsp of sugar).

• Use 1 drop per 350 ml (12 US fl oz) Australian stubby bottle.
• Use 2 drops per 750 ml (22 US fl oz) bottles.
• Use 3 drops per 1.25 L (1.25 US qt) bottles.
• Use 4 drops per 2 L (2 US qt) bottles.

10. Seal bottles and store in a warm place for at least 2 weeks before moving to a cool, dark place to clear for a further 7 days.

11. Your beer is ready to drink as soon as it’s clear, but for a smoother beer leave somewhere cool and dark for an extra 2 weeks.