The Brewing Process

MALTING
MASHING & LAUTERING
HOPPING
FERMENTATION

Malting

Most beer is made from malted barley. The Malting process is carried out in malthouses (also called maltings). The barley is soaked in water and then allowed to germinate for four or five days, after which it is dried in a kiln to stop the germination. Germination allows the modification of complex starches in the barley so that Further enzymatic modification info soluble malt sugar is achieved during the next step - mashing

Mashing

The malted barley or malt is crushed in a mill to produce a 'grist' which is mixed with hot (65°C) water to produce a sort of porridge called a 'mash'. Mashing is the process during which the soluble malt sugars in the malt are converted into fermentable sugars.

Lautering (derived from the German word of cleansing)

The mash is transferred to a vessel called a lauter tun (pronounced 'lorter tun') where the malt sugar solution is filtered leaving behind the spent grains or 'husk'. Hot water is sprayed over the grains to fully remove all the malt sugar. Like coffee, it is first dark and strong, then hot water washer it out and produces a “normal” desired strength.

Kettle

The solution of malt sugars, known as 'wort' (but pronounced 'wert'), is transferred to a brewing 'kettle' where steam percolators bring it to the boil. Hops and cane sugar can be added at this stage. The hops are the cones (fruit-clusters) of a climbing perennial plant (Humulus lupulus). They impart bitterness to the beer. After the wort has been boiled, the spent hops are separated from the liquid in a whirlpool and removed, and the hopped wort is cooled to the right temperature for fermentation. (Hops can be added later, during or after fermentation - they are not necessarily added at the kettle stage.)

The longer the hops boil, the more of its “genetical” amount of bitterness (delivered & measured in ACID%) goes into the wort (and the more aromatic oils are evaporated).

The later the hops are added, the less bitterness is delivered, ideally aroma hops “noble hops” are added after the boil is finished or even “dry hopped” (i.e. hops are added into the fermenter).

Fermentation

Yeast is added to the wort and fermentation begins. It is the process whereby the sugars are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO2). It takes from four to six days and at the end of the process the products are both beer and CO2. The CO2 gives the beer a natural 'sparkle'. After fermentation the beer is stored and matured at cold temperatures before it can be filtered to produce a clear product. After filtration there is no yeast left in the beer! The beer, after is has been filtered, in known as “bright beer”. This is when co2 is added.