5. Art and Science of Brewing Beer

Question 1

What is beer?

Answer 1

Liquid food from the fermentation of cereal grains

Question 2

What is cereal?

Answer 2

Anything grain or agricultural based

Question 3

How did beer originate?

Answer 3

Accidental discovery of fermentation of bread which allowed societies to have something to drink during the winter that wouldn’t go bad as quickly

Question 4

List the components of beer (from largest to least amount).

Answer 4

1. Water (92-96%)
2. Malted barely/grains (ex. wheat, rye, oats)
3. Hops
4. Yeast

Question 5

Describe the malting process.

Answer 5

Barley/grains are immersed in water which activates enzymes within the grain to produce sugar (i.e. initiates its metabolic pathways to grow)

Question 6

What are hops?

Answer 6

Balls of golden resins found within the bud of the hop plant

Question 7

What is the function of hops?

Answer 7

Imparts a clean bitter taste to the beer when they isomerize during boiling
-also extends the shelf life of the beer

Question 8

What is the function of yeast?

Answer 8

Initiates fermentation

Question 9

Why is barley a more preferable grain to use?

Answer 9

During the fermentation process, barley’s husk stays on which aids the clarification process (i.e. husk acts as an additional filter)

Question 10

Name the 10 steps of the brewing process.

Answer 10

1. Malting
2. Milling
3. Mashing
4. Sparging
5. Whirlpool separator
6. Cooling
7. Fermentation
8. Maturation
9. Filtration
10. Flash pasteurization
11. Packaging

Question 11

Describe the mashing process.

Answer 11

1. Grains are milled to crack open the kernals and expose the starch inside.
2. Milled grains are dropped into a mesh strainer filled with boiling water (mash mixer) to activate alpha and beta amylase whose function is to produce the sugars, maltose & dextrose
3. Transferred into lauter tun where solution is clarified via passing over a grain bed

Question 12

What is sparging?

Answer 12

Process in which excess sugar is washed off the grain and the grains are boiled (done in the brewing kettle)

Question 13

At what step of the brewing process can the grain be used as animal feed?

Answer 13

Ater sparging.

Question 14

What is the function of the whirlpool separator?

Answer 14

To clarify the solution and remove coagulated proteins.

Question 15

How is the solution cooled?

Answer 15

Via counter current exchange: solution is cooling using a plate heat exchange where cold & hot pass by each other in counter direction

Question 16

When is yeast added to the solution?

Answer 16

During fermentation

Question 17

What is the point of the maturation step?

Answer 17

To provide a stable environment and ensure the survival of the yeast so that fermentation can occur.

Question 18

What gets killed during flash pasteurization?

Answer 18

Yeast and microbes