How is Beer made? Flashcards
Milling
First the brewer mills (crushes) a batch of the whole grains that they have in storage. This will
include malted barley as well as any other grains the brewer has decided to use.
Milling produces grist, which is made up of small flour-like particles as well as larger particles.
The small particles mostly come from the inside of the grain whereas the large particles are
mostly made up of the grain’s hard outer part.
Once the grist has been made, it is moved immediately onto the next stage in the process:
mashing.
Mashing
Mashing starts when the grist is mixed with hot water, creating a mixture called a ‘mash’. During
mashing, the enzymes from the malted barley convert the starch that is present into sugars,
which dissolve to form a sugary liquid. In the next part of the process, this sugary liquid is then
separated from the spent grains and is called wort
Wort separation
Wort separation takes place once the process of starch conversion is complete. It involves
separating the wort from the remaining grain particles. The grain particles settle at the bottom of
the vessel and the wort drains through these solids, which act like a filter. Before the draining of
the wort is finished the brewer sprays the grains with hot water. This process, called sparging,
extracts further sugars from the grain particles.
Wort boiling
The wort is boiled, which kills microorganisms in the wort, helping to keep it from becoming
spoiled. The boil is when the main hop additions take place. Hops added towards the start of the
boil add bitterness to the wort; hops added closer to the end add more aroma.
As soon as the heat is turned off, the wort is separated from any solid matter formed during
boiling. The wort is then rapidly cooled to a temperature suitable for fermentation.
Fermentation
As soon as the wort has been cooled, yeast is added to the wort. During fermentation, the yeast
consumes sugars and creates alcohol, carbon dioxide and aromas. Some yeast strains
(varieties) create a lot of aromas, others create very few, and each strain creates its own
signature set of aromas. This is an important consideration for brewers when they are choosing
which strain of yeast to use.
Fermentation ends when the yeast has consumed the vast majority of the sugars that were
present in the wort. At this stage of the process, the liquid is called green beer. Green beer is
cloudy and contains some undesirable aromas created by the yeast during fermentation. It must
be matured before it becomes a finished beer that can go on sale.
Maturation
The main purpose of maturation is to remove the undesirable aromas from the green beer. This
is done by the yeast. During maturation, the beer is kept in a vessel to allow the yeast time to
remove these undesirable aromas. Depending on the style of beer being made, this can take
anywhere between a few days and a few months, and in rare cases a few years
Carbonation
Carbonated drinks get their bubbles from carbon dioxide gas (CO2) that has dissolved into the
liquid. Carbonation can balance sweetness and body to make beers more drinkable. The carbon
dioxide bubbles rise up through the liquid in the glass and we feel them in our mouths when
tasting beer. These bubbles contribute to the foam that forms on top of the beer as it is poured.
The carbon dioxide for our beer comes from two key sources: retaining or recovering natural
carbon dioxide created during fermentation or purchasing carbon dioxide.
Yeast naturally produces carbon dioxide gas during fermentation. One way to carbonate a beer
is by sealing the fermentation vessel to prevent the carbon dioxide from escaping. To top up the
carbonation level that occurs during fermentation, carbon dioxide that has been purchased or
recovered from earlier fermentations can be injected into the beer.
It is also possible to carbonate beer by carrying out a further fermentation after packaging in a
sealed bottle. This is known as bottle conditioning
Filtration
In order to create a more clear and stable beer, the brewer can use very fine filters to remove the
tiny particles that are present in a beer after maturation. Most beers are filtered but some are not,
for example, if haziness is intended as part of the style.
Packaging
Once the finished beer has been produced, it needs to be packaged so that it can be sold and
distributed. Beer is packaged in a number of different containers. The most widely used
examples are cans, bottles and kegs
