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Beer
Beer is made from four basic ingredients:
Water
Water makes up 90 to 95% of beer. The quality and chemical make up of the water has a huge effect on the taste of beer.
Barley
When mixed with water and heated to different temperatures different types of chemical reactions result in different types of sugars being produced.
Hops
Hops, originally used as a preservative, it can be used for bittering or as a provider of different aromas.
Yeast
Man makes wort, yeast makes beer. Different types of yeast like different environments and temperatures, these can have a profound effect on the final beer.ย
Drink great beer with good friends!
The Process
All Grain or Extract?
Alcohol is made by fermenting sugar. Beer gets that sugar from malted barley. This can either be pre-purchased in the form of extract, or you can extract it yourself starting with the whole grain.
Mashing
Mashing is the process of steeping grain in water to convert the starches from the grain into fermentable sugars and unfermentable dextrins by the diastatic enzymes. (This is only necessary in all grain brewing, not with extract brewing.) The grain is first crushed so that the starches inside the husk can be reached by water. The water hydrates the starches and the heat makes them soluble. Enzymes in the mash will then act on the starches (different enzymes work better at different temperatures and pH conditions) allowing the brewer to tailor make the wort to his requirements.
Boiling
Once the Mash has been completed, the wort is separated from the grain (called Lautering) and placed in the Boil Kettle. Hops are added according to the brewer’s requirements and generally the wort is boiled for at least 60 minutes (although there are cases where it is not boiled or where it is boiled for much longer).
Fermenting
When the boil has been completed the hot wort is cooled down to the desired temperature (determined by the type of yeast and type of beer being brewed), placed in the fermentation vessel and the yeast is added.
Generally fermentation will be completed within five to seven days but it can be left on the yeast for longer.
Once fermentation is complete, the beer can then be bottled or canned or placed into kegs. The beer can be carbonated naturally by adding a small amount of sugar or dry malt extract to the wort before bottling or kegging. Or force carbonation using a CO2 cylinder connected to the keg or tank can be done prior to canning or bottling.
