How Beer is Made

One of my viewers on YouTube made a request that I make a video article series on how beer is made. I figured that this would be a fun adventure and that it would also make a great article for the blog, which hasn't received an update for a while (sorry guys!). So without further adieu, let me go into the process on how beer is made. There are four key processes that I will be highlighting for you, and they are malting, brewing, hopping, and fermenting (yeast).

Malting

Barley is the most common malted grain.

Malting is the process of beginning the germination of grains, and then halting the process through drying or baking. The main grain that is used for the production of beer is barley. Other grains can be malted as well, such as wheat, corn, rye, and oats. The grain that will be used for the beer is soaked in water long enough for the grains to begin to germinate, or sprout. This causes enzymes to develop in the process that break the starches in the grains down into sugar- something that is critical later on in the brewing process.

There are two common methods of malting. The first method is called floor malting. The grains are literally spread out on a floor and soaked to germinate. The second method is the most common, called pneumatic malting. In pneumatic malting the environment is controlled and the process usually takes place inside tanks or drums. In both processes, the grains are soaked and watched carefully until they begin to sprout. Once they begin to sprout, they are removed from the water and begin the second part of the malting process- drying.

As I mentioned in my Origin of Beer article, early man would eat barley sprouts that had been dried out, due to the fact that they were sweet and easier on the digestive system than raw grains. It was when these grains were re-submersed in water and combined with yeast that the first natural beer was born. The drying process today usually occurs in a kiln, otherwise known as a large oven, where the germinated grains are cooked long enough to dry. Some beers use roasted malt, which is cooked longer and roasted to bring out darker colors in beer along with a more distinctive caramel flavor.

Once the malt is dried out in the manner appropriate to the style of beer that it is to be used for, it is then stored to be used for the brewing process. When it comes time to brew the beer, the brewer weighs out the amount of grain that is going to be used for the recipe and then sends it through a malt mill that cracks the grain, turning it into grist. Grist is defined as a grain that has been separated from its chaff. This grain is collected in a grist case, which has a valve at the bottom. When the valve is opened, the grist drops into the mash tun, where it will become mash.

Brewing

The mash tun is where the grist is mixed with water and heated

Mash is produced in a mash tun, which is a large container, usually made with copper or stainless steel. This container has a bottom that has a strainer that is used to catch the remainder of the grist after it has been used. The entire point of mashing is to convert starches into sugars that can be fermented. The grist is mixed with water and then heated up to controlled temperatures, which usually vary depending on the style of the beer that is desired. During this heating period, enzymes are activated that help in the conversion of starch to the desired fermentable sugars.

There are several ways of mashing that revolve directly around the temperatures used and the consistency of those temperatures. In some cases the mash is kept at the same temperature the entire way through the process. Some mashing involves multiple temperature changes, and in most lagers, a portion of the mash is drained, boiled, and then returned to the main mash. When the mashing is completed, the liquid, which is now known as wort, is removed and the remaining grains, or grist, is strained and kept out of the wort.

The lauter tun is where the grains are rinsed after mashing

The grain is rinsed at this point to remove as much sugar that remains as possible, which is a part of the wort. This process is called sparging, and is done in a lauter tun. Once all of the wort is collected, it is then moved to a brew kettle. It is in the brew kettle that the wort is then boiled; usually for one to two hours. It is during this boil that hops are introduced to the wort. Now, the stage of the boil that the hops are added is critical to the character of the beer. Adding hops early on will result in a much heavier bitterness in the beer, but a lot less hop flavor. Adding the hops late in the boil will give more flavor and aroma, but usually result in less bitterness. Some brewers add hops at multiple points throughout the boil.

Hops

Hops are the flower clusters of a plant that is closely related to hemp, believe it or not. They are used for flavor and as a stability agent for beer, but have other herbal and medicinal purposes that I will not go into. Different varieties of hops are usually associated with different styles and regions of beer. Pale ales are usually brewed with European noble hop varieties such as Saaz, Hallertau and Strissel Spalt. British ales are usually brewed with Fuggles, Goldings and Bullion hops and North American beers tend to use Cascade, Columbus, Centennial, Willamette and Amarillo hops. There are many other varieties of hops, but I do not have the time or space to go into every single one of them in detail.

Hops were first added to beer to sterilize it and keep it fresh

Noble hops are generally used for their ability to add aroma, while not adding much bitterness, which is a characteristic of the pale ale. Fuggles and Bullion hops tend to add much more bitterness and earthy flavors to beer while the Goldings hops add more sweetness in British style beers. In North America, the three most popular types of hops are classified as the "Three Cs", which are Cascade, Columbus, and Centennial. These three hop varieties all give a strong citrus or grapefruit aroma, while the Columbus variety is slightly woody.

Most hops are dried in an ousthouse before they are used during the brewing process. Some "wet hops" are used in certain beers, but it is not very common. Depending on the style of the beer, the hops are added at different stages of the boil. Once the boil is completed, the hops themselves are strained out of the hopped wort, which is sent into a wort chiller that rapidly decreases the temperature of the wort to about eighty degrees farenheit. Now the wort is ready to be fermented.

Yeast

The type of yeast used to ferment the wort is the main determining factor for whether the resulting beer is of the lager class (lagers, pilsners) or the ale class (Ales, Stouts, Porters, etc). There are some exceptions to the rule, but for the most part if a top fermenting yeast is used, it will result in the production of an ale, and if a bottom fermenting yeast is used, it will result in the production of a lager. The most common top fermenting yeast is known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which has been used in baking as well as beer brewing for thousands of years. Most yeasts used in beer production are related to Saccharomyces cerevisiae in some manner- usually via crossbreeding Saccharomyces cerevisiae with another yeast.

The adding of the yeast to the wort is calling "pitching the yeast" and is done in a fermenter. The temperature is also important in the fermenting process as lager yeasts are able to ferment at forty degrees where ale yeasts go dormant. Ales are therefore fermented at warmer temperatures than lagers, and a lot of their fruity flavors come when the wort ferments at seventy degrees, where "fruity esters" are released into the wort. The initial fermentation stage lasts three to seven days, and lagers are kept in cold storage usually for several weeks. Ales typically have a shorter fermentation period.

Saccharomyces uvarum is the most commonly used bottom fermenting yeast, which produces a lager. Saccharomyces uvarum is the cross between Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces monocensis. This yeast is able to ferment at much colder temperatures than Saccharomyces cerevisiae and doesn't produce the foam on top of the wort that a top fermenting yeast typically does during fermentation. The selection of yeast and fermenting temperature is extremely important to the production of a beer, as the same recipe can be used twice, and if it is top fermented in one case and bottom fermented in another, each beer will be uniquely different.

During the first stage of fermentation is when the yeast goes to work eating the fermentable sugars in the wort. The result of the consumption of sugar is the release of alcohol and carbon dioxide, which carbonates the beer naturally. During secondary fermentation the yeast that has collected at the bottom of the fermenting tank is removed. The remaining yeast then precipitates out of suspension and the beer matures.

Bottling Time!

Once the beer has matured, it is usually filtered. In some cases, especially in the brewing of wheat beers, the beer is actually bottled without any filtering at all, but any beer that you can see through has typically been filtered. Unfiltered beers usually have a cloudy or hazy look as the yeast and other particles that have remained in the beer remain. The beer is then transferred to bottles, cans, casks, kegs, or whatever other containers are used. And finally it is delivered to the drinker, who without really thinking about the long journey that their beverage has gone through, opens it up and enjoys it. But then, that is the part that you care most about anyway, isn't it?

Thanks for reading, and I will be posting the video series on YouTube that matches this article over the course of this week. You guys keep drinking good beer!