Ever peeked through a brewery’s window expecting to see guys tasting and enjoying freshly brewed beer? Many who steal a glance see many shiny tanks, hoses, and gizmos that leave them wondering what goes on in a brewery. So how is a typical day in a brewery?
An ordinary day in a brewery depends on the kind of alcoholic beverage being brewed, a brewery’s capacity and tricks of the trade. Nevertheless, the brewing process is similar for most breweries. Here are seven steps that make up the brewing process:
1. Milling
Beer making starts with the milling of brewing grains. The different types of malted barley are measured depending on the recipe. They are mixed and crushed into a coarse grist, neither too coarse nor too fine.
2. Mashing
Mashing looks like porridge making. It involves the mixing of milled grain with water and methodically heating this mixture. Mashing allows the breaking down of starch in the grains and eventual conversion into sugars. These malt sugars feed the yeast when it’s fermentation time.
3. Lautering
Lautering is a process of separating the mash (the thick porridge) into a clear sugary liquid called wort and spent grain. The separation is done using either a lauter tun or a mash filter. Usually, the sweet wort is run off first. The remaining substance is recirculated before sparging. During sparging, the extract that remains with the residual grains is rinsed off with hot water.
4. Boiling
The sweet wort is boiled evenly and intensely to ensure its sterility. The boil may last between 50 and 120 minutes. During the boil, brewers add bittering and aromatic hops that give beer its bitterness, flavor and aroma.
At the end of the boil, brewers set the wort into a whirlpool. Whirlpooling helps to collect accumulated dense solids mainly hop matter and coagulated proteins. Soon after filtration, the wort is cooled to prevent oxidation.
5. Fermentation
The chilled wort is pumped into tanks for fermentation. Brewer’s yeast turns the wort into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The kind of yeasts used and the fermentation temperature will determine whether the final product is an ale or a lager beer.
6. Filtration and Conditioning
We now have the beer! After fermentation, the beer is chilled and allowed to settle. Filtration and period of settlement depend on beer style. Filtering is meant to stabilize the beer’s flavor, but not all beers go through filtering.
7. Packaging
From the conditioning tanks, the finished beer goes into bottles, cans, and kegs. The beer is now ready to leave the brewery. Secondary fermentation may continue to offer natural carbonation. You can now enjoy a pint in a pub near you!
To learn more about how your favorite beer is brewed, please visit Edmonton’s International Beerfest. Many brewers and beer enthusiasts will be in attendance. You will learn about new beer technologies and taste new beer flavors. The Edmonton’s International Beerfest- beer and total entertainment.
Photo Credit: FreeImages.com/ fliku
FAQs
There are several steps in the brewing process, which may include malting, mashing, lautering, boiling, fermenting, conditioning, filtering, and packaging. The brewing equipment needed to make beer has grown more sophisticated over time, and now covers most aspects of the brewing process.
What are the 7 steps of brewing beer? ›
There are several steps in the brewing process, which may include malting, mashing, lautering, boiling, fermenting, conditioning, filtering, and packaging. The brewing equipment needed to make beer has grown more sophisticated over time, and now covers most aspects of the brewing process.
What is the correct order of steps in brewing beer? ›
- MASHING - cracked barley mixed with hot water.
- BOILING - wort is boiled; hops added.
- FERMENTING - wort is cooled first; yeast added.
- CONDITIONING - beer is matured, made ready.
Did women create beer? Beer is thought to have been invented by the Sumerians, who lived in what is now Iraq, around 8,000 BC and ancient tablets have been unearthed showing the original brewers were women. The Sumerians even had a goddess of beer, Ninkasi.
What are the 4 main brewing ingredients in beer? ›
There are four main ingredients in making beer: malt, hops, yeast, and water. Familiarize yourself with each ingredient and learn to use adjuncts and finings to expand your repertoire of recipes. Remember, this is just a brief overview.
What is the brewing process start to finish? ›
Intro to Home Brewing
- Step 1: Supplies. As always, you're going to need some equipment and ingredients. ...
- Step 2: Sanitize You Equipment. ...
- Step 3: Pack Your Grain Sock & Steep Grains. ...
- Step 4: Add Your Malt. ...
- Step 5: Add Your Hops. ...
- Step 6: Ice Bath. ...
- Step 7: Transfer to Carboy and Add Water. ...
- Step 8: Pitch Yeast & Add Air Lock.
What are the steps in making beer? The beer brewing process involves malting, milling, mashing, extract separation, hop addition and boiling, removal of hops and precipitates, cooling and aeration, fermentation, separation of yeast from young beer, aging, and maturing.
What does the brewing process begin with? ›
The conventional brewing process begins with the selection of barley required for the brew. Malted barley forms the base malts from which most of the sugars needed for fermentation are derived. Other malts known as colored or specialty malts are blended with the malted barley base malt to form the grist for the beer.
What is the first stage in the beer making process? ›
The first stage is called “mashing”, which is the process of activating the natural enzymes in the yeast to turn their starch into sugar, which the yeast will need later. This provides the initial characteristics of the brew in terms of colour, flavour and body.
Was beer originally alcoholic? ›
Archaeological findings also show that Chinese villagers were brewing fermented alcoholic drinks as far back as 7000 BCE on small and individual scale, with the production process and methods similar to that of ancient Egypt and ancient Mesopotamia.
Ninkasi was the Mesopotamian goddess of beer and brewing. It is possible that in the first millennium BC she was known under the variant name Kurunnītu, derived from a term referring to a type of high quality beer.
What country drinks the most beer? ›
1 title goes to the Czech Republic, which claimed the top spot for the 30th consecutive year in 2022 with 188.5 liters (approximately 50 gallons) of beer consumed per capita. Filling out the top three are Austria and Poland, which placed second and third, respectively.
Why are hops added to beer? ›
Hops help to keep beer fresher, longer; help beer retain its head of foam—a key component of a beer's aroma and flavor; and, of course, add “hoppy” aroma, flavor, and bitterness. Hops belong to the Cannabinaceae family, which also happens to include Cannabis (hemp and marijuana).
What is mashing in brewing? ›
Mashing is the term given to the start of the brewing process, where crushed grains are mixed with water to form a porridge-like mixture called the “mash.” It is in the mash that malt and other cereal starches are transformed into sugars and proteins and other materials are made soluble, creating the sweet fermentable ...
What are the three main categories of beer? ›
The 3 main beer types: Lager, Ale & Hybrid
The two points of differentiation between these major beer classifications is the type of yeast and fermentation process.
What are the five steps in the official beer tasting process? ›
The 5 Step Process to Tasting Beer Like a Professional
- A quick sniff and a quick look. ...
- Swirl it. ...
- Take a sip with the front part of your tongue, and hold the beer in your mouth for a few seconds. ...
- Take a large sip directly to the back of your throat. ...
- Enjoy your beer.
The four basic ingredients in beer are malt, hops, yeast and water and the four basic steps are malting, mashing, boiling and fermenting. If you want to skip the basics for now and jump direct to a particular style of brewing with a recipe provided, here are links to take you there: Extract Only. Extract with Grains.
What is the formula for making beer? ›
1 teaspoon brewers' yeast. Note: some malt comes with little packets of yeast included. 6 – 7 cups of regular white sugar, or 8 – 9 cups of corn sugar (preferred). For even better results, consider using two cans of the malt extract and not using any sugar.
