How it is brewed and how to brew

How it is brewed and how to brew your own

The four ingredients in beer 1. Malt 2. Hops 3. Yeast 4. Water Hopsisare flowers that Water Malt plays partially a supporting Yeast are eukaryotic impart flavor, aroma, and germinated role in every barley. step of. Before single-cell organisms. In bitterness. Hops also helpit being used brewing. Different tometabolize brew mineral beer brewing they preserve beer against must undergo content inthe thethe water a malt process used sugars from to spoilage. called will affect mashing. amino Malt acid produce alcohols. There supplies availability theforsugars thecultured yeast, that are hundreds of the yeast conversion metabolize of starch to strains of beer yeast into that makedifferent fermentable alcohols, sugar, carbon and yield flavors and dioxide, other reactions that bodies toand theflavor beer. compounds. prevent off-flavors.

More about malt • Germination begins enzymatic activity and enzyme development • Degree of germination determines starch and enzyme availability

Do the mash! • Malts are added to water to extract proteins and starches • Enzymes activated at specific temperatures degrade proteins and starches

Do the mash!

What happens with the hops • Boiling hops releases and dissolves bitter resins • Hops can contribute strong floral and fruit flavors • Hopping during fermentation gives yet another character

Boiling your wort • Boiling caramelizes sugars, dissolves hop resins, and denatures proteins • The boil is a prime opportunity for adding flavors • Boiling kills bacteria in the wort, but also depletes oxygen

Yeast: the beasties behind the brew yeasts top • Ale Yeast haveare to compete fermenting while with bacteria like lager yeasts bottom-ferment lactobacilius for dominance in the wort • Yeast ferment maltose, glucose, offructose, etc. • Origins beer styles but not dextrins, are linked to wild lactose, inorthat invert sugar yeasts region • Contribute alcohol and CO 2, as well as esters and diacetyl

Yeast: the beasties behind the brew Yeast Stir Plate

Fermentation & the ugly krausen • Cooled wort is moved to a fermenter and aerated, and yeast is pitched • Fermenter is sealed off from oxygen • Violent foaming fermentation called krausen rises out of wort (and sometimes the fermenter)

Fermentation & the ugly krausen

Patience: a difficult virtue • Secondary After primary fermentation allows for: (1 to 3 weeks), additional occurs • conditioning Dry hopping • Adding fruit, spices, • Secondary fermentation wood, etc. (2 weeks to months) Bottle conditioning • involves: Barrel aging (months) • • Bottling conditioning (3 Carbonation to months) • weeks Conditioning

Resources for learning more • How To Brew – John Palmer (free online book) • The Complete Joy of Homebrewing – Charlie Papazian • www. homebrewtalk. com • Brooklyn Homebrew (in Park Slope)