the BREWING PROCESS
Step 1: Milling
Milling is the cracking of the multiple types of grain which the brewer chooses for a particular batch of beer. Milling the grain allows better absorbtion by the strike water as it is stired into the mash tun. Sugars will efficiently be extracted from the malt.
---------------------------------------------------------
Step 2: Mashing
The next step is Mashing. Mashing is the process of turning the finely-ground malt, or grist, into a sweetened liquid. Mashing converts the starches, which were released during the malting stage, into sugars that can be fermented. The milled grain is dropped into warm water heated to around 150° F in a large cooking vessel called the mash tun. In this mash tun, the grain and heated water mix create a cereal mash to dissolve the starch into the water, transforming it into sugar - mainly maltose. Because water is such a vital part of the brewing process, the water itself is a key ingredient. Filtering and other water preparation are vital to a successful brew. This sugar rich water is then strained through the bottom of the mash and is now called wort (pronounced wert).
---------------------------------------------------------
Step 3: Brewing
Brewing is the next step in the process. The spent grains are filtered out and the wort is ready for boiling, which involves many technical and chemical reactions. During this stage, important decisions will be made affecting the flavor, color and aroma of the beer. Certain types of hops are added at different times during the boil for either bitterness or aroma. The wort is boiled for one to two hours to sterilize and concentrate it, and extract the necessary essence from the hops.
---------------------------------------------------------
Step 4: Whirlpool and Cooling
At the end of the boil, solid particles in the hopped wort are separated out. The whirlpool was devised by the Molson Brewery in 1960 to utilise the so-called tea leaf paradox to force the denser solids known as "trub" into a cone in the center of the whirlpool tank. The principle is that by swirling the wort the centrifugal forces will push the trub into a cone at the center of the bottom of the tank, where it can be easily removed. Cooling is the next step. The wort is transferred quickly from the brew kettle through a device to filter out the hops, and then onto a heat exchanger to be cooled. It is important to quickly cool the wort to a point where yeast can safely be added, because yeast does not prosper in high heat. The hopped wort is also saturated with air at this time, essential for the growth of the yeast in the next stage.
Step 5: Fermentation
Fermentation is the next step. After passing through the heat exchanger, the cooled wort goes to the fermentation tank. The brewer now selects a type of yeast and adds it to the fermentation tank. This is where the "real magic" of brewing happens - when the yeast, a micro-organism, eats the sugar in the wort and turns it into alcohol and carbon dioxide. This process of fermentation takes between 4 and 7 days. The wort finally becomes beer. Each brewery has its own strains of yeast, and these house strains largely determine the character of the beer. In some yeast varieties, the cells rise to the top during fermentation, and are then skimmed off. This is called top cropping yeast, and ales are brewed in this way. Other strains of yeast cells are bottom cropping, the process is known as bottom fermentation, used for lager or pilsners. Some special Belgian beers, called lambic or gueuze, use a third method where fermentation relies on spontaneous action by airborne yeasts typical of the Zenne Valley near Brussels.
---------------------------------------------------------
Step 6: Filtering and Conditioning
Maturation (also called racking) is the next step. The beer has now been brewed, but it can still be improved through conditioning. During this phase, the brewer moves the beer into a new tank called the brite tank. As the beer is transferred, it is passed through plate filters for clarification. The brewer then waits for the beer to complete its aging process in the brite tanks.
---------------------------------------------------------
Step 7: Carbonation and Kegging
During the conditioning phase in the brite tanks, the beer is force carbonated using a carbonation stone. The beer is then pumped to a bottling or canning line, or put into kegs. Filling techniques ensure air does not come into contact with the beer, and cannot be trapped within the container.
COMPANY
BREWING