Brewing

The simplicity of the brewing process belies the extraordinary variety of beers in the world. With very little variation every beer ever created uses this process.

Step 1: Malting

The raw barley, or wheat, needs to be turned into malt. Malting turns the starch compounds of the grain into fermentable sugars (maltose).

The grain is spread out and moisture is used to stimulate the germination process. Once the germination gets to a certain point, hot air is blown over the grain to stop the germination. It is then dried and then kilned further to bring out the roasted flavors used to create different colors and flavors.

Step 2: Milling

The next step is to mill the grain in order to crack open the husk. The cracked grain is called grist and is now ready for the mash tun.

Step 3: Mashing

The grist is infused with hot water in the mash tun. This results in a porridge-like concoction called the mash. Once the mash has been cooked to the brewmaster's specifications, the thick and sweet wort is transferred to the brew kettle for the boil. Depending on the method used, the wort may pass through a lauter tun first.

Step 4: Boiling

The wort is now boiled for one to two hours in the brew kettle. In addition to changes in the wort's proteins, boiling sanitizes the liquid.

Depending on the recipe, this is also the time when hops are added. The bitterness in the hops helps balance out the sweetness of the wort. Hops for adding bitterness are added early in the boil; hops for flavoring are generally added late in the boil. Kettle finings may be added at this time in order to help clarify the beer.

The hops are now removed and the wort is pumped through a wort chiller into the fermentation tank.

Step 5: Fermenting

Once cooled, the wort is aerated and yeast is pitched into the tank. Primary fermentation begins within 24 hours and continues for five to ten days, depending on the type of yeast and the recipe.

Step 7: Packaging

The beer is now ready for human consumption. It is now transferred to kegs, and/or bottles and cans (and subsequently pasteurized). For brewpubs that don't keg their beer, the beer is transferred to the bright beer tank where it waits to go through the taps.