Beer

Beer is a potable alcoholic beverage fermented from cereals and malt, flavored with hops. The alcoholic content is between 3% to 5% and is known to be a very refreshing drink especially in summer.

Raw Materials in the Making of Beer

Barley

Barley is preferred to other cereals as it can be more easily malted for brewing and the soluble extracted from barley malt are more complete than those of other grains.

When the grain has been steeped and dried, it is termed malt, and is ready for grinding or stoning.

Actually any cereal containing starch or sugar maybe used in the brewing of beer, e.g. maize, rice, corn or wheat. But these grains lack essential enzymes (chemicals which facilitate the extraction of sugar) and when used require special treatment. If used alone, the final product would not be beer.

Hops

Hops belong to the nettle family. The female plants used bear cone-shaped formations, which impart a bitter flavor and pleasant aroma, increasing the refreshing quality and stimulating digestion.

Sugar

Sugar is an important addition as it helps to produce a beer of pale colour, less filling and with a better taste and of course, increased stability.

Brewers’ Yeast

Brewers’ Yeast is a micro-organism belonging to the saccharomyces species and is capable of reproducing at a fantastic rate. Its work is to propagate and split up the sugar components into equal quantities of alcohol and carbon dioxide. At this stage it may be well to mention that it is the carbon dioxide content of the beer, which determines the amount of the foam formation.

A consistent carbon dioxide level means that the barman will not have any trouble handling beer at normal temperatures.

The process of making beer can be broadly divided into three distinct stages:

Brewing

The barley is steeped in water until it germinates. It is then kiln-dried upto 18^oF to stop germination. The resultant product is termed malt and is ready for grinding.

  Mashing

The crushed malt is mixed with water at a given temperature for the proper length of time. The resultant solution “wort” is then used to make beer and the residue (spent grain) is as stock fodder.

Fermentation

Fermentation is the next process where the yeast splits the sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. This is the most decisive phase in the brewing for attaining brews of fine taste and aroma.

BEER PRODUCTION 

Ingredients

Malt                   Made from barley.

Hops                 Impart a special bitter flavor and aroma and have preservative

                          Value.

Sugar                Invert sugar is used-a produce of cane sugar.

Water                Mountain spring water is preferred.

Yeast                As used in known as Saccharomyces and Carevisiae.

                    

Different Stages

Storage Bin              Malt received from the producer is weighed and stored in the

                                   “Storage Bin”.

Screen                       Foreign matter is removed.

Mill                             Where malt is crushed and is known as ‘Grist’.

Grist Case                 Storage for “Grit” above the mashing tun.

Mashing Tun             Mashing is the mixing of grist and hot water. The liquid   

                                                                           drawn-off

                              

                                   is malt extract known as “Wort”.

Grain                         The husk of the malt left behind and used for cattle food.

Copper                       Wort runs in copper kettles where hops and sugar are   

                                                                          added.

                                   Boiling is necessary to sterilize and concentrate-hops are

                                   afterwards extracted.

Hop Back                  Hops are strained off in the hop back.

Spent Hops               Spent hops are used for cultivating gardens.

Wort Receiver           Wort pumped to the tank above the refrigerator.

Refrigerator               Where the product is cooled to 60^o F and run into a    

                                    fermenting vessel.

Fermenting Vessel    Where yeast is added to start fermentation.

 CO₂                            Yeast splits up wort into alcohol and CO_{2 gas}. The latter is 

                                    used for bottled beer.

Dropping Vessel       Wort is converted to beer, and fermentation is complete

                                   when the beer is sent to the Dropping Vessel. Yeast     

                                    reproduces by itself and is used for subsequent fermentation

Yeast                          Used for cattle food and supplementary diets.

Cask                           Cask beer is packed.

Cellar                          Beer is sent to cellar for the conditioning period.

Finings                       Finings are made from isinglass and are used to help in clarification.

Conditioning Room  Bottled beer is sent here for a conditioning period and

                                  further for chilling where excess CO₂ gas is rejected.    

Cold Room                 Bottled beer is sent here for a conditioning period and

                                 further for chilling where excess CO₂ gas is rejected.

Filter                           Beer is passed through a filter to make it brilliant.

Bottling                      Beer is filled into various size bot

Note :                        Invert Sugar is a product of cane sugar which has been treated in the course of refining with small amount of acids. The process of inversion has the effect of converting the cane sugar into Dextrose and Levulose. Both these sugars are fermentable and thus more readily assumable by yeast. Without inversion the use of either raw or refined sugar imposes a heavy strain upon the strength of yeast.

 Finings are made from isinglass, which is manufactured from the swimming bladder of the sturgeon fish. The choice of isinglass is important since some brewers find one type more effective than the other. It consists chiefly of proteins and water, but it is in no sense a constituent of beer and is used purely for the purpose of clarification

Lager Beer                Lager beer is distinguished by the fact that the wort is fermented by a bottom fermentation type of yeast (i.e. yeast which is introduced at the bottoms of the fermenting tanks) and then is stored in refrigerated cellars (lager) at freezing point for a period of six months. The process matures the beer. Lager is a German word meaning ‘store’. Plisener large is stored in the limestone caves of Pilsen in Czechoslovakia.

 Ale                          Ale is synonymous with beer except that it is a term used for ordinary mild beer while better beer is referred to as “beer”

Porter                       Porter is a black beer achieved by roasting malt. It is more malty in flavor, with less flavoring of hops, but sweeter than stout. This name originated from the fact that London porters used to drink this beer.

 Stout                        Stout is similar to porter in as much as the malt is roasted. It has a strong malt flvour and a sweet taste, but is heavier and has a stronger hop character than porter. This is a name given by the Irish and is almost similar to porter.