The Beer Brewing Process – An Introduction

Beer is a very popular drink for both men and women and has been the case for many years.  Different countries have their specialty beers, to be able to taste them all is a challenge and an adventure in itself.  Some people brew their own beers at home, while others enjoy craft beer from microbreweries.  In order to fully appreciate the beer that you’re drinking, you need to understand how it is made and it all starts with the beer brewing process.

The brewing process of beers begins with the main ingredient of all beers, the malt.  “Malting” is basically the preparation of the grain (usually barley, but sometimes brewers use wheat and rye) through steeping, germination and kilning in order to make it easier to extract its sugar content.  Once you have malt, you can begin to create the sugar in the process called “Mashing”.  Mashing involves mixing water with the malt and heating it up and what results is the mash.  Different temperatures yield different results creating a variety of mash for a variety of beer types.

Naturally, you can’t have solid particles in your beer which is why the mash will be separated from its liquid part called the wort through another process called “Lautering”.  Lautering is done through a mash tun with a false bottom or a “lauter tun”.  Some lauter tuns have rotating blades to cut through the mash and make the process easier.  Once the mash is separated from the wort, the next step will be “Boiling” the wort sterilizes it and prevents infections.  Hops are added to it while it’s being boiled to create the flavor and aroma essential to all craft beers.

The beer is almost complete.  “Beer fermentation” is the next step and is characterized by the addition of the yeast onto the cooled and aerated wort.  The yeast will feed on the sugars in the wort until what’s left is alcohol and carbon dioxide.  After, the yeast will settle at the bottom and the beer will be moved to a different container or vessel,  and subjected to further fermentation for a specific time frame depending on the type of beer being brewed.  This process is called “Conditioning”.

Probably the last stage in the brewing process is the “Filtering” which essentially stabilizes the flavor of the beer and gives it its shine. When the filtration is done, the beer is packaged and shipped from the brewery and into the stores.