Brewing Beer:

A Science and an Art

Special Thanks to Abita Brewery























Audience and Scope

The purpose of this technical document is to describe the
basic process of how beer is brewed from raw ingredients to
the delicious nished product. Each of the raw ingredients
and their role in the brewing process will be clearly dened.
Then, a detailed description of the brewing process will
follow.

This document is targeted at both beer lovers and those
with a casual interest in how beer is brewed. The purpose of
the document is to not only give readers a good basic
understanding of the brewing process, but also to give point
them towards additional resources and information.


















Introduction

The brewing of beer is as much a science as it is an art.
Brewmasters must follow detailed processes and use exact
measurements to produce the same beer every time. These
brewing methods are very similar to chemistry because they
are, in fact, chemical reactions. Just like in chemistry, the
aim of most brewing processes is to create the same
product multiple times. Breweries. like Anheuser-Busch with
high demand of a certain product, or line of products, will
focus almost solely on the repetitive scientic process of
manufacturing their beer.

However, many craft breweries will experiment with different
ratios of basic ingredients, varying fermentation periods,
and even the addition of their own unique ingredients to
create new and varying tastes. This tinkering is where the
art comes into play. There is a lot of trial and error involved
with trying to create a new, distinctive craft beer which is
why many craft breweries are so small. Being a small
independent brewery gives the brewmaster a lot more
freedom to experiment while still maintaining a healthy batch
the brew houses agship beers.




Brewmasters-
Brewmasters are the
head brewers at a
specic brewery. It
takes years of working
and apprenticeship to
become a brewmaster.




Fermentation- the
process in which the
sugars are turned into
alcohol by yeast.









The Brewing Ingredients


Water is the mixing agent for the rest
of the ingredients. Without water
there would be no liquid, and no liquid
means no beer. Many breweries must
lter and chemically treat their water.
A few lucky breweries are built on or
near natural freshwater springs or
aquifers.



Barley is a major cereal grain,
much like wheat. Half of the
United States barley is used for
animal feed. Around a quarter of
the remaining barley is deemed
suitable for malting and then
being used for beer. The barley is
the sugar element in brewing
needed to create alcohol.



Yeast is the single most
important ingredient needed for
fermentation. It is a single-celled
microorganism that converts
sugar into alcohol and carbon
dioxide.





The hop plant is a vine that has
owers that look like pinecones.
Hops are used provide the bitter
taste in beers to counteract the
malted barleys sweetness and for
the overall avor of the beer. A
beers aroma usually comes from
the hops.







Aquifers- large
underground reservoirs


















There are two main
yeasts used in beer:
Top-Fermenting
used for ales
Bottom-Fermenting
used for lagers













The Brewing Process

Malting the Barley

Malting, as shown in Figure 1, is the
process of taking raw grain barley and
making it into the malted barley used in
beer. This process develops the enzymes
that turn the barley starch into barley
sugar.

The barley seed is moistened in
water so that it begins to sprout.

Soon after it sprouts, the barley is
quickly heated in a kiln.

Most breweries get
their barley already
malted because
malting is a long and
difcult process that
takes years to master.


Kiln- a large oven










Milling the Barley

Milling is the process of breaking
down and cracking the malted barley.
This process is outlined in Figure 2.
Milling is done so that the starches
are exposed. These exposed
starches are called grist. It is a
delicate process because if the barley
is broken down too much it can not be
lautered.





Figure 1
Figure 2
The Mash

Mashing, Figure 3, is the actual process
of turning the malted barley into sugars
for the fermentation process.

The milled barley is in a large
stainless steel vat called a Mash Tun.

In the Mash Tun the barley is mixed
with warm water. In the higher
temperature, the enzymes convert
the grist(starches) into sugars.

The temperature can be adjusted
to effect the alcohol content and
sweetness of the beer.










Tun-an old British
measurement, about
252 gallons.



The Wort

The main function of the Lauter Tun,
shown in Figure 4, is to separate the
liquid sugars and avors from the
grains in the mash. This liquid is
called the Wort.

The mash is now transferred from
the Mash Tun into another vat
called the Lauter Tun.

The Lauter Tun has a false-bottom
that strains the Wort from the
mash. This extracted Wort is called
the rst Wort.

After the rst Wort is extracted, the
remaining mash is sprayed with hot
water resulting in a second Wort.



Figure 3
Figure 4
Boiling

The rst and second Wort are
combined and transferred to a
large stainless steel vat.

The Wort is brought to an even
rolling boil. This boil eliminates
any unwanted bacteria.

This is also the stage in which
bittering hops are introduced to
counteract the Worts sweetness.

While the Wort is boiling,
avoring hops can also be
added. These hops can range
from bitter to citrus. Figure 5
goes into more detail about
hops.

The Wort is boiled anywhere
from 45 to 90 minutes and then
transferred into a settling tank.

The settling tank, or whirlpool,
is used to separate the solid
particles from the wort.

After the settling tank, the wort is
ltered through hops in a
process called Hopback.
Hopback not only further lters
the Wort but also adds aromas to
the beer.

The Wort is then cooled down to
between 20 and 26 degrees
Celsius in order to begin the
fermentation process.





















Figure 5
Fermentation

The fully ltered Wort is
transferred to a fermentation vat
where yeast is added.

The mixture is set to a controlled
temperature and stored in the
aerated vat, see Figure 6.

Fermentation can take anywhere
from 3 weeks to several months
depending on what type of beer is
being brewed.








Conditioning and Filtering

The processes of conditioning and
ltering the beer are the nishing
touches before the beer is ready to be
enjoyed. All beer is conditioned but it
varies if there is an individual
conditioning tank from brewery to
brewery.

After the beer is properly aged, the
yeast is ltered out(Figure 7).

Filters can range from ltering only
solids out of the beer, to actually
taking the color from the beer.

After the beer is ltered it is ready
to be bottled and shipped out.





Figure 6
Figure 7
Conclusion

In conclusion, brewing beer is as much of an art as it is a science. It requires brewmasters to
follow an overall basic process.

1. Malting the Barley
2. Milling the Barley
3. The Mash
4. The Wort
5. Boiling
6. Fermentation
7. Conditioning and Filtering

The overall idea behind the process of beer is the fermentation of sugars extracted from grains
into alcohol using yeast. While this process cannot be changed much in of itself, there are many
variables that brewmasters can choose to experiment and tinker with. These variables can
range from ingredients to temperatures and time. This document outlines the most basic
process of brewing beer. There are various grains and almost endless types of hops that
brewers use to create unique and delicious beers.





























Works Cited

Figure 1

"The Process of Brewing Beer." The Process of Brewing Beer. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2014.
<http://thumbnails-visually.netdna-ssl.com/the-process-of-brewing-
beer_502911be3248c_w1500.png>.

Figure 2

"The Process of Brewing Beer." The Process of Brewing Beer. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2014.
<http://thumbnails-visually.netdna-ssl.com/the-process-of-brewing-
beer_502911be3248c_w1500.png>.

Figure 3

"The Process of Brewing Beer." The Process of Brewing Beer. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2014.
<http://thumbnails-visually.netdna-ssl.com/the-process-of-brewing-
beer_502911be3248c_w1500.png>.

Figure 4

"The Process of Brewing Beer." The Process of Brewing Beer. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2014.
<http://thumbnails-visually.netdna-ssl.com/the-process-of-brewing-
beer_502911be3248c_w1500.png>.

Figure 5

"The Process of Brewing Beer." The Process of Brewing Beer. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2014.
<http://thumbnails-visually.netdna-ssl.com/the-process-of-brewing-
beer_502911be3248c_w1500.png>.

Figure 6

"The Process of Brewing Beer." The Process of Brewing Beer. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2014.
<http://thumbnails-visually.netdna-ssl.com/the-process-of-brewing-
beer_502911be3248c_w1500.png>.

Figure 7

"The Process of Brewing Beer." The Process of Brewing Beer. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2014.
<http://thumbnails-visually.netdna-ssl.com/the-process-of-brewing-
beer_502911be3248c_w1500.png>.

Bottle Numbers

"Beer Bottle Blank Label." WP Clip Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2014. <http://www.wpclipart.com/
food/beverages/alcohol/beer/beer_bottle_blank_label.png.html>.