Brewing/Brewing Overview

The idea of this section is to outline the brewing process as simply as possible

Process Areas

The main processes in a brewery are:

• Raw materials handling
• Wort production
• Fermentation
• Storage (or lagering)
• Filtration (not all brewers filter the beer)
• Packaging

Raw Materials handling

It takes good malt and hops to make good beer. This malt and hops needs to be stored correctly to maintain its quality.

Wort Production

Better known as the brewhouse. This is the hot process to make wort (a growth medium for yeast) and invloves:

• Converting the starches to sugars (fermentable and unfermentable)
• Recovering the wort from the mash
• Boiling the wort with the hops to extract the bitterness from the hops
• Cooling the wort before pitching the yeast

Fermentation

Fermentation begins once the yeast is pitched.

The yeast takes up the sugars and produces alcohol and carbon dioxide

At the end of fermentation the yeast flocculates out of the beer to be cropped and be re-pitched into the next brew

There are various measures for the end of fermentation, the simplest being time, others include (PG - LE) and diacetyl levels

Storage

Storage is the cold process for the final removal of yeast and haze precursor material to prepare the beer for filtration.

Filtration

Filtration is the polishing process, the yeast and chill haze material is removed from the beer.

This is the final chance to adjust and correct the beer technical details before packaging.

Packaging

Packaging is about maintaining the beer quality all the way to the customer.

Other important actions covered by packaging Presenting the marketing of the brand to the consumer; fulfilling legal requirements such as volume, alcohol content and producers' details.