Making Beer - Part 2
When you last joined us, the wort was cooled and poured into a fermentation tub. Let's move-on, shall we?
Going All Yeasty on You
While yeast is really an essential ingredient in beer, what we saw in Part - 1, the Fab Three of water, grain and hops could be classified as the blood, heart and brains of the stuff. Yeast might best be described as the digestive tract and clothes.
Clothes because there are a couple of styles of yeast that can be brought to task. It's either dressed in lager or ale. Then there are so many breakdowns of brewer's yeast it could fill a walk-in closet made for the Green Giant. This variety of yeasts gives you the final flavors of the finished product.
Digestive tract because the yeast eats and releases more alcohol from all that sugar in the wort.
Bright Beer
Are we there yet? Nope. We're at the stage where the suds are simply known as bright beer. The yeast did its magic by converting the brew into something close. But you wouldn't want to swig a glass right now. We still have to carbonate the liquid.
At the bright beer stage the pre-drinkable fluid needs to take a load-off its feet for anywhere from several weeks to a bunch of months. Lagers like to rest longer. Ales snap into action in a much shorter period of time. Getting all etymological in your face, here's the official word on lager:
"From Old High German legar, from Proto-Germanic legran. Cognate with Danish lejr, Norwegian leir, Gothic (ligrs), English lair, Swedish läger ("place to sleep/camp") and lager ("storage/stock")."
Note the Swedish derivation – "place to sleep/camp."
While the beer is camping-out, a pair of things happen. First, a touch of filtering takes place when the heavy contents sink to the bottom. And B, the aging helps to bring-out the flavors. That's why you want to put it in a "place to sleep."
Bubbling and Bottles
During the super-charging process – fermentation – some of the CO2 doesn't jump out of the container. Also, brewers will perform another show by re-fermenting the bright beer with more sugar. After measuring the yeast still living in the vat, the near-beer is put into its final resting place, like a bottle or a keg and a little sugar is added. Brewmeisters are very anal about this. Add just the right amount or you'll get a batch for the cows.
Time to Seal-up the Containers
There's yet another way to bring-in the bubbly. This is a forceful act. Manufacturers will punch a bunch of carbon dioxide right into the uncorked container before plugging things up. Some think this is cheating, so many craftsmen (and women) do not subscribe to the forced carbonation method.
This is not an exhaustive blow-by-blow, but it gives you an idea of some of the science and processes behind that cold one in the fridge. More importantly, when you get that home brew kit, you'll have a better idea of WTF is behind what ultimately becomes curtain number 1.
Get it? Number 1? That's the true final destination for your pint.
Going All Yeasty on You
While yeast is really an essential ingredient in beer, what we saw in Part - 1, the Fab Three of water, grain and hops could be classified as the blood, heart and brains of the stuff. Yeast might best be described as the digestive tract and clothes.
Clothes because there are a couple of styles of yeast that can be brought to task. It's either dressed in lager or ale. Then there are so many breakdowns of brewer's yeast it could fill a walk-in closet made for the Green Giant. This variety of yeasts gives you the final flavors of the finished product.
Digestive tract because the yeast eats and releases more alcohol from all that sugar in the wort.
Bright Beer
Are we there yet? Nope. We're at the stage where the suds are simply known as bright beer. The yeast did its magic by converting the brew into something close. But you wouldn't want to swig a glass right now. We still have to carbonate the liquid.
At the bright beer stage the pre-drinkable fluid needs to take a load-off its feet for anywhere from several weeks to a bunch of months. Lagers like to rest longer. Ales snap into action in a much shorter period of time. Getting all etymological in your face, here's the official word on lager:
"From Old High German legar, from Proto-Germanic legran. Cognate with Danish lejr, Norwegian leir, Gothic (ligrs), English lair, Swedish läger ("place to sleep/camp") and lager ("storage/stock")."
Note the Swedish derivation – "place to sleep/camp."
While the beer is camping-out, a pair of things happen. First, a touch of filtering takes place when the heavy contents sink to the bottom. And B, the aging helps to bring-out the flavors. That's why you want to put it in a "place to sleep."
Bubbling and Bottles
During the super-charging process – fermentation – some of the CO2 doesn't jump out of the container. Also, brewers will perform another show by re-fermenting the bright beer with more sugar. After measuring the yeast still living in the vat, the near-beer is put into its final resting place, like a bottle or a keg and a little sugar is added. Brewmeisters are very anal about this. Add just the right amount or you'll get a batch for the cows.
Time to Seal-up the Containers
There's yet another way to bring-in the bubbly. This is a forceful act. Manufacturers will punch a bunch of carbon dioxide right into the uncorked container before plugging things up. Some think this is cheating, so many craftsmen (and women) do not subscribe to the forced carbonation method.
This is not an exhaustive blow-by-blow, but it gives you an idea of some of the science and processes behind that cold one in the fridge. More importantly, when you get that home brew kit, you'll have a better idea of WTF is behind what ultimately becomes curtain number 1.
Get it? Number 1? That's the true final destination for your pint.
Source...