Beer & the Brewing

Process
Dion Hyde
What this presentation is
about
 The ingredients
 Malting
 Fermentation
 Keg system
 Pouring
 Problems
Beer - the brewing
process
 Three ingredients:
 HOPS (further flavour)
 MALT (the source of sugar)
 WATER (pure)
 YEAST is a catalyst - vital, but technically
not an ingredient!
 Sugar is sometimes added to NZ beers!
Water

 Most breweries were built over a

SPRING - they need plenty of pure water
 Mineral content is important - water is
“Bertonised” - remove all impurities, and
balance the mineral level to suit the beer
being made
Hops
The hops

 Hops are picked and processed

immediately
 The OIL is the essential ingredient
 Large amounts of dried pressed hops
were used in the past
 Now, the hops are “pelletised” - the
quality and flavour are much better and
more consistent
Malted barley
Structure
of the
barley
grain
Malt Production

 Barley grain is a rich source of starch

 Starch is a complex sugar
 Germination of the barley grain causes
the enzymes in the barley to break
down the starches into sugars.
 The Barley is then roasted to stop the
germination - now called MALT
 The more it is roasted, the darker it gets
- used for the darker beers
Malting

 The Malt is crushed into GRIST

 The grist is mixed with warm water
 This warm, sweet water is called WORT
 The WORT goes through a process of
SPARGING to wash all the sugars out
of the spent grain
 Yeast is added to begin the
fermentation process
 HOPS are then added
Tank being prepared for new
batch of barley to be malted
Barley being prepared for
malting
Barley being “turned”
The
roasted
malt is
ground
into grist
through a
roller mill
Malt colour

 Light malt = lager = pale gold colour

 Malt = ale / draught = medium brown
 Dark malt = stout = dark, almost black
Wort cooker (sugar
extraction from malt)
Yeast - top fermentation
Wooden
fermentatio
n tank
Fermentation tank
Modern fermentation

 Most beers now used the “chilled

fermentation” (lager) method - ensuring a
higher quality product
 The process is slower (2 - 6 weeks)
compared to 2 -4 days to top ferment
 Chilled fermentation yeasts SINK to the
bottom of the fermentation vessel
 Spent yeast is often processed into
breakfast spread! (Vegemite etc)
The Beer Keg system

CO2 gas IN Beer OUT

Pouring

 Clean glass - flat

 Handle on FULL
 Tilt glass once head is formed
 Keep tilted until at top
 Beer and tap must NOT touch glass
 Serve to customer
Pouring Problems

 6 common reasons (most likely first)

 TECHNIQUE
 HYGIENE
 AGE
 PRESSURE (don’t fiddle!)
 TEMPERATURE (door open?)
 SUNLIGHT (will affect flavour)
My beer is frothy!
 If the beer is too frothy, the common mistake is to
adjust (reduce) the gas pressure.
 WRONG!
 Check the pouring technique
 Check the beer temperature – the more likely cause
will be a fresh delivery or beer cooler/line chiller fault. Is
the door closed?
 A warm glass out of the glass washer is the worst
 Check for a “kink” in the line by the keg, or bad pouring
technique.
 Faults can occasionally occur at the tapping head – a
worn or faulty seal may allow air into the system.
My beer is flat!

 Check the temperature – is the chiller,

line or glass too cold?
 Hygiene – dirty chiller, line, tap, or glass?
 Clean bartender? (hands & hair – oil or
perfume)
 Check the technique
 Check the “best by” date on the keg.
What are the essential
things to consider when
storing beer?

 A. Make sure the product is fresh. Store

cold beer in the dark. Rotate stock.
Minimise the effect of light.
 What is the worlds oldest style beer and
where does it derive from?

 A. Ale. This comes from a brew made

from bees honey around 3000 BC in
Egypt, North Africa and the Middle East.
 Or was it 4500 years ago???
 What addition is used in the production of
milk stout?

 A. Lactose. This is an un-fermentable

sugar, producing beer low in alcohol with
a creamy, slightly sweet character.
What is a widget and what
is its purpose?

 A. A widget is a plastic device found in

cans which contains nitrogen gas. When
the tab is pulled off, the pressure change
causes a thin membrane to rupture thus
releasing the gas into the beer product
 What is the difference between a light
beer in New Zealand and a lite beer in
The United States?

 A. In NZ it refers to a lighter alcohol

content. In the US it means that the beer
is low in calories.