The Brewing Process: Part I

Intro -

Depending on who you talk to or where you look there are 7 - 9 steps to the brewing process (those two extra steps in the 9 step process are considered sub-steps by the 7 step brewers). The brewing process can take anywhere from a few weeks to over a year depending on the beer being brewed. Although the process is pretty straightforward, there is a log of equipment used in brewing. This first brewing post will cover the first three steps of the brewing process: Mashing, Lautering and Brewing(Boiling).


Mashing:

Mashing ultimately converts the starches in the grains into sugars that will later be turned into alcohol. The mashing step calls for the grains, which have been soaked in water, heat dried and crushed, to be added to warm water in a container called a mash tun. During the soak, 1-2 hours, the water absorbs the sugar from the grains. When mashing is finished the next step is to strain the water, now called "wort", from the grains ...

Wort Removal/Lautering:

The wort is removed from the mash tun, which usually has some sort of bottom section that can double as a strainer. From here the wort is poured into a brew kettle to await the addition of the beers most famous ingredient; hops ...

Brewing/Boiling:

Once in a brew kettle the wort is brought to a boil, which will last from roughly 1-2 hours. It is during this step that the wort is purified, removing unwanted and harmful byproducts of the first two steps from the wort. The character(flavor, smell, color) of the beer also takes shape during this step, as hops are added to the wort during the boiling. Now that the wort is beginning to take on a personality the sugars need to be turned into alcohol in the fermenting step, and the wort becomes the beer.