Homebrewing
A short intro to great hobby
Part 1
by
Richard Rarkin
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2012 by Richard Rarkin
Smashwords Edition, License Notes.
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Homebrewing
A short intro to a great hobby – part 1
by
Richard Rarkin
Introduction
Many books about homebrewing have been published lately, and the hobby is becoming increasingly popular. In that respect this text is just one among countless others. However, this book is a little bit different. There are no pictures or illustrations in this ebook. Other books and sources on the Internet supply this in large amounts. I want to explain beer and brewing in an easy manner without getting into minute details and specifics. The principles of homebrewing is what matters here. I want to give a broad overview of the brewing process which I think is important to know in order to make good beer at home. This is part 1 of this ebook.
What is beer?
This may seem like a stupid question since everybody knows what beer is. Most people know that beer consists of water, malt, hops and yeast. But what is malt and what are hops? These questions will be explained later in this ebook series.
Broadly speaking there are two types of beer: ales and lagers. The difference between these is the type of yeast used and the fermentation temperature. Lagers use a yeast species called Saccharomyces carlsbergensis and the fermentation is conducted at around 10 °C or 50 °F. At this temperature a clean, crisp taste is produced which is perfect for pilsner-style beers. The other type of beer, ales, are produced with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This yeast is used at higher temperatures; more like room temperature. Often the fermentation temperature is about 18 to 20 °C or 65 to 68 °F. Ale yeast produce a more complex, fruitier taste profile which is appropriate in for example pale ale.
There are many styles of beer within both the ale and lager categories. I won't get into the styles here but will briefly mention the most important ones, at least to the beginner. The most famous ale-styles are: pale ale, brown ale, mild ale, porter, stout. The most famous lager-styles are: pilsner and other lagers derived from the lager style technology.
Why make it at home?
A lot of guys start brewing to save money. Alcoholic beverages tend to be highly taxed so making it yourself will be much cheaper. However, the most rewarding thing is to know that you've made it yourself. It is something you can be proud of when you serve it to others. Brewing beer is an ancient tradition and it's nice to part of that.
Malts
Malt is “semi-sprouted” cereal which is dried and sometimes roasted. Barley is by far the most used cereal in brewing. The second one is wheat which is less suited but can add beneficial characteristics to beers. It is a crucial ingredient in wheat beers but is also added to other beers to improve head retention. Specialty malts are sometimes added according to style. Corn and rice may also be used, as well as sugar.
Hops and the boiling of wort
Hops are the spice in beer. It gives the distinctive bitter taste and it supplies flavor and aroma. In addition, it has properties which prolongs the self-life of the beer. The bitter taste is introduced into the wort through boiling. Hops contain a substance called alpha-acid and molecule is dissolved and isomerized during boil. The properties of the hops and boil length determine the resulting bitterness, flavor and aroma.
Brewer's yeast and fermentation of beer
The yeast is the workhorse. It performance the most import step in brewing; turning wort into beer. Put in other words: the brewer makes the wort, the yeast makes the beer.
The yeast is a single-celled organism about 10 µm in diameter. It is a fungi which can be found on the surface on many fruits, especially on grapes. Brewer's yeast is a strain of yeast which has evolved from native, wild yeast through thousands of years by humans. Many strains are now available to the homebrewer, and these have different properties which have been molded and appreciated by generations of brewers.
When the yeast is pitched the cells dive into a sugar-rich, oxygenated wort. Yeast needs oxygen to multiply and that's what it starts out to do. The amount yeast increases as each cell enjoys the nice, sugary wort. They have a feast! But the enjoy is not going to last forever. The level of oxygen decreases and the yeast will soon be forced to interrupt its aerobic bliss. When humans sprint as fast as they can, oxygen can't get fast enough to the muscles. Lactic acid is produced and you soon feel the acidic pain in your legs. The same goes for yeast, although they do not produce lactic acid, but alcohol or more specifically, ethanol. So the yeast is forced to get energy from sugar through an anaerobic process. When oxygen is absent it no longer duplicates but eat sugars to the very end, or at least to it gets bored and goes dormant.
Yeast is active in all the wort but some strains seem to like it at the top. They create a lot of foam and clump together at the surface of the wort, or green beer as it should now be called. Yeast can be harvested from the top of the beer and used later in other beers. Top-cropping yeasts are ale yeasts but not all ale yeasts are top-cropping. Lager yeast always sediment at the bottom and must be harvested from there.
When the sugars run out the yeast has to look for other molecules to digest. Earlier in the sugary feast carbon dioxide, ethanol, higher alcohols, diacetyl and other stuff were produced. Diacetyl is one of the molecules which the yeast can turn to in these sugar-poor times. This is a good thing because diacetyl is not wanted in the beer, at least not all beers. The yeast can now clean up the beer in a step often referred to as the diactyl rest.
The first stage of fermentation is often referred to as “primary fermentation” or just “primary” for short. This stage constitutes the growth phase and consumptions of sugars. The second stage is called “secondary fermentation” or just “secondary”. This is a bit of a misnomer because the fermentation takes place during primary stage. In “secondary”, the beer is cleaned up by the yeast, and it gets clearer as the yeast cells settle out.
When the gravity is stable and the beer is reasonable bright the beer is ready for packaging. I will talk more about this in part 2.
The end of part 1.
About the author
Richard Rarkin is an author living in Scandinavia. He enjoys brewing and cooking.
Also by Richard Rarkin
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Copyright © 2012 by Richard Rarkin