The Beer Brewing Process

Generic, sequential process for making craft beer:

1. Milling: Malted barley (and/or other grains) are crushed into smaller pieces to create a coarse flour called grist.

2. Mashing: The grist is mixed with hot water in a large vessel called a mash tun to create a porridge-like mixture called mash. This process activates enzymes in the malt that break down the starches into fermentable sugars.

3. Lautering: The liquid part of the mash, called wort, is separated from the solid grain husks in a vessel called a lauter tun. The wort is then transferred to a kettle.

4. Boiling: The wort is boiled for about an hour. During this time, hops are added to the kettle to add bitterness, flavour, and aroma to the beer. Other ingredients, such as spices, fruit, or herbs, may also be added at this stage.

5. Cooling: The boiled wort is rapidly cooled down to a temperature that is suitable for the yeast to be added. In some beer styles dry hopping, or the addition of hops to the cooled wort is done cold-side (usually in the primary or secondary fermenters, or directly in a keg) to prevent the volatile oils from being boiled off as they would be if added to hot wort. These oils are what give dry-hopped beer those fresh tropical, citrus, stone-fruit and pine aromas found in heavily dry-hopped beers like NEIPA.

6. Fermentation: The cooled wort is transferred to a fermentation vessel, where yeast is added. The yeast consumes the fermentable sugars in the wort and produces alcohol and carbon dioxide. This process typically takes several days (for ales) to a few weeks (for lagers).

7. Conditioning: Once fermentation is complete, the beer is conditioned, or matured, for several more days to several weeks. This allows the flavours to meld and the beer to become clearer.

8. Carbonation: Carbon dioxide is added to the beer to give it its characteristic fizziness.

9. Packaging: The beer is packaged in bottles, cans, or kegs and is ready to be sold and enjoyed!

The basic process is generally the same for both small-batch and large commercial styles of beer making. However, commercial breweries often use larger and more automated equipment to handle larger volumes of beer, while small-batch breweries may use more manual methods and smaller equipment. Additionally, large commercial breweries may use additional steps or processes to ensure consistency and quality across large volumes of beer, such as pasteurization and filtration.