Brewing Fresh Beer begins with grains, usually barley, although oats and wheat can also be used. Grains are processed through heating, drying, and cracking, to isolate the enzymes used in beer. The malt used determines the color of the beer, where lightly roasted malts result in very pale beers, whereas highly roasted malts result in black brews.

The finished malt is milled for better water dissolution.  The milled malt is mixed with water in the Mash Tun and left to steep in hot water, producing a sugary liquid called Wort. This is a process called “Mashing-in”. The Mash is filtered in the Lauter Tun and the Wort is separated (lautering).

Following that, the Wort is boiled and clarified and moved to a Copper, where hops are added for bitterness. The type and amount of hops used in the beer determine its flavor. Fed into the whirlpool, the wort is set for filtration.

Fermentation and storage are critical processes in the beer brewing process. After the wort has cooled, it is transferred to a fermentation vessel and yeast is added. The magic happens here: the yeast consumes the sugar and produces carbon dioxide and alcohol. You can add more hops, botanicals, or flavorings to create the kind of beer you’d like to make. The time it takes for the beer to ferment is determined by the type of beer being made.

After the fermentation process is complete, alcoholic beer has been produced, left with the post-brewing steps of storage, filtration, and filling.