Brewing Terms
The brewing terms used in a brewing process can summarized as follows:
The first step, where the wort is created by mixing the starch source (normally malted barley) with hot water, is known as “mashing”. Hot water (known as “liquor” in brewing terms) is mixed with crushed malt or malts (known as the “grain bill”) in a mash tun.
The mashing process takes around 1 to 2 hours, during which the starches are converted to sugars, and then the sweet wort is drained off the grains. The grains are now washed in a process known as “sparging” or “lautering”. This washing allows the brewer to gather as much of the fermentable liquid from the grains as possible. Most modern breweries use a continuous wash. However, it is possible to go through a second or even third mash with the not quite spent grains. Each run would produce a weaker wort and thus a weaker beer. This process is known as second (and third) running. Brewing with several running is called parti gyle brewing.
The sweet wort collected from sparging is put into a kettle, or “copper”, (so called because these vessels were traditionally made from copper) and boiled, usually for about one hour. During boiling, water in the wort evaporates, but the sugars and other components of the wort remain; this allows more efficient use of the starch sources in the beer. Boiling also destroys any remaining enzymes left over from the mashing stage. Hops are added during boiling in order to extract bitterness, flavor and aroma from them. Hops may be added at more than one point during the boil. The longer the hops are boiled, the more bitterness they contribute, but less of the hop flavor and aroma remains in the beer.
After boiling, the hopped wort is then cooled and ready for the yeast. In some breweries, the hopped wort may pass through a hopback, which is a small vat filled with hops, to add aromatic hop flavoring and to act as a filter; but usually the hopped wort is simply cooled for the fermenter, where the yeast is added.
During fermentation, the wort becomes beer in a process which requires a week to months depending on the type of yeast and strength of the beer. In addition to producing alcohol, fine particulate matter suspended in the wort settles during fermentation. Once fermentation is complete, the yeast also settles, leaving the beer clear.
Fermentation is sometimes carried out in two stages, primary and secondary. Once most of the alcohol has been produced during primary fermentation, the beer is transferred to a new vessel and allowed a period of secondary fermentation. Secondary fermentation is used when the beer requires long storage before packaging or greater clarity. When the beer has fermented, it is packaged either into casks for cask ale or kegs or bottles for other sorts of beer.
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