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Tag: brewery (Page 3 of 3)

pH

July 16, 2013 / / 0 Comments

pH, short for potential hydrogen, measures the acidity or basicity of a brewing fluid such as the starting water (liquor), mash, wort, or beer. A fluid with a pH less than 7 is acidic, and a fluid with a pH greater than 7 is basic or alkaline. If a fluid has a pH of 7, such as pure water, then it is considered neutral.

 

pH is a very important factor in all grain brewing, and different geographical areas and water sources can have dramatically different pH levels and mineral contents that impact the pH of a mash. Additionally, the style of beer that you brew will have a significant impact on your mash pH level. Typically the darker the color of the malts that comprise your grain bill, the more acidic your mash will be. This is important because the enzymatic conversion of starches to sugars only effectively occurs in a mash that has a pH between 5.0 and 6.0; ideally your mash would be between 5.2 and 5.5 pH, which is considered optimal.

 

A great starting place for dialing in your mash pH is to get a copy of your municipal water report to learn about the pH and mineral composition of your brewing water. Software such as BeerSmith has great tools built in that will help you determine when brewing salt and mineral additions are required to help you bring your pH in line when comparing your local water to that of a specific style of beer. Lastly, purchasing some inexpensive pH testing strips is an effective way to ensure that your mash pH is at an appropriate level.

 

 

A wide selection of home brewing pH testing equipment can be found here:

Home Brewing pH testing equipment

 

Photo of ColorpHast pH testing strips used during the mashing phase of a home brewed beer.

Brewing pH Strips

Brewing pH Strips

Beer Rack

July 15, 2013 / / 0 Comments

A beer rack is another term for a home brewery. Most home brewing beer racks or brewing racks have three vessels: a hot liquor tank, mash tun, and a boil kettle. The home brewing beer rack shown below is a single-tier rack that uses march pumps to transfer liquid from one vessel to another at different stages of the brewing process. Each vessel has a separate propane burner beneath it to apply heat when needed.

 

 

 

If you are interested in purchasing a home brewing rack, there are a wide variety of beautiful stainless steel single-tier and multi-tier beer rack models available here:

Home Brewing Racks

 

Here’s an image of the WestCoastBrewer.com home brewing beer rack.

Beer Rack for home brewing

Beer Rack for home brewing

Lautering

July 14, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Lautering is a brewing process where hot water (typically heated to 168-170° F) is used to flush the sugars from the crushed grains after the mash has completed. Once flushed from the grains, the hot water and sugars are then transferred from the mash tun or lauter tun.

lauter tun

July 14, 2013 / / 0 Comments

A lauter tun is a brewing vessel used by large scale breweries. After the mash has completed, the grains are transferred to the lauter tun where the converted sugars can be thoroughly extracted from the grains. The lauter tun has rotating arms with cutting blades that rake the mashed grains. Hot water is sprayed upon the grains to flush the sugar though a false bottom at the base of the lauter tun.

Lager

July 14, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Lagers are beers that are fermented using a bottom fermenting yeast. These yeasts are slow fermenting and they require a lower temperature when compared to ales. Depending on the yeast strain, a lager typically conducts a primary fermentation at a temperature range between 40° F and 55° F.

Lager is the German word for storage, and lagers generally have their secondary fermentation temperature reduced and may need to condition for several months before they are considered finished.

kilning

July 13, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Kilning is the process of drying malted grain in a kiln using an indirect heat source to halt germination and evaporate much of the moisture from the malted grains. Kilning grain started to become popular in the early 18th century and was the predominant method for drying malt by the 19th century. Prior to kilning, malt was often dried over open flame which would impart a smoke flavor in the finished beer, similar to what you may find today in a German rauchbier.

Fermentation

July 8, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Beer fermentation is the metabolic conversion of malt and adjunct sugars to alcohol, acid, and CO2 using yeast or bacteria. As yeast and bacteria convert the wort sugars, approximately equal amounts of carbon dioxide and alcohol are produced. The alcohol being produced by the yeast is less dense than the sugars and water the yeast is metabolizing, so the gravity of the fermenting beer drops while fermentation continues to occur.

The two predominant types of fermentation are top fermenting which is used for ales, and bottom fermenting which is typical for lagers. The time frame for a fermentation to complete is dependent on a great many factors, just a few of them include the types of sugars that the wort is composed of, the amount of sugar in the wort (original gravity), the type of yeast and or bacteria used, the amount of yeast and or bacteria used, the health of the yeast and or bacteria, and temperature the fermentation occurs at. Most fermentations will take approximately two to six weeks to complete, but some may take upwards of a year before the beer is considered ready.

 

Below is a photo of beer during primary fermentation.

Primary Fermentation

Primary Fermentation

Diastatic Power

July 7, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Diastatic power or enzymatic power is the measurement of how much starch-converting enzyme a malted grain contains. It is shown in degrees Lintner. If your mash does not contain an adequate amount of diastatic power, you will not convert a high enough portion of the starch in your grain bill to sugar, which will translate to a low brew house efficiency and lower than expected starting gravity.

To be safe, you should aim for an average of at least 75 degrees Lintner for your total grain bill. For the most part, light base malts are used to make up the real diastatic power of a mash. Caramelized, toasted, and roasted malts have diminished diastatic power due to excessive heating. Generally, the darker the roast of the malted grain, the less diastatic power it will have.

Cold Crashing

July 6, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Cold crashing or cold filtering is a common method used to clarify beer. When a beer is cold crashed, it is chilled down to approximately 35 F and left for several days to several weeks. During that time, yeast and other solids tend to clump together and fall to the bottom of the fermenter or holding tank. The clarified beer is then racked above the layer of sediment and potentially ran through a filter if additional clarification is desired. Cold crashing or filtering is not appropriate for some beer such as a hefeweizen or certain Belgian ales where a yeasty flavor or hazy beer is desired.

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