West Coast Brewer Home Brewing Blog
A HERMS or heat exchanged recirculating mash system is a mash recirculation system that regulates mash temperature by pumping the wort from the mash tun through a heat exchanging tube, coil inside of the hot liquor tank, or a secondary heating tank. The wort then flows back into the mash tun to maintain the mash temp without applying direct heat to the mash tun.
A hopback or hop back is a small hop-filled vessel, typically made of copper or stainless steel, that is placed between the brew kettle and wort chiller, or brew kettle and fermentation chamber. It is highly recommended that you place the hopback between the brew kettle and chiller if an external chiller is being used.
If the beer is chilled, then the wort flowing over the hops will be far less effective at extracting the resins and oils from the hops. If the temperature of the wort is under 170° F, the alpha acids will not isomerize, and no bitterness will be imparted on the wort. The aromas extracted from the hops will be diminished as well.
Whole hops are typically recommended or required for using most hopbacks, as pellet hops are more prone to clogging, and a good deal of the particulates from pellet hops will end up in your fermentation vessel. In addition to adding hop flavor and aroma to your wort, a hopback is also a valuable tool to filter the hot break and or cold break from your brew kettle to your fermenter. As the wort passes through the hopback, the hops will work as an organic screen, capturing many of the larger protein and particulate masses that enter it.
Below is the Blichmann Hop Rocket that I use when a hopback is needed for one of my beers.
Home brewing hopback/hop back, Blichmann hop rocket
A hydrometer is an instrument used to measure the specific gravity of liquid in comparison to pure water. The hydrometer is important because it allows a brewer to determine several things:
Below are three examples of different hydrometers that are available to brewers, including one used for determining your final gravity.
Beer brewing hydrometers for taking specific gravity readings such as original gravity and final gravity.
Here is the final gravity reading from a hydrometer that also registers temperature so that corrections can be made if the beer is too hot or too cold.
Beer hydrometer showing a final gravity reading.
Hot break is the clumping of proteins, solids, and tannins that fall out of the wort during the boil and eventually collect at the bottom of the kettle. A steady boil is the key to achieving a good hot break, which will typically occur 5-15 minutes after the boil begins. When the foam on top of your boil finally dissipates, you know that many of the proteins have coagulated and that your hot break has occurred. A hot break is important because it aids in removing undesirable and potentially off flavor causing tannins and compounds from the boil. It also helps improve clarity and reduces the risk of chill haze down the line.
Below is a photo of the hot break in a 20 gallon brew kettle, approximately 15 minutes after the boil first began.
Hot break, 15 minutes after the boil started.
Head retention refers to a beer’s ability to retain its foamy head once the beer has been poured. In most styles of beer, a thick foamy head that does not dissipate too quickly is very desirable. The three primary factors that impact a beer’s head are the carbonation level of the beer, residual proteins that form the body of the finished beer, and isomerized humulones pulled from the hops that were added during a beer’s boil. Hops that are added during fermentation or once the beer has cooled below approximately 175° F will not isomerize and will have very little impact on head retention. A stronger or hoppier beer will tend to have better head retention because it will usually have more residual proteins and a greater amount of isomerized humulones.
The most common ways of enhancing a beer’s head retention are to add high alpha acid hops during the boil, utilize grains such as crystal malts or wheat, or add an adjunct such as maltodextrin to your boil. Striking the right balance is a bit of an art, as you do not want to compromise the taste of your beer or risk clarity issues by pushing too hard for good head retention.
A grain bill or mash bill is the whole of the different malts, grains, and adjuncts that make up a beer. The grain bill is very important when designing a beer recipe, as it is primarily responsible for the potential original gravity, color, and diastatic power of the beer.
A mash bill or grain bill is the whole of the different malts, grains, and adjuncts that make up a beer. The mash bill is very important when designing a beer recipe, as it is primarily responsible for the potential original gravity, color, and diastatic power of the beer.
A beer’s grist is the milled or crushed malt and grain that comprises the grain bill prior to the mashing process. An example description of a beer’s grist would be: crushed American two-row malted barley, German pilsner malt, and some white wheat malt.
Bright beer is beer that has fully clarified and is free from haze, nearly all particulates, and yeast has fallen out of suspension.
Flocculation refers to a yeast strain’s tendency to clump together and drop out or fall out of suspension to the bottom of the fermenter or holding vessel. As yeast flocculates, the beer begins to clarify. Some yeast strains tend to have high flocculation, such as Wyeast Scottish – 1728, while other strains like Wyeast American Wheat – 1010 have very low flocculation. The physical appearance of the yeast cell plays a big part in its flocculation level.
It is important to choose a yeast with an appropriate flocculation profile when designing a beer; for instance you would not pair a Belgian Wit wort with a high flocculation yeast, as you want some of the yeast to stay in suspension in the finished beer.
An airlock or fermentation lock is a single direction sanitary valve used during fermentation. It allows the large quantities of carbon dioxide being produced by the yeast to escape while not permitting outside air\oxygen or contaminants to enter the fermentation chamber. This creates a sanitary seal on the fermenter and helps prevent the oxidization of the fermenting beer.
The airlock or fermentation lock typically contains a sanitizer to help maintain the integrity of the fermenter. Airlocks tend to be made of clear plastic or glass so that the CO2 bubbles passing through them can be monitored as a way of gauging how active the fermentation process is.
Below is an example of a three piece airlock, S shaped airlock, and a blowoff tube.
An fermentation lock or airlock is a single direction sanitary valve used during fermentation. It allows the large quantities of carbon dioxide being produced by the yeast to escape while not permitting outside air\oxygen or contaminants to enter the fermentation chamber. This creates a sanitary seal on the fermenter and helps prevent the oxidization of the fermenting beer.
The airlock or fermentation lock typically contains a sanitizer to help maintain the integrity of the fermenter. Airlocks tend to be made of clear plastic or glass so that the CO2 bubbles passing through them can be monitored as a way of gauging how active the fermentation process is.
Below is an example of a three piece airlock, S shaped airlock, and a blowoff tube.
Example of different types of airlocks/fermentation locks and a blowoff tube.
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