Malting is the beginning of the process of converting barley nutrients into a form that is favorable for yeast cell growth and fermentation. The carbohydrates contained in barley grain are insoluble in water, and therefore barley needs additional processing. Malting involves steeping, germinating the barley, then drying the freshly germinated ("green") malt and removing the sprouts.
The preparation of malt is carried out in special rooms called malt houses. Most breweries do not have their own malthouses to produce malt, but use the services of suppliers. The malt is stored at the plant in special silos.
2. Crushing
First of all, the malt is sent to the malt crusher for grinding. This ensures maximum dissolution of its extract in water and a good filtration rate, degree of clarification. As a result of crushing, a mixture of husks, large and small grains, flour is obtained. According to the method of crushing, the following types are distinguished: dry crushing, dry crushing with conditioning, lock conditioning (the shell is moistened, softened, flour is obtained from the internal parts).
3. Mashing
Mashing is the process of transferring all the valuable substances of the grain into an extractive solution and preparing beer wort. In the process of mashing under the influence of temperature and at several temperature pauses, the particles of malt grinding are dissolved (they go into solution as a result of the activity of active enzymes) and starch is converted into simpler types of sugars. At the end of this stage, the wort acquires a sweet taste. The remaining insoluble constituents will later be separated in a lauter vat as brewer's grains.
The art of the brewer is precisely to find the optimum temperatures; temperature is a special beer recipe that is kept secret. In fact, beer is invented at this stage.
4. Filtering
The finished mash after mashing is pumped into a special filter vat, where the initial wort is filtered. This is necessary because in addition to the wort extract, the mash contains the shell and the inner part of the malt, the so-called grains. It is a by-product that must be separated from the wort. If the wort is not clear enough, it is run through the filter again. The clearer the wort, the better the beer will be.
5. Boiling
At this stage, the mass enters the wort kettle, where it is boiled with the addition of hops in one or more stages - “wort hopping”. As a rule, hops, which were added at an early stage of boiling, give the beer a specific taste - bitterness. The addition of hops at the end of the boil adds flavor and softens the bitterness. Boiling can last from 60 to 120 minutes. Hops give the beer a specific taste and aroma, increase its storage stability.
The amount and type of hops added depends on the type of beer being brewed. Hops are considered to be the "soul of beer". At the same production stage, the wort is brought to a certain gravity, which is expressed as a percentage on the label and is called the “extractive gravity of the initial wort”.
6. Clarification and cooling of hopped wort
The resulting hot wort is pumped into a special apparatus - a hydrocyclone, with a volume of one brew, for clarification by settling fine suspended particles of hops and protein. The principle of operation of the device is as follows: the jet of the flow of beer wort is directed tangentially, so the wort rotates inside the device. Under the action of hydrodynamic forces, suspended particles are collected in the form of a cone in the center of the bottom of the apparatus. After settling of the solids, the wort becomes clear and is removed from the sediment, first from the upper levels of the hydrocyclone, and then from the lower levels as transparency increases.
7. Fermentation
Sterile compressed air is first injected into the chilled wort stream through a special aeration and yeast dosing unit, and then brewer's yeast is dosed. Air is necessary for yeast to multiply intensively during the first 12-24 hours of beer wort fermentation. The wort is sent to one of the cylindrical-conical tanks (CCT) - the main fermentation apparatus.
Fermentation lasts from 6 to 8 days - for different varieties of our beer - at a temperature of 9-18°C. At this time, all the sugars contained in the wort are fermented, forming alcohol, carbon dioxide and a certain amount of other substances: glycerin, acetaldehyde, acetic, succinic, citric and lactic acids. Higher alcohols are formed as by-products of fermentation from amino acids, which affect the aroma and taste of beer.
All products of alcoholic fermentation formed in the wort are involved in the formation of the specific taste and aroma (bouquet) of beer.
At the end of the fermentation process, "young beer" is cooled to a temperature of 3°C. In this case, settled yeast is removed from the bottom of the CCT. This is a first generation yeast. They can be used for re-fermentation. How many times they will be used depends both on the quality of the yeast and on the cleanliness and accuracy of production, since they are able to adsorb various substances, even heavy metals. Different races of yeast determine the character of the future beer, and, as a rule, each brewery uses its own pure race.
8. Ripening
Then the beer that has passed the stage of fermentation is sent to the next stage - after-fermentation and maturation. For final maturation, “young beer” is kept at a temperature of 0‑2°С. During this period, it is saturated with carbon dioxide, there is a slow fermentation of the extract remaining in it, clarification and the formation of a bouquet and fullness of taste. After chemical analysis, confirming the readiness of the product, and tasting, the beer is sent for filtration (clarification).
9. Filtering
Since the compounds that cause haze in beer are complex and have a wide range of particle sizes, filtration using diatomaceous earth as an auxiliary material is considered to be the best method for removing them. Diatomaceous earth is a sedimentary rock that creates a porous surface through which beer passes, while particles of substances that affect haze remain.
Lastly, the beer goes through a fine purification stage, during which the smallest particles are removed. If necessary, the beer is additionally saturated with carbon dioxide through a carbonizer and sent to a storage tank - forfas, from which the beer is served for bottling.
10. Bottling
From forfas beer enters the bottling line. Our company has installed filling lines for various types of packaging: glass bottles, aluminum cans, kegs (for delivery to bars and restaurants), PET packaging. The bottling process differs depending on the type of container, but in general it includes: beer pasteurization, container preparation (washing and sterilization), bottling, labeling, packaging in boxes and pallets.
Pasteurization is necessary to ensure a longer shelf life of the beer, in order to avoid changes in the taste and quality of the beer as a result of microbial activity. In this process, the beer is heated to the required temperature for a short period of time.
Beer is poured into bottles that have undergone careful processing (rejection of containers with cracks or other defects), washed inside and out, rinsed, checked for cleanliness in the laboratory. During filling into a container, regardless of its type, it is filled with carbon dioxide for a counter-pressure effect. This effect allows the beer to slowly flow into the bottle under the influence of gravity, preventing foaming, carbon dioxide leakage, oxygen ingress into the beer, and also contributes to uniform filling of the container. Then the bottles are corked, labeled, wrapped in thermal packaging, put on pallets and sent to the finished product warehouse.
Characteristics of products, raw materials and semi-finished products. Beer is a low-alcohol, sparkling drink, a product of complete alcoholic fermentation, made from brewing barley malt using hops.
Due to the saturation of carbon dioxide and the content of a small amount of ethanol, beer not only quenches thirst, but also increases the overall tone of the body. Being a good food emulsifier, it contributes to a more proper metabolism and increased digestibility of food. Beer contains a significant amount of nutrients and biologically active substances: proteins, carbohydrates, trace elements and vitamins.
The quality of beer is evaluated by organoleptic and physico-chemical parameters. According to organoleptic indicators, beer must meet the requirements of the standard for color transparency, aroma, taste, foaming, etc.
Three types of beer are produced: light, semi-dark and dark. Depending on the extractivity, the volume fraction of alcohol in light beer is at least 2.8 ... 9.4%, in semi-dark and dark - 3.9 ... 9.4%. In all types of beer, the mass fraction of carbon dioxide must be at least 0.33%, foam height - at least 30 mm, head retention - at least 2 minutes. The energy value is 30…85 kcal per 100 g of beer, depending on the extract content of the initial wort.
According to the processing method, beer is divided into unpasteurized and pasteurized.
The main raw material for the production of beer is barley brewing malt: light, dark, caramel and burnt. The last two types of malt are obtained from pale malt by heat treatment in a roasting drum and are used for dark beers.
The quality of malt must meet the requirements of the standard for organoleptic (appearance, color, smell, taste) and physico-chemical (grain size, mass fraction of weed impurities, moisture, extract in dry matter of malt, duration of saccharification, etc.). According to these indicators, light malt is divided into three grades (highest, I and II classes), roasted malt into classes I and II. Varietal characteristics of beer largely depend on the ratio of malt types in the recipe and its quality.
For the production of beer, it is possible to use unmalted barley, rice chaff, wheat, defatted corn flour. The use of unmalted raw materials is economically beneficial and technologically justified.
Water is considered optimal for beer if the ratio of the concentration of calcium ions to the total alkalinity of water is at least one, and the ratio of calcium and magnesium ions is 1: 1 ... 1: 3. Water hardness and its salt composition are regulated in various ways (reagent, ion-exchange, electrodialysis and reverse osmosis ).
Hops give the beer a specific bitter taste and aroma, help remove some proteins from the wort, serve as an antiseptic and increase the head retention of the beer. An important component of hops is tannins, the amount of which reaches 3%. Dried hop cones, ground, pelleted or briquetted hops, as well as various hop extracts are used in brewing.
Enzyme preparations are used when using more than 20% of unmalted raw materials in an amount from 0.001 to 0.075% by weight of the processed raw materials. Aminolytic preparations increase the yield of the extract and improve the quality of the wort, proteolytic preparations are used to eliminate colloidal haze in beer, and cytolytic preparations increase the stability of beer.
Features of production and consumption of finished products. The basis of the technological processes of beer production is the biochemical transformations of substances in a living organism, occurring under the influence of enzymes, and the physicochemical processes of the interaction of these substances under the influence of environmental conditions. The main processes of brewing production are associated with the production and fermentation of beer wort, after-fermentation, aging and clarification of beer.
Purpose of the process preparation of beer wort- obtaining an aqueous solution of valuable dry substances of grain raw materials and hops in a ratio determined by the type of beer and the vital activity of yeast, with minimal losses and costs.
For closer contact of the extractable substances with water, to facilitate and accelerate their dissolution, grain raw materials are crushed. Crushing tends to be carried out in such a way that the mealy part of the grain turns into fine grains and flour, and the shell is preserved and used as a filter layer. It is highly advisable to crush moistened malt, which makes it possible to eliminate spray losses typical for crushing dry malt, increase the extract yield by 2.5–3.0% and reduce the duration of mash filtration by 20–25%.
In malt and unmalted grain materials, the content of water-soluble substances is 10-15%. Most of the valuable dry matter, represented mainly by starch and protein, is in an insoluble state. To be converted into a soluble state, they are subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis during the mashing process. The process of mixing crushed grains with water is called mashing, and the resulting mixture congestion.
The main purpose of mashing is to convert malt solids and unmalted materials into a soluble state under the action of malt enzymes and the enzyme preparations used. Malt for wort and beer is not only a source of extractive substances, but also a source of enzymes, under the influence of which the insoluble substances of the malt itself and unmalted materials go into solution. In high-quality malt, the activity of enzymes is high, which makes it possible to carry out the necessary biochemical changes in the mash when using up to 15% of unmalted raw materials. With a large consumption of unmalted materials, enzyme preparations are added.
The action of enzymes and the extraction of soluble substances of grain raw materials is affected by the hydromodulus of mashing. As the mash concentration increases, the rate of enzymatic reactions slows down, which is noticeable when the concentration increases above 16%. Therefore, when mashing, the ratio of crushed grain products to water is usually 1: 4, so that the concentration of the first wort does not exceed 16%.
In the production of dark beers, burnt or caramel malt is used, which is crushed to a fine grind, mashed at a temperature of 80–90 C for 30 minutes, and then served in a general mash.
The mash is prepared in two ways: infusion (infusion) and decoction (decoction). In the infusion method, dry crushed malt is mixed with water of the required temperature, then the mash is slowly heated at a rate of 1 / min with protein and maltose pauses, saccharification and general saccharification pauses. The duration of the pauses is determined by the quality of the malt and the type of beer being prepared and ranges from 20 to 30 minutes. The infusion method is used when using only well-dissolved malt with high enzymatic activity, it allows to reduce the duration of mashing and reduce energy costs.
Decoction methods are characterized by the fact that part of the mash (called the decoction) is boiled to gelatinize the starch, which facilitates the action of enzymes on it and increases the yield of the extract. According to the number of decoctions, one-, two- and three-decoction methods are distinguished. The most common in the industry are single and double decoction methods. When using unmalted raw materials, methods of joint mashing with malt or preliminary separate preparation of it with subsequent combination with malt mash are used.
Fermentation of beer wort- a complex biochemical process during which, under the action of brewer's yeast enzymes, the main amount of wort carbohydrates is fermented. Consumer properties of beer significantly depend on the type of yeast used, which determine the taste and aroma of the finished product.
For certain varieties of dark beer, special races of top-fermenting yeast are used.
There are bottom and top fermentation. They differ in the races of yeast used and the temperature regime. Bottom fermentation usually takes place at 6 ... 10 C, top - at 14 ... 25 C. Both types of fermentation proceed in two stages: the first is usually called the main fermentation, the second is the after-fermentation.
Main fermentation characterized by a more or less intense fermentation of most of the sugars in the wort. Under the conditions of conducting the main fermentation at the initial stage, both fermentation and intensive reproduction of yeast occur simultaneously. Yeast biomass increases by 3...4 times. But with normal fermentation, yeast reproduction ends long before the end of fermentation.
The main biochemical process in main fermentation is the conversion of fermentable sugars into ethanol and carbon dioxide. The process accompanying alcoholic fermentation is the formation of higher alcohols from amino acids, which affect the aroma and taste of beer. Higher alcohols are a kind of by-products of fermentation.
The quality of beer depends significantly on the redox potential of the fermented wort. With a high value of this potential, oxidative processes occur, as a result of which the wort and young beer become darker, the taste of the finished beer deteriorates, and haze may appear. Yeast plays an important role in changing the redox potential. They inhibit oxidative processes, quickly absorbing oxygen dissolved in the wort, spending it on exchange reactions. In addition, the released carbon dioxide displaces oxygen from the wort, which also slows down oxidation.
Of the other physicochemical processes, coagulation of protein substances and foaming are important for fermentation. The formation of alcohol, esters and a decrease in the pH of the fermented wort contributes to the coagulation of protein substances. Protein substances partially denature, partially lose their charge and flocculate. Some fractions of proteins are isolated in the form of large aggregates with simultaneous agglutination and sedimentation of yeast. Mostly protein substances are released, the isoelectric point of which is close to the pH of young beer. At the same time, some of the fine suspensions (protein-tanning compounds) are also deposited, which entered the fermentation apparatus with the wort.
Foaming is due to the release of bubbles of carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide formed during fermentation first dissolves in the fermented wort, and as the wort is saturated, it is released in the form of gas bubbles. An adsorption layer of surfactants (proteins, pectin, hop resins) appears on the surface of the gas bubbles. When individual bubbles stick together, foam appears, gradually covering the surface of the wort. During the fermentation of the wort, the appearance of the foam changes: at a certain period it resembles curls. The basis for the formation of curls is created by coagulated proteins and secreted hop resins, and their formation is carbon dioxide.
Fermentation and beer aging are critical to the flavor, headiness and persistence of the beer. During this period, the same processes take place as during the main fermentation, but more slowly. A decrease in the rate of biochemical processes is mainly due to a lower temperature and a smaller number of yeast cells per unit volume of the fermented product, since the bulk of the yeast is removed from it after the end of the main fermentation.
An important process during post-fermentation and aging is carbonization beer, i.e. saturation of beer with CO 2 - the most important component of beer, which gives beer a pleasant and refreshing taste, promotes foaming, protects beer from contact with atmospheric oxygen, serves as a preservative, inhibiting the development of foreign and harmful microorganisms.
Saturation of beer with gas is carried out with a long exposure of beer in a calm state. The binding and accumulation of carbon dioxide in beer is possible due to the fact that after-fermentation takes place in closed containers under excess pressure. This process is called sheet piling. In tongue-and-groove beer, most of the carbon dioxide is in a supersaturated state. Young beer after the main fermentation contains about 0.2% of dissolved carbon dioxide, and finished beer - at least 0.35 ... 0.40%. On average, under normal conditions of after-fermentation, the supersaturation of beer with carbon dioxide reaches 30 ... 40%.
The essential difference between beer and sparkling water is that the beer remains supersaturated with carbon dioxide after the pressure is removed. The slow release of carbon dioxide when drinking beer is explained by the adsorption properties of colloid-soluble substances contained in its extract.
A very important process during post-fermentation and aging is beer clarification by its long standing. The purpose of clarification is to remove solid particles from beer to give it high transparency, biological and protein-colloidal stability without compromising taste, aroma and head stability.
In order to remove as many particles capable of forming turbidity as possible, clarification must be carried out at low temperatures (about 0 C). With a decrease in the temperature of beer, those substances are released that, under the temperature conditions of the main fermentation, were still soluble. Cloudiness occurs, which is mainly due to protein-tannin compounds. The speed and degree of clarification depend on the nature and size of suspended particles. The heavier and larger the suspended particles, the faster the clarification occurs. Yeast cells settle faster than proteins. The finest suspended particles settle very slowly. For their deposition at 2...4 C, a long time is required. However, the settling yeast absorb protein turbidity and other suspensions, dragging them to the bottom of the tank.
Beer maturation processes are of particular importance during after-fermentation and aging, which consist in the formation of aroma, taste and other consumer properties of the finished product. During the ripening period, biochemical, chemical and physico-chemical processes take place. Due to oxidative processes, substances that cause an unpleasant bouquet of young beer disappear. With aging, the taste of beer improves, pronounced yeast flavor and hop bitterness disappear. The decrease in bitter taste during aging of beer is explained by coagulation and aging of hop resins. This is one of the reasons for the transition of a rough, bitter taste into a noble one. The yeasty flavor disappears as the yeast settles.
Ripened, aged beer is a complex polydisperse system with a solid phase content of 0.15 ... 0.01% per dry matter. Particles of the solid phase of beer can be divided into three groups: yeasts and microorganisms 1…10 microns in size; proteins, polyphenols and carbohydrates with a size of 0.1 ... 10 microns; salts of various metals, foreign particles (adsorbents, tank coating particles). The main mass of the solid phase is yeast (about 90%).
According to the structure and shape of the solid phase substances, flaky (protein), jelly-like (starch and gum substances) and crystalline (salts of various metals) are distinguished. Protein and polyphenol complexes are unstable, which can lead to the formation of haze in the finished beer. These reactions are partially reversible, precipitation of turbidity occurs when the beer is cooled.
Beer clarification by settling is not sufficiently achieved, so the finished beer is further clarified by separation, filtration, or both.
Beer separation based on the intensification of the process of sedimentation of impurities using centrifugal force. The separator for clarification of beer differs from the separator for clarification of wort in the design of the drum: a chamber drum is used for clarification of the wort, and a plate drum is used for beer.
Advantages of separation: reduction of production losses of beer, easier transition from beer of one grade to beer of another grade. However, separators have a low clarification efficiency: particles of a high degree of dispersion are poorly separated. Therefore, separated beer has no shine. When separating, yeast is well distinguished, therefore it is used for preliminary clarification of beer with a high content of poorly flocculating yeast cells (more than 1.5 million per 1 cm 3).
Filtration- the most effective way to clean beer from impurities. Filtration of beer is carried out through an alluvial layer of filter material or through a filter-cardboard. In pre-wash filters, diatomite powders are most often used as a filter material. They mechanically retain particles of turbidity (resins, proteins, yeast cells, etc.). They are prepared from raw diatomite, which is the remains of siliceous shells of unicellular microscopic algae - diatoms.
Diatomaceous earth filters provide good filtration and high performance at a yeast cell content of 0.15…0.3 million per 1 cm 3 of unfiltered beer. With a higher yeast content, the filter performance decreases, so it is recommended to use separators for pre-clarification of beer.
Cardboard is used for clarifying and sterile filtration. The pore size of the cardboard for clarifying filtration is 10...15 µm, for sterile - 3...5 µm. Cardboard is made from wood and cotton pulp with the addition of asbestos. To prevent asbestos fibers from getting into the filter, one side of the cardboard has a porous polymer coating.
Currently, the most convenient filter material is diatomaceous earth - diatomaceous earth. This material forms a filter layer with a significant structural dissection of the surface, which allows it to retain particles less than the average size of the gaps. Depending on the fractional composition of the diatomaceous earth, diatomaceous earth filters can retain particles whose size exceeds 2...5 microns. These filters perform sterile filtration of beer.
However, if the beer is infected, then bacteria are present in it, the size of which is significantly smaller than the size of the pores of the filter material. To dehydrate beer, pasteurization and sterilization are carried out by thermal, chemical, radiation and other processes. As a result of such influences, microorganisms die or are destroyed, thereby increasing the stability of the product. Stability of unpasteurized beer - not less than 8 days, pasteurized and deflated - not less than 30 days. A promising direction for effective beer dehydration is the use of ultrafiltration plants.
The finished beer is packaged in new and recycled bottles with a capacity of 0.5 and 0.33 dm 3 made of orange or green transparent glass. Such colors reduce the negative effect of daylight on the beer and help maintain its quality. Beer is also packaged in new polymer bottles with a capacity of 0.5 ... 2 dm 3 , barrels, kegs, tankers. Bottles should be standard, with a smooth surface, with walls of uniform thickness, heat-resistant. They must withstand an internal pressure of at least 0.08 MPa. To avoid CO 2 losses, the isobaric packaging principle is used.
Stages of the technological process. The preparation of beer can be divided into the following stages:
- - preparation and crushing of malt and unmalted materials;
- - obtaining beer wort;
- - fermentation of wort and post-fermentation of beer;
- - filtration and clarification of beer;
- - packing in consumer and transport containers.
Characteristics of equipment complexes. The initial stages of the technological process are carried out with the help of equipment complexes for grinding malt and preparing beer wort: crushers, mash and brew units, filtration, wort brewers and hop pickers.
The next is a set of line equipment for cooling and clarification of beer wort, consisting of refrigeration compression units, heat exchangers and plate heat exchangers, settling apparatus and separators.
The leading equipment complex of the line is designed for fermentation (fermentation) of beer and consists of fermenters and tanks, installations for continuous fermentation and after-fermentation.
The final is a complex of equipment for the production of finished beer, including filter presses, separators, diatomite and kieselguhr filters for beer clarification, as well as packaging equipment.
The machine-hardware diagram of the beer production line is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 - Machine-hardware diagram of the beer production line
The device and principle of operation of the line. Brewing malt is unloaded from vehicles into a receiving hopper 1 from which it is transported by elevator 2 through the scales 3 into distribution screw conveyors 4 , ensuring the loading of raw materials into silos 5 . In them, the malt is aged for 4…5 weeks and, due to its hygroscopicity, acquires an equilibrium moisture content of 5…6%.
The aged malt, if necessary, is unloaded from the silo 5 through a magnetic catcher and scales 6 on a conveyor belt 7 . From the last malt with a noria 8 and screw conveyor 10 loaded into daily stock bunkers 11 .
Similarly, barley used as unmalted raw material is loaded and stored in silos and then loaded by conveyor 9 to the bunker 11 .
From the bunker 11 malt through a magnetic trap 12 and scales 13 fall into the polishing machine 14 for cleaning from dust and the remains of sprouts. After that, the malt is crushed in a roller crusher. 15 and accumulate in the bunker 17 . Barley grain is fed through a magnetic catcher and scales into a roller machine 16 , and after grinding is loaded into the bunker 17 .
Processing malt of different quality allows a two-brew method of mashing, in which you can easily adjust the technological regime. For the preparation of beer wort in this way in the mash apparatus 20 preliminarily collect about half of the total amount of water required for mashing, turn on the mixer and load from the bins through the pre-masher 17 crushed grain products and mixed with warm water (40 ... 45 C). After the final mixing (mashing), the mash is heated to 45...52 C and the protein pause is maintained for 15...30 minutes.
Then a thick part (about 40%) of the mash mixture (mash) is pumped 19 into another mash (boiled) apparatus 18 . In it, the mash is slowly heated up to 61...63 C and the maltose pause is maintained for 20...30 minutes.
After that, the blockage in the device 18 saccharified for 15 ... 30 minutes at 70 ... 72 C, and then brought to a boil and boiled for 20 ... 30 minutes. First, starch is broken down to dextrins, and then at 75–77 C, a general saccharification of starch occurs. Boiling is necessary to boil large particles of mash malt.
The first decoction from the machine 18 slowly return to the mash apparatus 20 and mixed with the main mash to raise its temperature to 61...63 C, and maintain a maltose pause for 15...20 minutes. After that, about 30% of the main mash (its thick part) is again pumped into the boiled apparatus 18 , heated to 70 ... 72 C, kept for 15 ... 20 minutes, heated and boiled for 7 ... 10 minutes.
The finished second decoction is slowly pumped out of the apparatus 18 into the machine 20 to the main block. At the same time, the temperature of the mash rises to 70...72 C, and starch is saccharified for 20...30 minutes. The duration of exposure can be increased (but not more than 1 hour) until the mash is completely saccharified if the quality of the malt is lowered. After complete saccharification, the mash is heated to 75 ... 77 C and pumped 19 into the filtration apparatus 24 .
At all stages of mashing for the intensification of heat, mass transfer and enzymatic processes during the heating of the mash mass in the machines 18 and 20 mixers work with a high rotational speed; during the holding of the mash at various temperature pauses, the agitators rotate more slowly.
During filtration, the mash is divided into two fractions: liquid (beer wort) and solid phase (grain). In the filtration apparatus 24 the wort is separated through the solid phase of the mash.
The filtration apparatus is a cylindrical vessel with a flat bottom. At a distance of 8…12 mm from the main bottom, there is a second sieve bottom, which serves as the basis for the shot. For the complete extraction of extractives from the grains, there is a baking mechanism and a Segner wheel inside the vat. The filtration apparatus is equipped with a pressure regulator that allows you to adjust the filtration speed and indicates the difference in liquid levels in the filtration tank and the regulator reservoir. To prevent cooling of the mash during filtration, the side walls of the lauter tun are covered with thermal insulation.
During the pumping of the mash, the grains are evenly distributed over the entire surface of the sieves of the filtration apparatus in order to use the layer of grains as a filtration material.
The mash filtration process is divided into two stages: first wort filtration, i.e. wort obtained by filtering the mash, and washing the grains with water in order to extract extractives. The first portions of the filtrate are cloudy, its pump 23 pumped back to the filtration tank. Subsequently, a layer of suspended particles forms on the filter material, through which the mash is filtered, and a clear wort is obtained. It is sent to the wort brewer 27 .
When filtering the wort and washing the grains, the temperature is maintained at 75–78 ° C in order to preserve α-amylase, which breaks down the remains of unsweetened starch washed out of the grains.
The speed of wort filtration in a filtration tun depends on the quality of the mash, the living section of the sieves and the height of the grain layer, which should not exceed 30 ... It should be ensured that the mash does not cool below 75 C. The first wort is filtered for 1–1.5 hours.
After filtering the first wort, another 30% of the wort remains in the grain; to extract it, the pellet is washed with water, which is pumped with a pump 23 from the collection 21 . In this case, a baking powder and a sprinkler are used. The baking powder knives cut the grain, and the water coming from the sprinkler spreads evenly over the grain and washes out the extract remaining in it. Water is supplied during the operation of the baking powder until it appears above the surface of the pellet. When filtering, it is necessary to ensure that the water covers the grains, and its temperature is not lower than 75 ° C and not higher than 80 ° C.
After the last washing water has been drained, the grains with a minimum extract content are unloaded by a pump. 22 from the lauter tun to a special bin, and the sieves and vat are thoroughly washed and prepared for filtering the next mash.
To intensify the process of separating the mash into liquid and solid phases, it is promising to use centrifugal methods using centrifuges and separators.
The filtered wort and washings are collected in a wort brewer. 27 where they boil with hops. From the moment when the wort coming from the filtration tank covers the bottom of the wort kettle, and until the end of the inflow of washing water, the temperature of the liquid is maintained at the level of 75 ...
Hop extract is dosed with a pump 26 from the collection 25 . Hops are dosed into the wort in two or three doses, with the last portion shortly before the end of the boil. The dose of hops depends on the type of beer, the quality and method of adding hops. The amount of hops is greater, the higher the concentration of the wort. The longer the persistence of the beer should be, the shorter the boil time with hops. Pale beers are more hoppy than dark beers and have more hop bitterness.
It is most effective to use hops in the form of an extract. This increases the stability of the beer and simplifies the process of hopping the wort.
To improve the taste properties of beer, it is recommended to first boil the wort without hops, then the malt tannins will act on the proteins. When hops are added to a wort that has been partially freed of proteins, it acquires a strong hop aroma, but without coarse bitterness. If hops are added to the wort at the beginning of boiling, malt tannins, being weaker, do not interact with proteins and remain in solution, giving the wort a rough taste.
To carry out further stages of the technological process of making beer, the biological purity of the wort is required, on which the stability of the final product - beer - depends. For this purpose, a boiling time of 20–25 minutes is sufficient, but in practice the wort is boiled for about 1.5–2 hours. will precipitate and lead to clarification of the wort.
After boiling, the wort should be well clarified, i.e. the proteins curled up in large flakes should settle quickly at the bottom of the trial cup, and the wort should be transparent.
Clarification and cooling of the wort is carried out in order to remove suspended particles from the wort, lower the temperature to a favorable level for fermentation processes and saturate it with atmospheric oxygen. The hot wort passed through the layer of hop grains is transparent. But when cooled, coarse suspensions continue to be released from it, which are formed during the boiling of the wort with hops. The main amount of these suspensions is isolated from the wort in the hop separator 28 . Hot beer enters the collection 29 and then pumped 30 into the hydrocyclone 31 . In it, the wort is cooled relatively slowly to 60-70 C.
When the wort is cooled, substances are released that are soluble in hot and insoluble in cold wort. The precipitate formed in the second stage is called "cold" or thin precipitate. The sedimentation of suspended particles - the clarification of the wort - has a positive effect on the course of the subsequent fermentation process and improves the quality of the beer.
In hot wort, oxygen dissolves slightly; as the temperature of the wort decreases, the solubility of oxygen (as well as other gases) increases. Oxidative processes due to the incoming oxygen proceed more vigorously at a higher temperature: the wort darkens, hop aroma and bitterness sharply decrease. These processes degrade the quality of the wort. However, oxygen promotes coagulation of proteins and the formation of a good sediment in the wort, thanks to which it is better clarified. To reduce unwanted oxidative processes to a minimum, the total duration of clarification and cooling of the wort should not exceed 100 minutes.
After that, the wort is pumped 32 into a plate heat exchanger 33 for rapid cooling to the initial fermentation temperature: up to 6 ... 7 C for bottom fermentation or 14 ... 16 C for top fermentation. Rapid cooling of the wort is done in order to reduce the risk of infection.
Breeding a pure culture of yeast is necessary to increase the mass of yeast from a test tube obtained from a museum collection to the mass of yeast dispensing dosed into a fermenter. The first stages of yeast propagation are carried out in a microbiological laboratory, and then under production conditions on the equipment of the line.
In the sterilizer 34 hot hopped wort is collected, boiled and cooled to 8 ... 12 C. The cooled wort is sent to the fermenter 35 , where the laboratory wiring of a pure yeast culture is transferred. Fermentation of the wort is continued for 3 days. At the same time, yeasts multiply and their biomass increases. After fermentation, part of the yeast distribution (10 dm 3) is taken from the apparatus into a vessel for seed yeast, where it is stored until the next reseeding. The main part of the yeast distribution from the apparatus is pumped into the second fermenter 36 , in which the yeast multiply for 3 days. The digested biomass enters the fermenter 37 with a capacity of 1000 dm 3 , where 300 dal of factory hopped wort are added, and after 12 hours - another 400 dal. After 36 hours, the fermented wort as a yeast distribution is pressed by compressed air into the current of the wort entering the fermentation.
In the following cycles, the fermenters, freed from yeast, are filled with sterile wort from the sterilizer and seeded with yeast stored in vessels (10 dm 3). The process of yeast propagation in the apparatus is repeated many times until the detection of foreign microflora in the yeast.
Excess seed yeast from the main fermenter 42 with a vacuum pump 39 through an intermediate vacuum collector 40 sent to vibrating sieve 38 . Yeast is processed on a vibrating screen to separate large flakes of protein substances and hop resins, and then thoroughly washed with cold water at a temperature of 1 ... 2 C. Purified liquid yeast enters the collection 41 to re-feed the machine 42 or for shipment for sale.
Fermentation of beer wort is carried out in fermenters (tanks). Fermenters 42 , 44 and 45 are cylindrical stainless steel tanks.
Into the main fermenter 42 dose the fermentation mixture obtained by mixing the yeast wiring and cold hopped wort by blowing sterile air or carbon dioxide. Fermentation in the apparatus 42 proceeds in several stages. They differ from each other and are characterized by a change in the appearance of the surface of the fermenting wort, a change in temperature, a decrease in the extract of the wort and the degree of clarification of the beer.
The duration of the main fermentation depends on the extract of the must and the fermentation temperature. With the cold method, the duration of the must fermentation with an extractivity of 11 ... 13% is 7 ... 8 days, 14 ... 20% - 9 ... 12 days. The main fermentation is considered complete if the young beer is clarified, and 0.1 ... 0.2% of the wort extract is fermented per day.
Young beer from the machine 42 pump 43 pumped into devices for after-fermentation and maturation of beer (lager tanks) 44 and 45 . Fermentation of beer is carried out at a temperature of 1 ... 2 C in closed apparatus without contact with air, under a carbon dioxide pressure of 0.04 ... 0.06 MPa. To hold the beer under a certain constant pressure, special pressure regulators are used, called groovers.
First, the post-fermentation process proceeds with the sheet pile open, and only after some time (after 1 ... 2 days) the tanks are hermetically closed. Immediately after pumping, young beer cannot be sheeted, since there is 2 ... 4% of air space above the beer in the tanks. With increased pressure, air can dissolve into the beer and interfere with the maturation process. A few days before piling, all the air above the surface of the beer will have had time to displace the carbon dioxide.
The total duration of after-fermentation and maturation of beer in the apparatus 44 and 45 is 11 ... 90 days, depending on the type of beer being prepared and the technology adopted. The course of fermentation and aging is controlled by the loss of extract, the increase in carbon dioxide and alcohol content, the degree of clarification, and, finally, by aroma, taste and foaminess. An indicator of the end of fermentation is the final degree of fermentation. To obtain a more persistent beer, almost the final degree of fermentation is reached, the difference is only 1 ... 2%.
Along with the periodic method of fermentation and post-fermentation of beer in our country and abroad, continuous and accelerated methods are used. To obtain beer, high-capacity cylindrical-conical fermenters (TsKBA) are effectively used. This apparatus 47 is a vertical cylindrical vessel made of stainless steel with a conical bottom, equipped with cooling belts, thanks to which it is possible to set an individual temperature regime in height. The inner surface is polished.
In the device 47 the processes of main fermentation, after-fermentation and maturation of beer are combined. The apparatus is filled with wort and yeast wiring, and the wort is saturated with air using a special aerator. The fermentation process starts at a temperature of 9 ... 10 C. During the first two days, the temperature is raised to 14 C. The main fermentation is completed when the dry matter content in the wort drops to 2.2 ... 2.6%.
Fermentation and maturation of young beer begins with cooling the lower conical part of the apparatus 47 to a temperature of 0 ... 2 C, while the precipitation of yeast occurs. In the cylindrical part of the apparatus in the upper zone maintain a temperature of 13...14 C, in the lower - 10...13 C, overpressure 0.04...0.05 MPa. After completion of the fermentation, a refrigerant is supplied to the jacket of the cylindrical part of the apparatus and the temperature of the entire mass of beer is brought to 0 ... 2 C, which provides optimal conditions for its clarification.
The duration of the process in the cylindroconical apparatus 47 significantly reduced compared to tank devices 42 , 44 and 45 . It primarily depends on the concentration of solids in the wort. The total duration of fermentation and after-fermentation of beer for wort with an extract content of 11% is up to 12...14 days, for 12% - up to 18...20, for 13% - up to 22...25 days.
Ripened beer is clarified on a diatomaceous earth filter 48 , sometimes additionally subjected to fine decompositing filtration in the filter 49 and collect in a collection 50 finished beer.
The complex of equipment for packaging beer in consumer and commercial containers works as follows. Forklift 51 feeds bags with empty bottles to the bag opener 52 and bottle extractor 53 . Then, using a conveyor system, empty bottles are loaded through a light screen into a bottle washing machine. 54 . The quality of washing is controlled in the inspection machine 55 . Bottles are filled with beer in a filling machine 56 and sealed in the car 57 . Filling and capping of bottles is controlled in the second inspection machine 58 and then labeling and shaping the bottles in a labeling machine 59 . After that, the bottles are placed in boxes in the car. 60 , form packages in the machine 61 and send these packages by forklift 62 to the expedition. When selling fresh beer without long-term storage, unfiltered matured beer is loaded into a measuring vessel 63 for dosing into tank trucks 64 or other special containers.
1) Classic beer production technology. Main steps:
- Crushing malt. Depending on the types of malt, different types of beer can be obtained. Only 5 basic types of malt. All the rest are additional ones that affect the shades.
- Rubbing. This is essentially heating, usually from 35C to 78C. Pauses are maintained at certain temperatures and different enzymes work.
– Filtration. At this stage, the grains are separated from the wort and pumped into the vat.
- Wort brewing. The wort obtained at the previous stage is boiled, hops are added for bitterness and aroma.
– Wort cooling. The wort is cooled through the heat exchanger/jackets and sent to the fermentation tanks.
- Fermentation of must. The hopped wort obtained at the previous stage is sent to fermentation tanks (tanks). Fermentation is usually carried out for about 2 weeks, until the yeast has processed all the sugar. There are 2 types of fermentation: top and bottom. Depending on this, a different temperature regime is used.
- Fermentation of must. At this stage of fermentation, the beer is saturated with carbon dioxide.
- Maturation of beer. It is believed that the longer the beer matures, the better its taste is revealed. Therefore, for expensive varieties, it is better to withstand it longer.
– Clarification of beer. This step removes the malt and yeast particles in the young beer. This step also increases the shelf life of the product.
– Filtration of beer. After filtration, all malt and yeast particles are removed and the beer becomes crystal clear. This step also increases the shelf life of the product.
- Pouring into containers. At this stage, the beer is poured into containers (kegs, bottles) and sent for sale.
Production cycle: 1-4 weeks.
The cost of 1 liter of beer: 5-20 rubles.
2) Technology for the production of beer from beer wort.
In the classical scheme, the cooking stages (crushing, mashing, filtering, boiling) are bypassed and production begins immediately with the fermentation stage. Beer wort is a viscous barley-malt mixture, sweetish-bitter taste.
The main stages of production:
- Fermentation of must. Hopped beer wort with yeast is sent to fermentation tanks (food grade plastic 200-1000l). Top fermentation is carried out for about the 1st week at a temperature of 15-25 (ideal 18-21). We will not consider the lower. Depending on the type of beer wort, its concentration, yeast and fermentation time, different types of beer can be obtained. Dozens of different varieties can be produced: light, dark, wheat, tuna, etc.
Fermentation of beer wort. Barrels - food plastic 200-1000 l. 
Fermentation of beer wort. Barrels - food plastic 200-1000 l.
- Fermentation of beer. Beer is poured into kegs for fermentation and saturation with carbon dioxide. Primer/sugar syrup etc. is added.
- Maturation of beer. After fermentation, the young unfiltered beer is poured into kegs and sent to the refrigeration chamber for maturation. Ripening occurs within 1-2 weeks.
– Filtration and bottling of beer. If necessary, the beer is filtered, bottled and sent for sale.
Production time: 2-4 weeks.
The cost of 1 liter of beer: 10-25 rubles.
Because beer wort concentrate is essentially wort according to classical technology from which moisture has somehow been evaporated! Accordingly, someone went through all the stages of brewing for you, then evaporated the moisture (now, as a rule, by vacuum), then poured it into containers, then naturally the cost of this wort should be higher or the quality worse. In practice, the cheapest beer is on a full brewing order (8-10 rubles per 1 liter, several times tastier than on concentrates for 15 rubles). This technology should be used wisely or for those who are limited in budgets.
3) Production technology of “powder” beer.
This "beer" is obtained by mixing chemical components and saturation. Chemical components for beer are quite expensive, so its cost is higher and the quality is quite low. In practice, cheap beer in full brewing order (6-10 rubles per 1 liter) is dozens of times better than powdered beer for 15 rubles.
Production time - 3 minutes.
The cost of 1 liter of beer: 15-20 rubles.
These are, in our opinion, the main technologies for the production of beer. We did not go deep into the nuances, because. there are many fermentation technologies. There are technologies how 3000 liters of beer can be obtained from 1000 liters of wort, etc.
Because beer is a drink very sensitive to water and the quality of water can affect the taste and influence the processes, it is necessary to carry out appropriate water treatment. As a rule, it is necessary to soften water, bring acidity and use in the technology of beer concentrates disinfecting with UV filters!
True beer lovers are well aware of the value of a properly brewed, natural drink. Its popularity is growing rapidly in comparison with the cheap product presented on the shelves of supermarkets and grocery stores. However, expensive beer is not always natural. It is quite reasonable that enterprising people have a question about whether they should start preparing this drink at home, because if there is a high demand, then there will be a profit. In general, this statement is true, but such a business has its own specifics, which will be discussed in this article.
Features and profitability of the business
First of all, it is worth noting that the issue of licensing the production of beer is raised regularly, but today you do not need to obtain the appropriate certificate to launch your own project. However, you still have to register as an individual entrepreneur (you can also register as a legal entity, but this is simply not necessary for a small business).
As for the premises, everything is relatively simple here too - it is possible to organize a small production with minimal volumes at home, i.e. in the kitchen, but it is unlikely that such volumes will be enough to get at least some serious income, plus you will need a large room for storing containers in which the beer will ferment. So, the best options may be a garage or a small and inexpensive rented space. For the production of 100 liters of beer per day, a room with an area of 40 square meters is required.
Of course, the amount of expenses for opening such a business will depend on many factors, ranging from production volumes to the rental of premises and the cost of equipment. If you are planning to open your own small brewery, it will pay off in 1-2 years. The amount of initial investment can be from 30 thousand dollars.
Required Ingredients
Any beer is prepared from the following ingredients:
- yeast;
- Malt;
- Hops;
- Water.
Their proportions will depend on the type of beer, the chosen recipe, the original idea of the brewer. Other ingredients may be added to the beer, but this again will depend on the recipe.
Necessary equipment
If you already have experience in brewing and decide to open your own mini-factory, the best option for you is a set of equipment, a small production line, which usually includes:
- Brewery (may vary in volume, for example, 100, 200 liters);
- Mill for crushing malt;
- Fermentation tank;
- cooler hose;
- Drain valve;
- Hydraulic jam;
- Density measuring instruments;
- Set for washing and disinfection.
The cost of such a kit with a capacity of 200 liters is from 20 thousand dollars. At the same time, experienced brewers prefer European producers. The fact is that domestic or Chinese analogues cost no less, but at the same time they are inferior in quality to the German and Czech manufacturers.
If you are a beginner and would like to get started with a small production in your own kitchen, you do not need to purchase expensive equipment. You can also brew beer in an ordinary saucepan, limiting yourself to a set of ordinary dishes. In addition, you can purchase a small home line, the cost of which is hundreds of times less than the cost of a full-fledged production kit.
Step by step production technology
Below you can get acquainted with the technologies for making beer at home and in your small brewery. Essentially, the difference between the two processes lies in the equipment used and the volumes of the product. So, 20 liters of beer can be brewed in your own kitchen without expensive equipment, while a volume of one hundred liters already requires the use of special devices. If you are a beginner who is just starting to study this field of activity, the home method will be optimal. So you can practice making this drink, study the recipe, choose a few of your favorite varieties. After that, it will already be possible to think about renting space and purchasing more expensive equipment.
Making beer at home
The process of making beer in a typical home kitchen is described below. When starting brewing, it is worth writing down the data in a separate journal, noting the date, the amount and grade of malt and hops, the amount of water, temperature, etc. This allows you to repeat the recipe if you make a really tasty drink, and avoid mistakes in the future if the batch turns out to be unsuccessful.
Prepare a container with malt, the malt itself, as well as a small grinder (it may well be homemade). Remember, malt cannot be ground in a coffee grinder, because the brewer does not need flour. It is a rather large shell of grains that serves as a natural filter layer. In its absence, the malt filtration process becomes almost impossible.
Measure the right amount of malt on a regular kitchen scale. Recipes can be different - ready-made or invented by the brewer himself. In order not to make a mistake with the proportions, you must either strictly follow the chosen recipe, or analyze the structure of the future drink in one of the special applications that will show you the color, strength and bitterness of the beer.
Start grinding the malt. On home equipment, grinding 5 kilograms of malt will take about an hour.
Prepare water for grouting malt (ratio about 1 to 3). Heat it up.
Measure the water temperature. Most often, malt begins to fall asleep at a temperature of about 72 degrees Celsius.
Gradually, in small circles, pour in the malt. Do not do this abruptly, as lumps may form in the water.
Measure the temperature of the malt. The first pause (mashing) occurs at a temperature of 64 degrees.
Cover the pot or pan with a lid, wrap it in a special cloth or ordinary blankets.
Set the timer for 30 minutes and leave the malt to settle.
After half an hour, it is necessary to make a second temperature pause (68 degrees). Raise the temperature to the desired temperature by slowly stirring the malt, and leave the tank for 70 minutes.
Then add boiling water to raise the temperature to 78 degrees. This is the saccharification temperature when all processes are stopped and the wort is obtained. Next, you need to close the tank for 15 minutes.
After saccharification, make the so-called "iodine test". To do this, take a few drops of the wort, pour it on a saucer, and put a little iodine on the same saucer. During the mashing process, the starches should break down into sugars. If this does not happen for some reason, the mixture of iodine and wort will turn blue. If everything was done correctly, the color of the mixture will be normal, brownish.
Open the tap and drain the first cloudy wort into a separate container (then it can be returned to the tank).
Drain some of the clear wort for a sample. Check its transparency.
In order not to damage the natural filter layer, lay two layers of food foil on the surface before returning the cloudy wort.
Pour the cloudy wort into the tank. It will beat against the foil and gently, slowly spread, and will not damage the filter layer.
Put the wort on the fire, cover it with a lid. After it boils, the lid will need to be removed and then boiled without a lid.
After the wort boils, make the first hop addition. Carefully remove the resulting foam. Boil it for 30 minutes. During this time, you can prepare the yeast - pour warm water (about 20 degrees) into the flask and pour the yeast powder into it.
After 30 minutes, make a second batch of hops and wait 25 minutes.
While the wort is boiling, you need to prepare the chiller for cooling. One input will be connected to water, the other will be lowered into the washbasin, and 20 minutes before the end of boiling it will need to be lowered into the boiler.
20 minutes before the end of the boil, lower the chiller into the brewing vessel.
Pour in the third batch of hops.
Cool the wort to 20-23 degrees.
Drain the wort into the fermentation tank, having previously disinfected it. The screw must be treated with vodka or alcohol.
Pour yeast into container. Leave the beer to ferment for two weeks. Close container very tightly.
* The remaining grains can also be used for making kvass and moonshine, as well as for feeding animals.
Making beer at a mini-factory
The technology for brewing this drink on professional equipment is as follows:
The malt is prepared, cleaned and crushed in a mill.
The mash (ground malt) is added to the water, after which the mash is filtered. The output is the remains of barley and the beer wort itself.
Hops and other ingredients are added to the wort.
It boils for 1-2 hours.
The liquid is cooled in the tank, yeast is added to it and the mixture is left to ferment.
After a few weeks, the beer is fermented in closed containers.
* Some manufacturers also pasteurize the product - they heat it to a temperature of 60 to 80 degrees Celsius. However, despite the fact that pasteurization greatly increases the shelf life of beer, entrepreneurs usually refuse it, because this process affects the taste of beer, and it is the main advantage of such small productions.
Sales directions
The main difficulty in this business is not at all in the development of production technology, but in the marketing of finished products. The fact is that the market is filled with products of a huge number of both small and large manufacturers, and it is not so easy to compete with them. In other words, beer is not a scarce commodity at all and you can buy it virtually everywhere, which means you need to find the right place and buyers who will purchase your natural products.
For a novice entrepreneur, at first, friends and acquaintances will become an excellent sales channel, and, perhaps, word of mouth will work in his favor. It will also be an indicator that people really like his product. With large volumes of production, beer can be sold to cafes and restaurants that want to offer visitors a really tasty drink. Of course, the best scenario that promises the biggest profits and prospects is to open your own cafe or beer shop, but this option is suitable for those who have enough money and time to launch such a fairly serious project.
Conclusion
If you are a connoisseur of a foamy drink and have been thinking about starting your own production for a long time, you should definitely try your hand at this business. However, even if you have the funds to start a small brewery, you should not rush. First of all, you need to learn the technology of making beer in practice. You can do this by purchasing a minimal set of home equipment and raw materials (which are very cheap) and starting to experiment in your own kitchen. After receiving positive feedback from friends, you can begin to study the issue more carefully, select a suitable place, and look for good equipment suppliers. You do not have to immediately purchase the most expensive, foreign, powerful equipment - for a start, relatively small volumes will be enough, which can be increased over time.
Nice to drink a glass of cold beer on a hot day. But does everyone know that beer brewing is a rather time-consuming technological process. We can even safely say that one of the most difficult. To get the highest quality beer, you need to provide for a lot of all kinds of nuances, calculate the amount and choose the right ingredients. It depends on such meticulous work whether the resulting drink will become a favorite for beer admirers or will remain standing on the shelves of stores, acquiring a layer of dust.
I bring to your attention to consider some stages of the preparation of beer. Let's say the most important ones, which are used by almost all brewers.
Initially, of course, I would like to note from what raw materials this miracle drink is made. Basically, there are four main components that you can’t do without.
The first is malt. This is a product that is obtained from germinated cereals. Malt is also used in the preparation of kvass and bakery products. But in the preparation of beer, mainly only barley is used. Initially, its seeds are soaked, they are allowed to swell, because as a result of this, a very important chemical reaction begins, when starch is split into malt sugar, which is so necessary for fermentation.
The second very important element is water. The taste of beer also depends on the amount of salts it contains, so brewers take these indicators into account. A slight deviation in either direction can spoil the beer, so technologies are used that allow very accurate determination of the amount of salt in water.
The third element was also given to us by nature. This is hop. It is he who gives the beer a slightly bitter taste and aroma. Thanks to its presence, the beer foams so well. It is impossible to replace hops with anything in brewing without causing harm. Interestingly, hop cones are used only from female plants.
For excellent fermentation, of course, yeast is necessary. At the moment, Saccharomycetaceae beer yeast is used, which was specially created for the preparation of beer.
There are two distinct fermentation technologies that brewers use:
- top fermentation;
- bottom fermentation.
As you understand, this leads to the preparation of different types of beer.
And yet, what is the order of actions of brewers in the preparation of this drink and what is the industrial technology for the production of beer at factories?
The main stages of beer production
1. Preparation of the wort. Barley malt is initially crushed, but not turned into a homogeneous mass, some particles are allowed to remain rather large. The ratio of large and small particles of barley malt also leads to the emergence of new beers. After crushing, barley malt is poured with water and mixed well, "mashed". This process is called congestion. It is at this point that starch begins to break down into malt sugar. To speed up this process, the mash is heated, but do not exceed 76°C.
Now is the time to filter this wort and place it in a special sieve, in which the grated malt will stay for some time. All this is necessary so that the solid particles settle down, and clean wort can be collected, which will be used in the next stage.
2. Brewing the wort. The prepared pure wort is first heated, brought to a boil and then hops are added, the amount of which is determined depending on the type of beer. This process takes approximately 3 hours. During this period, all microorganisms die, enzymes are destroyed, after which no chemical reactions are anymore possible. At the end of the boil, the wort is filtered again and allowed to settle a little, so that even the smallest particles that could not be filtered earlier fall down. Some breweries use centrifuges to speed up the clarification and filtration process.
3. An important stage is fermentation. Pure filtered wort is poured into fermentation tanks. After it cools down, yeast is added. Here, the temperature is very closely monitored, since the taste of the product also depends on it at this moment. For top fermentation, the temperature is 18-22°C, for bottom fermentation - up to 5-10°C.
After about a day, a rather thick layer of foam forms on the surface, which indicates that the fermentation process is proceeding successfully, and the sugar is converted into carbon dioxide and alcohol. At this point, the brewers carefully monitor the temperature so that it is stable and does not rise in any way. And also monitor the level of carbon dioxide. As needed, it is diverted through special pipes. Fermentation is complete when all the sugar has been processed by the yeast.
4. Ripening. As a result of the first three stages, young beer is born, which must “ripen”. It is placed in special containers for a long four months. At this time, the temperature and pressure in these containers are closely monitored.
5. Filtration. The settled and matured beer is again filtered to finally say goodbye to the smallest unnecessary particles and become absolutely ready for bottling.
6. Bottling. It seemed, at first glance, the easiest step. Take and pour into containers. But beer is a perishable product, so the container must be absolutely clean and sterile. Failure to comply with these rules will lead to a deterioration in taste and product spoilage. Before bottling, the beer is pasteurized, which makes it possible to slightly increase its shelf life.
And only after all these processes, the desired and delicious drink hits the shelves of stores, where real beer fans are already looking forward to it. This is such a difficult technology for the production of beer at all factories.
