How Beer is made? Beer is the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the world.

It ranks as third among the most popular beverage, next to water and tea. It is also one of the oldest alcoholic beverages. It usually contains 4 to 6% (v/v) of alcohol. Beer is produced by the process of saccharification of starch and fermentation of sugar. The starch is derived from cereal grains, barley and wheat. Hops are also added to give flavour and preserve the beer. Beer Production Brewing is the process of beer production. In this process, the starch is converted to wort. After which, the wort produces alcohol through fermentation. The yeast added after brewing allows the production of alcohol from the worts. How is Beer Produced? 1. Mashing. In this process, the starch source is mixed with hot water to produce the wort. The mixture is mixed in a mash tun which takes about 1 to 2 hours. The starch from the source is extracted and converted to sugars. Worts are extracted from the grains. 2. Sparging. In this process the grain, where the wort is extracted, is washed. The washing allows maximum yield of fermented liquid. 3. Wort Separation. After obtaining the fermented liquid from the grains, the wort will be separated from the sparge water. This process of filtration is also called lautering in traditional beer making. In lautering, the grain bed serves as the filter medium to separate the wort and the sparge water. Modern techniques use filter frames for an efficient filtration process. 4. Runnings. Continuous sparge is sometimes used by manufacturers to collect more wort. However, since more water is introduced in the process, the flavour of the beer is greatly affected. As the number of runnings is increased, the wort becomes weaker, thus producing a weaker beer. 5. Boiling. The collected wort are placed in a kettle and boiled for an hour. This process allows the evaporation of water from the worts, retaining only the sugar in the process. Remaining enzymes from the mashing stage are also destroyed during the process. Hops are also added to the mixture which gives the flavour and aroma of the beer. The longer time the hops are allowed to boil, the bitterer will be the final product.

6. Cooling. The hopped wort is cooled after boiling. Some manufacturers add other flavouring before cooling. After which, the hopped wort is placed in a fermentation vessel where the yeast is also added. 7. Fermentation. This process usually lasts for few weeks to a few months. The duration of the process is determined by the strength of the yeast used and the amount of alcohol that the beer must have. After which, the particulates settle at the bottom of the vessel and beer is produced.

Two Stages of Beer Fermentation 1. Primary Fermentation. This carries out a large percentage of the process. This stage is where most of the alcohol is produced. This process results to the production of bubbles which is evidence that alcohol production is taking place. This process usually takes about 1 to 2 weeks. Most of the trubs, or dead yeast cells, are allowed to settle at the bottom of the vessel. Aside from alcohol, carbon dioxide is also produced during the process. 2. Secondary Fermentation. After enough alcohol has been produced from the primary fermentor, the mixture will be transferred to a secondary vessel. In this process, more trubs are allowed to settle at the bottom of the vessel. After sometime, the particulates settle at the bottom of the vessel. Prolong settling of particulates in the vessel can cause alterations in the flavour of the beer. This process is usually carried out to produce a clearer beer and to completely settle the particulate matter. Factors Affecting Beer fermentation Beer production is greatly affected by temperature. Fermentation process is usually carried out at 20 degree Celsius. Proper temperature must be maintained during the process so cooling jackets must be installed in the vessels. Proper temperature must be maintained for the yeast to have an optimum performance and produce the optimum amount of alcohol.