How a craft beer is produced

How to make craft beer and what to do It distinguishes it from the industrial one: the production phases (grinding, maceration, filtration, boiling, fermentation, maturation) explain well.

We often hear about craft beer, drinking, styles and events...but "How do you make craft beer"? And how does its production differ from industrial production?

The ingredients of craft beer

The basic ingredients of beer, whether artisanal or industrial, are basically the same: water, barley malt, hops, yeast.

Water is the main ingredient in beer.

Barley malt is the skeleton of the drink: the cereal is sprouted and roasted. Germination develops within the beans the production of an enzyme, amylase: this will allow "break" the chains of complex starches present in the cereal grain, transforming them into simple sugars ready for fermentation; which can then be "digested" by the yeast. Roasting stops germination and gives malt colors and specific perfumes.

Hops are used as bitterness and to give aroma to beer.

Finally, the yeast, although present in infinitesimal quantities compared to the other ingredients, can be considered the soul of the drink; Which transforms the sugars contained in the malt into alcohol and carbon dioxide, and makes what is in all respects a "cereal soup" in the beer.

If the ingredients are "the same", why are they "the same?" Why are the sensory performance of a craft beer and that of an industrial beer so different? Because, as they say, "the devil is in the detail": the water in a craft beer is adjusted in acidity and hardness (amount of dissolved salts) based on the style of beer being brewed. destined to be created.

The malts used are of high quality and different types based on the aromas and color they decide, the hops belong to hundreds of different varieties, each with their own perfumes and are used in generally more massive doses than industrial counterparts.

Finally, the yeast can belong to different strains and be made to work at different temperatures to obtain precise results (fruity suggestions or neutral bases on which to let the jumps express themselves, higher or very light alcoholic tones, particular perfumes conferred by some varieties of yeasts and wild bacteria).

The production process of craft beer

Grind

Therefore, the production of craft beer begins with a careful selection of ingredients.

Once you have chosen the malts we want, according to the level of roasting, they are ground: it is the grinding process, which breaks down bad barley and, sometimes, other cereals.

Maceration

After the routine, it is the twist of the surprising: inside a special vat, the ground malts are mixed with hot water. Hot water activates amylase, which breaks the chains of complex sugars, transforming them into simple sugars; They disperse in the liquid: this is the sacrifice phase.

Filtration

Once the quantity/saccharification is finished, the mixture is filtered through the "fine filter": it is a bathtub, similar to the previous one, which however has a perforated bottom. The holes allow the liquid to pass through and the malt flours in place to retain the now spent malt grains.

The liquid part is recirculated with a pump, again, above the beans; Meanwhile, in the meantime they compacted, acting as a natural filter: the binder continues to recirculate through the grains until this appears clear.

The beans are rinsed with hot water to recover the last sugars and aromatic substances that are still "trapped" ("sprarming").

Boiling

Once the Sparger has been completed, the beans have completely exhausted their function, and are kept aside as a zootechnical food for the breeders of the area: he must, on the other hand, be ready and transferred to an additional vat: the boiling vat

here The wort is boiled for 60-90 minutes, to provide a sterile substrate, free of unwanted microorganisms, for subsequent yeast activity. During the boil, hops are added, inserting varieties from bitter and towards the end of the process to aroma.

After boiling, the need is cooled and transferred to "silos" in stainless steel: fermenters. here will be added the yeast, which will begin fermentation.

Fermentation

During this phase, as we wrote before, the yeast will "eat" sugars, transforming them into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

Towards the end of fermentation, it will be It is possible to add other hops to the beer (so the "dry hop" technique, or cold hops) that will give a very clear and intense aromatic contribution.</span

Maturation

At the end of fermentation, the beer is ready. ready: however, it will still be finished, with the maturation phase.

At this stage, the beer is brought to very low temperatures; They facilitate illegal fermentation (precipitating the hop and yeast particles that remain in suspension towards the bottom of the fermenters) and favor the rounding and balance of the perfumes of the finished product.

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The differences between the artisanal and industrial procedure

The basic procedures to obtain beer, whether craft beer or industrial beer, are almost the same: grinding, brewing, filtration, boiling, fermentation, maturation.

Once again, therefore, the question we have already asked ourselves for ingredients: why Are the final products so different?

We find the key difference when analyzing the main needs of the two products: for industrial beer, the most desirable characteristic is that it lasts a long time, unchanged over time, able to survive on the shelves, even if not sold immediately. As for the craft product, what brewers and drinkers want is that it is simply good...

For this reason, finished industrial products are pasteurized (i.e., subjected to very high temperatures) and microfiltered (i.e., mechanically purified through a few thousandths of a millimeter mesh). ;meter is expelled from the product, but with these the yeasts that contribute to the evolution of the beer, some tannins responsible for the amaro, large aromatic molecules... in others are also eliminated and denatured. In other words, industrial beer is such a stable, but exhausted and "dead" product.