Saturday, January 21, 2017

Discover The Main Ingredients For Craft Brew Supplies

By Paul Adams


Many people are today diverting to homemade brews. One of the primary reasons for this other than being cheap is that they lack chemicals and they are also sweeter than the commercial ones. Here we take a look at the main craft brew supplies for this product.

The first component which plays a very crucial role is the yeast. They help in breaking down simple sugars to produce alcohol, carbon dioxide, and other compounds which enhance the taste and smell of this beer. The process in which the carbohydrates are broken down is called fermentation.

There are two types of yeast. They include the larger yeast and the ale yeast. The ale types are usually referred to as top fermenting because they are very active in fermentation. Larger yeast, on the other hand, bottom fermenting since they are less active in fermentation process. Nevertheless, ale yeast is known to ferment best at warmer temperatures while larger types will do it best at low temperatures.

Alcohol is produced in a natural way from sugar in the process of fermentation. The sugar that is fermented is normally from malts. Malt is any grain used in brewing. Often, barley is used since it produces a lot of sugars. However, other types of grains can also be used. The malts are broken down through a process called malting to increase the surface area for the action of yeast.

Malting takes place in two stages. The first phase involves germination of the grains. In this process, the grains are steeped in water. After two days, the germination begins, and the enzymes required for malting are produced. The next step involves drying of germinated malt. The malt is dried in the kiln. The temperature of the kiln and the way in which this drying is done influence the type and color of the beer produced.

Hops are very imperative in this process. These are flowerlike cones of a climbing vine, and their key role is to add bitterness to the beer. In the heart of a hop, a cone is a little gland which contains oils and resins. Apart from adding bitterness to this product, they also enhance the smell and taste.

You need to know that the resins and the oils are not soluble in water. Therefore, the hops should be boiled so that the resins can dissolve and produce their bitterness. The longer the boiling, the more bitterness added to the beer. There are different varies of hops. Each variety has its unique characteristic and introduces something distinct in the beer. The variety used in brewing is usually a selling point for most craft beers.

The last ingredient is water. Water plays a very significance role because it is the medium through which all the ingredients mix. The chemistry of water in this process must be known by the brewer for a quality brew to be produced. Besides, water used in this process should be of superior quality, free from bad odors as well as contaminants.




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