Beer brewing process

1 Brewing beer 2 The Brewing Process 2.1 Mashing

2.2.Mash Filter 2.3 Boiling 2.4.Whirlpool

2.5.Wort cooling 2.6 Fermenting 2.7 Conditioning 2.8 Filtering

1 Brewing beer

All beers are brewed using malted grain from barley, malt or sorghum. The grains are delivered by vehicles to the intake hopper. Grains are then conveyed to elevators then to conveyors where a magnet is used to trap magnetic materials present in the grains and lastly stored in the silos depending on the type sorghum, barley or malt. Malt is made by allowing the grains to germinate, after which they are then dried. The germination process enhances the generation of enzymes, notably Alfa-amylase and beta-amylase, which are used to convert the starch in the grains into fermentable sugar. From the silos the grains are moved using

elevators to another powerful magnet to trap other magnetic materials that may not have been trapped in the first magnet. A comb-cleaner removes dust and sand from the grains before milling.

The grains are crushed in a malt mill to break apart the grain so as to increase their surface area for the action of enzymes which will yield the most economic extract (wort), and separate the smaller milled grains from the husks. The grist is stored in a grist-case before mashing.

Mashing

The resulting grist from the grist-case is mixed with heated water in a vessel called a mash tun kettle (M.T.K.) for a process known as mashing. Calcium Hydroxide and Calcium Sulphate are added for pH stabilizing and sterilization. During this process, natural enzymes within the malt and commercially prepared enzymes added like Filtrase, Beta-glucanase, bioglucanase and amylase break down much of the starch into fermentable sugars which play a vital part in the fermentation process. Mashing usually takes place in various temperature rests (waiting periods) which activates different enzymes depending upon the type of malt being used. The activity of these enzymes converts the starches of the grains to dextrines and then to fermentable sugars such as maltose.

A mash rest at around 40 C activates beta-glucanase, which breaks down gummy beta-glucans in the mash, making the sugars flow out more freely later in the process. A mash rest from 49 C to 55 C activates various proteinases, which break down proteins that might otherwise cause the beer to be hazy. Finally, a mash rest temperature from 65C to 71 C is used to convert the starches in the malt to fermentable sugars, which is then usable by the yeast later in the industrial brewing process. Doing the latter rest at the lower end of the range produces more low-order sugars which are more fermentable

by the yeast. This in turn creates a beer lower in body and higher in alcohol. A rest closer to the higher end of the range creates more higher-order sugars which are less fermentable by the yeast, so a fullerbodied beer with less alcohol is the result. Finally the mash temperature may be raised to about 75 C a process known as mashout to deactivate enzymes by denaturing them.

Mash Filters

After the mashing, the mash is pumped to mash filters where the resulting liquid is strained from the grains in a process known as mash filtering. A mash filter is a hybrid-plate and frame filter. The empty frames contain the mash, including the spent grains; one side of the hybrid plates contains a support structure for the filter cloth and the other sides of the plates have membranes (bladders) that can press the liquid out of the grains between it and the cloth. At this point the liquid is known as wort. Additional water may be sprinkled on the grains to extract additional sugars that might be in the spent grains (a process known as sparging). The straining action of the mash filters is enhanced by compressed air from the air compressors.

Boiling

The wort is moved into a large tank known as a wort receiver before being moved in to the wort kettle where it is boiled with hops and sometimes other ingredients such as caramel for color and Compaq cg for trub settling or sugars. The boiling process serves to terminate enzymatic processes, precipitate proteins, isomerizes hop resins and sterilizes the wort. Hops add flavor and bitterness to the beer. The Breweries uses wort kettles which uses steam jackets in the kettle to boil the wort. The steam is

delivered under pressure by fire tube boilers in the Utility section. The end result is wort with an original gravity (OG), a set ratio of fermentable and non-fermentable sugars, and proteins (soluble and non soluble) that affect physical and biochemical changes during fermentation. Whirlpool

At the end of the boil, the wort is set into a vessel known as whirlpool. The wort is pumped into the W.P. at high pressure in a way that causes centrifugal force from delivery to settle any solid particles, coagulated proteins, vegetable matter from hops forming cohesive trub into a cone in the center of the whirlpool tank.

Wort cooling

After the hop filtration, the wort must be brought down to fermentation temperatures before yeast is added to avoid denaturing by high temperatures. This is achieved through plates heat exchanger. The plate heat exchanger used has many ridged plates, which form two separate paths. The wort is pumped into the heat exchanger, and goes through every other gap between the plates. The chilled water which is the cooling medium water, goes through the other gaps. The ridges in the plates are used ensure turbulent flow and hence efficient cooling..

Yeast plant

Yeast is one of the most important ingredients in brewing beer, responsible for metabolic processes that produce ethanol, carbon dioxide, and a whole range of other metabolic byproducts that contribute to the flavor and finish of beer.

Yeast plant contains yeast propagation tank (YPT) and yeast storage tanks (YST). After cooling the wort some of it is added in the YPT together with the air revitalize the yeast and aid its reproduction by budding. New yeast is pitched into the header conducting the wort into the cylindroconical tanks (CCTs).

Fermentation

Fermentation takes place in cylindroconical tanks CCTs/ DPVs Fermentation process starts as soon as yeast is added to the cooled wort. This is also the point at which the product is first called beer. It is during this stage that sugars extracted from the malt are metabolized into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Most breweries today use cylindroconical tanks, or CCTs, have a conical bottom and a cylindrical top. The cone's aperture is typically 60, an angle that will allow the yeast to flow toward the cones apex, but is not so steep as to take up too much vertical space. CCTs can handle both fermenting and storage of green beer and hence the name dual purpose vessels DPVs. At the end of fermentation, the yeast and other solids which have fallen to the cones apex can be simply flushed a process known as yeast harvesting. The harvested yeast is re-used for another eight brews. The interface between the green beer and yeast is passed through centrifuges for separation and the yeast is dried for discarding.

Fermentation tanks are typically made of stainless steel and carbon dioxide released is tapped from the top for purification.

2.5 Conditioning
When the sugars in the fermenting beer have been almost completely digested, the fermentation slows down and the yeast starts to settle to the bottom of the tank. At this stage, the beer is cooled to around freezing, which encourages settling of the yeast, and causes proteins to coagulate and settle out with the yeast. Unpleasant flavors such as phenolic compounds become insoluble in the cold beer, and the beer's flavor becomes smoother. During this time pressure is maintained on the tanks to prevent the beer from going flat.

If the fermentation tanks have cooling jackets on them, as opposed to the whole fermentation cellar being cooled, conditioning can take place in the same tank as fermentation. Otherwise separate tanks (in a separate cellar) must be employed. [top of page]

2.6 Filtering
A mixture of diatomaceous earth and yeast after filtering.

Filtering the beer stabilizes the flavor, and gives beer its polished shine and brilliance. Not all beer is filtered.

Filters come in many types. Many use pre-made filtration media such as sheets or candles, while

others use a fine powder made of, for example, diatomaceous earth, also called kieselguhr, which is introduced into the beer and recirculated past screens to form a filtration bed.

Filters range from rough filters that remove much of the yeast and any solids (e.g. hops, grain particles) left in the beer, to filters tight enough to strain color and body from the beer. Normally used filtration ratings are divided into rough, fine and sterile. Rough filtration leaves some cloudiness in the beer, but it is noticeably clearer than unfiltered beer. Fine filtration gives a glass of beer that you could read a newspaper through, with no noticeable cloudiness. Finally, as its name implies, sterile filtration is fine enough that almost all microorganisms in the beer are removed during the filtration process. [top of page]

2.6.1 Sheet (pad) filters

These filters use pre-made media and are relatively straightforward. The sheets are manufactured to allow only particles smaller than a given size through, and the brewer is free to choose how finely to filter the beer. The sheets are placed into the filtering frame, sterilized (with hot water, for example) and then used to filter the beer. The sheets can be flushed if the filter becomes blocked, and usually the sheets are disposable and are replaced between filtration sessions. Often the sheets contain powdered filtration media to aid in filtration.

Sheets are sold in nominal ratings, and typically 90% of particles larger than the nominal rating are caught by the sheet. [top of page]

2.6.2 Kieselguhr filters

Filters that use a powder medium are considerably more complicated to operate, but can filter much more beer before needing to be regenerated. Common media include diatomaceous earth, or kieselguhr, and perlite. [top of page]

ly and microbiologically unstable. Conditioning reduces the levels of these undesirable compounds to proCh. 13 Beer FermentationCh. 14 Beer Conditioning Following primary fermentation, the "green" or immature beer is far from finished because it contains suspended particles, lacks sufficient carbonation, lacks taste and aroma, and it is physical duce a more finished product. The component processes of conditioning are maturation, clarification, and stabilization. Ch. 15 Beer Filtration Although conditioning-maturation, clarification, and stabilization-plays an important role in reducing yeast and haze loading materials, a final beer filtration is needed in order to achieve colloidal and microbiological stability. The beer must be rendered stable so that visible changes do not occur during its shelf life.