Beer fermentation: first and second, fermentation temperature and terms. All about beer fermentation

To become a homebrewer, all you need is the desire to brew beer. For the rest, the exorbitantly developed brewing industry will help, as well as this article. The collected material is a complete guide to brewing beer at home from malt and hops. More is not required.

Beer, conditionally, can be prepared in two ways: from malt extract and directly from grain. The first way is the easiest: you need to buy malt extract, mix it with water, boil it, add sugar and yeast, ferment the resulting wort and bottle it (we wrote a separate one). It doesn’t sound interesting, but it was malt concentrates that became a good tool for popularizing home brewing. Maybe that's where you should start. Now I will explain.

Malt concentrate is a concentrated beer wort. The very technology of beer production according to the traditional recipe is very time-consuming, mainly due to the stage at which the wort is prepared. At home, it takes 5-7 hours of nerves, dancing with a thermometer and extreme concentration. During these 5-7 hours, the malt is mashed with water, heated to a certain temperature with certain pauses, then filtered and only then brewed with hops and other ingredients.

Malt concentrate is prepared in a similar way, after which the hopped wort is concentrated - the liquid is simply evaporated until the very powder (or viscous mass) that is sold to us in beautiful jars with the “malt concentrate” label is formed. In other words, homebrewers have a unique opportunity to bypass the complex and time-consuming process of preparing beer wort.

But there comes a time when a brewer, having tried various concentrates and additives to them, begins to think about traditional brewing, which, oddly enough, is practiced by beer giants.

If you still think that large factories brew beer from "powder", then you are deeply mistaken. This . Malt concentrate is many times more expensive than ordinary beer malt, not to mention the organization of its production, so it is not profitable for beer giants to use them.

Well, let's brew our first beer from malt, hops, water and yeast!

In 1516, Germany passed the Reinheitsgebot "Beer Purity Law", according to which beer must be brewed exclusively from barley malt, hops and water. We do not suffer from purism, but it is from malt and hops that we will continue to dance, as well as from yeast, which we discovered much later. But we assume that any interesting ingredients can be added to the wort: unmalted grains, honey, herbs, fruits and juices from them, vegetables, even mushrooms and tree bark. Brewing is a creative process.

MALT

First of all, it is a convenient brew kettle, also known as a mash tun, enamelled or stainless steel, most often with a thermo-case. As a fermentation tank, a fermenter, which is basically called a "beer factory", plastic containers can be used, with a slot in the lid for a water seal, or plastic or stainless steel barrels equipped with faucets, thermometers, pressure gauges and other convenient pribludy.

Now collectively without what it is difficult to do:

• Scales or measuring cup for malt and hops.
• Container for soaking and filtering (bucket-basin for 5-10 l).
• Malt crusher (mill, meat grinder, coffee grinder).
• Wort kettle for 25-30 l.
• Spoon with a long handle - paddle (plastic).
• Accurate thermometer with scale up to 100˚С.
• Iodine - for malt sampling and disinfection (or special disinfectant).
• Fermentation tank with water seal.
• Hydrometer for measuring the density of the wort.
• Silicone tube for pouring beer.
• Glass or plastic bottles with tight lids.

Of all of the above, the most difficult thing to do without a thermometer. During the preparation of the wort, in particular its malting, it is very important to accurately observe the temperature pauses, otherwise the beer simply will not work. The bottles are convenient with a yoke cap, you can also use standard beer caps, but then you have to buy a crown capper and crown caps themselves (regular beer caps).

What else will be useful:

• Self-adhesive fermentation tank thermometer.
• Filter media, add. filter containers.
• Canvas or gauze bag for mashing the must.
• Chiller for rapid cooling of the wort (or ice bath).

We advise you to take a closer look at some of the products for brewing on the world-famous Chinese marketplace AliExpress. Recently, we have been running a section in which we publish selections of such products. For example, you will find links to penny measuring instruments necessary for comfortable brewing and much more (scales, thermometers, hydrometers, volumetric flasks, a mash bag, etc.)

Preparation

Cleanliness is the key to success! In this case, this is not an empty phrase. Beer wort is an ideal breeding ground for any microorganisms that in a matter of hours will develop colonies in it and beer will no longer work out of this. Always use sterile containers and utensils, and minimize wort exposure to air. During brewing, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, and preferably wipe them with alcohol, as you would with any tool that will come into contact with the wort.

Disinfection is the key to successful brewing.

The containers can be washed with iodine solution or with special disinfectants that are stocked in beer shops. You can also use a weak solution of bleach: 1 tbsp. l. for 5 liters of water. But still more reliable than special equipment. After using them, be sure to rinse the disinfected containers with plenty of water, preferably with hot water (be careful with plastic). After iodine, it is not necessary to rinse. Do not use several solutions at once - their reaction with each other can lead to the formation of toxic substances.

As a sterilizer, you can use heads from under any moonshine.

Preparation of beer wort

So, you bought or germinated quality beer malt, found aromatic hops, prepared water and sterilized all equipment. Now, in fact, it's time to learn how to brew beer at home.

First you need to make a recipe, namely, decide how dense and bitter your beer will be. PC brewing programs such as BeerSmith will help us with this. For trial purposes, you can use it for 21 days, then you have to buy a license, but it costs that money ($28). BeerSmith allows you to automatically calculate all the parameters of the future beer based on the given ingredients. It also includes 100 styles of beer from the BJCP guide. By the way, it would not be superfluous to acquire the BJCP manual itself, where the classification of beer is clearly described.

Malt preparation

First you need to measure the malt. For a classic beer recipe from malt and hops, 4 kg of malt is taken for 25 liters of beer. You can vary the amount of malt and water, thereby affecting the density of the drink and its taste. Malt must be winnowed, washed from dust and dirt.

Purified beer malt must be crushed into fine grits. To do this, you can use a malt grinder, but if it was not at hand, a regular meat grinder or other kitchen equipment will do: a blender, a food processor, a coffee grinder. However, practice has shown that it is much more convenient and practical to have a malt mill on hand.

Before mashing the wort, some brewers do the so-called "pre-mash" - soaking the malt with water for 12 hours. This procedure is necessary to give elasticity to the malt husk - it will not be damaged during crushing, which means that it will be more convenient to filter the wort. Also, "pre-mashing" activates enzymes. Grinding wet malt leads to corrosion of the metal parts of crushers, so not everyone resorts to this method. But soaking can also be done after grinding, right? Be that as it may, our main task is to prepare and grind our malt to the desired condition (the optimal grinding size is like that of barley groats).

Mashing malt infusion

Wort mashing is the most important process in beer brewing. At this stage, the crushed malt is mixed with water (mashed), as a result of which the malt enzymes go into solution and break down the starch into sugar, which the yeast will then process. Enzymes require a certain temperature to work. There are two fundamentally different methods of mashing: infusion and decoction. We will use infusion, which is a classic home mashing scheme, during which the wort is heated sequentially, while maintaining the temperature pauses necessary for the action of enzymes. The decoction method is used in factories as a cheaper one - part of the wort is boiled and added to the rest, raising its temperature to the desired one.

For a classic beer recipe, a 1/3 water ratio (1 part malt/3 parts water) is used. Therefore, to prepare 25 liters of beer, we need to take 4 kg of malt and 12 liters of water. Water must be boiled and cooled to 60 ° C. Pour the malt in a thin stream, thoroughly mixing the wort so that no lumps form. If you haven't got a convenient wort kettle with a filter system, you can make your first attempts to brew beer using the "in a bag" method - pour malt into a cloth bag and "mash" right in it.

At this stage, it is advisable to check the acidity of the wort using a pH test. For brewing, the optimal pH is 5.2..5.5. How to properly acidify. For this, any food acids are used.

After mixing hot water with malt, it's time to arm yourself with a thermometer and follow the temperature pauses. There are three of them, two of which are required:

1. Protein pause. The mash is kept for 15-20 minutes at a temperature of 25-55°C. This pause is not required. It is used if slightly modernized malt or “unmalted” is used. During the pause, the wort kettle (pot) must be insulated, and the wort should be periodically stirred. The protein pause promotes better protein digestion, reduces the turbidity of the wort, and facilitates further filtration. The density of taste slightly weakens, the amount of foam decreases.
2. Maltose pause. The mash is kept from 20 minutes to 1.5 hours at a temperature of 62-68°C. During this time, enzymes convert starch into maltose, a monosugar. At a low temperature and a long pause, more fermentable sugars are obtained, which means that the beer becomes stronger, while the density of taste is significantly lost. Higher temperatures and shorter pauses produce more non-fermentable dextrins, which give the beer a thick flavor. The fortress, accordingly, falls.
3. Pause saccharification. The mash is kept for 15 minutes at a temperature of 70-75°C. At this stage, the final saccharification of the wort takes place. Starch completely breaks down into dextrins, the breakdown of enzymes begins. With an increase in this pause, which makes sense only by reducing the previous ones, the strength of the beer drops and its taste density increases.

After the third pause, an iodine test should be done to check the completeness of saccharification. To do this, take a couple of drops of mash and place them on a white plate. Wait a few minutes and add a drop of iodine, then mix the drops. If there is no color change, then the wort is completely saccharified and can be put on fermentation. If the iodine turns blue, then there is still starch in the wort - the wort must be boiled for another 15 minutes at a temperature of 70-75 ° C. After that, it can still be boiled for 5 minutes at a temperature of 75-77 ° C and proceed to filtration.

Congestion filtering

If you originally mashed the wort in a bag, then there is practically no need to filter the wort. However, the grain (the undissolved part of the wort) still contains a lot of sugar, so it is advisable to rinse it. The optimum water temperature for flushing is 75-77°C. But more on that later. First you need to filter the wort and measure its density. Modern wort kettles are equipped with a filter system with a false bottom and a tap. All you have to do is place a large collection container under the tap and start draining the wort. The first wort will be cloudy, so it is best to drain it into a separate container until a clear liquid begins to flow from the tap. It is necessary to change the container to the main one, and return the first cloudy wort to the filter tank.

Malt grains work here, which is collected in a dense layer on the mesh bottom (if we are talking about a purchased wort kettle) and begins to play the role of a good filter. You can assemble your own filter system from a large tank and a sieve, but I will leave these engineering wisdoms to your conscience. After filtering, be sure to measure the density of the wort using a hydrometer. Typically, the density varies between 14-22%. It's time to bring the gravity of the wort up to the values ​​in our recipe using a rinse. The amount of water depends on the desired density.

For beer with a density of 12%, you should take the following amount of water at a temperature of 75-77 ° C (not higher):

During the filtration process, try to control the density of the wort using a hydrometer so as not to overdo it with the amount of wash water - at the end of the wash, more “useless” substances pass into the wort, which only increase the cloudiness.

Wort boiling and beer hopping

The resulting wort must be poured back into the wort kettle and boiled for 1-2 hours with the addition of hop cones. Brewing beer is needed to enrich the wort with hop bitterness and aroma. During boiling, all unnecessary microorganisms are killed, and the malt enzymes are finally destroyed. It is recommended to boil the wort for at least 1 hour. Boiling should be active, 10-15 minutes before the end of cooking, it is better to reduce the fire and cover the wort with a lid.

Put the wort on the fire, add hops for bitterness - about 80% of the hops rate. The bitterness that will transfer into the beer from hops depends on the amount of alpha acids contained in the buds (or granules). For example, to obtain a drink with a slight hop bitterness for 25 liters of wort, it is enough to take 25-50 g of hop pellets with an alpha acid content of 6.4%, for bitter beer - 60-100 g. The granules are simply put into the wort, it is better to put the cones into a cloth bag. 10-15 minutes before the end of the boil, you need to add hops for taste, and 5 minutes - for aroma. Irish moss is also added with flavor and aroma hops for better clarification of the beer.

Wort cooling

The boiled wort must be quickly cooled to a fermentation temperature of 16-18°C. It is important to cool quickly, in 20-30 minutes, - this reduces the risk of contamination of the wort with foreign microorganisms that can seriously compete with yeast. At home, this can be done with a cold water bath (with plenty of ice if possible).

If you are going to brew regularly, I advise you to purchase a chiller - a coil through which running cold water is supplied.

A chiller is the best way to quickly cool your beer after brewing.

Adding yeast with preparation

During cooling, it is advisable to ferment the yeast so that you do not have to wait later:

1. Pour a small amount of wort with a temperature of no more than 30 ° C into a sterile container and pour / pour yeast into it.
2. Cover with a sterile lid and let stand for 30-40 minutes. When signs of fermentation appear, the yeast can be added to the chilled wort.

But before adding yeast, the cold wort must be freed from suspensions, due to which the cold wort becomes cloudy. This process will have a positive effect on the final taste of the drink. To do this, stir the wort with a rotating motion using your mixing spoon. As a result of rotation, the suspensions will settle to the bottom in the center of the tank, and the wort can be poured into the fermentation brewery without any problems.

It is also important to saturate the wort with oxygen before introducing yeast cultures, which was all gone during the boil. To do this, the wort must be intensively mixed, and it is better to pour from a great height. Experienced brewers use aquarium compressors for aeration. Do not forget that everything should be as sterile as possible.

Main beer fermentation

Before setting the wort for fermentation, take a small amount of it to check the density. This information will come in handy later. The optimal density for light lager beer is 10-12%, for dense beer - 12-16%. Mix the wort well after pitching the yeast. Close the fermentation tank with a water seal lid and place it in the place where the beer will ferment. It should be a dry room with a stable temperature of 18-24°C.

Fermentation of beer lasts 5-8 days. The end of fermentation is characterized by the absence of carbon dioxide released through the water seal. We open the container, take a small amount of young beer to measure the density. For fermented beer, the density should drop to 2-2.2%. In a fermented beer, the gravity is constant because the sugars are no longer processed by the yeast. Knowing the initial and final density, you can calculate the final strength of the drink. If everything went well, the beer can be bottled and sent for maturation.

Overflow, fermentation, maturation

So we come to the most pleasant stage of brewing homemade beer. At this stage, the beer does not have a full taste. In order for this taste to develop, the beer must go through the process of maturation in tightly sealed bottles. Before pouring, you need to get rid of the yeast sediment - carefully drain the beer through a silicone hose, without moving the sediment. You can use an intermediate overflow: first, pour the beer into a container, which should be left at a low temperature (5-7 ° C) for a day, and then pour the completely clarified drink into bottles.

In order for the beer to ferment and be saturated with carbon dioxide, sugar or other substances that contain it are added to it, for example, honey or unhopped malt extract. For 1 liter of beer, it is enough to take 8-9 g of sugar or honey, malt extract - 11 g or 1.25 times more sugar. Of course, malt extract is preferable. Their sugar is better to cook syrup or use fructose-dextrose (6-7 g / 1 l). You can add sugar to each bottle, after which they need to be shaken well to completely dissolve, but it is better to mix the required amount of sugar / malt with beer in a separate container and pour the drink into bottles from there.

Beer is bottled in clean, sterile bottles. It is necessary to leave 3-4 cm from the neck for normal fermentation and carbon dioxide concentration. Glass bottles without tight corks should be sealed with new crown caps. Beer must be fermented in a dark room at room temperature. Ripening should take place in a dark, cool place for at least 1-2 weeks. In order not to get confused, it is better to label the bottles - indicate the type of beer on them, and the date when it was bottled. You can store it for 6-8 months, while the drink will remain “alive” all this time.

It's time to reap the fruits of your labors.

I will continue to cover the beer theme and hope for any possible help from you. Becoming a homebrewer is not difficult. For this, only one thing is required - the desire to cook. In conclusion, I would like to say that homebrewers are enthusiastic people who are not afraid to experiment. Do not limit yourself to anything other than consuming the results of your new hobby. For moderation is the best feast!

" data-modal-addimage=" " data-modal-quote=" " data-modal-preview=" " data-modal-sub=" " data-post_id="4608" data-user_id="0" data-is_need_logged ="0" data-lang="en" data-decom_comment_single_translate=" comment" data-decom_comment_twice_translate=" comment" data-decom_comment_plural_translate=" comments" data-multiple_vote="1" data-text_lang_comment_deleted="Comment deleted" data-text_lang_edited ="Edited in" data-text_lang_delete="Delete" data-text_lang_not_zero="Field is not NULL" data-text_lang_required="This field is required." data-text_lang_checked="Check one of the boxes" data-text_lang_completed="Operation completed" data -text_lang_items_deleted="Items have been deleted" data-text_lang_close="Close" data-text_lang_loading="Loading...">

Submit Cancel

The project "Restaurants of New Kaliningrad.Ru" after a conversation with the brewer-technologist of the Hercules brewery Pavel Borovets revealed a number of interesting details of brewing: what is malt, how the type of future beer depends on its variety, how many times and at what stage of beer preparation hops are added. We also tasted all types of beer offered by Hercules and even a new sort, which is not yet on sale.

- Where did you study the art of brewing?

I started working at a large brewery - Pete. Then the Berlin Institute of Brewing organized seminars in Moscow for brewers, I have a certificate of this seminar. And when I already started working in the brewery of the Hercules restaurant, I consulted with the Austrian brewer Vincenz Fleck, who designed our brewery.

- What is the difference between working in a large factory and in a small brewery?

In volumes and in the ability to experiment, to change something depending on the preferences of our customers or in our opinion. Choose different proportions or types of malt, for example.

What is beer made from?

There are four components. The most important thing is malt. Is it germinated barley or germinated wheat.

- Necessarily sprouted?

Yes, they are factory germinated and prepared as a brewing ingredient. We buy malt in Bavaria, from one of the best malt houses in the world, Weyermann, which has been operating as a family business since 1879. The process of germination of malt takes about a month, first the grain is soaked to start the biological processes inherent in the grain. Then it is germinated and dried in a special way. The type of malt depends on the drying process (time and temperature). Our brewery uses six types of malt and brews four types of beer. For four types, six types of malt are needed to add them in a certain proportion. Somewhere for color, somewhere for taste.

- That is, one barley is used, but several types of malt are obtained from it during processing?

Absolutely right. The basis for brewing beer - the base, so to speak - is Pilsner malt, from 80 to 95% of the total malt mass. Other varieties are added for color, smell and taste. By the way, in this form, in grains, it is already quite edible.

True, quite tasty grains. The black ones are reminiscent of over-roasted coffee, while the light ones have a distant taste of bread... So, two components of beer were found out: water, malt. What else?

The third component is hops. This is a plant, but it is supplied to most breweries in granulated form . Hops are needed to give the beer a "beer" bitterness and a specific aroma. There is no beer without hops.

The fourth ingredient is yeast. They look just like ordinary dry bakery. We also have four varieties of yeast. Each beer has its own variety. For example, we will soon start brewing wheat beer, which uses a special kind of yeast that gives a fruity flavor to the beer. Yeast is added at the very last moment.

- Water, hops, different types of malt and different types of yeast. How does it all turn into beer?

The wort vat is filled with water, heated to a certain temperature, then crushed malt is added. That is, this grain, which we saw, is slightly crushed. This process takes place automatically, by a crusher. Violation of the integrity of the grain shell helps it to completely release the substances responsible for taste.

The density of beer depends on the amount of malt. The least goes to Wheat, a little more to Red Ale, and the most to Black Stout.

- So the malt gives strength to the beer?

Yes. There is such a term "wort density". On the bottles you can see, they write the designations. This is, roughly speaking, the content of solids in beer.

After mixing the malt with water and before filtering, the process is called "mashing". Water is mixed with malt and a stepwise heating takes place. At each of these pauses, a certain chemical process occurs and the result is a wort.

By the way, you should try it. It is very useful, but, unfortunately, it is not stored at all even in the refrigerator.

- Delicious! Cloudy warm drink with a rich aroma of fresh black bread, but sweetish in taste.Where does the boiled grain go then?

All this mass is sent to the "filter vat". At its bottom there are sieves that do not let large particles through. So the liquid is separated from the solids, the filtration process ends and boiling begins.

- First mashing, then filtering, then boiling. What's next?

The maximum temperature does not exceed 98 degrees. Hops are added during this process. But not immediately, but in stages. The earlier you set the hops, the more bitterness it will release in the beer, and the late hops set adds flavor to the beer.

Then the drink passes into the next tank and cools along the way. For example, light or smoked beer - up to 10-12 degrees. We maintain this temperature and add yeast.

- Based on baking experience, I know that yeast does better at higher temperatures.

This temperature is needed for slow "bottom" fermentation. And for top fermentation, the temperature will be 20-22 degrees, and the process will go faster.

The red beer that we brewed yesterday is just fermenting. I'll open the lid and you can take a picture of it. Foam on top indicates the yeast is working.

- How much should this beer ferment, Red ale?

About two days. But there are varieties of beer, in the Czech Republic, for example, which roam for 30 days.

- About wine, you can say “young” or “aged”. Is there something similar in brewing?

There is a term "grün bier", green beer. Now that's what you call beer. Green is what is not yet ready for use.

- How long will it take for this "green beer" to be ready to drink?

It also needs a fermentation process. For top-fermenting varieties, 14 days, and for bottom-fermenting, another 21 days. At this time, we lower the temperature by one degree every day, the yeast gradually settles and is removed. And only after that beer can be poured into kegs (a keg is a metal container used for storing and transporting beer - approx. "New Kaliningrad.Ru").

What is the shelf life of beer?

If it is poured, then no more than 8 days for live beer.

What is the difference between live beer and non-live beer?

Rather, from pasteurized. The presence of yeast. Most of the yeast is removed by filtration, but what remains makes the beer "alive".

- Do you currently brew four types of beer?

Yes. We have had and will have four types of beer in stock. Smoked beer…

- Smoked beer? How is that?

Special smoked malt is used, which is smoked on beech sawdust.

- I know that you want to remove this species from the line of beers?

Because we are ready to offer 4 different types of beer. Now we are adding Light Wheat, which means that one kind of beer will have to be sacrificed. Most likely, we will remove Smoked. It depends on the demand of our customers. Perhaps because it is dark, and dark beer, for some reason, has a lower percentage of sales. Although he has fans.

- That is, you remove dark beers from the line at all?

Why, we leave the Dark Stout, which is brewed with roasted and caramelized malts. This is the strongest beer in our range.

- So, what types of beer do you brew and offer to your customers today?

The smoked beers we talked about are Pale Lager, Red Ale and Black Stout. And very soon, we will offer our customers Light wheat beer, which, I think, will quickly gain popularity.

- Very soon, when?

To summer. I think mid June. We have already purchased some raw materials and recently made a test brew, now we will order used O an additional batch of raw materials to ensure that this type of beer is constantly in our assortment.

- It is a little cloudy, but light and very pleasant to the taste.

The haze is due to the yeast. This is a fairly popular beer both in the world and in our city.

Be sure to try the Red Ale. This is a top fermented beer with an interesting taste. Top fermentation is a faster process and the end result is less like beer, which is why it is called ale.

- But the taste is quite beer.

Of course, because hops are added according to the recipe. Earlier, in the 15th century, ales were brewed without hops at all. Mint and some other herbs were sprinkled there. And now, in our time, top-fermented beer is called ale. This occurs at higher temperatures compared to bottom fermentation with the release of specific phenols.

- What are the most popular beers now, according to sales?

Pale Lager and Red Ale.

- At the Light Camp such a typical beer taste. A slightly bitter, full-bodied classic beer in my opinion. No wonder it's popular.

From the line of beer "Hercules""Restaurants of New Kaliningrad.Ru" recommend Smoked beer. Very unusual and pleasant taste, moderately bitter, you can feel the taste from smoking malt on beech sawdust. Hurry up to try it, because in a month or two it will be replaced by the popular Pale Wheat Beer. "Restaurants of New Kaliningrad.Ru" will definitely write about it.

This stage begins after boiling and fermentation. It allows you to bring young beer to the desired state: for this you need to go through the fermentation stage and brew for several days. As a rule, the fermentation temperature should be higher than the post-fermentation temperature: this contributes to the appearance of the substance carbon dioxide (CO2) in the beer.

For fermentation, beer must be poured into sterile bottles using a siphon tube. To remove excessive sediment, a double transfusion is allowed. Moreover, during these procedures, try to "excite" the beer as little as possible - shake, move, etc. This can change the pressure, as a result of which the containers will simply explode.

For fermentation, sugar, glucose or sugar syrup is placed in beer at the rate of 7-9 g / 1 liter. During this exposure time, natural carbonization is carried out - that is, carbonation. It is realized due to the occurrence of carbon dioxide in beer.

In order to groove (carbonate) the beer, sweet ingredients are used. In situations where carbonation has not occurred and the beer has run out, it means that old or low-quality yeast has been used. Correcting the situation is real if you add fresh yeast.

Holding conditions.

In order not to spoil the beer at this stage, observe the following conditions:

• Beer is allowed to infuse both in plastic and glass bottles. The ideal option is something made of dark glass, as beer does not like light. In factories, special tanks are used for this.
• At the final pouring of beer to the neck, leave at least 3 cm.
• Try to maintain a slight overpressure.
• Maintain room temperature. Do not let it rise above 20 degrees.
• In bottles, beer will be ready in 5-6 days, in kegs - in 8-10 days.

Beer maturation is not a fermentation process!

Many confuse this procedure with aging (fermentation) - although in reality these are different processes. Ripening always begins only after fermentation and maturation. Their duration can be up to 1 year, but cannot be less than 7 days.

In addition, at home, the procedure is slower, since professional devices are not used for this. Therefore, the longer the drink is infused, the better.

In kegs, beer matures even longer. Keep the temperature below room temperature! At elevated temperatures, the process will be of poor quality and the risk of ruining all the work increases. You can control the procedure through a test: the first of them is allowed to be carried out on the 10-14th day. At the end, the drink gets its special taste and aroma characteristics and is completely ready for use.

Lightening when ripe!

In fact, it is possible to drink beer after maturation, but the taste will be different from what you get after maturation. It is no coincidence that this stage is considered the final one in the home-brewing of beer, because the final taste, aroma and quality of the drink will depend on it.

What happens during this time?

• The color stabilizes and the taste becomes richer.
• The alcohol content changes.
• Subsequently, the drink is better absorbed by the body.
• Yeast absorbs sugars and other unnecessary substances accumulated in the drink, which spoil the original properties.

After this lengthy procedure is completed, the yeast, along with other unnecessary substances, will settle to the bottom in the form of sediment, which will help the natural clarification of the drink.

How long does the maturation of beer take?

People who are intimately familiar with brewing say that the longer the beer ages, the better. But other than that, the production time is related to what kind of beer you are brewing!

Ripening time:

• For light, a suitable period is at least 14-21 days.
• For dark - 3 months, if desired, longer is allowed.

As a rule, for each individual variety in the recipes, their individual terms are indicated, which will help to prepare the best product in terms of characteristics.

What is the best way to store a ripening product?

In order not to lose the quality of the drink, to form its specific characteristics brighter and richer, special conditions of detention should also be observed.

For storage, it is advisable to select a shaded and clean place, so if you use the basement for this, then take care of the sterility of the space.

The maturation of beer in kegs can take longer, besides, they will need to buy various additional equipment - a refrigerator, a tap, etc.

To track changes in taste, you can create one small test container to sample the drink every two to three weeks.

Video from a homebrewing lover, where he shares his experience and gives good recommendations!

In order to brew beer yourself, you do not need any special equipment at all. It is much more important to understand the stages of brewing, to be able to maintain the right conditions during the aging period of beer. In this case, homemade beer will turn out fragrant, tasty and, unlike a purchased drink, natural.

Home-brewed beer compares favorably with cheap store-bought counterparts with a richer taste, thick foam and the absence of preservatives. It turns out a drink that does not contain anything superfluous. I will show you how to brew beer according to the classic recipe using only traditional ingredients: hops, malt, water and yeast. To preserve the original taste, we will not resort to filtration and pasteurization.

It is believed that to make real beer you need to buy a mini brewery or other expensive equipment. This myth is imposed by manufacturers of such products. Together with the brewery, such offices will gladly sell a ready-made concentrate, which only needs to be diluted in water and fermented. As a result, a novice brewer pays exorbitant prices for beer, the quality of which, at best, is slightly higher than cheap store brands.

In fact, you can make homemade beer without special equipment, using improvised means: a large brewing pan, a plastic or glass fermentation vessel, any bottles and other available devices, the full list of which is published below.

You will have to buy only hops, malt and brewer's yeast. I do not insist on choosing a particular company or brand. The range is wide enough, buy any product you like.

Theoretically, malt and hops can be grown at home. But these processes are beyond the scope of the article. Further, we will assume that all the necessary ingredients are available: homemade or purchased. The only thing is that I do not advise you to experiment with brewer's yeast, but immediately choose the best strains in the store, since beer differs from grain mash precisely in special yeast.

Ingredients:

• water - 27 liters;
• hops (alpha acidity 4.5%) - 45 grams;
• barley malt - 4 kg;
• brewer's yeast - 25 grams;
• sugar - 8 grams per liter of beer (needed for natural saturation with carbon dioxide).

Necessary equipment:

• 30-liter enamel pot - for boiling the wort;
• fermentation tank - for fermentation;
• thermometer (required) - if moonshine from sugar or wine can be made only by approximately controlling the temperature, then with beer this is an initially failed undertaking;
• bottles for pouring finished beer (plastic or glass);
• silicone hose of small diameter - for removing beer from the sediment;
• ice water bath or wort cooler;
• gauze (3-5 meters) or a bag of fabric;
• iodine and a white plate (optional);
• hydrometer (optional) - a device for determining the sugar content of the wort.

Brewing home beer

1. Preparation. The first stage, during which the brewer checks the availability of the right ingredients and the readiness of the equipment for work. I also advise you to pay attention to the following points.

Sterilization. Wash all used containers and accessories well with hot water and dry. Before working with the ingredients, the brewer thoroughly washes with soap and dries his hands dry. It is very important not to infect beer wort with wild yeasts and pathogens, otherwise you will get mash instead of beer. Neglect of sterilization eliminates all further efforts.

Water. It is better to use spring or bottled water. In extreme cases, ordinary tap water is also suitable. Before brewing beer, tap water is defended for a day in open containers. This time is enough for the chlorine to evaporate, and heavy metals and salts to settle at the bottom. Subsequently, the settled water is carefully drained from the sediment into another container through a thin tube.

Yeast. For normal fermentation, 15-30 minutes before adding to the wort, brewer's yeast is activated with a small amount of warm water (temperature not higher than 28 degrees). There is no universal method that allows you to properly dilute any brewer's yeast. Therefore, you must follow the instructions on the package.

2. Mashing the wort. This term refers to the mixing of crushed malt with hot water to break down the starch in the grains into sugar (maltose) and solubles (dextrins). Sometimes the malt is sold ready for brewing, crushed, which makes things a little easier. If not, the dried sprouted grain must be ground on its own using a grain crusher or a mechanical meat grinder.

Attention! Grinding does not mean grinding into flour, you just need to grind the grains into small pieces, be sure to save particles of the grain peel, which will then be required to filter the wort. The correct grinding option is shown in the photo.

Correct grinding

25 liters of water are poured into an enamel pan and heated on the stove to 80°C. Next, the ground malt is poured into a fabric or home-made bag measuring 1 by 1 meter, made from 3-4 layers of gauze. A bag of malt is immersed in water, the pot is covered with a lid and boiled for 90 minutes, maintaining a stable temperature of 61-72°C.

Grouting malt at 61-63 degrees promotes a better yield of sugars, increasing the strength of home-brewed beer. At 68-72°C, the density of the wort increases, although the alcohol content in the drink will be slightly lower, but the taste will be richer. I recommend sticking to the temperature range of 65-72°C, which results in a tasty dense beer with a strength of 4%.

Brewing malt in a bag

After 90 minutes of boiling, an iodine test is done to make sure that there is no starch left in the wort. To do this, 5-10 milligrams of the wort is poured onto a clean white plate and mixed with a few drops of iodine. If the solution has turned dark blue, you need to cook the contents of the pan for another 15 minutes. If the iodine has not changed the color of the wort, it is ready. You can not do an iodine test, but simply increase the mashing (brewing) time by 15 minutes, the quality of the drink will not suffer from this.

Then the temperature is raised sharply to 78-80°C and the wort is boiled for 5 minutes to completely stop the work of the enzymes. Next, the bag with malt residues is removed from the container and washed with 2 liters of boiled water at a temperature of 78 degrees. So the residues of extractive substances are washed out. Wash water is added to the wort.

This method of mashing is called "in the bag" and allows you to do without filtration - the separation of grains (undissolved malt particles) from the main wort. In turn, filtration requires specific equipment (cleaning systems) and reusable transfusion of wort from one container to another. Mashing in a bag does not affect the quality of the brewed beer in any way, but takes much less time.

3. Boiling the wort. The contents of the pan are brought to a boil and the first portion of hops is added, in our case it is 15 grams. After 30 minutes of intense boiling, the next 15 grams are added, and after 40 minutes the remaining 15 grams of hops are boiled for another 20 minutes.

Depending on the chosen beer recipe, the time intervals and the amount of hops may vary. But, adhering to the indicated sequence and proportions, you are guaranteed to get a normal result.

Boiling takes an hour and a half, during all this time it is important to maintain intense heating so that the wort gurgles.

Adding Hops

4. Cooling. Beer wort needs to be cooled quickly (in 15-30 minutes) to 24-26°C. The sooner this is done, the less risk there is of contaminating the drink with fermentation-damaging bacteria and wild yeasts.

You can cool the wort with a special immersion cooler (one of the possible designs in the photo) or carefully transfer the container to a bath of ice water. Most beginner brewers use the second method. The main thing is not to accidentally turn over a hot pan, scalding yourself with boiling water.

Cooler design

The cooled wort is poured through cheesecloth into a fermentation tank.

5. Fermentation. Diluted brewer's yeast is added to the wort and mixed well. In this case, it is very important to observe the temperature and proportions indicated in the instructions on the sachet label.

There are top-fermenting yeasts, which are fermented at a temperature of 18-22°C, and bottom-fermenting, working at 5-16°C. These two types make different beers.

The filled fermentation tank is transferred to a dark place with a temperature recommended by the yeast manufacturer. In our case it is 24-25°C. Then a water seal is installed and left alone for 7-10 days.

Example of a fermentation tank

After 6-12 hours, active fermentation will begin, which usually lasts 2-3 days. At this time, the airlock actively bubbles, then the frequency of carbon dioxide release slowly decreases. At the end of fermentation, young homemade beer becomes light. Readiness is determined by two methods: a saccharometer (hydrometer) and a water seal.

In the first case, the readings of two hydrometer samples for the last 12 hours are compared. If the values ​​differ slightly (by hundredths), then you can proceed to the next step. Not everyone has a sugar meter, so at home they often just look at the water seal. The absence of bubbles within 18-24 hours indicates the end of fermentation.

6. Plugging and carbonation. Carbonization of beer is the saturation of the drink with carbon dioxide, which contributes to the improvement of taste and the appearance of thick foam. Despite the complicated name, the process itself is very simple.

Sugar is added to beer storage bottles (preferably dark ones) at the rate of 8 grams per 1 liter. The sugar will cause a slight secondary fermentation, which will saturate the beer with carbon dioxide. Then the beer is drained from the sediment through a silicone tube, filling the prepared bottles.

The spill is completed

One end of the tube is lowered to the middle of the container with beer, the other - to the very bottom of the bottle, this minimizes the contact of the drink with air. It is important not to touch the yeast, which, depending on the type, can settle to the bottom or accumulate on the surface, otherwise the beer will turn cloudy. The bottles are not topped up 2 cm to the neck and tightly corked.

The easiest way is to use a plastic container, since the lids for it can be twisted by hand. For glass bottles, you need yoke corks or a special device for corking ordinary beer corks (pictured).

Bottle with yoke stopper
Closing device for regular corks

The bottles filled with beer are transferred to a dark place with a temperature of 20-24°C and left for 15-20 days. Once every 7 days, the containers must be shaken well. After that, the drink is placed in the refrigerator.

7. Ripening. Homemade beer is ready. But if you let the drink stand for another 30 days, the taste will improve significantly.
Beer can be stored in the refrigerator for 6-8 months, an open bottle - 2-3 days.

Another method of brewing beer without special equipment is shown in the video.