Did You Know The Ingredients Involved In 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.

Yeats is available in two types namely larger and ale yeast. Ale yeast is very active in the fermentation process, and hence it is called top fermenting. On the other hand, larger yeast in which is less active in fermentation is called bottom fermenting. These two type of yeast work differently under different temperature conditions. Ale yeast ferments best at higher temperatures whereas larger yeast at much colder temperatures.

It has been mentioned that yeast ferment carbohydrates to produce alcohol. Therefore our next ingredients are the sugar sources which are in form of carbohydrates found in grains. Barley is the commonly used grain. But others such as wheat and rice can also be used. In brewing, these grains are called malts. The malts contain sugar which is broken into small pieces which can be easily acted upon by the fermented. The process of breaking the malts into small particles is referred to as malting.

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.

Beer is usually bitter. This bitterness is provided by hops. Hops are the flowerlike cones of the climbing vine. Inside them, are glands of oils and resins which not only add bitterness to the beer, also they improve the smell and flavor. The resins and the oils which are contained at the center of the hops are not soluble in water. Therefore to enable them to add their bitterness, they are boiled as a part of the brewing process.

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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