Introduction to Process
This section covers the basic processes involved with brewing.

Brewing            Decoction            Sanitation

Process: Brewing
Basics:
The modern beer is made from water, malt, hops, yeast, and potentially other ingredients called adjuncts. There are many different methods of brewing beer, each owning something towards a particular style. Generally speaking though all brewing follows a basic plan: Preparation, Mashing, Lautering, Boiling, Chilling, Fermentation, Conditioning, and Consumption :o)

Preparation:
All good things come with planning, and when it comes to making Beer, there is no exception! It all starts with an idea: What do I like? Some beers are very difficult to create or replicate. Thus the question modifies: What can I make? There are many excellent styles of beer just waiting to be made! Your local homebrew supplier is very skilled at helping you select the correct formulation with all the necessary equipment and available ingredients.

Preparation also encompasses the process of logistics: You selected a recipe, and you’ve bought the ingredients. Typically the first thing to consider before striking the flame to water is Yeast: It takes Time to grow yeast to a population level for a successful fermentation. Yeast comes either dry or liquid, and typically should be bred up first – though White Labs has yeast that is ready to dispense directly into the wort. However, for best results give yourself at 24 to 48 hours before brewing to create a “starter” with your yeast!

Next, inspect your equipment: Things wear out and need replacement. Also inspect for debris, residue, and accumulation. Often we get in a hurry and get to brewing without realizing an important component is missing, broke or dirty. A good brewer will have backups of critical equipment, extra seals, tools at their disposal, or an extra tank of propane. Get to know fellow brewers in case you need help!

On the day of brewing, plan what to eat; it’s going to be a long day and you’ll want something convenient. Prepare for the unexpected by having a mop or rags ready; let’s face it – brewing can get messy! Don’t plan to do two projects at once; forget about writing that report for the boss as you brew; it won’t happen! Your focus should be on the beer, and the sundry details that follows.

Brew with a friend and start early, just in case: you might need to get something at the last minute, and if so – send your buddy out to fetch it! Keep your eye on the ball and let’s make good brew!

Begin with sanitation: clean your equipment. This can be done prior to as you need it; get your brew buddy involved! We’ll need the mash vessel first. Extract brewers can skip this. Mash tuns have a false bottom of some design; inspect for trapped husks, plugs, growths, leakages, and accumulations.

Lastly, take good notes of all things of your process - however incongruent to the observer - but relevant to you. This could be very important later in determining a cause or solution in your final product!

Mash:
Extract brewers can skip this and the next step. The process of mashing involves the hydrolization of monosaccharides; conversion of water-soluble starches into fermentable sugars, known primarily as maltose (creates alcohol) & dextrose (creates body & head), though not exclusively. Mashes require a “dough-in” whereby grain is added to a modest watery bed at a particular temperature with additional water to create a porridge of sorts. Enzymes become activated at certain temperatures that convert these soluble starches into sweet fermentable sugars. This process may require stirring, recirculation, addition of more materials or heat, or other undefined means to bring about this change. It can be a long process or short – it all depends on what the recipe/style calls for. In the end, you’ll know something is right when you can readily see a cloudy bread-like mixture turn sweet and somewhat clear! This is the function of the mash :o)

Lautering:
Next we prepare to rinse the grains to process the hot liquor, or sweet “wort”; this process is called “sparging” or lautering. Water at about 168°F is used to arrest the enzymic reaction and facilitate extraction of the wort from the grain bed. This liquid is then drained off into the Boil Pot. In some systems a pump may be used to speed up this process, but care must be taken so as not to pull too hard and stop the flow. Some brewers recirculate the initial runnings back through the grain bed to clarify the runoff; this is called the “vorlauf” method. Historically, these first runnings are called a gyle. Modern brewers rinse the grains until the kettle is at the proper fill level, or to a level of clarity; this may be dependant upon style.

Boiling:
It is important to boil the wort, and with some styles – for long periods of time. We add hops - a prime ingredient to stability - at boiling, but at certain times to achieve particular properties. In the beginning of the boil, hops provide the basic bittering agent necessary to stave off infection and increase shelf-life. Within 10 to 20 minutes of the end of boil, hop additions contribute greatly to the Flavor of the beer. In the last 5 minutes to just after the boil, hop addtions impart an aromatic contribution: the bouquet to the beer. Other ingredients, adjuncts may be added at this time such as honey, spices, herbs, salts, sugars, extracts and the like.

The wort is boiled for many reasons:

* Reduction – excessive water is driven off to facilitate reduction of volume and increase density
* Sterilization – boiled wort is clean from bacteriological infection
* Isomerization – the marriage of the alpha-acids from hops with the wort
* Melanoidin production – creation of coloring compounds through aggressive boiling; the caramelization and darkening of the                                                 wort through boiling
* Facilitation of the Hot Break – precipitation of proteins that inhibit fermentation and cause chill haze
* Precipitation of unwanted chemical compounds – such as insoluable calcium carbonate, chlorine ions, and excessive iron. 

Chilling:
After the boil, it is very important to chill the newly made beer quickly to prevent infection and facilitate the cold break, unless of course your intent is to create a Lambic! Several types of chillers are available to homebrewers: immersion, external, & counter-flow.

Immersion is simply a copper coil that is connected to a cold water source and immersed into the boil pot. For a 5 gallon batch this takes roughly 30 minutes depending on water temperature, length of coil, & pressure.

External chillers are reverse of immersion whereby the hot wort is passed though coils that are immerse in an ice bath. Depending on factors, it’s roughly the same amount of time as above.

Counter-flow chillers have an internal copper tube with an external tube made of simple hose material; hot wort passes through the internal tubing in one direction while cold water travels in the opposite direction bounded by the external hose & inner conduit – hence the name counter-flow. Similar physical limitations determine the period of cooling. Commercial brewers typically use the counter-flow method to recover heat from the wort for the next batch.

Fermentation:
Depending on style, yeast is pitched when the wort is at the proper temperature. It is very important to pitch a viable and sufficient quantity of yeast, and aerate the mixture aggressively for a proper ferment! Yeast requires oxygen to respirate & reproduce. Standard methods of aeration include shaking the heck out of the carboy for several minutes to despensing oxygen through a scintered stone.

Likewise, it is important to control the fermentation from getting too hot or cold; hot ferments produce excessive estery flavors & potentially other nasties, too cool and there will be insufficient fermentation or long lag before fermentation – thus potential for infection! Futhermore, fluxuating temperatures create havoc on the flavor profile because the mechanisms for scrubbing off-flavors is disturbed. Generally speaking, shield fermentors from light, & store in a stable environment at the proper gradient.

Conditioning:
After the fermentation, rack the beer off to either bottle or keg. Carbonation can be done in a number of ways, though the most common is either with a carbonating stone (forced) or from priming with a young wort or fresh weak malt mixture (natural). Each method has it’s benefits as does each type of container. Like a fermenting beer, it is important to store the contents of your new beer correctly, following the same rules as fermenting; keep it in a stable environment until you’re ready to dispense it. Again, depending on style, some beers do well with cold condition for days or weeks, while others do well at room temperature, and lastly strong beers are served best by “laying down” for a number of months and years.

Consumption:
(or my favorite part!) It is the duty of a brewer to sample periodically the brew made as it ages until it is determined that the proper profile is achieved, or at least in it’s prime. Make notes as you go, and provide critic; what you did or didn’t like; what would you change or not change; how could this be improved. Good questions to ask over a satiable hand-crafted nostrum in the company of friends :o)

Process: Decoction
Excellent brief on this subject can be found online at:
Decoction Mashing

Process: Sanitation
The bane of all brewers is contamination that leads to off-flavors & noxious aromas. To stave off these bacterial & viral infections, one must practice good housekeeping in & around the brewing area & all surfaces in between.

Keep your workplace clean & safe. This includes immediately sweeping up or wiping up any spilled grain, boiled-over wort, or other substance, & keeping the area around the boil pot clear of flammable materials (including your clothing!).

Use a chlorine bleach solution (pretty good) or iodophor (better) to sanitize anything which will touch your beer after it's cooler than about 160°F (70°C). Use only non-porous equipment, ergo: use a stainless steel spoon instead of a wooden one, because it's nearly impossible to sanitize the porous wood. Get rid of plastic buckets for fermentation & use glass carboys. Also, replace your racking hoses on a regular basis, using only those made with food-grade plastic. Inspect & replace seals on kegs & associated equipment, & clean taps frequently with hot water or Sodium Metabisulfite (be sure to rinse!).

Suggested Reading: Brewery Cleaning & Sanitation