INTRODUCTION to BREWING Marie-Annick Scott

INTRODUCTION TO BREWING Marie-Annick Scott

TABLE OF CONTENTS History pg 2 Malt varieties pg 8 Other fermentables pg 9 Hops pg 11 Bittering compounds pg 12 Flavour compounds pg 12 Hop products pg 12 Water pg 14 Yeast pg 18 Equipment pg 20 Mash profiles pg 22 Detailed brew day steps pg 26 After brew day pg 34 Designing your own recipes pg 39 Glossary pg 43

INTRODUCTION TO BREWING Welcome to a one-day course on brewing. During this course you will learn how to transform grains and hops into drinkable beer. Throughout the day, we will be demonstrating how to make beer using your own equipment and guide you through the process to design your very own recipes.

Brewing is an extremely old practice, even predating civilisation. Historians like to argue whether beer or bread came first, but we do know that it’s the reason humans started living together, moving from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to farming and eventually, cities.

AN EXTREMELY BRIEF HISTORY OF BEER While we have evidence of beer and brewing going back over 10 000 years, the oldest written reference to beer is the “Hymn to Ninkasi”

Given birth by the flowing water, tenderly cared for by Ninhursaja! Ninkasi, given birth by the flowing water, tenderly cared for by Ninhursaja!

Having founded your town upon wax, she completed its great walls for you. Ninkasi, having founded your town upon wax, she completed its great walls for you.

Your father is Enki, the lord Nudimmud, and your mother is Ninti, the queen of the abzu. Ninkasi, your father is Enki, the lord Nudimmud, and your mother is Ninti, the queen of the abzu.

It is you who handle the dough with a big shovel, mixing, in a pit, the beerbread with sweet aromatics. Ninkasi, it is you who handle the dough with a big shovel, mixing, in a pit, the beerbread with sweet aromatics.

It is you who bake the beerbread in the big oven, and put in order the piles of hulled grain. Ninkasi, it is you who bake the beerbread in the big oven, and put in order the piles of hulled grain.

It is you who water the earth-covered malt; the noble dogs guard it even from the potentates. Ninkasi, it is you who water the earth-covered malt; the noble dogs guard it even from the potentates.

It is you who soak the malt in a jar; the waves rise, the waves fall. Ninkasi, it is you who soak the malt in a jar; the waves rise, the waves fall.

It is you who spread the cooked mash on large reed mats; coolness overcomes Ninkasi, it is you who spread the cooked mash on large reed mats; coolness overcomes

It is you who hold with both hands the great sweetwort, brewing it with honey and wine. Ninkasi, it is you who hold with both hands the great sweetwort, brewing it with honey and wine.

You the sweetwort to the vessel. Ninkasi, You the sweetwort to the vessel.

You place the fermenting vat, which makes a pleasant sound, appropriately on top of a large collector vat. Ninkasi, you place the fermenting vat, which makes a pleasant sound, appropriately on top of a large collector vat.

It is you who pour out the filtered beer of the collector vat; it is like the onrush of the Tigris and the Euphrates. Ninkasi, it is you who pour out the filtered beer of the collector vat; it is like the onrush of the Tigris and the Euphrates.

Ninkasi is the Sumerian goddess of both beer and bread and they were related, both requiring the “magical” process of fermentation to transform into something you might want to put in your mouth. Of course, none of the science was understood at the time and it’s entirely reasonable to assume a deity was responsible.

Beer was a staple food for humans from the beginning of civilization all the way to the industrial age. It’s nutritious and calorie dense and, unlike wine, can be made from ingredients that store well, as long as you keep them dry. (Of course, fresher is always better and we’ll be teaching you how to make quality beer, not just nutritious beer.) In addition, beer was usually much safer to drink than the local water source. Contrary to popular belief, this wasn’t because of the alcohol content, which was usually quite low, but more due to the fact that water needs to be boiled to make beer. Once the initial microorganisms were killed off, the pH of beer is much too low for the really harmful stuff to infect it. In general, if it can survive in beer, it can’t harm you.

As farming evolved, it became the job of the female head of the household to ensure the entire farm had enough beer to drink. In Scandinavian countries, it became law that if you were unable to brew sufficient beer, your farm would be confiscated and given to someone else. As communities began to spring up, brewing was still the job of the homemaker, but it was scheduled so that the beer would be ready on different days in different houses. If the beer was ready at your house, everyone would come over after the day’s work was done and your place would be the “public house” or pub.

While there is a resurgence of sour or wild beers, somewhere around the early middle ages, brewers started looking for new ways to prevent their brews from becoming infected. They were still safe to drink, but drinkers preferred the taste of uninfected beer. The first attempts were combinations of herbs and spices, known as “gruits”. These mixtures contained everything from ginger to mugwort and often contained herbs that (we now know) probably shouldn’t be consumed by humans and are very difficult to procure because of it. Gruit mixtures were very jealously guarded and, at some point, became the sole property of monasteries. All beer would have to be made using the special gruit mixture provided by the monastery, which included a hefty markup.

It was partially because of this markup that the switch from gruit spices to hops was made. The other reason was that hops simply grew everywhere. They’re almost impossible to kill. What’s more is that they work far better than any gruit mixture at preserving beer. Here, we see our first distinction between “beer” and “ale”. “Beer” referred to any drink made with hops, whereas “ale” continued to use gruit.

In Bavaria, another revolution was taking place. Brewers (and drinkers) had figured out that beer made during the summer months was, frankly, terrible. This is because the summer temperatures would make the yeast produce all sorts of terrible flavours as well as accelerate beer spoilage. Of course, they didn’t know what yeast was at the time, but it soon became law that you couldn’t brew between Michaelmass and Georgi, or the Feast of St Michael (in March) and the Feast of St. George (in late September). Brewers would fill stone cellars and caves with barrels of beer brewed in March, which regularly stayed around 10°-15°C, and hence, “lagering” was discovered. “Lager” simply means “to store” in German. The long aging period and low temperatures allowed for a very slow

and very clean fermentation and drinkers preferred the new, clean tasting beers. Horse-drawn carts were wheeled out full of lager barrels for the wedding feast of Ludwig the 1st, which became an annual event known as Oktoberfest.

Across the border in Bavaria, now the Czech Republic, riots broke out in Plzeň because the beer was so terrible. They threw out the town brewers and invited German brewer, Josef Groll to show the people how to brew properly. Plzeň had a particular resource found nowhere else – naturally soft water. Because the water was almost entirely free of minerals, Groll could brew using an experimental malt. This malt, very lightly kilned with a bready, grainy flavor paired with the spicy, floral hops grown in Saaz and lagered the German way became known as Pilsner, now the most popular style in the world.

Up north in Belgium, brewers were being taxed to death, based on the size of their mash tuns. Their answer was to use smaller tuns and add sugar as a fermentable. Rather than fully abandon gruit, the Belgians combined spices and orange peels to make their signature styles. Even today, ordering “white” beers generally means that fruit has been added to it.

At the turn of the century, Louis Pasteur had identified yeast as the magic ingredient in beer that caused fermentation. Further experiments showed that heating the beer to 60°C for 20 minutes would stop all further fermentation and became widely adopted, greatly extending the shelf life of beer from a matter of weeks to a matter of months.

With the discovery of yeast as an organism, Emil Christian Hansen at the Carlsberg brewery in Denmark managed to isolate a single cell and propagate enough to brew with. This led to other breweries isolating a single cell and the development of characteristic strains. Today, there are two dominant species of brewing yeast, saccharomyces cerevisae (ale) and saccharomyces uvarum (lager), each with hundreds of subspecies carefully selected for characteristic that suit the style and brewing method each brewery uses.

Lastly, over in North America, our beer history is largely shaped by German immigrants and Prohibition. First, the Germans brought their lager brewing technology with them, but were unable to grow the same species of barley here in North America that they were back home. The barley that grew here was much higher in protein and so it would be cut with corn or rice in order to get the right mix of fermentable sugars, leading to the Classic American Pilsner, sometimes referred to as a Pre-Prohibition Lager. With the industrial revolution, hard liquor began replacing beer as the drink of choice for many people. Unfortunately, unaccustomed to portion sizes, some people began drinking it in the same way they would beer, leading to all sorts of social problems. When Prohibition was lifted, strict guidelines were placed on alcohol content. As a result, beer was very light and consumers’ palates adjusted accordingly. Breweries went bankrupt and became more and more consolidated leading to nearly identical macro- lagers up until the emergence of “craft beer”.

In the late 70s, Fritz Maytag bought the Anchor Brewery in California that was, up until that point, making a local product known as “Steam Beer”. He dedicated a significant amount of time, money and effort into reviving the local beer and generally improving the quality of American beer. Up until that point, hygiene was an afterthought and beer was often sold spoiled. A mini industry of mobile lab technicians sprung up touring American breweries with microscopes before the modern age of stainless steel and proper cleaning chemicals allowed them to preserve and repitch their own house strains.

Today, brewing is returning to its roots, becoming more and more of a local undertaking. While there will always be those rare “special” products that beer hunters seek out in bottle shops, going to the source where beer is locally made and locally served is becoming more and more common. Brewing at home is the ultimate

manifestation of this and you can stand with the brewers of old who gave people a reason to stop roaming and settle down. At the very least, should the apocalypse happen, you’ll be useful for getting civilization up and running again.

INGREDIENTS

According to the Reinheitsgebot of 1516 or beer purity law, Beer is made from three ingredients: Water, barley malt and hops. Yeast was added later, once it was discovered. The point of the law was not just to regulate what beer should be made of, but more what beer shouldn’t be made of. Wheat prices were spiking at the time and the city of Munich wanted to make sure that brewers didn’t use all of it. This began the historical separation of barley for beer and wheat for bread (though wheat beers could still be brewed for royalty).

It also set the times when beer could be brewed so that it wouldn’t be ruined by the summer heat as well as the maximum price for beer. One Pfennig (about 1 dollar) was the maximum that could be charged for a Mass (approx. 1 Litre) during the brewing months and two Pfennigs could be charged during the non-brewing months.

Although almost any grain can be used for brewing, barley has been bred and cultivated for such for millennia. Wheat has been (and continues to be) popular, while oats, rye, corn and rice have all been used to make fermented beverages. Sorghum and millet have recently come on the market with gluten conscious consumers, but barley is by far the easiest to malt with the perfect mix of enzymes, starches, proteins and a loose husk that make it perfect for brewing.

Hops are a relatively recent addition to beer. As gruit was controlled by the churches, the Reinheitsgebot removed that source of revenue from them once and for all. It should be noted that the original law only applied to the region of Bavaria, a separate kingdom at the time, and didn’t earn them any friends amongst the clergy. The bishops of Cologne (Köln) for example, were so against any meddling in their affairs that when the next great beer revolution took place – the discovery of lager yeast, they forbade brewers from using it, leading to Kölsch, now considered a “hybrid” ale as it’s lagered extensively, but using a cold-tolerant ale strain.

Water is the last and arguably most important of the three. It makes up the greatest portion and good beer can’t be made without good water. Its mineral composition greatly influences the styles of beer that can be made from it and various water sources are largely responsible for the variety of styles we have today. Dublin’s hard water is perfect for the stouts it is famous for, while Burton-on-Trent started the first IPA craze and Plzeň is responsible for the world’s most popular beer, Pilsner.

BARLEY

The point of the barley plant is to make more barley. All of the nutrients that it needs to sprout a new barley plant are encased in a tiny package. The barley seed is encased in a husk, impermeable to water. This husk is loosely attached to the rest of the grain, which is important because we’ll need it later. Unless there is damage, water can only enter through the micropylar region. Throughout the fall and winter, the barley kernel dries out, which makes it uninviting to molds and bacteria. In the spring, the kernel absorbs water from the soil and rapidly begins the process of unpacking all of the tightly bound nutrients in the endosperm in order to feed the roots and the acrospire. Once it starts germination, it’s a race against bacteria and mold for those nutrients, so it has to work quickly.

Most of you probably won’t be malting your own barley – although you can if you want to. The maltster takes the barley kernel through a series of stages that eventually result in a variety of flavours. The earliest malting was simply done in a sack left to soak in water and dry out. This would start the process of germination. Signals would be sent to the aleurone layer to begin producing enzymes that break down the starches in the endosperm. These enzymes are important to us and we’ll talk about how to use them effectively later. The malt would be spread out and left to dry in the sun. Drying the malt meant that it could be stored and transported easily and effectively without worrying too much about spoilage. Later, maltsters started drying it over a fire to speed up the process and limit the amount of spoiled malt. This had the additional advantage of preserving the malt through smoking, though all beers had a smoky flavour. During the industrial revolution, drying was able to take place without the use of fires or smoke and it could be dried without darkening the malt. This made lighter beers, like Pilsners possible.

Malting requires three main steps: steeping, germination and kilning.

STEEPING During steeping, the maltster brings raw, dried barley to between 40-45% moisture by weight. The maltster has to be very careful not to move too quickly and to make sure to pump air through the water so the kernel doesn’t drown. This is usually done in 16-18C water and the malt is often allowed to air rest out of water once or twice during the process. The exact steps the maltster takes depend on the variety and the weather conditions of that crop year.

GERMINATION Once the rootlet starts appearing in the micropylar region (known as “chitting”) the steeping ends and germination begins. Warm, moist air is pumped through the grain bed and rakes are used to keep the temperature from getting too hot or the rootlets from getting tangled. During this period, the enzymes begin breaking down the starches in the endosperm. This is where malts start differentiating themselves. For a lager malt with a high protein content and high amount of starches available for the brewhouse, the maltster will make sure that the germination finishes early. The maltster does not want all the starches to be used up making the roots and acrospire. This is known as an undermodified malt and the brewer needs to take extra steps in the brewhouse to get the most out of it. However, if the maltster wants to make any other malt, the germination continues a little bit longer. Some starches will be lost due to being used up by the growing barley plant, but the endosperm will be more fully broken down and it will be easier for the brewer to get the remaining sugars. These malts are known as well-modified malts and are generally used in single-infusion or isothermal mash tuns. These malts also have a bit more flavour and colour to them.

KILNING Once the germination process has finished and the maltster has decided that the appropriate level of modification has happened, the kernels are moved to the kiln to dry. 50°C air is pumped through the bed and a temperature reading is taken above and below the bed. Initially, the air coming off the bed is much cooler due to the moisture in the bed. However, once the temperatures get closer together, the bed “breaks” and forced drying happens. The temperature is raised to 70°C and eventually to 90°C until the kernels achieve between 4-5% moisture. Again, the maltster can change the direction of this process depending on what type of malt is desired. If the temperature is raised slightly before the bed breaks, you end up with standard kilned malts such as Munich or Vienna malts. If the temperature is raised a lot, you end up with high kilned malts such as Amber or Brown malts.

STEWING I know I said there were three steps and that’s still mostly true. Stewing is where the grain is re-steeped to 50% moisture after germination. It’s then heated in a drum slowly until all the liquid evaporates. During this process, the enzymes in the barley go into overdrive and turn all the starches into glucose before the temperature reaches 110°-120°C, simultaneously drying and roasting the kernels. This results in a glassy kernel that’s basically pure sugar in a shell.

ROASTING Once kilning is complete, the maltster has an additional tool to add colour. Dried malts are 1roasted to produce a variety of flavours and aromas from chocolate to coffee to burnt and ashy.

The maltster plays a balancing game between a variety of factors: colour, flavour, starch content, protein content, modification and diastatic power. (Diastatic power, or DP, is the ability of the malt to convert starches into sugars in the brewhouse.)

As specifications on the left increase, specifications on the right decrease. - Colour - Protein - Flavour - Starch - Modification - Diastatic Power - Ease of brewing

Colour, flavour, modification and ease of brewing all increase together, but come at a cost of protein (which isn’t always desired anyway), lower overall starch available and lower diastatic power.

MALT VARIETIES Now that you know the basics of how we get the various types of malt, let’s talk about what to do with them.

Malts Description Examples Base Malts Lager malt High protein, high DP, low colour 2-row, 6-row, Pilsner Ale malt Lower protein, fairly high DP, fairly Marris Otter, Golden Promise low colour Wheat malt Very high protein, fairly high Always sold as “wheat malt” diastatic power, very low colour Standard Kilned Malts Munich malt Oktoberfest colour, minimum DP Always sold as “Munich” malt for 100% use. Has a “cookie” flavour Vienna malt Slightly lower colour than Munich Always sold as “Vienna” malt malt. Used in Mexican Lagers High Kilned Malt Amber Dry, intense biscuit flavour. Not Sold in a variety of shades. Common enough DP to use more than 10% in names include: Biscuit, Victory, Kiln a recipe Amber and Aromatic Brown Dry, toasted bread flavour. Not Always sold as “Brown” enough DP to use more that 10% in a recipe Stewed Malts Crystal Intense sweetness ranging from Crystal malts range from 30-120. sugar to dark fruit, depending on Higher numbers have more of a the colour. No DP. Use no more dark fruit flavour and less than 20% sweetness than lower numbers Cara- Stewed versions of other malts. CaraPils (lightest) to CaraMunich Similar sweetness to Crystal malts. (darkest) No DP. Use no more than 20% Special B A specialty malt essential to Proprietary malt of Maltières recreating many darker Belgian Franco-Belges styles. Darker, more intense flavour than Crystal 120. No DP Honey Malt/BruMalt Similar sweetness to lighter crystal Proprietary process that eliminates malts. No DP the caramel flavours from crystal malts. Developed to reduce the

clash between citrus hops and caramel, but still provide sweetness Roast Malts Pale Chocolate Roasted after standard kilning. Sold as Pale chocolate or chocolate Intense, milk chocolate flavour and malt. Different maltsters roast to aroma. No DP or fermentable different specifications contribution. Chocolate Intense coffee flavour and aroma. Always sold as “Chocolate” No DP or fermentable contribution Black Patent Acrid, burnt and acidic. Use Initially a proprietary malt, but sparingly. No DP or fermentable replicated widely. Sometimes sold contribution. as “Black” malt. Roast Barley Not technically malted. Wet barley Always sold as Roast Barley. is thrown directly into the roasting drum and quenched before bursting into flames. Ashy, burnt flavour. Essential for stouts, Red and Scotch Ales.

OTHER FERMENTABLES In addition to malted barley, wheat, rice, rye, corn and sorghum have all been used. Sugar is also another common source of fermentables. Anything other than malt is called an adjunct. Barley, wheat, rye and sorghum can all be malted, but aren’t always. The advantage of malting is that it achieves the gelatinization temperature within the endosperm. When a grain reaches the gelatinization temperature, the tightly wound starches unfold and are accessible to be attacked by enzymes and turned into fermentable sugars. Rice and corn have much higher gelatinization temperatures and require a separate cereal cooker to use. This is because the temperatures are so high that reaching them in the mash tun would denature all the other enzymes you need.

Rice and Corn have advantages and disadvantages. There is virtually no protein in them, which makes them ideal for providing fermentables without the added hassle of protein in the mash tun or the boil kettle. They’re also significantly less expensive than sugar. However, they have no diastatic power on their own and so must be used with a high diastatic power lager malt. They also have very few nutrients for the yeast to be effective. It’s generally recommended to use no more than 30% rice or corn in your recipe.

FLAKES As previously mentioned, both rice and corn (as well as unmalted sorghum) have very high gelatinization temperatures. In order to get around this, flaking or torrifaction can be used instead of malting. These are sold as flakes and are much less labour intensive than coming up with a cereal cooker as they can be added directly to the mash tun. Wheat and barley can also be flaked as they have a different flavour and mouthfeel than when malted. Flaked wheat is generally used in Belgian style beers, whereas flaked barley is used to provide a fuller mouthfeel in stouts.

SYRUPS Both Budweiser and Coors make their signature lagers with syrups instead of using cereal cookers as they did in the past. Budweiser uses rice syrup while Coors uses corn syrup. Syrups are more expensive, but require far less labour and time, as well as being 100% fermentable, making it easier to produce a consistent beer. Both rice and corn syrup can be used at home, as well as honey or maple syrup. I would avoid using those latter two, however, as they’re both fantastically expensive and the flavours won’t carry over to the finished beer.

Syrups can also be more or less caramelized. Belgian ales famously use several degrees of caramelized syrups in their strong ales. You can find them under the brand name “Candi” sugar, though they’re easy enough to make at home. Whenever using syrup, avoid using more than 10% as the yeast behave differently when the glucose ratio is too high.

Lastly, brewer’s caramel is a special type of caramelized sugar used more for colouring and flavour than for fermentables. It’s usually added at the end if the brewer decides that the beer is not dark enough. It’s easy to make at home, though the dark colour requires paying close attention to avoid starting fires.

HOPS As mentioned earlier, hops largely replaced gruit mixtures as they were much better at preserving beer. They have a mild bacteriostatic effect on gram negative bacteria that are found everywhere, such as lactobascillus and pediococcus. These two are found frequently in sour beers, but aren’t particularly welcome in standard lagers or ales.

Hops are a dioecious bine that grows extremely well in the Northern Hemisphere. Like many plants, while it can technically grow in other parts of the world, it needs a particular day/night cycle during its growing season to flourish. Long summer days and short nights are essential to producing healthy cones. In the last two decades, experimental hops have been grown in New Zealand which has a similar day/night cycle and South Africans have been experimenting with artificial lights.

Unlike malting barley, which is rarely grown for its flavour characteristics, hop breeding programs focus greatly on the characteristics of their essential oils and bittering qualities. In the past, hop breeding programs would take a decade or more before new varieties would reach the market. This is because breeders had to consider upscaling production, disease and pest resistance as well as what the brewers were demanding. Modern hop breeders put less emphasis on disease and pest resistance because new hop varieties are a marketing gimmick on their own and production scale hop yards are torn up and replanted every 5-10 years.

Hops, like grapes, display a remarkable degree of terroir; that is, where they are grown is just as important as the hop variety. A Cascade hop plant will not taste the same grown here as it does in Yakima Valley, and certainly not if it’s grown in Germany!

Hops contain a substance called lupulin which contains bittering compounds that balance the sweetness of the malt, and essential oils which give the hops their flavour.

BITTERING COMPOUNDS The main bittering value of hops are known as α-acids. On their own, they don’t do much, but when boiled, they transform into iso- α-acids, which are extremely bitter. The rate at which α-acids turn into iso-α-acids is highly dependent on the boil temperature, the pH and the calcium content of the water. The higher the boil temperature, the higher the pH and the higher the calcium content, the better the conversion rate. α-acids will continue to convert for 4 hours at a 100C boil. There are other bittering compounds, but their effect is insignificant and beyond the scope of this course.

Bitterness can be measured in IBUs, or International Bittering Units. IBUs are defined as 1 mg of iso-α-acid in 1L of liquid. We will go over how to make a rough estimate of IBUs when we talk about hop products.

FLAVOUR COMPOUNDS The main flavoring compounds are in the essential oil fraction of the hops. The total essential oil content only makes up 1-3% of the lupulin, but it packs a big punch. Unfortunately, information about the various flavour compounds is rarely on the package, but brewers routinely look up varietal characteristics online. These essential oils can be divided into 3 main categories – Hydrocarbons, Oxygenated oils and Sulfur compounds.

HYDROCARBONS

The hydrocarbons are easily lost through boiling. To a lesser extent, some are carried away in the CO2 through fermentation. To get hydrocarbons in your beer, you need to add them late in the boil – less than 15 minutes remaining, during the whirlpool or as a dry hop. Much research has been done on identifying these hydrocarbons and what exactly their contribution to the final flavour is, only to discover that they share a synergistic relationship with various sulfur compounds, melanoidens and polyphenols. The only way to truly gauge is trial and error, but beer researchers are working hard to come up with scientific principles to giver brewers predictable information. With that in mind, here are some rough guidelines for what these hydrocarbons will give you.

 Myrcene – green/resiny. It is most easily lost and the only way to preserve it is by dry hopping.  Humulene – woody/piney  Carophyllene – woody  Farnsene – floral/spicy

Farnsene isn’t actually found in most hops, but is found in abundance in the so- called noble hop varieties. Those are Saaz, Hallertauer Mittelfreuh, Tettenang, and Spalt,

OXYGENATED FRACTION The oxygenated fraction of essential oils come from the hydrocarbons that have matured during the ripening process. These oils are less stable, but more flavour active. These oils are also subject to biotransformation during fermentation – that is, yeast will change the oils into different compounds. The illustration below shows how some of the more well-known oxygenated fractions will change during fermentation.

The characteristics of the oxygenated fraction is less synergistic than that of the hydrocarbon fraction, but just as unpredictable because of the effects of biotransformation. Understanding where certain aromas are coming from, however, can help you identify what may be an off flavour and what may simply be an aroma characteristic.

 Linalool – floral, orange  Citral – sweet citrus, lemon  Geraniol – floral, sweet, rose  Limonene – citric, orange  Nerol – rose, citrus  Terpineol – woody  Ethyl-2-methylbutryrate – fruity  3-methylbutyric acid – cheesy (generally only found in poorly stored or old hops)  1-hexanal – green, grassy  Humulne epoxide II – spicy, herbal  2-heptanone – fruity

SULPHUR COMPOUNDS The sulphur compounds are the smallest fraction, the most flavour active and with the lowest taste threshold. In general, the sulphur compounds are considered undesirable. They’re responsible for onion, garlic, cooked vegetables and cheese. However, other compounds exist in newer hop varieties, particularly the New Zealand products that produce pineapple or wine-like aromas and flavours.

HOP PRODUCTS Most of what you will encounter at a homebrew level are whole hops and T90 pellets. Whole hops are dried, whole cones and have about 25% utilization. The lupulin glands are hidden inside the hop cones and difficult to extract. In addition, the “leaf” part of the hop cone will absorb much of the resin during the brew.

T90 pellets are powdered and compressed under nitrogen and so the lupulin glands are much more accessible. However, 90% of the hop “leaf” still exists and will absorb much of the hop resin. T90 hop pellets have a utilization of 27%.

Many other hop products exist which remove more of the hop “leaf” matter, such as Cryo Hops, which are accessible to the home brewer. These have a slightly higher utilization rate. Pure hop oil and isomerized extract is, at the time of the writing, not accessible and so will be considered beyond the scope of this course. Know however, that pre-isomerized extract is usually also hydrogenated in such a fashion that lightstruck flavours are largely impossible. This is how Corona can exist in clear bottles. Packaging your beer in clear bottles will result in an extremely skunky beer.

HOP UTILIZATION As mentioned previously, an IBU is measured as 1mg of iso-α-acid in 1L of liquid. In order to calculate how bitter you expect your beer to be, you need to know:

 The weight of the hops you are adding to your beer in mg  The α-acid percentage of your hops

 The amount of wort you will have at the end of your boil  The type of hop product you are using

Let’s say my boil ends with exactly 10L of beer. If I add a 10g of whole cone 5% AA (or α-acid) hop to my beer for 60 minutes, my utilization rate will be 25%.

The formula will be:

mg x AA% x utilization%

Give yourself some time to figure out what the IBUs of the final beer will be. Don’t forget to convert g to mg!

So if you did everything correctly, your numbers should look like this:

10 000mg x 0.05 x 0.25

10L

10 00 x 0.05 = 500

500 x 0.25 = 125

125 ÷ 10 = 12.5 IBUs.

This beer would have about as much hop bitterness as a Budweiser or a cream ale.

Now what would happen if we chose a higher α-acid variety (known as a “bittering” hop) Let’s say 10%

It would double your IBUs

10 000mg x 0.10 x 0.25

10L

10 000 x 0.10 = 1000

1000 x 0.25 = 250

250 ÷ 10 = 25 IBUs

This beer would have double the hop bitterness, similar to an Irish Red Ale or a dry stout, like a Guinness. However, humans can only really detect a difference of about 5 IBUs, so it probably wouldn’t seem that much more bitter.

10 IBUs American Lagers, Cream Ales, Sour beers 20 IBUs British Reds, Porters and Browns, “Bitters” 30 IBUs Czech Pilsners, American Reds, Stouts, Porters and Browns 40 IBUs American Pale Ales (low end) German Pilsners, Modern English IPAs 50 IBUs Most American Pale Ales 60 IBUs Traditional English IPAs 70+ IBUs American IPAs

It should be noted that there is a difference between “perceived” bitterness and actual IBUs. Since the definition of an IBU is 1mg of α-acid dissolved in 1L of liquid, it doesn’t measure the composition of that liquid. Therefore, the same IBUs in a dry Irish Stout will seem more bitter than in an Irish Red Ale because the Red Ale sweeter.

Also, things like gravity, boil temperature, elevation and mineral composition will affect your hop utilization.

BITTERING VS. AROMA ADDITIONS As mentioned before, hops are broadly classified into two types: bittering and aroma. Bittering hops should be added with 60 minutes left in the boil. The utilization percentage for whole hops will be 25% and for pellet hops, 27%.

For aroma additions, you add them at 15 minutes or less to preserve more of the essential oils. This changes the utilization percentage to 10% if you add them at 15 minutes or even 4% if you add them at 5 minutes remaining.

Ideally, you should use your high α-acid varieties (>10%AA) for bittering and your lower α-acid varieties for aroma additions. You can also add aroma additions during the whirlpool (when chilling your wort after the boil, aka “flameout”) or even in the fermenter (dry hop). The bitterness contributed for these additions is generally considered negligible.

Hops and hop calculations can be exceedingly complex and you’ll find more precise formulas elsewhere, as well as multiple studies about exact amounts of bittering compounds added during dry hopping, but that is beyond the scope of this course.

WATER Water is the third and final ingredient of the original Reinheitsgebot. In general, if it’s safe to drink, it’s good to brew with. There are a couple of caveats, however; if you notice a plastic, band-aid flavour in your beer, it’s likely because of excess chlorine in the water. Yeast do not react well to chlorine and will produce a chemical known as chlorophenols. This is a concern when using city water, particularly during spring runoff. It can also be caused by failure to rinse chlorine-based sanitisers, often sold in powdered form as sodium hypochlorite. We’ll discuss cleaners at a later point. The actual chlorine content is fairly low and most municipalities have switched to a combination of chlorites and UV filtration. Chlorites will still cause the same issues as chlorine, but their usage is much lower. The cure for both chlorine and chlorites is to either carbon filter your water (which most breweries in Edmonton do) or to use a campden tablet (aka sodium metabisulphite) in your water the day before you brew.

If you take your water from a well, things are a little bit more complicated. Most well water in Alberta has high levels of iron. Iron reacts even more poorly with yeast than chlorine. Even very small amounts will greatly affect your yeast, in addition to making your beer taste like blood. To give you a sense of how big an issue iron is, in professional brewmaster programs you’ll find charts listing acceptable amounts of trace minerals, including industrial metals, such as cadmium, nickel, etc. The acceptable amount of iron is listed as 0.

To rid yourself from iron, you’ll need a water softener. This will add either sodium or potassium to your water, both not great for yeast, but far more acceptable than iron. You can further reduce the sodium or potassium with an additional carbon filter.

In brief, there are two sources of water: surface and ground. Surface water (lakes, rivers) has more biological contaminants and therefore has to have more disinfectant added to it. It also has a more variable mineral composition because the temperature determines how dissolvable minerals are. Ground water is usually preferred by breweries because there is far less contamination and the mineral content stays fairly fixed throughout the year. Iron however, is a big concern in this part of the world, and so most municipalities here use surface water.

WATER PH When mashing, enzymes break down starches into sugars. As mentioned previously, the speed at which they do so is determined by temperature, but also the pH. As the water here is fairly hard, the pH is fairly high – usually between 7.5-8. It should also be noted that caustic soda is added to the water at ~2 ppm to raise the pH so as to maintain the protective layer on old lead pipes. Some may remember a few years ago when the water company in Flint, Michigan switched water sources and failed to compensate for the lower pH, which meant that the protective layer dissolved and the water became contaminated with lead.

Once in the mash tun, the barley will acidify the water. Ideally, you want the pH to be between 5.2-5.4. In Alberta, however, this is rarely the case, at least with light coloured beers. Adding dark malts will acidify the water, which is why the first breweries here made mostly porters and stouts. Attempting to make lighter coloured beers in Alberta will result in reduced efficiency, simply meaning that you will get less sugar out of your malt than you had planned. The high bicarbonates will also darken the colour to some extent.

To rectify high pH, if necessary, you can use 88% lactic acid, 85% phosphoric acid or acidulated malt. I don’t really recommend playing too much with water pH unless you have a pH meter that can be calibrated. This is because while enzymes can function at a higher pH than 5.4, if you go below 5.0, they will completely denature.

You can also modify the pH to some extent with minerals, which is the route I recommend as it’s harder to overdo it.

WATER HARDNESS Water hardness is defined in relation to soap and lathering. More scientific attempts have been made, but none that anyone is happy with as different industries require different things. There are two main methods of measuring hardness that you’ll see on water testing sheets – HCO3 , or bicarbonate and CaCO3, or calcium carbonate. It should be noted that the exact chemical isn’t necessarily what’s in your water, just its molar equivalent which is usually what’s relevant for whatever an industry is doing with the water. If you’re drawing your water from the North

Saskatchewan, it goes over a lot of limestone, and dissolves a lot of CaCO3. The important part of the molecule is the

CO3, which is what makes the water more alkaline and requires pH correction. This is known as Temporary Hardness. The reason it’s temporary is because heat will cause it to break apart. From there, you can then cool it and decant it. That’s a labour intensive process, however and is only really used in Reinheitsgebot compliant breweries where adding acid is verboten.

Adding Permanent Hardness minerals, such as CaSO4 or CaCl will also help break apart that bothersome molecule as well as pulling out PO4 from the grain, thereby acidifying the water. While learning those calculations is beyond the scope of this course, there are numerous calculators online that will helpfully do all the math for you, such as Bru’n Water, or BeerSmith.

Permanent hardness minerals will also alter the flavour profile of your beer. Without going into too much detail, CaSO4 will enhance the bitterness and the dryness of your beer while CaCl will enhance the maltiness and the body. Overdoing it one way or the other isn’t recommended and they exist in a ratio. The previously mentioned calculators will also help you out in that respect.

Lastly, for those thinking that this is all overwhelming and they should just buy distilled water, know that while it’s a good idea for diluting your water, you still need a couple of minerals for the proper functioning of your yeast. Those minerals are calcium (between 50-200 ppm) and zinc (between 0.1-0.5 ppm) The North Saskatchewan contains between 60-80 ppm of calcium, so you don’t have much wiggle room, unless you’re adding calcium back in.

YEAST It’s been said that brewers make wort, yeast makes beer. To a large extent, this is true, though the cultivation and health of those yeast is also the job of the brewer (unless the brewer is lucky enough to have a yeast lab technician). The management of yeast requires somewhat more advanced knowledge than the average first time brewer is prepared to commit to learning, as well as some basic lab equipment, so we’ll assume that you’re using commercially prepared yeast, at least for your first few batches.

DRIED YEAST Dried yeast is the easiest as far as handling and storage goes. It can be good for up to a year, assuming the package is kept in cool, dry conditions. Before drying, the yeast is loaded with as many nutrients as it needs and all you need to do is sprinkle it over the top of your wort once it’s at the correct temperature. Some brewers will recommend rehydrating your yeast before pitching to ensure that the yeast is viable. I recommend against doing so simply because the yeast will lose nutrients in the rehydrating process. If you still want to rehydrate first, I’d recommend using some wort or some dried malt extract (DME) dissolved in water.

LIQUID YEAST Liquid yeast has the advantage of giving the brewer more selection as not all yeast strains can be successfully dried. The disadvantage is that they have a far shorter shelf life – usually a couple of months. They come in either smack packs, which are suspended in yeast nutrient and will puff up over the course of a few hours to a day, or in vials which are ready to pitch as-is. Smack packs have the advantage in that you can see whether your yeast is viable before pitching.

YEAST STRAINS Yeast falls into several broad strains. The top-most brewing strain division is between what is commonly referred to as “ales” and “lager” strains. It’s not entirely accurate, but it will do for our purposes. “Ale” strains are under the saccharomyces cerevisiae branch and are divided into British, American and POF+ strains. “Lager” strains are under the saccharomyces uvarum branch and are all fairly similar to each other. Sometimes it will be referred to as pastorianus, after Louis Pasteur, who first discovered yeast, or as carlbergensis, the brewery where it was first isolated.

The strain characteristics are as follows:

 British – produces berry notes, known as esters.  American – ferments fairly clean, (fewer esters), though not as clean as lager strains  POF+ - produces spicy, clove-like phenols and often banana esters. Used mostly in wheat beers, Belgian ales and Saisons.

ENSURING QUALITY FERMENTATION Aside from producing quality wort, there are two things that you can do as a beginning home brewer to ensure that your yeast performs adequately.

1. Pitch enough yeast. The higher the gravity, the more yeast you will need to pitch. 2. Keep the temperature in check.

Assuming you pitched enough yeast for the wort you made, (the package will recommend amounts), a typical fermentation schedule will be as follows:

Ale:

Day 1-2 18°C

Day 3-7 22°C

Transfer to bottle. Keep at 22°C for 4 weeks.

Lager:

Day 1-7 10°C

Day 7-14 15°C

Day 15-45 0°C

Transfer to bottle. Keep at 15°C for 4 weeks

As you can see, ales are significantly easier to manage from both a time and temperature perspective. There are ways to speed up this process, but it involves equipment that is out of reach for even most breweries and the results aren’t usually great, though in the case of American “Lite” Lagers, consumers have been trained to ignore the off flavours produced by rushing.

EQUIPMENT Now that we know the basic ingredients, lets move on to turning them into something worth drinking! You’ll need some equipment. We’ll start with the necessary stuff, and then the optional equipment.

HOT LIQUOR TUN (HLT) In the brewing world, water is referred to as “liquor”. In fact, apprentice brewers used to be fined a shilling for every time they referred to water as “water”. The word “tun” is an old German unit of liquid measurement, and is where we get the modern word “tonne”, though nowadays, “tun” refers to the vessels that store liquor or mash in a brewery. For our purposes, a large pot will serve as a “tun”.

A good rule of thumb is that your HLT should be about 3x the size of what you want to end up with – so if you’re planning on making 5 gallons (23L), you want a tun that is 15 gallons (69L). If this seems rather large, you’re correct. You can get away with an HLT that is only 2x the size if you plan on only doing standard gravity brews.

MASH TUN (MT) The mash tun holds the crushed grain that you’ll add liquor to in order to make mash. Many brewers use a cooler to keep the heat in while they mash (isothermal mash tun). If the cooler is in a relatively warm room, it should only lose ~5°C over an hour.

COPPER/KETTLE The Copper or Kettle is where the wort is boiled. As you can tell from the name, they used to be made of copper. Though some breweries still have copper kettles, they require different cleaning chemicals to avoid corrosion. Stainless steel is the material of choice in modern breweries. For most home brewers, the Copper is the same as the HLT.

FERMENTER The fermenter is where the wort goes once it has been chilled. The brewer then pitches a sufficient quantity of yeast and monitors the temperature. For those who are just starting out, the fermenter is usually a plastic food safe PLA or HPLA bucket. They are inexpensive and will last for approximately one year before developing micro scratches where bacteria and wild yeasts can hide.

RACKING CANE The racking cane is a piece of hard plastic tubing connected to a piece of vinyl tubing that functions as a siphon. It’s used to move your wort or beer from one container to another. These are inexpensive, but must be replaced every few months or so in order to avoid contamination. If you notice haze developing on the inside of the cane or tubing, it’s time to replace it. Stainless steel versions of these exist, but are much more expensive.

BOTTLES Bottles come in several different shapes and sizes. For our purposes, I recommend brown glass only. Green or clear glass will allow UV light to enter the bottle which reacts with iso-α-acid to create 3-MBT, which has a taste threshold of 1 ng/L. Even a scant 5 seconds exposed in the sun will create this compound and green/clear bottles simply don’t hold up.

I also don’t recommend PET bottles as the acidity of beer causes the plastic to leach a toxic metalloid (antimony) as well as not being completely impenetrable to oxygen, which glass is.

Swing top bottles (similar to Grolsch) can be found under the brand name EZ Cap, are also inexpensive and don’t require the purchase of a bottle capper. The seals will have to be periodically replaced, but they are overall, an excellent alternative.

BOTTLE CAPPER There are two types of widely available bottle cappers – manual and bench-top.

The manual capper is less expensive and more compact, but has the disadvantage of being somewhat unwieldy. It’s also more likely to damage the glass around the neck of the bottle, which leads to broken bottles. Worse, are stress fractures that can go unnoticed, leading to carbonation loss over time or even exploding bottles due to the weakened glass.

The bench capper is significantly more stable and doesn’t put the same pressure on the neck. It’s also more likely to give you a consistent seal which means less worry about losing carbonation.

BOTTLE CAPS Crown caps are inexpensive and easy to find. For a bit more, you can get oxygen-scavenging caps which are infused with sodium metabisulphite in the rubber lining. If you find that your beer becomes stale quickly, these might be an option to consider.

CHEMICALS Beer, unlike wine, is far more susceptible to infection and therefore, sanitation is of the utmost importance. However, remember that bread and beer kick started civilization. While bread can grow mold that is toxic to human health, beer can’t. With very rare exceptions, nothing that grows in beer can harm you, it’ll just taste “off”. Being that most people prefer beer that does not taste “off”, let’s go over how to clean and maintain our equipment.

STERILANTS Sterilants are so-called because they will remove all bacteria from a given surface or liquid. They generally have to be completely removed afterward or there will be negative effects to human health and/or the proper functioning of your yeast.

CAUSTIC SODA Caustic soda is exceptionally dangerous and as such, is usually only used in brewery settings. It is, however, a highly effective sterilant and it rinses extremely well with no residue. Because of its nature, it’s difficult to get a hold of in brick and mortar stores, though small quantities (around 1 kg) can be ordered online under the name “food safe lye”. When using caustic soda always wear glove and eye protection. A simple splash can blind you if not

rinsed within 15 seconds. Always add the soda to cold water and then heat as caustic soda produces an exothermic reaction which could splash you.

SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE Sodium hypochlorite is sold in a powder and is highly effective at removing bacteria and wild yeasts. Unlike caustic soda, however, it cannot be used on stainless steel as it will remove the protective layer and cause pitting and eventually, rust. It also leaves a residue that is not as easy to rinse and so should not be used on plastic. It will also react with yeast and create band-aid like off flavours in your beer if not rinsed appropriately. Glass is the only material I recommend for use with sodium hypochlorite.

SODIUM METABISULPHITE Sodium metabisulphite is effective at removing bacteria and yeast in concentrations of 2 tbsp/gallon. It is also a highly effective oxygen scavenger, though it will release the oxygen back over time. (0.6g per 5 gallons is all you need.) It’s commonly used in the wine making industry, as well as in the linings of crown caps. It’s also sold under the name “Campden tablets” and used to sterilize brewing water as well as remove chlorines and chloramines. Some people sensitive to sulfites may have a reaction if it isn’t completely removed.

SANITISERS Sanitisers are not as effective as sterilants at removing bacteria, but are also not harmful to yeast. They are used as a “final” cleaning on unsoiled equipment just before use. Many of them are sold as “no rinse” meaning that they do not need to be removed from the equipment surface before use.

Sanitisers are always acid based and work by lowering the surface pH below 3.0. Yeast don’t usually like this, but can deal with it, so it is not effective against wild yeasts. Bacteria cannot survive below pH 3.0. Common sanitisers include peroxyacetic acid and phosphoric acid. StarSan is the most commonly commercially available no- rinse sanitizer for home brewers.

OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT In order to make brew day go easier, there is some optional equipment, as well as some measuring tools to help calculate the a.b.v. and monitor the process.

CHILLERS Once you’ve finished boiling the wort, you’ll want to chill it as quickly as possible. This will limit DMS formation (which we’ll talk about during the off-flavour part) as well as limit the chance that bacteria have to grow on your wort before you pitch your yeast. Almost all commercial brewers use plate chillers as they’re inexpensive, versatile and easy to disassemble and clean. Coil/immersion/counterflow chillers are more bulky and can be difficult to keep clean and maintain. In my opinion, the price differential isn’t sufficient to choose a counterflow chiller over a plate chiller, even if you’re making one yourself.

HYDROMETER A hydrometer is a simple device – a weighted glass tube that measures the density of a liquid compared to water. For those who remember Jr. High Physics, the density of liquids will vary with the temperature and pressure. (While we’re 2000+ ft above sea level here, it’s not enough to significantly affect hydrometer readings.) The hydrometer is calibrated to read liquid at a certain temperature (usually between 20-22°C) so make sure that your

wort is at that temperature before taking measurements. The hydrometer reading is called the “gravity”, which can be further divided in to “specific gravity”, “original gravity” and “final gravity”, often abbreviated to SG, OG, and FG.

SG is any gravity reading at any point in time. For our purposes, it is used to measure the amount of sugar in the wort and can be extrapolated to estimate at how much alcohol that sugar will be converted into, and therefore the a.b.v. It can also be used to measure how much starch was converted into sugar after our mash and used to calculate how efficient the mash was.

OG is the SG reading immediately before pitching yeast. This is the measurement we use to determine the first estimate of abv. Most hydrometers will have abv estimates printed on them. Sometimes this is referred to as the “starting gravity”, but since we already have an “SG” abbreviation, most people go with OG.

FG is the reading we take just before we bottle. This depends on our OG, but should fall between 1.010 for something like a Coors Lite, to 1.016 for something sweet, like a Rickard’s Red. It is good practice to measure the SG during days 4-7 to ensure no further fermentation is taking place. The SG should not change for 3 days to ensure that the bottle does not over-carbonate.

Another option to the hydrometer is the refractometer, but these are significantly more expensive and require calculations to use properly

GLASS CARBOY Although common, I list it here as optional equipment because it’s not strictly necessary. Not all brewers will do a secondary fermentation, though some do because leaving your wort on the lees (dead yeast and coagulated protein) too long will lead to off flavours. There is a trade-off, however, as the potential for oxygen exposure increases every time you transfer. If you’re going to use a glass carboy, you’ll also need a bung and airlock. The airlock should be filled with a no-rinse sanitizer solution in case of accidental mixing with the beer.

GRAIN BAG A grain bag is for a process called “Brew-In-A-Bag”, abbreviated to BIAB. It’s a large, nylon mesh bag that goes in your MT and makes removing the grain from the wort significantly easier. It is an easy transition from kit brewing to all-grain brewing. Some BIAB brewers do “full boil” mashes, meaning that they skip the sparge as well and the HLT doubles as both the MT and the Copper. For those short on equipment and/or space, this is a good option.

GRAIN MILL It’s significantly less expensive to buy unground malt in large sacks as opposed to buying it by the kg, and if you have a grain mill, you can! Grain mills for home brewers come in 2 or 3 roller sizes with adjustable gaps so that you can tailor your crush to your MT.

MASH PROFILES Depending on the beer you’re making and your equipment, there are different ways to treat your mash. We’ll start with some basic definitions before going over them.

ISOTHERMAL Literally “one temperature”, also referred to as Single Infusion. This system is most often used for British ales. It is not capable of using less modified malt (like most lagers, Belgian ales or wheat beers). This mash tun has no heat source to maintain or change temperature which is required to get the most out of less modified malt. Base malts, such as “Maris Otter” or “Golden Promise”, also called “Pale Malt” or “Pale Ale Malt” are perfect for this system. Using less modified malt in this system will result in less sugar than expected, and therefore lower gravity.

MULTI-STEP INFUSION Multi-step infusion mashes are used in isothermal mash tuns where the malt is less modified, such as Pilsner or 2-row. Although not as efficient or effective as a Temperature Mash Profile, this profile will get more out of less modified malts than an Isothermal Mash Profile. Progressively hotter water is added to the mash to raise the temperature, starting with a thick mash and ending with a very thin mash.

TEMPERATURE Temperature mash profiles require a mash tun that has the ability to heat itself. While we won’t go into the various enzymes or what they do, know that the enzymes required to fully utilize less modified base malts such as 2-row or Pilsner need different temperatures to act optimally. Using fully modified malts in this system will result in low head retention and a thin body.

DECOCTION Decoction mashes come from the era before thermometers and involve removing 1/3rd of the mash, boiling it and returning it to the copper in order to raise the temperature needed for optimal performance of various enzymes (which they didn’t know existed). Decoctions add extra flavour in the form of melanoidens (the “browning” effect of sugars + heat), but is only used in a few breweries today due to the added cost of labour and equipment. Home brewers can decoct, but will require an extra pot and a heat source, as well as careful attention to detail as it’s easy to scorch. There are also extra calculations involved so as to know exactly how much mash to remove and decoct to achieve a desired temperature when added back.

FULL-BOIL A full-boil mash is most often used in conjunction with BIAB. The brewer adds the full amount of water to the mash, removes the bag and uses the same pot to boil the wort. There is no sparging and you won’t get the most out of your grains.

Sparging is taking 75°C (168°F) water and rinsing the grains at the end of the mash. This ensures that you get the maximum amount of sugar out of your malt. If the water is too hot, shelf stability issues can happen. If you sparge too much, astringency from the husks can be extracted. Not all home brewers sparge. Instead, they will add a sufficient amount of hot water to the Copper to achieve the gravity that they want, taking into account their evaporation rate.

COMPARING MASH PROFILES Mash Profile Pros Cons Isothermal (single infusion) Low equipment cost Only for fully modified malts Suitable for most beers Limited range of beers Multi-step infusion Low equipment cost Not as good as Temperature Mash Greater range of beers than Very little room for sparge water isothermal Lots of calculations for infusion water temperatures Longer brew day Temperature Can use less modified malt Higher equipment cost Can use the same equipment for Longer brew day any beer Very effective

Decoction Adds more flavour Need to monitor two mashes Even more effective than Much longer brew day temperature Higher equipment cost

Full-Boil Very low equipment cost

ADDING STRIKE WATER How much strike water should you add? What temperature should it be? The answer to this question is more complicated than it seems. It depends entirely on how much grain you have, what type of system you have, the temperature of your grain and your liquor to grist ratio.

I generally recommend a 2.5L/kg (1.2qt/lbs). This is known as a “thick” mash and is ideal for ales, and new brewers. It’s less likely to lose heat over the mash period and enzymes will be less affected by pH and temperature shocks. For lagers, I recommend a thinner, 3L/kg (1.5qt/lbs) mash in order to accommodate the extra heat without scorching the mash.

The formula for the calculation is Wa = (T2-T1)(0.41G + Wm) / (Tw – T2) where:

 Wa = The amount of water to add  Wm = The amount of water in the mash  T1 = The initial temperature of the grain  T2 = The target mash temperature  Tw = The actual temperature of the strike water  G = the amount of grain in kg  R = the ratio of grain to water in the mash

If this sounds complicated, you’re correct and so there are innumerable brewing software tools out there to help you with these and other brewing calculations. Most home brewers use BeerSmith as it’s one of the most comprehensive tools out there and is inexpensive. Free tools also exist, such as Brewer’s Friend, though as always, you get what you pay for.

TYPICAL BREW DAY MAP

ISOTHERMAL BREW-IN-A-BAG, FULL BOIL

Add malt to bag in mash Calculate strike water tun. Add strike water. temperature. Heat strike Target mash temperature Remove bag with grain water. should be 67°C. Let sit for 60 minutes

Boil liquid for at least 60 Move wort to fermenter. Chill liquid to 20°C minutes. Add hops at Pitch yeast appropriate intervals

Checklist

 Hot Liquor/Mash Tun/Copper (must be large for this profile)  Heat source  Grain Bag  Fermenting bucket  Prepared yeast (make sure smack pack is inflated or you have a sufficient quantity)  Long handled spoon  Siphon  No-rinse sanitizer

ISOTHERMAL BREW-IN-A-BAG, PARTIAL BOIL

Add malt to bag in separate Calculate strike water mash tun. Add strike water. temperature. Heat strike Target mash temperature Drain MT into Copper. water. should be 67°C. Let sit for 60 minutes

Boil for at least 60 minutes. Add sparge water at 75°C Chill to 20ׄ°C Add hops at appropriate (168°F) to MT to rinse intervals grains. Drain into copper.

Move to fermentor and add yeast

Checklist

 Hot Liquor Tun  Mash Tun  Copper  Heat source  Grain Bag  Chiller (ice bath, plate chiller, immersion chiller)  Transfer hoses  Fermenting bucket  Prepared yeast (make sure smack pack is inflated or you have a sufficient quantity)  Long handled spoon  Siphon  No-rinse sanitizer

ISOTHERMAL MASH TUN WITH SLOTTED BASE Add malt to Mash Tun. Calculate strike water Add strike water. Target temperature. Heat strike mash temperature Drain MT into Copper. water. should be 67°C. Let sit for 60 minutes

Add sparge water at Boil for at least 60 75°C (168°F) to MT to Chill to 20ׄ°C minutes. Add hops at rinse grains. Drain into appropriate intervals copper.

Move to fermentor and add yeast

Checklist

 Hot Liquor Tun  Mash Tun  Copper  Heat source  Chiller (ice bath, plate chiller, immersion chiller)  Transfer hoses  Fermenting bucket  Prepared yeast (make sure smack pack is inflated or you have a sufficient quantity)  Long handled spoon  Siphon  No-rinse sanitizer

MULTI-STEP INFUSION MASH

Add malt to Mash Tun. Calculate and heat water Calculate strike water Temperature should be needed to raise MT temperature. Heat strike 50°C (122°F) for 30 temperature to 65°C water. minutes (148°F) and hold for 30 minutes

Calculate and heat water Calculate and heat2 needed to raise MT water needed to raise Drain MT into Copper. temperature to 75°C MT temperature to 68°C (168°F) and hold for 10 (156°F) and hold for 15 minutes minutes

Boil for at least 90 minutes (because of Chill wort to 20°C Move to fermenter and undermodified malt) (Belgian Ale) or 10°C pitch yeast. and add hops at (Lager) appropriate intervals

Checklist

TEMPERATURE MASH

Add malt to Mash Tun. Calculate strike water Raise MT temperature Temperature should be temperature. Heat strike 50°C (122°F) for 30 to 65°C (148°F) and hold water. for 30 minutes minutes

Drain MT into Copper. Raise MT temperature Raise MT temperature sparge with 75°C to 75°C (168°F) and hold to 68°C (156°F) and hold (168°F) water. for 10 minutes for 15 minutes

Boil for at least 90 minutes (because of Chill wort to 20°C Move to fermenter and undermodified malt) (Belgian Ale) or 10°C pitch yeast. and add hops at (Lager) appropriate intervals

Checklist

DECOCTION MASH

Decoct 1/3rd of mash and Calculate strike water Add malt to Mash Tun. boil it for 10 minutes. Add temperature. Heat strike Temperature should be back to main mash and water. 50°C (122°F) for 30 minutes hold at 65°C (148°F) and for 30 minutes

Decoct 1/3rd of mash and Decoct 1/3rd of mash and Drain MT into Copper. boil it for 10 minutes. Add boil it for 10 minutes. Add sparge with 75°C (168°F) back to main mash and back to main mash and water. hold at 75°C (168°F) and for hold at 68°C (156°F) and for 10 minutes 15 minutes

Boil for at least 90 minutes (because of undermodified Chill wort to 20°C (Belgian Move to fermenter and malt) and add hops at Ale) or 10°C (Lager) pitch yeast. appropriate intervals

Checklist

 Hot Liquor Tun  Mash Tun  Copper  Extra pot for Decoction  Heat source  Chiller (ice bath, plate chiller, immersion chiller)  Transfer hoses  Fermenting bucket  Prepared yeast (make sure smack pack is inflated or you have a sufficient quantity)  Long handled spoon  Siphon  No-rinse sanitizer

DETAILED BREW DAY STEPS Now that you have a general outline of what you’re going to be doing, it’s time to begin!

THE NIGHT BEFORE 1. Calculate and measure out your strike water requirements. If needed, add a campden tablet to remove chlorine and/or chloramines. 2. Fill your fermenting bucket with a PBW solution. Add anything that will touch your beer into it to soak overnight.

THE DAY OF 3. Ensure you have all your equipment. Make sure your yeast pack is inflated and healthy. If using dry yeast, either ignore, or add it to a solution of DME and water. 4. Add your strike water to your HLT and begin heating. 5. Weigh out your grain. 6. Mill grain (unless pre-milled) 7. If using a grain bag, place grain bag in MT. Use binder clips to hold it in place. 8. Add grain to grain bag or MT 9. Empty your fermenting bucket and rinse. Refill with a no-rinse sanitizer and soak anything that will touch your beer post-boil. 10. Wait for strike water to get to temperature. Pour yourself a beer. 11. Add strike water to MT. Check temperature, and stir. All grain should be equally moistened and there should be no clumps (aka doughballs). 12. Start your timer according to your mash schedule. If your beer has been misplaced, pour another. 13. Measure out infusion or sparge water to your HLT. 14. Raise temperatures according to your mash schedule. (temperature/multistep infusion/decoction). 15. Remove grain bag and/or drain MT into your Copper. Add top-up water if necessary. 16. Boil wort. 17. Add bittering hops. 18. Add aroma hops (if adding) 19. Turn off heat. Add whirlpool hops. 20. Chill wort 21. While wort is chilling, empty fermenting bucket. 22. Transfer wort to fermenter. Splashing is acceptable (even necessary) at this stage. 23. Add yeast 24. Close lid on fermenting bucket 25. Pour another beer and start cleaning. HLT and MT should be stored upside down with valves open to prevent mold.

BREW LOG

Brew Name: Brew Date: Brewer: Grist Amount Strike Water Boil Temp. Vol. Time pH Start Vol. pH Gravity Infusion 1/Decoction 1 Temp. Vol. Time pH End Vol. pH Gravity Infusion 2/Decoction 2 Temp. Vol. Time Hop additions Type AA% Time Mash Out/Decoction 3 Temp. Vol. Time pH

Sparge Water Temp. Vol. Time pH

Fermenter Dry hop addition Day Temperature Gravity Amount Type 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Bottling Volume Priming Type: Date Bottled: Date first opened: Beer Volume added

AFTER BREW DAY Now that brew day is over, you have a big mess to clean up and a bunch of wet malt. There are plenty of blogs about what to do with the malt, known as “spent grain” that involve baking it into something, but if you brew often, you’ll have more of it than you know what to do with. I personally find that it makes excellent compost.

Although you’re likely tired by now, it is essential that you clean all of your equipment before mold sets in. You will be much happier cleaning pots before they require soaking to loosen caked on and foul smelling garbage.

CHECKING ON YOUR BEER If you have a plastic fermenter, it is likely at least somewhat translucent and you’ll be able to see a head (known as a “krausen”) forming on top after about a day. If you don’t see a head, carefully lift the lid and check the gravity. If you don’t have a hydrometer, you’ll likely start to smell some alcohol. If you don’t, it’s possible that your yeast has failed. If this happens, you should repitch your yeast now. If it fails to take off a second time, your batch will likely become irreparably infected.

It is essential that you pitch enough healthy yeast to keep the beer from becoming infected as well as ensuring that fermentation finishes within 4-7 days.

After day 2, bump the temperature up to 22°C which will give the yeast the energy it needs to finish quickly. If you have a hydrometer, sanitize it and take a sample every day until the gravity no longer changes for 3 days. Once this has happened, sample your beer. Your beer should not smell or taste:

 apple-like  sour  buttery  astringent

These flavours and aromas usually mean that the beer requires a bit more time to mature. The yeast will usually clean up these flavours by day 7 if you pitched enough healthy yeast. If, however, you notice a thin, greasy skin on your beer or it smells like wet dog, mushrooms or vinegar, your beer is infected. Don’t worry too much, it happens to even the pros. Review your sanitation practices and replace everything that isn’t stainless steel or glass.

BOTTLING Congratulations! You’ve successfully made beer! It’s time to bottle that stuff up quick before something bad happens to it. Start off by soaking your bottles in PBW solution to remove any residue and then in a no-rinse sanitizer. Siphon your beer into a sterilized glass carboy, leaving the trub behind. Carefully add your priming sugar. A good rule of thumb is ¾ -1 cup of dextrose or DME (sugar tends to give an appley flavour) for a standard 19L batch. Stir carefully without splashing, which will oxygenate and prematurely stale your beer. Failing to stir will result in some bottles being over carbonated (and possibly exploding) and other bottles that are flat.

Siphon your beer into your sanitized bottles and cap quickly. While they will likely be fully carbonated after a week, it’s best to leave them alone (temptation be damned) for 4 weeks so the yeast can fully metabolise any by products that can cause off flavours. After 4 weeks, move them into the refrigerator to keep them from aging prematurely.

TROUBLESHOOTING After weeks of waiting, you’ve finally cracked that first beer! It’s pretty good, but there’s something not quite right. We call these “off-flavours” and some of them will arise naturally and others indicate a more serious issue.

Your beer Cause Solution too little priming sugar Add more priming sugar - Pitch more yeast when …is flat yeast died bottling. - Bottle sooner (within 14 days) CO2 leaked out - Ensure caps are on properly too much priming sugar - Add less priming sugar …is over carbonated beer hasn’t finished fermenting - Ensure gravity readings are the same for 3 days beer too warm - Keep beer cool after maturation - Pitch healthy yeast - Don’t splash while …tastes appley Acetaldehyde transferring - Ensure caps are on properly - Keep beer cool - Pitch healthy yeast - Don’t splash while …tastes buttery Diacetyl transferring - Ensure caps are on properly - Keep beer cool - Pitch sufficient amount of yeast - Make sure fermentation …tastes sour, farmyard, moldy Infection starts within 24 hours - Clean and sterilize all equipment before using - Replace plastic equipment once a year or once cloudy Unless honey malt is used, beginning - Don’t splash while ...smells like honey stages of post-boil oxidation transferring - Ensure caps are on properly - Keep beer cool - Don’t splash while Later stages of post-boil oxidation transferring …smells beany - Ensure caps are on properly - Keep beer cool - Boil beer longer (especially at …smells like cooked higher altitudes) cabbage/vegetables Dimethyl Sulfide - Limit trub in fermenter - Pitch sufficient quantity of yeast - Allow fermentation to finish …smells like rotten eggs Yeast- especially wheat strains

- Allow maturation to finish before refrigerating …tastes like cardboard Mash oxidation - Avoid splashing when mixing the mash - Allow fermentation to Acetaldehyde, Diacetyl (esp. lagers) complete - Pitch sufficient quantity of …tastes astringent yeast Too much dark malt - Adjust recipe to use less dark malt pH too high when sparging - Lower pH Too much sparging - Sparge less - Normal for hefeweizens/Belgian ales. …tastes like bananas Yeast – esp. wheat strains - Allow fermentation to finish - Ensure equipment is clean and sanitized - Normal for hefeweizens/Belgian ales. Yeast – esp. wheat strains, wild yeast - Allow fermentation to finish …tastes like cloves - Ensure equipment is clean and sanitized - Dirty tap lines - Lower starting fermentation …tastes alcoholic Yeast temperatures - Pitch sufficient quantity of Phenols (stressed yeast, wild yeast) yeast …tastes rubbery - Ensure equipment is clean and sanitized - Dirty tap lines - Rinse all chlorine based sanitizers well …tastes like band-aids Chlorophenols - De-chlorinate tap water with campden tablets the night before

Infection - Ensure equipment is clean and sanitized …tastes metallic - Ensure equipment isn’t rusted Iron or pitted - Remove iron from water

DESIGNING YOUR OWN RECIPES When figuring out how much grain to add to your recipe and which type, it’s best to start by looking at examples. Below is a simple Guinness-type stout adapted for the home brew scale. This will yield 6 gallons into the fermenter.

7 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter

2 lbs Flaked Barley

1 lbs, 2 oz Roast Barley

11.2 gallons water

Mash for 60 minutes at 154°F

Add 1 oz Northern Brewer hops at 12.7 AAs into the Copper

Boil for 90 minutes

This will give you a nice, full-bodied stout with a Guinness-like flavour. Let’s say you want to make it lighter bodied. You have a couple of options – lower the protein content or lower the unfermentable sugar (dextrins) to fermentable sugar ratio. To lower the protein content, you could reduce the Flaked Barley and add more Pale Malt. The yield on both of them is fairly similar, so it’s a direct switch, add one lbs of Pale Malt and subtract one lbs of Flaked Barley. To adjust the dextrin:fermentable sugar ratio, you need to change your mash temperature. Instead of 154°F, opt for a lower, 148°F temperature and mash for 75 minutes instead of 60.

CALCULATING YIELD Yield refers to the amount of sugar you will get in pounds per gallon. Pure sugar is the reference point for 100%. If you dissolve 1 lbs of sugar in 1 gallon of water, your hydrometer will read 1.046. This is sometimes referred to as “gravity points” and so 100% yield would give you 46 gravity points.

The yield of pale barley malt is usually between 81-82%. This translates into roughly 37 gravity points. This means that if you were to craft a 5 gallon recipe with 1 lbs of Pale Malt, you would get 37 ÷ 5 or 7.4 gravity points. Given that a standard strength ale usually has an OG of 1.048, 1.007 would be a weak beer indeed!

On top of that, home brew setups aren’t very efficient. Generally speaking, an experienced home brewer will hit 80% efficiency for standard ales and as low as 60% for high gravity ales. An average home brewer will generally hit ~70%.

So our formula is going to look like this:

푙푏푠 푃푎푙푒 푀푎푙푡 푥 37 푒푓푓푖푐푖푒푛푐푦 푥 퐺푎푙푙표푛푠

Using our formula for the stout recipe

(7푙푏푠 푃푎푙푒 푀푎푙푡 + 2 푙푏푠 퐹푙푎푘푒푑 퐵푎푟푙푒푦) 푥 37 80% 푒푓푓푖푐푖푒푛푐푦 푥 6 퐺푎푙푙표푛푠

Or (7 + 2) x 37 = 333

333 ÷ 6 = 55.5

55.5 x 80% = 44.4 gravity points, which means our hydrometer should read 1.044

Use the space below to see what your hydrometer would read if you brew at 70% efficiency.

CALCULATING WATER NEEDS How much water do you need? As you saw with the previous stout recipe, I used almost twice as much water as I ended up with. To calculate what you’re going to lose, you need two figures: your grain adsorption rate and your evaporation rate, plus a couple of others, depending on what your setup looks like.

Grain adsorption is the amount of water that you will lose simply by getting your grain wet during the mash. This is usually around 0.135 gallons per lbs. Using the stout recipe for reference, my grist is 10.13 lbs.

10.13 lbs x 0.135 = 1.37 gallons lost just from the mash getting wet. That brings my water down to 9.83 gallons.

However, my system uses a mash tun with a false bottom. Because of the way the false bottom is placed, there will always be some wort left in the tun. I don’t actually want this wort because it’s full of proteins that I don’t want in the copper, but it does affect my water calculations. It’s about half a gallon, so now I’m down to 9.37 gallons. Another third of a gallon is lost in various hoses and normal drips and drops. This means I can expect to usually end up with 9 gallons in the copper. If I’m particularly careful, I can get 9.25 gallons.

When boiling, my evaporation rate is about 1 gallon per hour. Because the boil is 90 minutes, I will lose 1.5 gallons, putting me back down to 7.5 gallons. Another 4% is lost when the wort contracts as it cools, putting me down to 7.3 gallons and yet more wort is lost to trub (the hop and protein matter left at the bottom of the copper) totaling another 0.75 gallons. Another third is lost in various hoses and drips on the way to the fermenter which eventually results in ~6 gallons.

Thankfully the brew-in-a-bag method is substantially simpler with less chances for losses. The grain absorption rate is only 0.6 gallons per lbs. Using the same stout recipe and assuming your evaporation rate is 1 gallon per hour, your cooling shrinkage is 4% and your trub loss is 0.75 gallons, use the space below to calculate how much water you will need to get 6 gallons in the fermenter.

DO IT YOURSELF! Based on what you know, see if you can design a recipe for 6 gallons Use the Malt Varieties chart on page 9 to help you decide what flavours you would like in your beer. Assume 81% yield for Base Malts, 75% for Standard Malts and 70% for high kilned and crystal/cara malts. Assume no yield for roast malts.

Practice Recipe Malt Yield lbs

Efficiency = Expected Gravity = Total lbs: Water Calculations LBS malt x Adsorption = Evaporation per hour x hours = Trub loss Cooling shrinkage ( x 4%) Total Water Needed Hops Variety AA% Time added

Mg x AA% x Utilisation ÷ litres at end of boil. Expected IBUs = Mash Full Body & Sweet 156°F 60 minutes Medium Body 154°F 60 minutes Light Body 148°F 75 minutes

 Remember that at least 60% of your grist should be base malt, ideally 80-100%.  Adsorption for BIAB is 0.6 and for a slotted base mash tun is 0.135  Expected gravity is 46 x %Yield x %Efficiency ÷ 1000 + 1  *Utilisation for 60 minutes is 27%, for 15 minutes is 10% and for 5 minutes is 4%.

GLOSSARY Acetaldehyde  Byproduct of aerobic yeast metabolism. It will be further used by yeast if they are healthy, to produce alcohol during anaerobic respiration (fermentation). Alcohol will easily convert back into acetaldehyde in the presence of oxygen. Has an apple-like flavour in large quantities and can be astringent. A common flaw, even in commercial beers.

Acetic  Vinegar character produced by acetobacter which is an airborne contaminant. Converts alcohol into acetic acid. “Vinegar” comes from French vinaigre, which means “sour wine”.

Acetobacter  Airborne bacteria that metabolises alcohol to acetic acid. Requires oxygen to do so (obligate aerobe).

Adjunct  Any fermentable that isn’t malted grain. Common adjuncts include rice, corn and sugars. Used to lower the protein content or body of a beer or to adjust the flavour.

Alcohol  Byproduct of anaerobic respiration (fermentation). Multiple forms exist, though “alcohol” generally refers to ethyl alcohol. Higher alcohols produced by stressed or overheated yeast are referred to by brewers as “fusel” alcohols and often have a “nail polish remover” odor.

Astringent  A sensation of dryness in the mouth, similar to sucking on a teabag

Banana  See isoamyl acetate

Bicarbonate  See carbonate

Body  The viscosity of the beer. Made up of proteins, dextrins, and unfermented sugars.

Brettanomyces  A group of “wild” yeasts. Commonly found in dirty tap lines. Used extensively in abbv. Brett. Belgian sour/wild beers. Gives a “funky” flavour.

Buttery  See diacetyl

Carbon Dioxide  Commonly produced byproduct of most living things, particularly anaerobes, such as abbr. CO2 yeast. Creates the “fizz” in drinks such as soda and beer. Easily dissolves in liquid, especially at lower temperatures. Used as a non-reactive gas in many applications (though will react with sodium hydroxide, aka caustic soda.)

Carbonate  Minerals involved in raising the alkalinity of the water. Usually found as CaCO3, MgCO3 or CaHCO3. Will disassociate with heat or acid additions. Create astringency through raising the pH and extracting tannins from the husks of the malt. Reduces efficiency of mash enzymes and darkens the colour of the beer.

Caustic Soda  Common brewery cleaner. Extremely dangerous (and therefore, effective). Creates a vacuum when reacting with CO2 and so care must be used in closed spaces. Gloves and eye protection must be worn. Powdered Brew Wash or sodium hypochlorite are considered safer alternatives in home brew settings.

Chloramine  Highly effective sterilant used in water treatment plants. Has excellent residual effects, unlike chlorine which is highly reactive and volatile. Must be removed prior to brewing if higher than 2 ppm are present.

Chlorophenol  Chemical produced by yeast as a stress reaction to mitigate the negative effects of chlorine and chloramines. Tastes of band-aids.

Clove  See phenol

Copper  Common name for the vessel in which wort was boiled, traditionally made of copper. Also a yeast nutrient, though toxic to yeast in high quantities.

Decoction  A mash technique developed before fully modified malt and thermometers were available. Still used in breweries making traditional lagers and hefeweizens. 1/3rd of the mash is removed and boiled at various intervals, providing melanoidens which lead to a richer, maltier flavour. The decocted portion is added back to raise the temperature of the mash.

Dextrin  Starches which have been broken apart enough to dissolve, but are still too big to be fermentable. Contributes to the body and head of a beer.

Dextrose  100% fermentable sugar. Often used as priming sugar for bottle conditioning. Derived from corn.

Diacetyl  A chemical produced during the Krebs cycle, similar to acetaldehyde. Is reconverted to a secondary chemical with a much lower taste threshold. Some people are unable to taste diacetyl at all. Has a buttery, astringent flavour and is the main ingredient in fake popcorn butter. Is often felt on the tongue as “greasy” or “slick”.

Dimethyl Sulfide  Conversion product of S-methyl-methionine (SMM), a vitamin found in barley abbv. DMS kernels. Is converted to DMS by heat, usually through boiling, making it volatile. Higher temperatures lead to faster conversions and therefore less DMS in the final product. Higher elevations have lower boiling temperatures and therefore less efficient DMS conversions, often requiring longer boil times. If SMM is not converted, it will oxidise and remain in the beer leading to cooked vegetable/corny aromas/flavours.

Dry Malt Extract  Powdered malt extract. Used to boost the gravity of wort if the mash conversion was abbr. DME inefficient. Used in “starters” to boost yeast cell count before pitching.

Hops  A dioeceous bine that grows best in Northern latitudes. Strobiles (cones) from the female plant are boiled which converts α-acids to highly bitter iso-α-acids and have a bacteriostatic effect, greatly extending the shelf life of beer from a few days to months. Largely replaced other spices. See also gruit

Hot Liquor Tun  The pot in which water is heated for strike water or infusion water. Sometimes abbr. HLT doubles as the copper or mash tun.

Hydrometer  A weighted glass tube used to measure the gravity or density of a liquid.

Isoamyl Acetate  A common ester produced by Belgian, English and Wheat yeast strains. In low concentrations, it has a pear drop aroma. At higher concentrations, it smells like banana. Commonly used in the flavoring industry.

Gravity  A measure of how much sugar is in a liquid inferred from the difference between the density of water and the density of the liquid being tested. Commonly measured with a hydrometer or refractometer.

Gravity Point  Your hydrometer reading, subtracting 1 and multiplied by 1000. Useful in making calculations for yield.

Grist  The fermentable portion of a beer recipe. Includes malt and adjuncts

Gruit  Proprietary spice mixtures sold by the church to collect tax revenue in much of Europe to prevent beer from spoiling. Often contained toxic herbs. Largely replaced by hops.

Infusion  Water added to mash to bring it up to a given temperature. See also strike water

Lauter  The strong and weak wort collected from the mash tun. See also sparge.

Liquor  Water used in brewing. Not to be confused with “water” which was used for cleaning. Now commonly referred to as “product” water and “process” water.

Nitrogen  Commonly used gas in food processing. Does not dissolve well in liquid. Used alone abbr. N2 or in combination with CO2 to dispense beer so as not to over carbonate. Produces extremely fine, dense foam in beer as it escapes rapidly. Used in “Nitro” pours.

Oxygen  Used by yeast during aerobic respiration. Also used to repair cell walls during the yeast growth phase. Must only be added prior to high krausen, after which point it reacts with proteins and lipids to stale the beer as well as reducing hop flavour, aroma, reconverting alcohol to acetaldehyde and aiding acetobacter infections. pH  Power of Hydrogen. Indicator of how readily hydrogen ions will be released in chemical reactions, commonly understood as “acidic” or “alkaline”. A pH of 7 is considered neutral. Higher is alkaline while lower is acidic.

Krausen  The foamy head that appears at the top of a fermenter. Also refers to a traditional method of using actively fermenting wort instead of priming sugar to bottle condition beers. “High” krausen refers to the highest point of active fermentation after which oxygen contamination must be strictly controlled.

Mash  The grist plus liquor mixture which is allowed to rest at certain temperatures so that enzymes in the grist can convert the starches into fermentable sugars.

Mash Tun  The vessel in which the mash is performed. abbr. MT Sparge  Water added to the mash tun once the mash is finished conversion to rinse sugars. See also weak wort

Strike Water  The water used to bring the mash up to its initial rest temperature. Sometimes referred to as “mash in”.

Strong Wort  High gravity wort from the mash tun before sparge water is introduced to rinse the grains. Also known as “First runnings”

Trub  Protein and hop debris that accumulates at the bottom of a copper or fermenter. Must be removed prior to bottling.

Wort  Hopped liquid made from malted barley and/or adjuncts. Becomes “beer” once yeast is added.

Weak wort  Rinsed sugars after the strong wort has been collected, also known as “second runnings”. Collected weak wort was used in small beers or in parti-gyle beers. These were two beers made from the same mash. Strong worts were collected for high gravity beers and then they were rinsed with sparge water to make a different, lower gravity beer.

Yeast  Large, unicellular organisms related to fungus. Used extensively in brewing, baking and pharmaceutical production.

Yield  The amount of sugar you can expect to get from a given amount of grist