Brewing Basics
There are many ways to sanitize ones working area and tools. A no-rinse oxygen sanitizing solution is perhaps the easiest. A large bowl of solution can be used to rinse or soak everything used for brewing. A solution of bleach and water will also do the job but one must rinse thoroughly. If the tools aren't well-rinsed the brew could end up with an unpleasant bleach smell or taste and it is possible that too much leftover bleach could kill they yeast. Finally, Diversol can be used for cleansing and sanitizing by simply changing its concentration. Submerging and soaking all equipment results in a clean, sterile environment.
Define the following, and their importance to brewing (25-100 words each):
Hydrometer or Refractometer: The hydrometer measures the specific gravity (ratio of mass to water) of the brew. This gives the brewer an idea of what the final alcohol content will be.
Mash and lauter tun: The tun is used in beer-making. It is the vessel in which the solids are separated from the liquid (mash tun is larger than a lauter tun, but they serve the same purpose). With a screen near the bottom, solids are trapped as the fluid runs through. Often there's a rake like arm inside that rotates to assist in the process of lautering.
Hopback and hop bags: the hopback is a sealed container in which hops are placed. The wort is run through the chamber then into the chiller ensuring a strong hop aroma. The hop bag is the bag in which hops are placed when they are added to the boil.
Counterflow or Immersion chiller: An immersion chiller is a coil of copper tubing through which cold water is run. It is put into the hot wort to quickly cool it to a temperature suitable for pitching yeast.
Yeast nutrients: supplements the available nitrogen in the wort so the yeast have enough to metabolize to create delicious booze. Can come in tablets or powder form and is generally made of animal urea (eeewww...)
Wine acids (citric, malic, and tartic acids) the acids found in grapes and wine directly affect the taste, color and aroma of the finished product. They can help protect the fermenting wine from bacterial infections. It is not uncommon for small batch wine makers to add acids to their fermentation.
Unmodified grains and other adjuncts : These are grains that are not malted. These are added to modify the mash, often with the intention of altering some basic beer attribute or possibly to simply bulk up the malt.
Honey : produced by bees it is the primary fermentable sugar in mead though it is also added to beers and wines on occasion to produce specific flavor profiles. It is also a natural antiseptic.
Fruit : added to all brews to produce certain flavors and to increase the available fermentable sugar. Depending on when the fruit is added, it can drastically impact color and aroma as well.
Spices : Spices are added to brews to achieve certain flavors or aromas. Some spices are essential ingredients for particular styles of beer and the addition os spices to mead reults in metheglin.
Hops : Hops are a dried flower added to beer to achieve certain flavors and aromas. They can also act as a preservative allowing beer to be stored for long periods of time. Only female hops flower and male plants are nearly extint in the wild.
Melomel : This is a mead that included fruit as a flavoring and fermentable sugar. The can be similar to wines, but honey must remain the primary ferentable sugar.
Braggot: a mead made with malt. While it may be close to an ale, more than half of the fermentable sugars must come from honey to remain a braggot.
Wine: an alcoholic brew that utilizes fruits, most commonly grapes, as the primary fermentable sugar. Wines made from fruits other than grapes are usually named after the fruit from which they are made.
Ale : A type of beer. Ale usually contains hops as a bittering agent. In modern usage, ale specifically refers to the type of yeast used in fermentation, specifically a top-fermenting yeast.
- Describe at least 3 methods of sanitation and the importance of a sanitary environment for brewing. (50-100 words)
There are many ways to sanitize ones working area and tools. A no-rinse oxygen sanitizing solution is perhaps the easiest. A large bowl of solution can be used to rinse or soak everything used for brewing. A solution of bleach and water will also do the job but one must rinse thoroughly. If the tools aren't well-rinsed the brew could end up with an unpleasant bleach smell or taste and it is possible that too much leftover bleach could kill they yeast. Finally, Diversol can be used for cleansing and sanitizing by simply changing its concentration. Submerging and soaking all equipment results in a clean, sterile environment.
Define the following, and their importance to brewing (25-100 words each):
- Equipment:
- Carboy : The carboy is the large container in which fermentation occurs. Generally a carboy is plastic or glass and is sealed with some sort of air-lock.
- Carboy : The carboy is the large container in which fermentation occurs. Generally a carboy is plastic or glass and is sealed with some sort of air-lock.
- Equipment:
Hydrometer or Refractometer: The hydrometer measures the specific gravity (ratio of mass to water) of the brew. This gives the brewer an idea of what the final alcohol content will be.
Mash and lauter tun: The tun is used in beer-making. It is the vessel in which the solids are separated from the liquid (mash tun is larger than a lauter tun, but they serve the same purpose). With a screen near the bottom, solids are trapped as the fluid runs through. Often there's a rake like arm inside that rotates to assist in the process of lautering.
Hopback and hop bags: the hopback is a sealed container in which hops are placed. The wort is run through the chamber then into the chiller ensuring a strong hop aroma. The hop bag is the bag in which hops are placed when they are added to the boil.
Counterflow or Immersion chiller: An immersion chiller is a coil of copper tubing through which cold water is run. It is put into the hot wort to quickly cool it to a temperature suitable for pitching yeast.
- Chemicals and additives:
- Potassium metabisulfate : a sulfite, it is added to kill off any unwanted micro-organisms and to protect more delicate colrs/flavors. Some people are allergic to sulfites and they have been linked to day-after headaches.
- Potassium metabisulfate : a sulfite, it is added to kill off any unwanted micro-organisms and to protect more delicate colrs/flavors. Some people are allergic to sulfites and they have been linked to day-after headaches.
Yeast nutrients: supplements the available nitrogen in the wort so the yeast have enough to metabolize to create delicious booze. Can come in tablets or powder form and is generally made of animal urea (eeewww...)
Wine acids (citric, malic, and tartic acids) the acids found in grapes and wine directly affect the taste, color and aroma of the finished product. They can help protect the fermenting wine from bacterial infections. It is not uncommon for small batch wine makers to add acids to their fermentation.
- Ingredients:
- Yeast : the micro-organism that converts sugar into ethanol via a process called fermentation. In brewing specific yeast strains are used and wild strains are kept out os the must/wort.
- Yeast : the micro-organism that converts sugar into ethanol via a process called fermentation. In brewing specific yeast strains are used and wild strains are kept out os the must/wort.
Unmodified grains and other adjuncts : These are grains that are not malted. These are added to modify the mash, often with the intention of altering some basic beer attribute or possibly to simply bulk up the malt.
Honey : produced by bees it is the primary fermentable sugar in mead though it is also added to beers and wines on occasion to produce specific flavor profiles. It is also a natural antiseptic.
Fruit : added to all brews to produce certain flavors and to increase the available fermentable sugar. Depending on when the fruit is added, it can drastically impact color and aroma as well.
Spices : Spices are added to brews to achieve certain flavors or aromas. Some spices are essential ingredients for particular styles of beer and the addition os spices to mead reults in metheglin.
Hops : Hops are a dried flower added to beer to achieve certain flavors and aromas. They can also act as a preservative allowing beer to be stored for long periods of time. Only female hops flower and male plants are nearly extint in the wild.
- Brews:
- Straight and varietal meads: straight meads refers to a brew that uses only honey as a ferentable sugar and contains no other flavorings. Varietal meads use honey from specific plants (ie: buckwheat honey, clover honey, orange blossom honey).
- Straight and varietal meads: straight meads refers to a brew that uses only honey as a ferentable sugar and contains no other flavorings. Varietal meads use honey from specific plants (ie: buckwheat honey, clover honey, orange blossom honey).
Melomel : This is a mead that included fruit as a flavoring and fermentable sugar. The can be similar to wines, but honey must remain the primary ferentable sugar.
Braggot: a mead made with malt. While it may be close to an ale, more than half of the fermentable sugars must come from honey to remain a braggot.
Wine: an alcoholic brew that utilizes fruits, most commonly grapes, as the primary fermentable sugar. Wines made from fruits other than grapes are usually named after the fruit from which they are made.
Ale : A type of beer. Ale usually contains hops as a bittering agent. In modern usage, ale specifically refers to the type of yeast used in fermentation, specifically a top-fermenting yeast.
- Lager : A type of beer. While the term generally refers to a beer brewed using a bottom-fermenting yeast (tough this may not hold true in all languages). Typically it requires a longer fermentation at a cooler temperature than ale.