PRODUCTION OF BEER

L.MURALIDHARAN
Assistant Professor, Department of Catering Science and Hotel Management

Abstract - This document gives you detailed information of manufacturing process of beer,
various ingredients used to beer making, history and definition of beer.

Content
1. Key terms
2. History
3. Ingredients for beer production
4. Production of beer
5. Process of beer making
6. Brand names
7. Conclusion

Key Terms
Ale - It means top fermented beer
Fermentation - it is the process in which yeast acts on sugar and converts in to alcohol
Fining - it is the process of clarifying the beer
Hop back - it is the container where the hops are removed from the wort
Hop - dried flower of hop plant used in beer making to get the bitter taste
Isinglass - it is a substance made from the air bladders of fish. Used in fining
Lager - it means bottom fermented beer
Paraflow - it refers to heat exchange system
Wort - sweet liquid just before the fermentation
Yeast - it is a small single celled living organism that ferments sugar

History
It is believed that the beer making is to be over 10,000 years old. Ancient Egyptians brewed
beer about 6000 years ago and many countries used various cereals to brew beer. Egyptians
used barley in beer making, Africans used millets, and corn is the USA, Wheat in Iraq and
rice in Asia.
For many centuries brewer’s heated cereals over open fires which resulted in dark, smoky
malt that produced dark beer with a strong flavor. Later in 15th century the brewers
introduced hops in the beer making process. The addition of hops gave a unique bitter taste
to the beer and protected beer from going sour. The first beer brewed with hops in England
was bitter ale.
In later years with all the technological developments, many breweries turned to mass
production with many brewing special equipment with the help of employing large number
of people

Definition
Beer is a brewed and fermented drink prepared from malted cereals, especially barley. In
the brewing process, the malt is extracted from the cereal by addition of hot water which
results in the product called wort and the hops are added to hot wort to obtain flavor and
bitter taste. It is the n cooled and fermented with the addition of yeast..

Ingredients for Beer Production

The following ingredients are necessary for the production of beer.
 Malt is obtained from cereal. The best cereal for beer making is barley.
 Water is the major component of beer. The taste and type of water influences the
character of beer.
 Hops are specially grown for brewing and the best hops are produced in Kent,
Sussex and Worcestershire of Europe.
 Sugar refined sugars are added for fermentation and to add sweetness
 Yeast is a living organism which is essential to fermentation. Yeast helps to convert
the sugar into alcohol and release carbon dioxide gas. One of the two types of yeast
is used in the beer making process; they are saccharomyees cerevisiae and
saccharomyees carlsbergenisis.
 Finings are the brightening agents added to clear and brighten the beer. Isinglass is
commonly used fining agent taken from air bladder of various fish

Production of Beer
Beer production involves a series of complicated process, the following are the steps
involved in the production of beer.
  Malting
 Brewing
 Hop back
 Cooling and pitching
 Fermentation
 Maturing and pasteurization
 Brightening and clarifying
 Packaging

Process of beer making

Step 1: Barley is harvested. The best quality of barley is taken and soaked in water for 3 to 4
days.
Step 2: Soaked barley is spread on malting floor to germinate.
Step 3: Germinated cereal is termed as green malt
Step 4: The green malt is dried and roasted from pale to very dark depending on the style of
beer produced
Step 5: The roasted malt is cleaned and crushed to powder. This is termed as grist
Step 6: Grist is mixed with hot water at the temperature of 65’c. It is termed as mash
Step 7: Mash is allowed to infuse to extract malt sugar. The liquid is now termed as wort
Step 8: The wort is drained to a clean container. The residue of the cereal is sold as cattle
food
Step 9: Hops and sugar are added to wort and boiled to extract the bitter flavor of hops
Step 10: Wort is transferred to hop back to remove the hops and the wort is passed through
the spent hops to remove the sediments.
Step 11: Cooled by paraflow method to 15’c
Step 12: Cooled sweet wort is transferred to other container for fermentation
Step 13: Yeast is added. Saccharomyees cerevisiae yeast is used for top fermentation which
produced ale beer at 15 – 25’c and saccharomyees carlsbergenisis yeast is used for bottom
fermentation which produces lager beer at 5 – 9’c
Step 14: The beer is now matured
Step 15: Matured beer is racked into casks, tanks and kegs
Step 16: Brightened with addition of isinglass
Step 17: Bottled, canned, racked into sterilized casks
Step 18: Dispatched to market for sale
Brand Names

Brand Name Country

Pilsner, Ostrava, Budweiser Czech Republic

Kingfisher, Golden Eagle, Cobra India

Corona Mexico

Fosters Australia

Tiger Singapore

Dortmunder Germany

Royal coachman, Cold cock Canada

Anchor, Brooklyn Lager USA

Heineken, Amstel Netherlands

Conclusion
Beer is an alcoholic drink obtained from fermented brew of barley malt. The average
alcoholic content of beer is 4%. The basic styles of beer are ale and lager, available in
various alcoholic strength. Beers should be stored in well ventilated rooms away from the
sunlight. The ideal temperature of a beer cellar is 13 – 15’c. Frequent fluctuations in the
storage temperature will spoil the beer.