How Beer is Made

Beer is made from four basic ingredients: Barley, water, hops and yeast. The basic idea is to extract the sugars from grains - usually barley - so that the yeast can turn it into alcohol and CO2. That creates beer.

The brewing process starts with grains, usually barley (although sometimes wheat, rye or other such things.) The grains are harvested and processed through a process of heating, drying out and cracking. The goal of malting is to isolate the enzymes needed for brewing so that it’s ready for the next step.

The grains then go through a process known as mashing, in which they are steeped in hot, but not boiling, water for about an hour. This activates enzymes in the grains that cause it to break down and release its sugars. Once this is done, drain the water from the mash, now full of sugar from the grains. This sticky, sweet liquid is called wort. It’s unmade beer similar to dough being unmade bread.

The wort is boiled for about an hour while hops and other spices are added throughout

Once the boil is over the wort is cooled, strained and filtered. It’s then put in a fermenting vessel and yeast is added. At this point the brewing is complete and the fermentation begins. Store the beer for a couple of weeks at room temperature in the case of ales or many many weeks at cold temperatures in the case of lagers while the yeast works its fermentation magic. The yeast eats up all that sugar in the wort and spits out CO2 and alcohol as waste products.

The flat beer is bottled, at which time it is either artificially carbonated like a soda, or if it’s going to be ‘bottle conditioned’ it’s allowed to naturally carbonate via the CO2 the yeast produces. After allowing it to age for anywhere from a few weeks to a few months you the beer is fine to drink.

Popular homebrewing kits are from Mr. Beer, The Northern Brewer, Brooklyn Brew Shop, BrewDemon, and Home Brew Ohio.