How Beer is Made

First, let's discuss the main ingredients:

• Malt - actually malted barley
• Yeast
• Hops
• Water

The malt is crushed to create a finer texture and more surface area on which the yeast will operate. A malt mill can be used to accelerate the process.  Then the malt is steeped, a similar process to steeping a bag of tea. A mixture of malt and water is heated until the malt releases its goodness into the water. The malt is then removed via a strainer.

Next, malt extract is added to the liquid and it is boiled. Some of the hops are introduced at this point. Their purpose is to add flavor to the beer an increase its bitterness. After the mixture has boiled for roughly an hour, the remainder of the hops is added and the mixture again steeps. This mixture is known as wort. The wort is again strained and then poured into a fermentation bottle or other container. Once sufficiently cooled, yeast is added and fermentation (conversion of sugar to alcohol begins). In the next 7-10 days, the yeast ferments the sugar and the mixture is now ready to be bottled. A small amount of sugar and yeast is added prior to bottling to produce additional carbon dioxide (byproduct of fermentation) that can't escape the bottle. After another week or so, the fermentation will be complete and the beer should be ready for consumption.

Note: The above process describes home-brewing and probably differs quite a bit from industrial brewing. A subsequent post will discuss where the calories in beer come from.