The Brewing Process; The Brewing Method; Milling; Mashing - BIELMEIER BHG 403 Manuel D'utilisation

GB

The Brewing Process

Self-brewed beer is a high-quality natu-
ral product. High quality can be assured
by using premium and fresh ingredients.
Brewing water is an important ingredient.
It should be free of odors (such as chlori-
ne) and should feature a hardness of ap-
prox. 10–12°dH (German degrees). Your
water supplier will inform you about your
water hardness. If your tap water does
not meet these
requirements, you may want to install a
filter system in the supply pipe of your
water tap to ensure impeccable tap wa-
ter.
Pre-weighed quantities of malt, hops and
brewer's yeast for 6 different beer reci-
pes are available at BIELMEIER.
The brewing process consists of a few
main stages:
If the recipe uses whole malted grain,
ƒ
the first step is cracking the malt,
which means milling it roughly (usually
in a roller mill) so that the grains are
broken open. Care is needed to mill
the grain neither too fine nor too co-
arse.
The cracked malt is then mixed with
ƒ
brewing water and warmed to a series
of temperatures (up to a final tempe-
rature of 78–80°C) for exact times (see
Brewing Method, p. 39). This step is
called mashing.
The next step is lautering, in which the
ƒ
liquid in the mash is separated from
the solids in a lautering tun.
The liquid, called wort, is then boiled in
ƒ
themash tun for a specific period (60–
38
90 minutes). During this time, hops are
added.
When the wort boil is finished, the
ƒ
wort is swirled in the kettle, which all-
ows particles formed during the boil to
settle out in the centre of the pot. This
procedure is called the "whirlpool".
The wort is then cooled down to fer-
ƒ
menting temperature and transferred
into the fermenting tun. Yeast is ad-
ded, and over a period of 3–7 days, the
yeast ferments the sugar in the wort to
ethanol and CO .
2
The "green beer" is then transferred
ƒ
to bottles for 4–8 weeks, where a na-
tural process of clarification, aroma
development, and CO and ethanol
2
production occurs; this is called the
secondary fermentation or conditio-
ning.
Cleanliness and hygiene are essential for
successful brewing: careful cleaning and
sanitising of all equipment that comes
into contact with the beer, and especially
of the bottles, is very important.
Attention! A
In some countries, it is required by law to
register the production of beer for self-
use with the authorities.

The Brewing Method

For an optimal control of the brewing
process you need:
Indicator paper to determine the pH
ƒ
value of your brewing water
80% lactic acid to adjust to the correct
ƒ
pH value
Iodine solution for the sugar analysis
ƒ
(determination of starch)
The following method is intended as an
example and will need to be adapted de-
pending on the specific beer recipe. Plea-
se follow the instructions included with
your ingredients pack.
Before you start, remember that the pro-
cess will involve transferring hot liquid
from one pot into the other. Make sure
you position the pots such that you will
never need to lift a container full of hot
liquid. If you attempt to move a pot full of
hot liquid, there is a danger of burning or
scalding.

Milling

Fill the hopper of the mill and turn the
handle. The husks (grain shells) are ope-
ned and the grains are broken up. The
husks remain in the malt and create a
natural filter bed during lautering. Use
milled malt within a few days; it has a li-
mited lifespan and quickly deteriorates in
quality.
Collect the crushed malt (e.g. in a large
bowl), so that the entire amount can be
mashed at once. You will need 1/2 - 2
hours for milling depending on the mill
used.
GB

Mashing

For the mashing procedure, use the mash
tun (BHG 410000) as a mash tun. Set up
the mash tun on a steady and level plat-
form (fig. 7) approx. 40 cm off the floor.
You can fill the mash tun (BHG 410000)
with a maximum of 23 l of brewing water.
Heat the water up to the mashing tempe-
rature of 45–55°C; when this temperatu-
re is reached, set the thermostat control
knob to 50°C.
If necessary, adjust the pH of the water to
5–5.5 using 80% lactic acid solution (use
pH paper to test the pH value).
Stir in a maximum of 5 kg of cracked malt
using the large spoon. Maintain the tem-
perature at approx. 50°C for 15 minutes
with constant stirring using the spoon
(13).
39