Mixing

The mixing itself is one of the stages of the Fabrication of the beer. The term is sometimes employed to indicate the manufacture of beer, as shows it, alas, the continuation of this article. The mixing of beer is divided into five great stages:

  • malting,
  • saccharification,
  • hopping,
  • fermentation,
  • conditioning.

Malting

The Maltage consists in making germinate the grains (mainly of the Orge) so that Enzymes and sugars (mainly of the Amidon) there are produced. This process is generally carried out by another producing entity that the brewer himself. It is about a process complexes and he constitutes a science in oneself. In other words, rare are the breweries which carry out their clean Maltage. This is why one calls upon malts factory.

Saccharification

The Saccharification is the stage by which the starches contained in the Malt (of barley or others) are converted into simpler sugars. The purpose of this stage is to produce sugars known as fermentable in order to make it possible yeast to carry out its work of fermentation.

The Saccharification is carried out when, in contact with warm water (between 63 and 72°C), the Enzyme S contained in the grain begin their work. They break up the Amidon S into fermentable sugars. This process also releases from fermentable sugars not . It is the balance between fermentable and nonfermentable sugars which determines if a beer is sweetened or more alcoholic. The more pasting is done towards 75°C, the more there will be of sugar nonfermentable (thus more sweetened beer) and more it is made towards 63°C, more there will be fermentable sugars (more alcoholic beer).

Sometimes, other stages of temperatures are used in order to convert others made up of the Malt like some amino-acid (thanks to the Peptidase S) and of the Protéines (thanks to the Protéase S). The Enzyme S are activated, respectively to approximately 30 °C and 50 °C. These processes are less and less used since the modern malts release all the nutrients necessary during the regular Saccharification (63 to 72°C)

One distinguishes two methods of mixing, mixing by Infusion of origin Britannique, and mixing by Décoction practiced at the origin in Germany.

Mixing by infusion

The Malt crushed is added to warm water in a tank called mashing tub , at a temperature of approximately 68 °C. The brewer maintains these conditions for one hour, while stirring up (brewing) the mixture in order to standardize the temperature and to obtain a homogeneous mixture.

Mixing by decoction

Just like the infusion, the malt is added to water, but to a colder temperature (approximately 50 °C), then part of the mixture is taken and carried to boiling. This part is then reinstated, which causes to increase the temperature of the mixture.

Three decoctions typically take place during a mixing to obtain the temperatures of 64 °C, 68 °C and 72 °C.

Once the Saccharification finished, one obtains a sweetened juice called Moût which, once fermented, will become Bière.

Hopping

The Houblon is a plant whose cone is used in the manufacture of the Bière. Without this addition, one does not obtain a beer but of the Cervoise . The Houblon acts on several important aspects of beer:

In the beginning, the hop was used at ends of conservation only, the other characteristics proved to be these “side effects”. However, with modern technologies of mixing, it is especially the Amertume, the Saveur and the Arôme which are sought by the brewers. There exists a large variety of Houblon S which has all their own characteristics. There are hops known as “aromatic”, others known as “amérisants” and some which “are balanced” and thus, which offers a more equal balance.

The Houblonnage consists in adding the Houblon to the Moût in boiling. The proportion of Bitterness, Savor and Arôme depends on the combination between the varieties of Houblon and their time of boiling. In general, more a Hop face a long time, more it will give Amertume to the Bière and less it boils a long time, more it will give Arôme. Between these two extremes, it there with the Savor. Certain beers result also from a Houblonnage with vintage, i.e. without boiling. The Houblon is thus added to the Bière once finished boiling. This technique is used especially to give many Arôme to the Bière.

With the Middle Ages, one often practiced an additional parfumage beer with many plants: melissa, Hysope…

Fermentation

The Fermentation is the stage where the Moût becomes Bière itself. With this intention, one adds Levure to it. The yeast is a living organism Unicellulaire which carries out the work of the Fermentation.

The yeast transforms, by decomposition, the Sucre in ethanol (alcohol) and in Carbonic gas. It is the longest stage of the Brassage. It lasts several days (10 to 30) at least, even several weeks for certain types of beer.

Conditioning

Conditioning is the preparation with the consumption of beer by giving him an effervescence. There are two principal ways to condition a beer:

  • the refermentation (beers on dregs): one adds Sucre before putting beer out of bottle or barrel in order to make set out again the Fermentation. As fermentation produces Carbonic gas and that the container is closed hermetically, the gas thus remains dissolved in beer.

  • artificial gasification: one artificially adds carbonic gas to beer before bottling it or putting it out of barrel. Often, a conditioned beer in this way is filtered in order to withdraw from them the traces of Levure. That causes to have a clearer beer.

See too

mixing to brew

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