The brewing malt is the basis for the colour and taste of the beer. The brewer determines the character of the beer through his selection of the malt.
The grains are soaked in water, and begin to germinate. During this process, enzymes inside the grains are activated. The result of this process is green malt, which has to be kilned (dried). Malt for light beer is dried at about 80°C, malt for dark beer at about 100°C.
The malt is then crushed and mixed with water in the mash tun to make “mash”. After this, the mixture is heated in the mash pan and the natural enzymes contained in the malt convert the starch into maltose (malt sugar).
The solid components of the mash are then separated from the liquid in the lauter tun. Only the effluent wort reaches the wort kettle. Here, the hops are added and the brew is boiled for about 90 minutes.
After boiling, turbid materials are removed from the wort. The wort is then cooled and the yeast is added. In the fermentation tank, the yeast converts the dissolved malt sugar into carbon dioxide and alcohol. When this process is complete, the yeast is extracted. The green beer is ready.
It is transferred to a storage tank for at least 3 weeks, where it can ferment to maturity. After maturation, the last yeast remains are removed from the so-called “blanke Biere”, i.e. clear beers by filtration. Now the beer can be bottled.
