The principles behind the process of homebrewing beer are similar to commercial
brewing. A hopped
wort is produced and yeast pitched into the wort to stimulate
fermentation. The complexity of the process is mostly determined by the approach used to manufacture the wort; by far the simplest method is kit brewing. extracts: liquid in a can and
spray dried Mashing Mashing is the step required to convert starch in the grains into sugar by utilizing natural enzymes. This step varies depending on the skill of the home brewer.
Beginners For extract brewing, the mashing has been done by the supplier of the malt extract. No mashing is required for the home brewer in this instance.
Intermediate brewers A partial mash differs from an extract brew in that the extract remains enzymatically active. Unlike dead malts where some of the starch has been converted to sugar via the action of heat and the natural enzymes have been destroyed, wheat and unmalted extracts need the help of enzymes to convert their starches into sugars. The next step up from extract brewing is to use a diastatically active malt extract to convert starches from other beer adjuncts such as flaked and torrified barleys, flaked and torrified wheat, wheat flour, and flaked oats into
fermented syrup. These extracts are currently only available in the canned form. Unmalted barleys and wheats can add extra "body" to a finished beer.
Advanced brewers Advanced homebrewers forgo the use of concentrated extract and instead convert starch into sugars from the grains themselves in a process often referred to as all grain brewing. Although considered an advanced method, all grain brewing is easily achievable by beginners and with rudimentary equipment, especially when using the BIAB method. In all grain brewing the wort is made by making a mash from crushed
malted
barley (or alternative grain adjuncts such as unmalted barley,
wheat,
oats,
corn or
rye) and hot water. This requires a vessel known as a
mash tun, which is often insulated, or can be done in a single brewing vessel if the homebrewer is using the BIAB method. In one procedure popular with homebrewers called the "Infusion Mash", milled grains are combined in the tun and hot water is added. Before being combined with the grains, the water is heated to a temperature that is hotter than the desired temperature for enzymatic activity. The reason the water is heated is to compensate for the fact that the grain are cooler than the desired temperature. The grains are infused with yet hotter water to rinse more sugars from the mash in a process known as
sparging. There are two types of sparging. Fly sparging and batch sparging. Fly sparging involves rinsing the grain bed by adding small amounts of hot water to the top while draining equal amounts from the bottom. Batch sparging involves adding all or most of your sparge water at one time to the grain bed and slowly draining it from the bottom. The sparging process will also stop any further enzymatic activity if much hotter water is used; conversely the mash may be heated to around to end such activity prior to placing it in the lauter-tun, and to prevent cooler grain from lowering the sparge water temperature to a lower than desirable figure. When sealed, the fermenter is stoppered with a
fermentation lock, which allows the
carbon dioxide gas produced to vent, while preventing other gasses and particles from entering. Recent innovations in
nanotechnology have enabled a
fermentation lock called the Sterilock to also prevent bacteria, wild yeasts and other potential harmful fungi reaching the fermenter although in some beer styles known as
Sour Beer, bacteria or wild yeasts are desirable to obtain the sour characteristics. During this time, temperatures should be kept at optimum temperature for the particular yeast strain being used. For
ale this temperature is usually ; for
lager it is usually much colder, around . Often, the brew is moved to a second fermenting vessel after primary fermentation called a secondary fermenter. This secondary fermentation process is often utilized by more advanced home brewers to enhance flavor. While not required, it is generally practiced by home brewers who wish to age or clarify their beer by removing it from the sediment left behind by primary fermentation, often through the addition of isinglass, colloidal silicon dioxide, or spakolloid. Uni-tanks are usually conical in shape, and can be made from plastic, glass, or stainless steel. A popular plastic conical for homebrewing is FastFerment, while a popular stainless steel conical fermenter for homebrewers is The Blichmann Fermenator.
Carbonation Upon conclusion of fermentation, the beer is carbonated before it is consumed. This is typically done in one of two ways; force carbonation in a
keg using compressed carbon dioxide, or bottle carbonation with priming sugar. Homebrewed beers and lagers are typically unfiltered (filtering improves visual appearance of the product, but complicates carbonation). Bottled beer becomes clear quicker than kegged beer, since the yeast does not have as far to descend. s. (
3 minutes 8 seconds) In homebrewing, adding priming sugar,
malt extract, or carbonation tablets at bottling time to beer that has had its fermentable sugar content totally consumed is the safest approach to carbonation. Exceeding recommended levels of priming sugar for a given recipe can result in exploding bottles (aka "bottle bombs"), as is using inappropriate bottles or improper capping methods. Beer may also be force-carbonated using a keg and special bottling equipment so that the carbonation level can be carefully controlled. Carbonation is often achieved with approximately of corn sugar boiled in of water then cooled and added to a typical batch before bottling. ==Kegs==