The Brewing Process

As part of this class we have learned a great deal about the brewing process as a whole.  Below is a description of my understanding of brewing beer:

The brewing process occurs in several stages including malting, brewing and fermentation.  Each stage is important in developing the flavor, aroma and appearance of a beer.

The malting stage involves the germination of barley grains.  Adding water and heat to the barley grains initiates the germination process.  Germination is when the enzymatic proteins of the seed are activated in order to break apart the starches within the grain.  Starches are long chains of smaller sugars such as glucose or maltose.  The enzymes break the starch strand down into smaller sugars that can be used in the fermentation process.  The germination process occurs over the course of approximately one week and then the seeds are kilned and dried out to stop the germination process.  At this point, the grains can be roasted for the development of further coffee or roasted flavors.  For many home brewers the malting process can be skipped by using malted extracts.  This is concentrated syrup that has been developed from the malting process.

The brewing process involves the steeping of the malted grains in water in order to remove the sugars that were developed throughout the malting process.   The grains and water are brought to a boil for approximately an hour and hops or specialty grains can be added throughout the boil in order to develop the flavor of the beer.  This new mixture is called the wort.  After the boil, the wort is strained, often in a lauter tun, in order to remove the grains.  The wort is then quickly cooled in order to precipitate all of the unwanted proteins within the the mixture.  The wort is then transferred to fermentation tanks. during this transfer the wort is aerated.

When the wort is finally in the fermentation tank, the active yeast is added to the mixture.  This is when the fermentation process begins.  The yeast will utilize all of the sugars that were developed in the malting process in order to grow and multiply.  This growth is done both aerobically (with oxygen) and anaerobically (without oxygen).  Yeast grows aerobically first, utilizing the oxygen that was added to the wort in the aeration process.  Anaerobic growth occurs after the yeast has utilized all of the oxygen within the wort.  The byproduct of the anaerobic growth is ethanol, which makes the beverage alcoholic.  The fermentation process can last up to three weeks time in which the beverage reaches its desired alcohol by volume.  Once the beer has fermented, it is conditioned to remove the larger proteins and can be filtered in order to remove the yeast.  The beer is then either kegged or bottled, and stored.

The entire process lasts approximately four weeks depending on the beer style that is being brewed.  The malting process is often the main difference between the small and larger scale breweries and home brewers.  The larger scale brewers develop their own malt combinations for brewing.  On the other hand, many home-brewers choose to skip the malting process because it is easy to find malt extracts at home-brew stores.  When we brewed for this class, we used a malt extract instead of malting the grains ourselves.  We also brewed much smaller batches of beer than many of the commercial and smaller scale breweries we have seen thus far on this trip.

Munich and Ice Skating

We arrived in Munich yesterday via the ICE train.  The train reached 230 kilometers per hour.  But we were really travelling at a million smiles per hour.  We had a great deal of fun on the train ride.  When we arrived in Munich the sun was shining.  It was interesting to see the differences between Munich and Berlin.  The architecture is very different than in Berlin.  In Berlin, there was new mixed with the old.  This provided an interesting contrast which reflects the personality of the city.  In Munich, however, there are much older buildings.  It seems that this reflects the personality of this city, there seems to be more traditional elements (especially in the food).

Today, we had an almost free day which allowed us to explore the city around our hotel.  We walked around and saw some beautiful churches.  We also saw the field where Oktoberfest is held every year in Munich.  There was an interesting dispenser that sold various health care items such as vitamins and tests.  This was interesting because they were all important things that one might need while at Oktoberfest enjoying some beer.

I also was able to try some Weiss Wurst which is a white sausage.  This is a traditional German dish that you eat with sweet mustard and soft pretzels.  It was delicious!  I also had some amazing pumpkin soup for lunch.  It was life changing!  Today, the food brought me closer to German culture.

A group of us went to the outdoor ice skating rink in the center of town.  This was an awesome experience because we were skating outside while it was snowing.  It was fun to watch all of the young school aged kids skate around on the ice.  They must have had a field trip this afternoon to the skating rink.  We also had some Gluhwein :)

I enjoyed our almost free day today, I feel like I really got to see some of Munich.  I cannot wait for the walking tour tomorrow.  We will get a chance to see more of Munich and understand the differences between the North and South of Germany.

Until then,

Prost!

Leipzig and Berliner Kindl-Schulteiss Tour

I know that this seems quite repetitive, but again, the past two days have been eventful.  We have managed to pack a day trip to Leipzig and another brewery tour into a little less than 36 hours.


In Leipzig we were able to tour two different breweries.  Sternberg was a much larger brewery than we have seen over the course of this class.   During this tour we were able to see the brauhaus, fermentation tanks and the bottling plant.  The bottling plant was the most interesting part of the tour for me because we were able to see the packaging of the beer which was different than the smaller breweries we have visited thus far.  This tour was also interesting because the tour guide mentioned a great deal about the history of the plant as well as the brand and marketing of that brand.  This brewery has developed beer that is inexpensive and marketed towards college age students. We were also able to visit Bayerischer Banhof Braueri, this was a much smaller brewery that has brought back the Gose tradition in Leipzig.  This place was interesting because it was housed in an old train station in Leipzig.  The master brewer who gave us the tour also describe the styles of beers that he has developed.  They are fairly alternative in comparison to other German breweries.  I was very excited to drink the Gose beer that he developed because it incorporated the traditional elements of the Gose including salty water and dual fermentation with lactobacillus, but also a hint of coriander.  I found the beer to be light, refreshing, and slightly sour.  We ended the day trip with a visit to the town Ratskeller where we were able to try another Gose style.  This beer was much saltier and I did not enjoy it as much as the first Gose.


Today, we visited Berliner Kindl-Schulteiss Brewery in Berlin as part of our final day here.  This was a very informative tour in which we learned a great deal about the brewing process as well as marketing and development of beer in Germany over the past 100 years.  It was also interesting to see another brewery on a much larger scale, similar to Sternberg.  However, I found this brewery to be even larger and more organized.  It was clear that the brand name of Schulteiss and Berliner Kindl were much larger names.  At the end of the tour, we sat in the tasting room and tasted several beers ranging from light to dark.  I enjoyed seeing the full range of beers that the brewery produced and marketed.  My favorite was the Schwartz beer which was a darker beer that smelled of figs.

The past week has been greatly informative and an amazing learning experience.  I will be sad to leave Berlin, but I look forward to the new adventures we will have in Munich.  It will be interesting to see the cultural and brewing differences between the North and South of Germany.


Prost!

VLB-School of Brewing and Fermentation Sciences

Yesterday we attended Spandau Brauhaus which was an awesome tour.  I finally have some pictures from this tour that I will post with this blog.

We were also able to visit the Jewish Museum yesterday evening which was an interesting experience.  The museum itself is very unique because it is specifically designed to disorient the people viewing the exhibits.  The architecture was very modern and the actual path that we followed throughout the museum zig zagged back and forth throughout various exhibits.  Overall, the museum was informative and interactive.  It also force you to think about the individual experiences of the Jewish people throughout German history.  I found the museum to be very moving.

Yet again, today has been a busy day with many exciting adventures and new memories.  We were able to visit the VLB which is the Berlin school of Brewing and Fermentation Sciences.  This is a school dedicated to beverage sciences including brewing, wine production and other beverages.  It was the first day of classes for the international brewing classes which was very interesting because there was a wide array of individuals at the institute.  We were able to tour the school including three separate labs that were dedicated to research in the various fields associated with beverages and brewing including the pilot brewing lab, the packaging and bottling lab and the general lab that tested various characteristics of beer.

The pilot brewing lab was different than any of the other breweries that we have toured because it had state of the art equipment.  This brewing setup was in sharp contrast with the copper set-ups we have seen in the previous breweries we have toured.  The brewing institute primarily focused on lager brewing as well which was interesting.  This is somewhat different than what we have seen as well because it includes bottom fermentation which occurs at much cooler temperatures.

The packaging and bottling lab focused on the storage and sales of beverages.  This was an extremely interesting portion of the tour because I did not realize that so much research went into understanding packaging and bottling processes.  The goal of this laboratory was to find flaws in any current bottling systems as well as develop new technology.  All of the the aspects that they test including seals, properties of materials and labels etc is important in the sales and consumption of these products.  I did not realize how much research is done in this field.

We also visited the general laboratory that studied the general characteristics of beer including color, bitterness units and composition.  This was very interesting because it demonstrated how much chemistry actually goes into brewing beer successfully.  The school had us participate in a sensory panel which was very informative.  We learned what "off" flavors and smells were like and how to characterize these elements while tasting beers.  We were also able to meet with various administrators of the school and sat in on a panel of brewing big wigs (including a guy from Guinness).  We learned that brewing at any level is a mixture of education and the understanding of the chemical processes of brewing and passion.  Without one or the other you will be an unsuccessful brewer.  I cannot wait to put my new knowledge to the test.

Today was great fun and a learning experience that I will never forget.  I cannot wait to visit Leipzig tomorrow to learn more about this rich brewing tradition!


Prost :)

Technology Museum and Spandau Brewery

The past two days have yet again brought more memories and I have learned a great deal about the brewing process as a whole as well as some very specific beers that are available in Berlin.

Yesterday, we attended the German Technological Museum which had an exhibition of a brewery.  This brewery was a replica of an older brewery.  The security man who was watching over the brewery replica ended up giving us an in depth tour of the entire building and showed us all of the brewing equipment and explained the process of brewing.  This was an exciting and informative tour.  The man who was giving us this spontaneous tour explained that the equipment was used as a test brewery.  This means that different recipes for various beer styles were tested using that very equipment.  The most interesting portion of this tour was all of the equipment that we got to see.  Every element was made out of copper metal and was very beautiful but also functional.

Emma also gave a great presentation on the Berliner Weisse beer which is a beer known as the "Champagne of the North."  This beer is a light and somewhat sour wheat beer that is often sweetened with different types of syrup.  The most interesting aspect of this beer is that it is top fermented with both yeast and lactobacillus which gives the beer the sour flavor.



Today, we toured Spandau Brauhaus in Spandou a suburb of Berlin.  This was a smaller brauhaus and hotel.  This was an interesting tour because the head brewer showed us all of the brewing equipment and explained "the mash" that they do every time they brew beer.  This is an important stage when brewing beers if you are not using a malt extract.  The mash involves crushing and steeping malted grains in water of a specific temperature in order to activate various proteins within the grains.  This allows the starches from the grains to be released into the water.  These sugars will then be used for fuel in the fermentation process and will eventually be converted into alcohol by the yeast.  We also had an awesome german style lunch at this brauhaus.  We were also able to tast a couple of their beers including Plotz-Blitz beer.  This was a dark (dunkel) beer that was 12% alcohol!

Bearlin

The past two days have been a whirlwind of new experiences and memories.  Yesterday, we travelled from the United States to Amsterdam and then finally to Berlin.  It was one of the longest journeys I have ever made, and it has been well worth it!  On our first day here we walked around the neighborhood and drank some Gluehwein and explored the city.  We saw the largest department store in Europe which is known as KaDeWe and we visited an Irish pub.  The day was long and tiring but great fun!

Today we took an amazing bus tour of the entire city.  We saw many different sites and the architecture was beautiful.  I am impressed by the contrast between the old an new that is present throughout the city.  There are some very old buildings that were not destroyed in the war.  These buildings have ornate sculptures, columns and domes.  The newer buildings are much more modern and constructed of cement and glass.  Each is beautiful in their own unique way.  The contrast between styles demonstrates the ability of the German people to remember and cherish the past, but also to look forward to the future and continue innovating.  We also visited the Brandenburg gate, Checkpoint Charlie and the remnants of the Berlin wall.  Each of these monuments is a symbol of the past.  They are important aspects of German culture and history that should be remembered.


This has been an amazing experience thus far and I am looking forward to the adventures that are to come!

Welcome to Brew Day!

Today was the first day of class and we brewed our first batch of beer (well my first batch of beer).  Keith and I brewed a Saison beer, which is typically brewed in the French part of Belgium.  The whole brewing process was fascinating and exciting.  The boiling stage of brewing was somewhat tedious, but it was interesting because you could smell the different elements including the specialty grains and the two different types of hops.  The odor developed over the course of the boil and seemed well rounded by the end of this stage.  The one aspect that I did not enjoy about the boil stage was that I burned my fingers on the pot, but that was my fault so I can't really complain.  I also enjoyed measuring the original gravity and then adding the yeast.  It is pretty amazing that a billion yeast cells will help convert the sugars from the wort into alcohol over the course of several weeks.  It will also be interesting to see how much alcohol is produced throughout the fermentation process because our original gravity was lower than expect.  I can't wait to finish the beer when we return from our trip.

 

I am so looking forward to tomorrow morning because we will embark on our journey through Germany and Belgium.  Hopefully I will get the chance to taste some great Saison beer in Belgium.  This will give me the chance to compare our beer to the experts!