Making Beer

Brewing beer, like preparing fine food, depends on the quality of the ingredients. The same is true for lighter styles of lager or a rich, full bodied-ale. The difference is how the ingredients are handled.

Some beers call for malts that are dried and roasted longer then others. Some recipes require one type of hop, other a combination of hops. Yeast vary according to the desired nature of the final product. Fermentation times and temperatures change from beer to beer. That is the beauty of the art and craft of brewing.

What holds this variety together is the basic brewing process. Think of brewing as cooking. The modern term "brew" has it's roots in word that mean "broth" and "broil." First, a cereal grain such as barley, wheat or rice is dampened to induce germination. The germination process is then stopped by heating and drying the sugar-rich sprouts. MALT is the result. The malt is ground and boiled with water (mashing) to produce

WORT. The wort is cooled and the yeast added causing the wort to ferment into beer!