Quality and the Art of Homebrewing

By Stephen StanleyCSSBB

Homebrewer

Hoppy Thoughts….

Hoppy Thoughts….He was a wise man who invented beer. -Plato

Hoppy Thoughts….He was a wise man who invented beer. -Plato

[I recommend]… bread, meat, vegetables and beer.-Sophocles' philosophy of a moderate diet

Hoppy Thoughts….He was a wise man who invented beer. -Plato

[I recommend]… bread, meat, vegetables and beer.-Sophocles' philosophy of a moderate diet

Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. –Proverbs 31:6-7

Hoppy Thoughts….He was a wise man who invented beer. -Plato

[I recommend]… bread, meat, vegetables and beer.-Sophocles' philosophy of a moderate diet

Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. –Proverbs 31:6-7

Beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy. -Benjamin Franklin

Hoppy Thoughts….He was a wise man who invented beer. -Plato

[I recommend]… bread, meat, vegetables and beer.-Sophocles' philosophy of a moderate diet

Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. –Proverbs 31:6-7

Beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy. -Benjamin Franklin

Give a man a beer, he’ll waste an afternoon. Teach a man to brew and he’ll waste a lifetime. -Anonymous

Hoppy Thoughts….He was a wise man who invented beer. -Plato

[I recommend]… bread, meat, vegetables and beer.-Sophocles' philosophy of a moderate diet

Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. –Proverbs 31:6-7

Beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy. -Benjamin Franklin

Give a man a beer, he’ll waste an afternoon. Teach a man to brew and he’ll waste a lifetime. -Anonymous

…And destroy the entire kitchen. -Anonymous’s Spouse

A Brief History of Beer

A Brief History of Beer• Beer first documented in Egypt and

Mesopotamia around 4000 BC

A Brief History of Beer• Beer first documented in Egypt and

Mesopotamia around 4000 BC• Rome preferred wine

A Brief History of Beer• Beer first documented in Egypt and

Mesopotamia around 4000 BC• Rome preferred wine• Medieval Times:

• Monks were primary brewers• Hops first used in 9th Century• Water was unsafe to drink, so they

drank beer!

A Brief History of Beer• Beer first documented in Egypt and

Mesopotamia around 4000 BC• Rome preferred wine• Medieval Times:

• Monks were primary brewers• Hops first used in 9th Century• Water was unsafe to drink, so they

drank beer!• The Reinheitsgebot: allein Gersten,

Hopfen und Wasser…• World’s first food purity law!

A Brief History of Beer• Beer first documented in Egypt and

Mesopotamia around 4000 BC• Rome preferred wine• Medieval Times:

• Monks were primary brewers• Hops first used in 9th Century• Water was unsafe to drink, so they

drank beer!• The Reinheitsgebot: allein Gersten,

Hopfen und Wasser…• World’s first food purity law!

• Modern Times• Mass production• Prohibition and consolidation• Microbrewery revolution

Great Brewing Traditions• Bohemian (Czech/Bavarian)

• Lagers (Pilsner, Helles, Dunkeles• German

• Lagers (Pils, Export)• Ales (Dusseldorfer, Koelsch)• Sours (Berliner Weisse)

• Belgian• Disneyland of beers

• British• Ales (Mild, Bitter, ESB)

• American• Mass-market pils• Craft beers

Us vs. Them: Quality

Considerations

Repeatable, consistent productExact colorControl through measurementMass appealConsistencyIndustrial process

Repeatability between recipesPleasing colorControl through processAppeal to individuals/small groupsExperimentationCraft process

Microbrewery Macrobrewery

The Beer Making Process• Recipe formulated• Sugars extracted from malted grains

and adjuncts (Mashing)• Wort boiled with hops, other spices• Wort chilled and transferred to

fermenter• Yeast added (Wort is now beer)• Primary fermentation• Conditioning• Packaging• Drinking

The Beer Making ProcessPrimary Measurements• Temperature (Thermometer)

• Mash temperature• Wort temperature• Fermentation/Lagering

temperature• Time

• Boil• Fermentation, etc.

• Specific Gravity (Hydrometer, proxy for fermentable sugar content)• Initial gravity• Final gravity

• Volume (Measuring cups)• Bitterness (NA to homebrewer)• Color (NA to homebrewer)

Recipe Formulation

Process: I use a computer program to formulate the recipes and make the calculations. Sources and ideas abound on the Web.Quality Considerations: Style, flavor and color desired, bitterness desired, adequacy of record for reproduction.

Objectives: Determine style and flavor factors. Calculate grain bill, hops required, water required.

Process Notes

Predictions

Grain Bill

Hops and Times

Mash stepsYeast

Priming method

Notes

Name

Recipes: DOE vs. OFAT

• Changes to any of these factors affects final outcome• Outcome is separated from change in time and space• Manipulating multiple levels is not feasible and exact control is not possible with homebrewing equipment

Problem: How do changes to a recipe affect the final quality of the beer?

Predictions

Grain Bill

Hops and Times

Mash stepsYeast

Priming method

Notes

Mashing

Process: Add water at appropriate temperature to grains, mix, and let soak for 1 hour, then rinse with hot water to extract remaining sugars.Quality Considerations: Temperature, time, change in temp with time.

Objective: Convert starches to fermentable sugars

Mash Tun

Combination timer and thermometer

Assistant

Run-off tube and receptacle

Mashing and Temperature Control

• Higher mash temperature produces more non-fermentable sugars• Precise temperature control is not possible with homebrewing equipment• Solution: Use an insulated vessel and allow temperature to “drift” through desired mash temp.

Problem: “Body” and final alcohol content are affected by mash temperature.

Mash Tun

Combination timer and thermometer

Assistant

Run-off tube and receptacle

Boiling

Process: Boil wort and hops 45-90 minutes. Add additional hops as required. Note some processes add sugars/syrups after flameout.

Objective: Isomerize hops and pasteurize wort

Quality Considerations: Amount of hops, volume of wort, gravity of wort, boil time, type of heat source, temperature at addition of syrups/sugars.

Kettle

Wort

Spoon

Heat Source

Chemical Reactions during the BoilProblem: Heat, particularly direct heat, can adversely affect sugars but boiling is required for desired bittering.• Syrups can “brown” during the boil or scorch on the bottom of the kettle. Sugars also decrease hop utilization • Boil temperature is a

function of altitude• Solution: Add sugars or syrups at flameout• Changes hop utilization, requires recalculation

Kettle

Wort

Spoon

Heat Source

Chilling and Pitching Yeast

Process: Place kettle in ice bath and allow to chill. Transfer to fermenter using ladle, top off with water, measure gravity, add yeast, cover fermenter opening.

Objective: Bring hot wort down to pitch temperature as quickly as possible, transfer to fermenter and add yeast

Quality Considerations: Pitch temperature, time to pitch temperature, amount of yeast pitched, initial gravity of wort, oxygenation of wort.

Ice Bath

Covered kettle

Thermometer Cable

Quickly Chilling Wort

• Hot wort contains a lot of heat• Once wort is below 170° F, sanitation required to prevent infections of the wort

Problem: Bring wort to pitch temperature as quickly as possible to allow a good “cold break”.

• Solutions:• Sanitize everything that

comes in contact with wort• Use ice bath to chill• Use cooling coils to

chill (not shown)

Ice Bath

Covered kettle

Thermometer Cable

Primary Fermentation

Process: Place fermenter in a dark location with proper temperature, allow to ferment until active fermentation is over (Krauesen collapse)

Objective: Convert sugars to alcohol and other flavor compounds, avoid infection

Quality Considerations: Fermentation temperature, darkness, avoidance of agitation, avoiding messes

Fermenter

Blow-off Tube

Thermometer

Receptacle

Trub Layer

Krauesen Layer

Preventing Infection in Primary Fermentation

Problem: Preventing bacteria and wild yeast from making swamp water of your wort

• Bacteria and wild yeast are everywhere and they love wort• Sterility is not possible• Solutions:• Pasteurization of wort• Sanitation• Pitch enough yeast to

overwhelm any invader (next slide)

Fermenter

Blow-off Tube

Thermometer

Receptacle

Trub Layer

Krauesen Layer

Yeast Population in Primary Fermentation

• Implications to every system dependent on a finite resource (sustainability)• Pitch rate affects curve

Problem: Sustainability of a population given a finite supply of a resource

Yeasts consume the finite amount of oxygen, then switch to anaerobic respiration to consume remaining sugars

Secondary Fermentation

Process: Place fermenter in a dark location with proper temperature, allow to ferment until taste testing indicates the beer is ready to bottle

Objective: Clean up unwanted fermentation by-products, clarify beer, add additional flavors

Quality Considerations: Fermentation temperature, darkness, avoidance of agitation, avoiding messes, taste

Fermenter

Airlock

Trub Layer

Dry hop sack

Temperature Probe

Temperature Control in Secondary Fermentation

• Lager vs. Ale – Temperature control required• Off-flavors• Balance• Solution: Ferment at mostly controlled temperatures• Controlled refrigerator• Back corner of the basement• Moist towels and a fan• Water bath• Etc.

Problem: Yeasts produce and consume different amounts of off-flavors at different temperatures

Fermenter

Airlock

Trub Layer

Dry hop sack

Temperature Probe

Packaging

Process: Add priming sugar to beer, dispense beer into bottles, cap and crimp caps. Label bottles. Store in a dark, room-temperature location

Objective: Protect beer for storage, drinking, carbonate beer, final clean-up of unwanted fermentation by-products

Quality Considerations: Protection of beer from light, spills, breakage, identification of beer, easy dispensing of beer

Pressure-tight Seal

Light resistance

Easy to clean, sanitize

Resistant to breakage

Identifies contents

Sufficient volume to be useful

Resists tipping

Sanitation in Packaging

• Unwanted microorganisms can metabolize alcohol• Result is “soured” beer or “gushers”• Sanitation:• Heat-sterilize the bottles• Use sanitizing rinses on clean

botles

Problem: Fermentable sugar is added to beer at packaging, allowing unwanted microorganisms to grow

Pressure-tight Seal

Light resistance

Easy to clean, sanitize

Resistant to breakage

Identifies contents

Sufficient volume to be useful

Resists tipping

ConsumptionObjective: Enjoy a clean, attractive, well-made homebrew, preferably with friends or someone you care about a lot

Quality Considerations: Color, head, serving temperature, mouth feel, flavor, carbonation, size and shape of glass, stability (yours after a few….)

Process: Hold glass at a 45° angle and slowly pour homebrew into it. Raise glass, admire foam and color, slowly taste the first sip, noting the aroma and complexity…

The Yeast LayerProblem: Bottle-conditioned homebrew has a layer of yeast and other debris at the bottom that some react badly to

• Pasteurization and filtering are impractical in a homebrew environment• Solution: The pour (leave the debris at the bottom of the bottle)

• Bottle-conditioned beer is not filtered nor is it Pasteurized, so live yeast settle to the bottom of the bottle (and improve the beer over time)

Conclusions

• Homebrewers measure when they can• When we can’t, we use process controls• We control the process when we can• When we can’t, we rely on the process to

produce a quality result• And in the end….

Zum Wohl!

Questions?

Please keep in mind that questions are delaying you from getting to the beer at the back of the room so feel free to muzzle the overly-talkative guy next to you asking all the questions.

Prost!

Thanks and Credits• Mark Denny: Froth! The Science of Beer• Charlie Papazian: The Complete Joy of

Homebrewing, Third Edition• John Palmer: How to Brew• Ray Daniels: Designing Great Beers• Deborah Stanley: For starting me on this

journey, for putting up with my experiments and tasting the results, and for more things than I can name.