According to the Reinheitsgebot, beer is produced from the four raw materials water, grain, hops and yeast.
From barley to malt
The most important raw material for brewing beer is barley. Each grain consists of starch, protein, fats and vitamins, all of which is enclosed from the husk, a strong shell. These ingredients have to be processed by the maltster. Thereto, after a cleansing the barley gets steeped. when it starts to sprout it will be klin-dried. From a biologic point of view the sprouting activates certain enzymes in the inner grain. It degrades the starch to ordinary sugar and the proteins to amino acids which, in combination, function as nourishment for the sprout and let it grow. These natural processes are controlled by the maltster using the right dosage of dampness, temperature and ventilation. Therefore, as opposed to barley, in malt one can find sugar and numerous enzymes. Moreover, the malt grain shows a coarser structure compared to the unmalted grain.
Yeast for fermentation
In order to turn sugar into alcohol and carbonic acid, yeast is needed – spores which occur in the air. For brewing special types of barm are being used. A distinction is drawn between top-fermenting and bottom-fermenting yeast. Historically, top-fermenting yeasts were used for beer production. This is why they are called brewer’s yeast, saccharomyces cerevisiae. Characteristic for top-fermenting yeast is that it sediments on top of the fermented wort. It ferments the malt sugar of the beer wort at temperatures between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius. the bottom-fermenting yeast is called saccharomyces carlsbergensis. With 8 to 14 degrees, it ferments at considerably lower temperatures than top-fermenting yeast.
The main fermentation – as used for Kölsch – takes about two to three days. Since yeast influences the taste, breweries grow their yeast in cure cultures from the original cell so that all yeasts have the same characteristics.
With hops comes the wort
Hops belongs to the nettles and entwines aloft on frames up to seven metres high. For brewing only the cones of the female plants are used – they contain the bitterns and the flavouring agents which are typical for beer. Aside its aromatic attributes, hops works protein denaturising and therewith acts positive on the sterility of the beer and stabilises the froth.
Due to the newest findings and the brewers’ wishes, hops with strong bitterns, rich in flavour are grown. With the growing of resistant types of hops, the growers could reduce the pest management to a level that the brewers’ demands for contaminant-free hops are fulfilled.
Clean water
Brewing water underlies the same strict regimentations as drinking water. Inorder to use the water for beer production, it has to be treated. Thus, it can be sterilised, decalcified, filtered or boiled. Chemical additives are strictly forbidden. The brewers often demand a greater deal of the water than does the legislator.
Quite often breweries have their own well or spring. Moreover, the selection of a site for the brewery is depending on the water quality.
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