The 5 Fundamental<br />Steps of Beer Making Beer is made from four main ingredients:<br />barley, water, hops and yeast. The first step, called malting, is the<br />process of isolating the barley enzymes<br />by heating, drying and cracking. The next step is known as mashing,<br />where the processed grains are steeped<br />in hot water for about an hour. During this time the grain’s enzymes are activated,<br />causing them to break down and release sugars. Once this is done, all of the water is drained from the<br />mash, leaving only a sticky, sweet liquid known as wort. Next, the wort is boiled for an hour with spices and<br />hops added throughout the process, before being<br />strained, filtered and poured into a fermenting vessel. Yeast is then added to the vessel where it spends<br />a few weeks eating up all the sugar in the wort,<br />expelling CO2 and alcohol in the process. The beer is then bottled and either<br />artificially carbonated or allowed<br />to naturally carbonate over time.
