2. Brewing
This is where the brewer comes in. As a kind of commemoration, he would like to pick up where the hordeum (God rest its soul) left off, turning the complex sugars into simple sugars (maltose and maltotriose), and the proteins into amino acids.The crushing process opens the grain up to make the starch reserves accessible.
After being soaked in hot water (in the mash tun), the tools made by the late hordeum (who fell for it) will be put to work. The peptidase system works well from 45 to 55 °C. Its pal alpha-amylase prefers temperatures of about 60 °C. Beta-amylase, the mad fool, prefers 65 to 68 °C.
Once they have each done their thing as far as the brewer lets them, the starch reserves and the proteins turn into amino acids and short sugars. This sugary paste is called the mash.
As we want to make beer rather than wheat bread, the mash is transferred into the clarifying vat. We need to take its old winter coats (the barley grain wall). They will drop to the bottom of the vat and make a filtering cake (these are the slops).
These slops will be fed to cows so they can make decent cheese to enjoy with a few beers (a Tournay or two for instance). But please be patient a little bit longer - we have not quite reached the tasting stage...
During the filtering process, the juice that flows through the slops under the clarifying vat is called the wort. This is a sweet juice containing all the goodness of the malt. It is really good for colds and sore throats (just ask Jean).
