Barley is germinated, cleaned and dried in the course of malting. The malt is ground and mixed with clean water.
Then starts mashing – the malt and water mix is processed according to a certain temperature scheme. During mashing, enzymes break down the starch in the malt to fermentable sugars (mostly maltose and dextrins) which yeast then ferments into alcohol.
The mash is then filtered and the resulting liquid – beer wort – is pumped into a brew kettle.
Proteins are deposited during boiling and the wort becomes clear. Hops are added to the wort in the brew kettle, which give the beer its characteristic bitter taste and balance the sweetness of the malt. At the end of the boiling process, the wort is clarified.
After this, the wort is cooled and directed into the fermentation tank. Brewer’s yeast is added to the wort and fermentation begins. During the fermentation, the yeast consumes sugars, which leads to the emergence of alcohol and the separation of carbon dioxide. The yeast settles on the bottom of the tank at the end of the fermentation process.
The yeast is then separated and maturation begins. The length of maturation depends on the type of beer.
When the beer is ready, it is cooled to below zero and filtering starts.
The finished beer passes through a carboniser, where its carbon dioxide content is regulated, and then through a pasteuriser, guaranteeing the microbiological purity of the beer.
After all this, the beer is ready for bottling.
THE PROCESS OF MAKING NON-ALCOHOLIC BEER
Non-alcoholic beer is made from fermented beer.
The alcohol is removed from the beer using the vacuum distillation Under a vacuum, warm beer at approximately 40°C is run through two tall cylinders filled with perforated mesh panels. The large specific surface area of the mesh panels allows the beer to distribute as a thin layer over a large area. The alcohol is then efficiently removed under the vacuum.
Creating a vacuum makes it possible to vaporise the alcohol out of the beer at a low temperature, which minimizes any changes to the taste caused by the removal of the alcohol. Vaporisation at high temperatures would make the beer taste like bread.
