Bierebel, le rendez-vous des amateurs de bieres belges.

Ingredients

WATER

It is the element most present in beer and must be of an absolute bacteriological purity.
Often, the breweries have their own source. Nowadays, the chemists can modify the quality of water thanks to ion exchangers or cooking.

They use different types of water. The brewer of beer of low fermentation (pils), chooses a fresh water low in limestone. On the other hand, for the beers of high fermentation (Trappists, abbey...), they take harder water, which includes more salts.

MALT

The malt is germinated barley. There are two kinds: barley with 2 rows (ordinary barley) and barley with 6 rows (barley of winter).
The selection of the barley is very rigorous and the brewer must look the size of the grain, the percentage of moisture or of the climate under which the barley was sown.

To obtain malt, you must do MALTING. It functions in 3 times: STEEPING, GERMINATION, KILNING.

STEEPING: they inflate the grain with water so it germinates. The grain must have a water content of 45%. Hardening proceeds in tanks of cylindrical form and a capacity from 150 to 200 T of barley. It lasts approximately 55 hours with water of a temperature of 13-15°.

Steeping

GERMINATION: The grains will germinate. They are spread out in layers, the water content is then constant (45%) and the temperature oscillates between 12 and 15°. It is necessary to take care to ventilate the layers of grains for controlling the temperature of germination well. This one lasts approximately 6 days. Then they obtains a malt of a green color.

KILNING: It consists to stop germination and to colour the grain. The malt is kilned at a temperature ranging between 80 and 105°. The temperature is very important because it gives the color and the flavour of malt.

HOP

The hop is a plant which pushes on long wooden sticks and can reach 8 meters in height. It is cultivated in Belgium, in Germany, in Czech Republic, in Poland, in England and in the United States and is the subject of permanent care.
For the manufacturing of beer, you must use the cones of hop and only of the female flowers whose harvest takes place of August in September. The hop gives the flavour and the bitterness of beer.

YEAST

The yeast belongs to the reign of the mycètes. Those are microscopic ferments allowing the transformation of sugars into alcohol (phase of fermentation).
There are three kinds of yeast which give types of different beers. (see Preparation > Fermentation).