Ingredients

There are only 4 ingredients in beer. Water, Malt, Hops and Yeast. However, different varieties of each ingredient exist. But all are natural products. The use of any other products is unnecessary.

Below is more detail on the ingredients and the role of each in brewing your favourite beer.

Water

Well, Water is Water. It is the liquid to which the other ingredients are added during the process to brew beer. But obviously, the better the quality of the water, the better the beer. So for that reason, many breweries like to have their own wells rather than bringing treated water from elsewhere.

Malt

Barley and wheat (for Weiss bier) are the key raw materials required for beer brewing. Barley and wheat contain carbohydrates, proteins, fats and vitamins. The barley and wheat must first be prepared by a mill before they can be used in the brewing process. The grains are soaked in water until they begin to germinate and grow. The maltster controls this natural process simply by adjusting the humidity, temperature and aeration levels - that means a purely biological process, where no chemical additives are used. When the grain has reached the right maturity, germination is stopped by drying. From now on, the grain is called "malt". The temperature at which the “malt” is dried will determine the colour and taste characteristic of the malt which in turn will influence the colour and taste of the beer. The higher the drying temperature, the darker the malt.

Hops

Hops are used primarily as a flavouring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor. They balance the sweetness of the malt with bitterness, contributing a variety of desirable flavours and aromas, and having an antibiotic effect that favours the activity of brewer's yeast over less desirable micro-organisms. A number of varieties of hops exist and a beer may contain a mix of varieties. The varieties used in a particular brew influence the style and taste of the beer being brewed. Before being added to the brewing process hops may be processed in the following way. They are harvested, dried, stored. Leaves and stems are removed and the remaining “cones” are ground and compressed into pellets for future use.

Yeast

Two types of yeast are used in brewing: top-fermenting or ale yeast, and bottom-fermenting or lager yeast. Lager yeast works best at cool temperatures during fermentation, typically 7-9° C. It will ferment for six to seven days before settling at the bottom of the fermentation tank. The vast majority of beers are bottom fermented. By contrast, the top-fermenting ale yeast works at much higher temperatures, typically 18 - 20° C. Top Fermentation lasts about four to five days. The yeast rises to the top along with the carbon dioxide bubbles. Weiss beer is a top-fermented beer.