Wort
Wort (/[invalid input: 'icon']ˈwɜːrt/) is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer or whisky. Wort contains the sugars that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol.
Production
The first step in wort production is to make malt from dried, sprouted barley. The malt is ground into grist. The grist is mashed, that is, mixed with hot water and steeped, a complex and slow heating process that enables enzymes to convert the starch in the malt into sugars. At set intervals, most notably when the mixture has reached temperatures of 45 °C, 62 °C, and 73 °C,[1] the heating is briefly halted. The temperature of the mixture is usually increased to 78 °C for mash-out. Lautering is the next step, which simply means the sugar-extracted grist or solids remaining in the mash are separated from the liquid wort.
In homebrewing, the malt-making and mashing steps can be skipped by adding malt extract to water. The wort is then boiled and the process proceeds as indicated below.[2] (See Brewing for more details.)
Once the wort mixture has been created, it is then boiled in order to sanitize as well as extract the flavour and aroma from the hops, which are added to the wort at set times in two parts: The bittering hops are boiled for around an hour to an hour and a half, and the finishing hops are added toward, or after, the end of the boil. Hop cones contain resins, which provide the bittering and take a long boil to extract, and oils, which provide flavour and aroma, but evaporate quickly. In general, hops provide the most flavouring when boiled for around 15 minutes, and the most aroma when not boiled at all (i.e., added after the boil, a process called dry hopping.)
At the end of boiling, the hot wort is quickly cooled to a temperature favourable to the yeast. Once sufficiently cooled, the yeast is added, or "pitched", to begin the fermentation process.
The adjunct grains that can be added to the mash include wheat, corn, rye, and rice. Adjunct grains may first need gelatinization and cooling.[3] They are used to create varietal beers such as wheat beer and oatmeal stout, to create grain whisky, or to lighten the body (and cut costs) as in commercial, mass produced pale lagers.
Naming
In beer making, the wort is known as "sweet wort" until the hops have been added, after which it is then called "hopped wort."
References
- ^ "Abdijbieren. Geestrijk erfgoed" by Jef Van den Steen
- ^ Nachel, Marty (2008). Homebrewing for dummies. New York: Wiley. p. 47. ISBN 0-470-23062-2. Retrieved 2011 April 1.
Basically, all you need to do is add malt extract to water and boil it. I may be oversimplifying the process just a tad ...
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Papazian, Charlie (1998). Zymurgy for the homebrewer and beer lover: the best articles and advice from America's #1 home brewing magazine. New York, N.Y: Avon books. ISBN 0-380-79399-7. Retrieved 2011 March 31.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help)