The first stage of crafting good beer
Malt crushing:
Wet the surface of the malt by adding 5% of its weight in water 10 minutes before crushing. Crush the malt when there are no obvious water droplets on its surface. Place the malt in the hopper and begin the crushing process. Take samples during crushing to monitor the consistency. Adjust the distance between the grinding disc and the feeding amount based on the desired thickness of the crushed malt. The ratio of coarse to fine particles should be 1:2.5.
Saccharification process:
Start stirring in the saccharification tank. Add the crushed malt powder (measured at 12°P wort, approximately 12kg) to the tank and mix evenly. Stop stirring and maintain a temperature of 37°C for 20 minutes. Resume stirring, activate steam heating, and gradually raise the temperature to 50-55°C at a rate of 1-1.5°C per minute. Stop stirring and allow the mixture to rest for 40 minutes for protein decomposition. Once protein decomposition is complete, resume stirring and transfer the gelatinized mash to the saccharification tank. Heat the mash to 65°C, stop stirring, and maintain it at rest for 70 minutes for saccharification.
Heat up and enzyme deactivation:
Begin stirring, activate steam heating, and increase the temperature to 78°C at a rate of 1-1.5°C per minute. Stop stirring and let it rest for 10 minutes for enzyme deactivation before filtration.
Filtration process:
Start saccharification and filter mixing. Pump the saccharified mash into the lauter tank and stop mixing once it is uniformly distributed. Allow the mash to settle for 10-15 minutes to form a natural filter layer. After the settling time, open the filter material valve and the return valve, and start the pump to recirculate the wort in the lauter tank for 5-10 minutes. Pay attention to the backflow and adjust the pump flow rate to 20-30% of its maximum capacity. Once the clarity of the wort is satisfactory, close the reflux valve, open the filter valve to the mashing tank, and pump the wort into the mashing tank. Initially, set the pump flow rate to 20-30% of its maximum capacity, gradually increasing it while maintaining a balance between the filtered wort and the wort from the discharge valve. After 20 minutes of filtration, sample the original wort concentration.
The second stage of crafting good beer
Wort boiling:
After filtration, open the main steam valve and initiate boiling. Time the boiling process for 90 minutes, ensuring that the wort remains in a boiling state throughout. Adjust the final wort concentration during boiling as needed. To meet requirements, the boiling time can be extended. Add bitter and aroma hops 5 and 10 minutes before the end of boiling, respectively, at a ratio of 40g (0.04%) and 20g (0.02%).
Wort whirlpooling:
After boiling, close the steam valve and open the mashing boiler discharge valve and tangential injection valve. Start the wort pump and circulate the wort in the whirlpool tank for 10 minutes. Allow it to settle for 30 minutes before cooling.
Wort cooling:
Pre-cool the boiled wort to -6°C using an ice water tank (mixed medium of ethanol and water), then rapidly cool it to the fermentation temperature through a heat exchanger. The fermentation temperature varies depending on the commercial yeast used, but is generally below 20°C, with most falling within the range of 9-15°C.
Add yeast and pour in wort:
Add pre-activated yeast quickly to a pre-sterilized pipeline, then use a pump to transfer the cooled wort (approximately 9°C) into the fermenter and add yeast. Once all the wort is transferred, introduce oxygen continuously for about 5 minutes to ensure sufficient dissolved oxygen in the wort.
Fermentation process:
When entering the fermenter, the wort concentration is approximately 9-12°P. The pre-fermentation period lasts around 4-5 days, during which the wort concentration drops to approximately 4.5°P. There is no need to control the pressure in the tank. If the environment is clean, an open fermentation method can be used. For post-fermentation, which is mostly anaerobic, seal the fermenter and maintain a temperature of 12-15°C. Allow fermentation to proceed for 7-10 days until the pressure naturally increases to approximately 0.1kPa and there is no obvious diacetyl taste, indicating fermentation completion.
Cooling process:
Once fermentation is complete, gradually and gently cool the beer. Avoid rapid cooling, as it may cause freezing of the liquid near the jacket, preventing natural settling of yeast and other residues, which could result in turbidity.
