Malting Process
The most important difference in the way stouts are brewed as compared to other beers has everything to do with the way the malts are prepared. Barley is first steeped in water to allow the grains to germinate. After the barely is deemed to have germinated long enough, the germination process is halted by a process known as kilning. [2] Kilning consists of heating up the grains to lower the moisture level to lower than 5 percent at relatively low temperatures (around 122 degrees Fahrenheit). The temperature is slowly increased as the moisture content is lowered and for malts used in stout the grains are kilned to a higher temperature. This creates darker colored malt, which has complex flavors due to interactions in the malts.[2] This higher kilning is the key difference between malts used for stout and those used for lighter beers, say lager.
Brewing Process
The brewing process for stout is similar to other beer, but the darker malts are used and other ingredients are added during the end of wort boiling to give the beer its distinct flavor profile. The malt is first made into a fine flour consistency in the milling process. The malt is then either stored or put directly into a mash mixer, which heats the malt in water and allows the starches in the malt to form crystalline structures in order to produce sugar. [2] This mash mixture is then transferred to a machine called the lauter tun, which separates the sugar water mixture, called wort, from the spent grains. The wort is transferred to the kettle where hops are added to the wort and the solution is boiled for approximately an hour in order to extract the bitterness and aroma from the hops into the mixture. In the last five minutes, extra ingredients, such as roasted coffee, cocoa, or more hops, are added into the mixture to give it the classic stout flavor. The mixture is then put into a device called a whirlpool where all of the remaining hop particles are filtered out of the mixture using centripetal forces and then the wort is allowed to cool. [2] A small amount of Oxygen is added to the wort before the yeast is added. Once the yeast has been added the wort is left to ferment for a prolonged amount of time, which converts the sugars in the wort into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The beer is then clarified using a filter and left in storage tanks until bottling. [2]
The most important difference in the way stouts are brewed as compared to other beers has everything to do with the way the malts are prepared. Barley is first steeped in water to allow the grains to germinate. After the barely is deemed to have germinated long enough, the germination process is halted by a process known as kilning. [2] Kilning consists of heating up the grains to lower the moisture level to lower than 5 percent at relatively low temperatures (around 122 degrees Fahrenheit). The temperature is slowly increased as the moisture content is lowered and for malts used in stout the grains are kilned to a higher temperature. This creates darker colored malt, which has complex flavors due to interactions in the malts.[2] This higher kilning is the key difference between malts used for stout and those used for lighter beers, say lager.
Brewing Process
The brewing process for stout is similar to other beer, but the darker malts are used and other ingredients are added during the end of wort boiling to give the beer its distinct flavor profile. The malt is first made into a fine flour consistency in the milling process. The malt is then either stored or put directly into a mash mixer, which heats the malt in water and allows the starches in the malt to form crystalline structures in order to produce sugar. [2] This mash mixture is then transferred to a machine called the lauter tun, which separates the sugar water mixture, called wort, from the spent grains. The wort is transferred to the kettle where hops are added to the wort and the solution is boiled for approximately an hour in order to extract the bitterness and aroma from the hops into the mixture. In the last five minutes, extra ingredients, such as roasted coffee, cocoa, or more hops, are added into the mixture to give it the classic stout flavor. The mixture is then put into a device called a whirlpool where all of the remaining hop particles are filtered out of the mixture using centripetal forces and then the wort is allowed to cool. [2] A small amount of Oxygen is added to the wort before the yeast is added. Once the yeast has been added the wort is left to ferment for a prolonged amount of time, which converts the sugars in the wort into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The beer is then clarified using a filter and left in storage tanks until bottling. [2]