Beer and cider are the favourite choices for alcoholic drink enthusiasts of different age groups. Beer has a combination of various flavours, though bitterness is highly prominent. On the contrary, cider is a sparkling, carbonated drink with a sweet yet tangy taste. The brewing processes for beer and cider are also different. The main ingredient of cider is pressed apple juice containing natural sugars. However, beer is produced from malted cereals. If you love grain-based drinks, you may try out cider. In fact, ciders are becoming more popular due to their tastes.
How to brew beer
There are some steps for brewing beer:
Milling malt
Sugar is essential for a beer brewing process, and it is obtained from barley. In the exterior shell of the malt, there is fermentable sugar. Producers have to open this shell to get the starch exposed. They use a grinder with a flexible drum. The malt grinding level is easily adjustable. Finely ground malt will allow manufacturers to have mushy wort. However, it is challenging to collect the wort or malt mash.
Mashing
This is a process of blending hot and ground malt to transform the grain’s starch into fermentable sugar. Saccharification needs to be conducted at 65°C. After an hour, the grain releases maltose through the enzyme’s action. However, in some cases, the mash bed’s temperature needs to be higher.
Lautering
Lautering is a process of brewing beer, and it splits the mash into residual grain and liquid wort. It involves spraying hot water to mash. Filtration is also effective in obtaining the maximum extraction efficiency. The outgoing wort should match the incoming water. Adding water too slowly may dry out the mash bed.
Wort boiling and cooling
Let the boiled wort cool down before adding the yeast. The wort has to reach the fermentation tank by passing through the heat exchanger.
Fermentation starts after using the yeast. The active yeast will deal with the wort’s sugar to produce carbon dioxide and alcohol. With the conversion of sugar to alcohol, the liquid will turn into finished beer.
How to brew cider
Cider production involves different steps:
Selecting and washing apples
Apples are available in different varieties, and each has a different maturity speed. Weather conditions may also affect the ripening process of apples. The selected apples need a thorough washing to remove dirt. Pick the apples from dirty water and pass them through a tunnel. Pressure water will help with the proper cleaning of every piece.
Crushing and decanting
The cleaned apples need to be transferred to a crushing machine. This machine is adjustable depending on whether you have greener or riper apples. However, these apples should be free from seeds because they may add a harsh flavour to the cider.
The decanting process will make the solid particles separate. The decanted substance needs to be poured into a tank for fermentation. A slower fermentation process helps in preventing the loss of carbonic acid.
So, the brewing process of beer is different from the cider production process!
