How to Make Beer in a Brewery: Brewing Methods to Consider

For centuries, breweries have relied on the same basic methods to make beer. However, with craft breweries popping up everywhere and competition growing fiercer than ever before, these businesses are constantly looking for new ways to stand out from their peers.

Previously, the main options for how to make beer in a brewery were small batch of ale or lager. Today’s brewers, however, have access to technologies that weren’t available even 10 years ago. These advancements have enabled breweries of all sizes to experiment with different brewing methods to create unique beers that appeal to their customers better than ever before.

In this article you will learn about different brewery processes used by craft breweries all over the world. From fermentation to maturation, there are many factors that go into crafting beer. No matter your size or type of brewery, one of these alternative brewing methods can help take your operation to the next level!

Drying-out: Drying and Milling

In the world of how to make beer, drying and milling are two important steps. Drying is exactly what it sounds like — removing moisture from malted grains, usually in a large, industrial dryer. In most breweries, malts are dried at temperatures from 140 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. While many people associate malt with a sweet flavor, beers brewed with too much malt taste more like bread.

Milling is the process of breaking dried malt into smaller pieces. The smaller the pieces are, the easier it is for the enzymes in the malt to break down the starch into simple sugars.

Batch Brewing

Batch brewing is a process in which all of the ingredients — hops, water, barley, and yeast — are mixed together in a single batch at the same time. After the batch is mixed, the beer is fermented in a single vessel such as a tank or vat.

Batch brewing requires more careful attention than other brewing methods, but it also gives brewers more control over their beer. Most breweries use batch brewing as their primary production method; it’s a tried-and-true method that has been used successfully for generations.

Batch brewing is a great method for how to make beer if you want to create a varying product. Since all the ingredients are mixed together at the same time, you can change them to alter the taste, texture or strength of your beer.

Continuous Brewing

Continuous brewing is a method that has been around since the 1950s. While batch brewing is batch production, continuous brewing is continuous production. This means that instead of batches, brewers make a steady, constant flow of beer that moves through the brewhouse in a single, never-ending stream.

Continuous brewing is a great method for how to make beer if you want to keep up with high demand. Since the system is continuously in motion, your brewery can produce more beer during certain times of the year with less human input.

Brewers can also monitor their process more carefully with less risk of contamination from external sources. Continuous brewing is a high-investment method, so make sure you have the space in a large, bulky brewhouse before investing in this kind of system.

Infusion Brewing

Infusion brewing is a method of how to make beer that uses two separate vessels. In the first vessel, water and hops are steeped together to create a concentrated tea. Next, the barley is added to this tea, where more enzymes break down the starches in the grain into simple sugars. After this happens, the tea is transferred to a separate vessel, where the barley and now-sweetened water are left to ferment.

Because infusion brewing uses two vessels instead of one, the process is much more complicated than the batch brewing method. You’ll also need to buy new equipment, such as two separate vessels and pumps, to make this type of beer. However, if you want to stand out from the crowd, infusion brewing can create some truly unique beers.

Proteolytic Fermentation

Proteolytic fermentation is a method of how to make beer using live cultures of bacteria that break down the proteins in hops. Proteolytic fermentation has been used to make lagers since the 19th century, but modern breweries use the same process to create dark- and wood-aged beers. This method produces a very distinct sour flavor specific to aged beer that isn’t found in fresh beer.

Proteolytic fermentation isn’t used by every brewery. You’ll most likely see it in breweries that make dark beers, such as stouts or porters, or wood-aged beers, such as those made with oak chips or barrels.

Continuously Moving and Mixing (CMM) Beer

CMM beer is a method of how to make beer that uses a process similar to continuous brewing. Instead of using a tank, however, the beer is kept in a large column that constantly mixes and moves the brew.

The main advantage of CMM beer is that brewers can manipulate the temperature of the column, which allows them to create a variety of different flavours in the same beer.

CMM beer is a highly complicated method of how to make beer. It requires significant capital for the equipment required to build the column, as well as a large amount of space in the brewery. It’s also a very risky method that can go wrong if the column isn’t kept at the right temperature or the right consistency.

Summary

No matter your brewing method, you’ll need to start with the right ingredients. You can’t make beer if you don’t have them! Be sure to speak with a well established supplier when ordering your ingredients. Having worked with a wide variety of breweries, they can help you select the right grains, hops, and yeast for your beer.

Once you have the right ingredients, it’s time to start brewing!

No matter how you make beer, there are plenty of ways to experiment with different brewing methods. From drying and milling to infusion and CMM beer, there are many different ways to create your own inique product.