What's Hops? The Brewing Process

Cheers to all, as we are going to learn what Hops is and how it contributes to the brewing process. 

Did you know that Hops are climbing vine plants like wine? The plant used in the brewing process is a green cone shape delicate resin that adds the bitterness to beer. For example, your favorite I.P.A's (Indiana Pale Ales) have more Hops in them. However, if you like less bitter beer, you'll want to stick to blonde ales and lagers. According to a 2019 beer survey, the majority of beer drinkers prefer I.P.A's. That's because, as far as taste is concerned, Hops gives the beer an extra bang. 

The steps for the Hops brewing process is broken down to 7 steps to create your own beer. 

Step 1 is to mill and mash the grains. Step 2 is lautering, the mashed grain will get pumped to the lauter tun to separate the grain husk. Step 3 is the boiling process. This is where the wort is collected and added to the third chamber, where the Hops are added into the process. Once we are adding our bitterness to the beer process, we are now at step 4. After boiling, the malt and the Hops are drained from the liquid. Step 5 is the fermentation stage. This stage is where the yeast is added to the fifth chamber vessel. In this stage, you are also adding sugars, flavors, and carbon dioxide. Step 6 is maturation. This is where the flavors are marinating and being developed. Finally, step 7 is filtration where the beer is filtrated by going through a cellaring process. Depending on the beer, the brewing process may take days (or weeks) to be fully complete. 

Depending on the beer, the brewing process may take days (or weeks) to be fully complete. 
But here's the good news. Soon as it's finished, you can go ahead and pour yourself a cold one for all your hard work. 

Now that you've become an at-home Hops brewer check out our article on starting a brewery to get some insider tips to take your home brewery to the flourishing San Diego brewery scene.

Cheers!