Copyright 2006: B. United International Inc., All rights reserved.
During germination, important enzymes, the so-called biocatalyst, are activated. Experts watch over this process in the malthouse to ensure that the young, so-called »green« malt is roasted, or kilned, at exactly the right time.
Already here, the flavor and character of an UERIGE is determined – through natural color and flavoring. The finished malt used for UERIGE beer has to age long enough first, i.e. for four weeks, before the mashing process is started in our brewery.
The first step in the process of brewing an UERIGE is the grinding of the malt.
In the mash tub, the ground malt is mixed with water of a specific temperature and left to soak (mashing). This sounds simpler than it actually is, because only the exact temperature and the perfect timing gives the enzymes their power.
Picture: Wort Tub
The enzymes break down the starch into malt sugar. Starch takes on a blue color if iodine is added. Once all of the starch is transformed into sugar, there is no more color reaction (normal iodine), then we can pump the mash into the lauter tub.
Whether the mashing process is done with barley or wheat, this process takes at least two hours.
During the process of lautering (German for refining), the mash drips through a large filter which separates the solid components (the spent grains) from the fluid, the so-called wort.
The fluid is the important part, because the wort is rich in carbohydrates (malt sugar) and vitamins.
The spent grains are anything from useless: on the one hand, they are very popular as foodstuff for animals because rich in cellulose, on the other hand, the regulars at the UERIGE have long grown to love the wonderfully nutty flavor of the popular spent-grain rolls.
The only thing that’s missing now is the hops.
There‹s an old German saying that goes: God conserve hops and malt. And it makes sense. In the wort tub, hops are added to the pure wort and are boiled to literally leach out the hops.
