All the world knows that beer
is made from water, malt and hops. But what is less well-known
is that, depending on the character and qualities sought, the malt can
be grilled more or less, in part replaced by rye wheat, rice, manioc,
millet, or combined with seasonings such as coriander and orange rind.
As for the hops, these can be selected for their bitterness or their aromatic
virtues.
This said, it is not possible to let you know more because, as in all traditional establishments, recipes are jealously guarded. Principle of development: brewing • fermentation• storage• filtration• packaging.
Principe d'élaboration :
At Gayant Brewers, brewing takes
place in copper vats, characteristically shaped with chimneys for drawing
off water vapor. The brewing chamber has a capacity of 6 brews
of 4500 kg of malt per day for a production of about 180,000 Hls of beer
wort.
In a first phase, the brewer
will grind the different cereals that are to be used in the recipe.
This is then made into
a paste, or mixed with flour and water. This mix
is brought to different temperatures in order to allow the enzymes contained
in the barley malt to activate the transformation of cereal starch into
fermentable sugars. This operation takes about 3 hours.
Once this transformation has
been completed, the mix is filtered in a tank equipped with a
false bottom, called a tank-filter. The residue from filtration,
called "slop", is cleaned in such a way as to retrieve the maximum fermentable
extract. Filtration takes about 3 hours. The filtrate,
which is called the “beer wort,” is collected in a cauldron. This is where
the various hops (bitter and aromatic) will be added. The beer
wort will then be boiled for 1.5 hours.
At the end of the process, the
beer wort is again clarified by decantation and then cooled and oxygenated
for fermentation.
The beer’s character is very
often determined at this stage. This is why Gayant Brewers cultivates
4 different strains of yeast. There are 2 yeasts used for top fermentation
for specialty beers, a yeast for bottom fermentation for the pilsner and
the special beers, and a special yeast for beer without alcohol. Depending
on the type of yeast and the temperature, the fermentation process
will take between 3 and 10 days, during which 80 to 90% of the fermentable
sugars will be transformed into alcohol and carbonated gas.
The beer
is then stored in lager vats at - 1° C, allowing the fermentation process
to slowly come to completion. This serves to refine the beer’s character.
Depending on the type of yeast, the density and the quality, this maturation
process can take up to two months.
In this final production stage,
the beer is run through deKieselghur filters,
allowing the filtration specialist to monitor the brilliance, color and
carbonated gas content as well as the density. Next, Quality
Control inspects each tank before giving the green light for packaging.
The beer is then poured into
bottles or barrels. The automated bottling
line operates at a rate of 50,000 bottles of 25cl per hour, or 20,000
bottles of 75cl per hour. The bottling process can use
recyclable or non-recyclable glass. Currently, more than 12 bottle models
go through the lines and can be packaged in a multitude of different combinations
(grouped by 3-4-6-8-10-12-15 or 24 bottles). The
barrel line is also completely automated and can fill 200 barrels per
hour. The barrels can be 20, 30 or 50 liters. For 50cl
cans, canning is currently handled by subcontractors.