Bright beer

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The bright tanks of the Appalachian Brewing Company Bright tanks of Appalachian Brewing Company.jpg
The bright tanks of the Appalachian Brewing Company

Bright beer is beer in which yeast is no longer in suspension. There are several methods used for clearing yeast from beer, from waiting for the yeast to drop of its own accord ("dropping bright") to filtering it.

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Dropping bright

When the concentration of fermentable sugars in the beer falls below a certain level, variable with the strain of yeast, the yeast cells will naturally flocculate and settle toward the bottom of the vessel in which the beer is stored; this act is known as dropping bright. The degree to which yeast flocculates is dependent on many factors, including the specific gravity of the beer, the gas pressure over the beer, the ambient temperature, and some biological properties particular to the yeast strain; some beers will never drop bright by themselves.

Some breweries make available rack bright beer, which is cask-conditioned beer that has dropped bright at the brewery and then racked, transferred, to a new container for shipment. Rack bright beer generally costs slightly more than ordinary beer, all else being equal, and requires more preparation time and care at the point of serving; in particular, dropping bright requires that the beer be left undisturbed to settle, as jarring or shaking its container will re-suspend the yeast.

Any beer which has dropped bright or fined will have a layer of yeast sediment at the bottom of its storage vessel.

Fining

Finings can be introduced during the production of beer in order to induce it to drop bright more readily. For British beers, the most common fining agent is isinglass, and most breweries producing Real Ale introduce isinglass into the shipment cask so that the beer will drop bright readily upon the cask's being breached; this process can take from several hours to two or three days and may require the addition of supplementary finings by the cellarman.

Filtration

In contrast to dropping bright, yeast may also be removed from beer through filtration. The process of filtering removes carbonation and means the beer requires force carbonation. [1] Mechanical filtering and pasteurisation of bottled beer started at the end of the 19th century. The first beer known to have been mechanically filtered and force carbonated as draught keg beer was Watneys Red Barrel in 1931.

See also

Related Research Articles

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Brewing Process in beer production

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Real ale Traditionally made beer

Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for "beer brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide".

Gales Brewery

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Homebrewing

Homebrewing is the brewing of beer, mead, and ciders on a small scale for personal, non-commercial purposes. Supplies, such as kits and fermentation tanks, can be purchased locally at specialty stores or online. Alcohol has been brewed on the domestic level since its advent, thousands of years prior to its commercial production, although its legality has varied according to local regulation. In the United States, a permit is required to distill spirits such as moonshine.

Isinglass Substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish

Isinglass is a substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish. It is a form of collagen used mainly for the clarification or fining of some beer and wine. It can also be cooked into a paste for specialised gluing purposes.

Keg

A keg is a small barrel.

Wadworth Brewery

Wadworth is a brewery company founded in 1875 in Devizes, Wiltshire, England, best known for their 6X beer brand.

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Lees (fermentation)

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Worthington Brewery

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Beer engine device for pumping and dispensing beer

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Guinness Irish brand of beer

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Brewery business that makes and sells beer

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Vegetarianism and beer

Beer is often made from barley malt, water, hops and yeast and so is often suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Some beer brewers add finings to clarify the beer when racking into a barrel. Finings can include plant-derived products, like Irish moss, or animal-derived products, like isinglass and gelatin.

Filtered beer Fermented malt beverage in which the left-over sediment from brewing has been removed

Filtered beer refers to any ale, lager, or fermented malt beverage in which the sediment left over from the brewing process has been removed. Ancient techniques included the use of straw mats, cloth, or straws, and frequently left some sediment in the drink. Modern filtration, introduced at the end of the 19th century, uses a mechanical process that can remove all sediment, including yeast, from the beer. Such beer is known as bright beer and requires force carbonation before bottling or serving from a keg. In the United Kingdom, a beer which has been filtered in the brewery is known as "brewery-conditioned", as opposed to unfiltered cask ales.

The methods used to produce beer may be unique to a beer style, geographic region, or company. In 19th century Britain, technological discoveries and improvements such as Burtonisation and the Burton Union system significantly changed beer brewing.

Grodziskie

Grodziskie is a historical style of beer from Poland that is typically made from oak-smoked wheat malt. The beer can be described as having a clear, light golden color, high carbonation, low alcohol content, low to moderate levels of hop bitterness, and a strong smoke flavor and aroma. The taste is light and crisp, with primary flavors coming from the smoked malt, the high mineral content of the water, and the strain of yeast used to ferment the beverage. The beer was nicknamed "Polish Champagne" because of its high carbonation levels, and because it was valued as a high-quality beverage to be used for special occasions.

References

  1. Hornsey, Ian Spencer (2003). A history of beer and brewing - Google Books. ISBN   9780854046300 . Retrieved 2009-07-13.